Here’s your obligatory [and doodlecliche] Wilco shot from last Friday nights big show over at the cinder block box better known as Roy Wilkins Auditorium. All in all it was a predictably great show, if a bit slow to start. I’ll bullet a few things here, just to keep it soft and easily digestible.
- We got there early because it was GA on the floor. Stood 1-deep on Nels side. PERFECT.
- Beers, bs’ing, then the opener was Liam Finn and the first song he (they?) play was jaw dropping awesome, then the rest of the set got fatiguing fast. Watching some guy loop his guitar and pound on the drums like a coked-up maniac is maybe just too intense for me. But for sure the first song was great. So I guess that’s something. No offense, dude.
- Lights down, Wilco out. Price is right into the Wilco song and good lord the sound is bad at the Roy. And really it is. It has to be the worst in the city, if not the greater 5-state area. A few years back I decided I was never seeing another show at the Roy just because the sound is so bad. I think that’s called ‘principle’ or something. But then remember when the Arcade Fire came to town and played the Roy and it was like the greatest show in the last 10 years and I was home with my principle missing it? Right. So now I go to shows there. And just to be clear – at any time my principle would have made way for Wilco. Duh.
- So yeah, they’re out and the sound is bad but it’s a rock show and it’s danceable and great but Jeff is maybe not fully engaged and it’s only the second show of the new tour and I think they were all still maybe getting their groove back. I was enjoying it, but it was maybe a bit more mechanical than your typical Wilco show. Just an observation.
- Personally I think things turned with the Impossible Germany. Nels went nuts – I know this, because I was 4 feet away from him – and that seemed to spark everyone. Then a Simple and you know it’s for real when the Spiders hit and was high energy and did you guys see that guy jumping up and down like a maniac during the big guitar pounding part? GOOD BECAUSE THAT WAS ME!!! IT WAS GREAT!!!
- Late set stuff was somewhat predictable and safe with no surprises. Gary Louris comes out to play along on California Stars and I’m cheering and the kid in front of me turns and asks who Gary is. Because I’m the old timer now. Comforting?
All in all it was of course a great show and I left EXHAUSTED after like 3+ hours of music, but I’m not going to put this up there on my “oh man top 5 shows ever” list or anything.
In related news, here’s a shot of the boys on the set of Prairie Home the next night. It was a great evening all around. Garrison was maybe 80% on his game. Wilco was contained and lovely. Seriously it was a great time.
And in sort of related news, here’s a shot of Son Volt on stage at First Ave the Sunday prior, where they put on a show that was MUCH BETTER than I was expecting.
Sunday -> Sunday. Son Volt -> Wilco. Alt-Country bookends on a autumn week in Minnesota. We should do this every year. I’ll make a few calls.