A beautiful summer evening on the historic Philadelphia waterfront, with two great bands - Wilco and My Morning Jacket and a bunch of music loving friends. It doesn't get much better.
It was my first time seeing Wilco at an outdoor venue. Compared to the previous times I've seen Wilco at clubs like the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC, the huge crowd and wonderful weather seemed to feed Wilco's energy.
As a lovely mellow sun set directly behind the stage, Wilco opened with a surprising acoustic version of Woodie Guthrie's "Airline to Heaven" and just kept cranking. Everyone in the band was their usual tight self playing off one another's riffs and harmonies.
Nels Cline's frenetic guitar playing on "Handshake Drugs," "At Least That's What You Said," and "I'm the Man Who Loves You" were simply phenomenal.
The big surprise of the night was a sublime and semi-rare "Sunken Treasure" with a very different arrangement from the album. When Tweedy sang the lyrics, "I was maimed by rock & roll. I got my name from rock n roll", it seemed to touch everyone and be acknowledged by a loving crowd roar. Superb version. (Setlist below.)
Here's what BigFox2 posted — somewhat hyperbolically — on Via Chicago:
"I've seen McCartney from 5 feet away, Dylan from 20 feet, Sonic Youth from 5 feet, The Who twice, the list goes on and on, but without a doubt, last night's performance by Wilco was the greatest rock show I have ever been a part of. And while they played so many songs that I never thought I'd see them play live (like Sunken Treasure, Airline to Heaven, Monday, and Outtasite) and they were all so, so good, it was the synergy between the crowd and the band that made last night the tops for me...the crowd was so into it - every song.
Last night, they were on in every way imaginable...they were funny, they were angry, they were soft, they were loud, but most of all, they were rockin', and it wasn't just them, the whole place was rockin' because of such a great crowd and such a great show! Thank you Wilco!"
Jeff Tweedy was pretty funny when he realized that he could hear the bass thumps from Rock Lobster — a dance club — on the next pier over from Penn's Landing Festival Pier on the Delaware River.
Article comments
1 - The Theory
I saw Wilco 4 or 5 months after the release of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, and it was a really great show. I have wanted to see them live again, but haven't been willing to travel the distance it would require.
2 - T Mo
I had the fortunate experience to also see the MMJ and wilco show at Meadow Brook Theatre in suburban Detroit. MMJ came on stage at 7:10 and shared with us a compassionate combination of agressive guitasr play with passionate voacals and melody. They truly have a magic amongst themselves and really put a lot of the heart into the jams. By the end of the show they were getting standing ovations from a rain drenched late arriving crowd.
Wilco came out to War on War and showed off their new additions to the band. I had seen Wilco on the YHF tour and see a truly emotional quiet interpretations of a beautiful CD. THe additon of Nels cline and Pat Sansone and Jeff Tweedy's clean bill of health gave a new thickness to the sound of Wilco that was missing in the earlier stark interpretations of YHF Tour
Wilco's ability to combine reverb and melody is unsurpassed by anyone in the music today. Their beautiful melodies of Hummingbird and Muzzle of Bees combined with their ferocious band accompaniements in Kidsmoke show the range of the band. In addition it really looks like the band likes and trusts each other on stage. Their ability to interplay guitar solos in a variety of songs is unmatched.
If you are going to spend #45 for a show this summer and want to see what Rock n Roll is all about today got ot he Wilco MMJ show you will not be disappointed!
3 - thrasher
Regarding T-Mo's comments above:
Yes, the double-bill of My Morning Jacket & Wilco makes for a rockin' night.
Definitely the concert value deal of the summer!