City Council may declare Wilco members honorary citizens of Madison

Taken from The Cap Times

After receiving some admonishment from the rock band Wilco at their sold-out concert at the Overture Center last week, one City Council member is setting the record straight on the city’s fondness for the frequent musical visitors by declaring them honorary citizens of this fine city.

“Last night, the mayor of Duluth made us an honorary Duluth band,” Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy informed concert attendees on Saturday. “And we’ve only played there twice. How many times have we played Madison? A lot. No key to the city, no certificate, nothing.”

Not to be outdone by Duluth of all places, Ald. Satya Rhodes-Conway quickly drafted up a resolution over the weekend that will be introduced within a few hours at the City Council meeting. After introduction, it will likely be brought back for a vote at the next council meeting on March 2.

The resolution (sponsored by Rhodes-Conway and Mayor Dave Cieslewicz at this point) reads:

“Title: Declaring the band Wilco and its members Jeff Tweedy, John Stirratt, Glenn Kotche, Mikael Jorgensen, Nels Cline, and Pat Sansone, honorary citizens of the great City of Madison, Wisconsin.

Body: WHEREAS, Wilco has visited Madison and played concerts here at least thirteen times since 1995 (including a show at Club DeWash in February of 1995); and,

WHEREAS, Jeff Tweedy says of Madison: ‘We really like it here’; and,

WHEREAS, Wisconsinites generally have a love/hate relationship with all things from Illinois but the sold-out show at the Overture Center on February 21, 2010 (sic) had only love for this band from Chicago; and,

WHEREAS, at least one member of the Common Council attended the show and can attest to its excellence; and,

WHEREAS, The Isthmus called Wilco ‘America’s shiniest rock object’; and,

WHEREAS, Duluth, MN may be cool, but we would not want it said that either that fine city or its mayor are cooler than Madison and our mayor (even if Mayor Dave is not sure who Jeff Tweedy is); and,

WHEREAS, the City of Madison looks forward to many future visits by Wilco; and,

WHEREAS, It is generally true that late is better than never,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Common Council and Mayor declare the band Wilco and its members, Jeff Tweedy, John Stirratt, Glenn Kotche, Mikael Jorgensen, Nels Cline, and Pat Sansone, honorary citizens of the great City of Madison, Wisconsin.”

Now the question is, is being declared honorary citizens of a city as good as being declared an honorary band? On the other hand, I can only imagine the debate that might occur over declaring an honorary Madison band after the Great Flamingo Debate of 2009.