Wilco rolled into town last night and
Madison Music Review was there to witness the show at
the Overture center.
At first, I have to say, I was a bit
skeptical about seeing Wilco at the Overture Center after
witnessing
them at venues like the Barrymore, Orpheum and Headliners;
could they still bring that energy you get from an
intimate club setting? I have to admit I was a bit excited
to
hear them with the brilliant acoustics of the Overture
Center. 
The
evening’s set list was pulled mostly from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and Sky Blue Sky with a few surprises
from their earlier releases A.M. and Being There. “Via
Chicago” opened the show and was enhanced during
the song’s climax with random white lights. Wilco
has invested in their light show this time around. Although
it added dramatic effect, some could argue that its decadence
degraded the performance of some of the songs.
Guitarist
Nels Cline stood out in the spotlight in the dramatic
conclusion of “Side with the Seeds”.
His rapid-fire picking and accuracy is spectacular to
see and hear. It was pure bliss to hear Cline’s
guitar with such clarity in Overture Hall; I could pick
out some of the fret changes. Cline added a flavor to
Wilco’s back catalog - hearing songs such as “Too
Far Apart” from A.M. and “Red eyed and Blue > I
Got You” (Being There) could make one wish it had
been originally recorded with Nels around in the studio.
Wilco
ended the set with the emotional “On and
On and On”. Jeff Tweedy sans guitar, in front of
a spotlight lit microphone pleading, “Please don’t
cry, we’re designed to die…On and On we’ll
be together yet.” Wilco left the stage and then
quickly returned for what would become the first of two
encores.
After finishing “Hate It Hear” they dug
back to Being There and started off “Red Eyed and
Blue” and then into “I Got You”. The
first encore set ended with an amazing rendition of “Spiders
(Kidsmoke)” fraught with many angular guitar hooks,
a dual climatic frenzy from Tweedy and Cline ending with
an audience clap along which proved we were “rushing
the beat.” 
Wilco
came out one last time and said good-bye with a (lights
on) sing-along of "California
Stars". Overall
I felt the sound quality and lighting made up for the
lack of intimacy which was an integral part of last year’s
sold out Barrymore performance. -fS
Set List:
Via Chicago, You are My Face, I Am Trying To Break Your
Heart, Handshake Drugs, Pot Kettle Black, War on War,
Side with the Seeds, Shot in the Arm/Impossible Germany/Sky
Blue Sky, Too Far Apart, Jesus, Etc., Walken, I’m
The Man Who Loves You,
Hummingbird, On and
On…
First Encore: Hate it Here/Red Eyed & Blue>I
Got You, Ashes Of American Flags/Spiders
Second Encore: California Stars
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