Review of Wilco at Overture Hall
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
