Concert review: Wilco at UIC Pavilion
Wilco's Jeff Tweedy performs at the UIC Pavilion Sunday. (Tribune photo by Andrew A. Nelles)
Surveying a near-capacity audience Sunday in the first of two concerts at the UIC Pavilion, Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy responded to his band’s newfound arena status with self-mocking humor.
“We got more lights, we got a gong,” he said. Then he let the crowd sing most of the next song, “Jesus, Etc.” – an arena-rock gesture that Bon Jovi surely would’ve appreciated.
It’s been a long, steady, 15-year climb for the Chicago sextet. With the exception of the aforementioned lights, the concert was notable for its modesty and restraint. Even Glenn Kotche’s gong went untouched until nearly two hours into the show. The band played 28 songs, performing particularly precise versions of those from its two most recent albums, “Sky Blue Sky” (2007) and “Wilco (The Album).” The latter is more like a career survey of musical styles than a ground-breaker, and the concert followed that format: a solid overview that took few chances.There was the loping Little Feat-like amiability of “Walken,” the tense guitar rhythms of “Bull Black Nova,” the cathartic surge of “Misunderstood,” the plaintive twang of “It’s Just that Simple” (with a rare lead vocal by bassist John Stirratt), the triple-guitar rave-up of “Handshake Drugs,” and the soul cries of “Theologians.”
The band has evolved into something of a mini-orchestra, with keyboardists Mikael Jorgensen and Pat Sansone coloring in the gaps between Tweedy’s vocals, Stirratt playing graceful bass lines that straddled melody and rhythm, and Kotche a whirlwind of constant invention on drums. Amid this glut of talent, guitarist Nels Cline was easily the band’s most watchable stage personality, his lean frame further exaggerated by high-water pants. Cline’s tasteful guitar parts frequently morphed into corrosive explosions that provided the show’s most striking moments, especially during the somewhat conservative main set.
Jorgensen had the best seat in the house, directly behind Cline. When the guitarist went off on “A Shot in the Arm,” wrenching feedback from his amplifier, Jorgensen joined in on the fun, wiping what looked like a dish rag violently across his keyboard to match Cline’s sonic mayhem.
As the show progressed, the band allowed more chaos and spontaneity to creep in, and a shaggy and highly appealing looseness prevailed during the show’s last half-hour. That’s been the arch of most Wilco shows for the last couple of years, and one wishes that let-it-all-hang-out attitude would show up a little earlier. During the extended encore, Tweedy and the band played with smiles – how else to pay tribute to everyone’s favorite sea sponge, SpongeBob SquarePants, on “Just a Kid”? As Cline and Sansone traded mad solos on “Hoodoo Voodoo,” they embraced their inner Jack Black by raising their guitar picks on high. There were no more gong hits, but Jorgensen supplied the next best percussion option for such a wonderfully over-the-top arena-rock moment: more cowbell.
greg@gregkot.com
Editor's Note: Greg Kot is the author of the 2004 unauthorized biography, “Wilco: Learning How to Die.”
Check out Wilco's set list from Sunday night's show here.
Web exclusive:
I absolutely loved Nels Cline's playing Sunday night. The whole band sounded great from start to finish.
Posted by: ChicagoConcertgoers.com | October 19, 2009 at 03:15 AM
Another fantastic show by an aways terrific band.
Posted by: Pete | October 19, 2009 at 08:48 AM
From South Bend, Indiana... What a great show! Our third time to experience Wilco LIVE in the past year, but this time made it to the front row!
WILCO has to be the greatest American rock band around! The range of Jeff Tweedy's vocals is undescribable- from full on scream to tender and sweet. You guys never sounded better!
I had a UIC staffer take a t-shirt I made for Jeff back stage- on it, a phrase he will surely recognize from his younger days, and also noted in the I am Truying to Break Your Heart DVD. I hope he gets it!
Posted by: Tami Vasta | October 19, 2009 at 09:14 AM
I thought Wilco was great, and put on a good show, but man does the UIC Pavilion stink. Terrible venue.
Posted by: John Smith | October 19, 2009 at 09:28 AM
Nice review of a what I thought was a great show last night! Wilco turned up the rock-o-meter to fit the arena setting.
Posted by: Palmer Moody | October 19, 2009 at 09:55 AM
They get better with age. What a treat to watch this collection of musicians at the height of their powers swing the beat. Rock and roll lives!!
