Last week was a Week o' Wilco in New York City. Normally I would make a point of seeing them at least once per tour, but this time, it just didn't happen.
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| Guest blogger Alex Bachrach |
Fortunately, my Wilco-obsessed friend Alex Bachrach, the man who introduced me to the band's music around the time of Mermaid Avenue, and has seen them live dozens of times, caught the two hipster-infused shows in Brooklyn's Prospect Park and filed this report:
Wilco Loves New York, Baby
My wife Kate and I saw Wilco in Chicago recently, and
we've seen them all over the country, but I really think Tweedy and Co.
have a true love for the Big Apple.
In fact, while Tweedy barely engaged
his hometown crowd (their largest crowd as a headliner), he bantered
with the New York crowd throughout the two nights in Brooklyn, including
calling New York by every other city's nickname, provoking an assault
of boos when he uttered "Beantown." Is he being sarcastic? You
never know, but since New York shows always sell out quicker than other
cities except maybe Chicago, I'm guessing he appreciates our love.
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| Tweedy via Brooklyn's hipster medium of choice, Instagram |
The true tests were the shows themselves and the two in Brooklyn simply kicked ass. They played two completely different sets with only a handful of tunes repeated, mainly standouts from The Whole Love (although they held onto "One Sunday Morning" and played it for the lucky Terminal 5 crowd later in the week) and catalog essentials ("Impossible Germany," "Shot in the Arm," etc.). The energy level was so high both nights, despite hard rains and crazy lightning on Monday. The crowd learned from Monday that when Wilco says goodbye they rarely mean it, and stayed until the absolute end of their extended set.
One highlight was the intense first encore set from Monday's show
when "Poor Places" went right into "Art of
Almost," seen here in this YouTube clip.
They called a bunch of audibles, and several songs were changed on the fly. They fed off their crowd and since he repeatedly said "You all smell like bacon," I hope he fed off us as well.
Thanks for the report Alex. Wilco found time in their schedule last week to play the Loose Fur deep cut "Laminated Cat" on Jimmy Fallon's show. Here they are.
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