Friday night with Wilco

 

So what can I say about the recent Wilco concert?

I've blabbed on way too long about this band - yet they still inspire me, well, notably Jeff Tweedy and his songs do. This weekend's concert was a trip blasting through all six albums; I heard songs in concert for the first time, including the dreamy Summerteeth and That's Not the Issue (from their first album A.M.) – complete with blazing banjo... can a banjo blaze? Yes it can, ask Bela Fleck.

But why go on and on about an artsy alt-country experimental soundscape classic rock folk and roll band? And why at a site that is about writing? Well, maybe because it is more about creation than anything. Wilco creates songs that become moments that become events - chill run up my neck as Nels Cline runs his neck, or the drummer, Glenn Kotche, drips sweat onto his snare or Tweedy pours his tenor into the mic and it feels like he is pouring his whole body into it. Not every song is an event, there were flat moments in the concert, and annoying fans that Tweedy flipped the finger to and called douchebags, and the request style of the concert made for a disjointed set.

But it was still a helluva night. If I can figure out how to get my photos off my cell phone and onto my computer I'll post a few.

Some day I should probably write a story about my obsession with this band.