Indianapolis, IN
September 13, 2011
 |
| The ghosts of Wilco past |
Yes, September 2011. I got that date right. Is it weird to post a review of a concert almost a year after it happened? Probably. I mean, I have this great picture here with the silhouette of the heads in the crowd, Jeff Tweedy and the rest of band with that blue lighting and all those ghosty things hanging all over the stage. It's not a photographic masterpiece by any means, but it reminds me of when I didn't have an iPhone and I don't have an account on Twitter or Tumblr yet so enjoy it. Or not.
I promise I wrote notes on this back then to help me when I actually wrote this post! Here is what I wrote as a prompt that I was supposed to expound upon whenever I wrote my full review:
full sound
electronic feel
community
so solid
Descriptive, I know. I guess it explains itself. This concert was a few weeks before their new album The Whole Love was released and it opened up with Art of Almost which had an electronic, rhythmic feel to it that was a bit of a change for Wilco to me. I've since listened to the new album but it hasn't yet really pulled me in. I suspect I may rediscover it in a year or two.
I also found on this old post some thoughts that Wilco inspired in me about the effectiveness and functions of different media forms:
"The thing that makes music so different from books and movies is that it is a slightly less effective way to tell a story. Film, in my opinion, is the most effective way to tell a story when you want to deliver a more specific message, but each format has its own benefits and drawbacks:
- Books: level of detail, ability to paint environment, description of inner thought
- Film: ability to paint/describe environment, rhythm, plot movement/story art
- Music - rhythm, evoke attitude/essence of environment, direct description of attitude/moral/feeling/emotion, etc.
"To me, music is more about evoking the essence of something, rather than describing in detail what it is or how it got there. Rhythm is a great tool for pushing, suspending, or maintaining a feeling through the use of tempo."
I suppose it must of been pretty deep if it got me thinking that stuff. The concert really was great, besides the drunk people behind us dancing far beyond the limits of their own personal space -- luckily they had to take a lot of smoking breaks. But that's where community comes in. They are big enough to sell out weeks before a new album comes out and they've got everybody chanting "Nothing!" 40 times in a row on Misunderstood, a classic pre-Yankee Hotel Foxtrot song of theirs, popular mostly as a live tune.
As far as "so solid" goes, these are technically proficient musicians and the expanded instrumental sections that you can only get live (intros, bridges, solos, transitions) reflect that the music is at the heart of the performance. Jeff Tweedy feels free and comfortable as the front man, sharing thoughts on the opening act, their music, and the rest of the tour--but you don't go to a Wilco concert for their showmanship. The music was solid and that's what made it great. And the hanging handkerchief ghosts.
Set List: Art of Almost, I Might, Misunderstood, At Least That's What You Said, Bull Black Nova, In A Future Age, I Am Trying To Break Your Heart, Handshake Drugs, War On War, Born Alone, You Are My Face, Impossible Germany, Via Chicago, Dawned On Me, I'm Always In Love, A Shot In the Arm
Encore: Hummingbird, Whole Love, Jesus, etc., Walken, I'm The Man Who Loves You
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