Pat Sansone needs more props. He has gone from vamping like a rock star to being a rock star. He may be the best musician in that entire band. Glenn is the finest drummer in the biz. Nels keeps getting sicker on Impossible Germany. Jeff is the best front man in rock--so relaxed. How can you not have a great time at a Wilco show?
Posted by: Erik | October 19, 2009 at 10:46 AM
It was a great show, not the best show I've seen Wilco do, but still great. Nels was astounding in the spots where he was allowed to shine.
One thought: I was a bit dissapointed that this was the first Chicago show since Jay Bennett died, and there was no reference to him or song dedication or anything. I'm well aware of the bad blood between him and the band, but at least dedicating one song to him would have acknowledged that he was a critical part of the band in one of their most creative periods.
Posted by: Scott P | October 19, 2009 at 11:46 AM
Sounds like a great show, I am going tonight. Is there an opening band? I saw in some reports there would be.
Greg replies: Tortoise is the opening band.
Posted by: Gazzy | October 19, 2009 at 12:09 PM
what is “Hoodoo Voodoo," is that a cover?
Greg replies: It's a song from the "Mermaid Avenue" project in which Wilco and Billy Bragg collaborated on music for Woody Guthrie lyrics.
Posted by: Rob S. | October 19, 2009 at 12:11 PM
Aside from the atrocious venue, the setlist was fairly predictable and formulaic, especially considering that A LOT of these songs have been played repeatedly at 99% of the shows for the past 5 years or so. It's inexcusable that a band with such a deep and diverse catalogue continues to rely on so many concert "staples." It would be nice for it to take some chances and shake things up a bit. Let's hope we get something different tonight.
Posted by: C | October 19, 2009 at 12:24 PM
Great show although I miss the intimate atmosphere. I think Jeff was making fun of the arena vibe. I had seats in the balcony which were horrible. My wife and I were able to get down next to the stage on the first level which made the night so much better. Looking out into the crowd it was a mix of fans. The front of the floor was rocking but as you looked further back there was a lot of motionless bodies and butts in seats. I hope they do another residency.
Posted by: bp | October 19, 2009 at 12:49 PM
er, Thumbs up for Wilco. Awesome band, always coming through with the satisfying live shows, but the UIC Pavillion robbed them of a lot of acoustic clarity and brilliance. If you can manage it tonight, I recommend trying floor center to hear the best sound.
Posted by: Audiophile | October 19, 2009 at 01:06 PM
Another great performance by Wilco but unfortunately completely ruined by horrible sound. It was ear splittingly loud, overly distorted, and the highs were impossibly shrill.
Everyone in my general area had their fingers in their ears whenever Nels, Jeff, or Pat were going at it with gusto. It was painful. And the gong - JESUS, the GONG. *shakes head*
Posted by: Mark | October 19, 2009 at 01:14 PM
Great band, terrible place to see a show. I've seen a few shows at the UIC Pavillion and the venue detracted from all of them. At least they serve beer now.
Posted by: Clay | October 19, 2009 at 01:31 PM
Great show by Wilco, HORRIBLE VENUE! The sound quality was well below average and I was sitting dead center (Normally the best seats for sound quality).
Posted by: Chris P | October 19, 2009 at 01:44 PM
My review: http://ruz.posterous.com/review-wilco-at-the-uic-pavilion-101809
Posted by: Christian | October 19, 2009 at 01:50 PM
http://rockandrollghost.blogspot.com/2009/10/live-review-wilco-uic-pavilion-chicago.html - my take on the show - I failed to mention the gong.
Posted by: Brett Hickman | October 19, 2009 at 01:54 PM
Somewhat unrelated, but how much is parking and how painful is it getting out of the lot? I'm going tonite and weighing transportation options. ???
Posted by: A.C. | October 19, 2009 at 03:02 PM
Mark - What type of earplugs were you wearing? Wilco must have been incredibly loud if you were still having issues with the volume. I had no complaints the few times I saw them at The Riv and The Canopy Club in Champaign.
Posted by: Mike | October 19, 2009 at 04:24 PM
I've seen Wilco live only twice--once in a miniscule Champaign club during the A.M. years, and once at the Vic following A Ghost Is Born. I haven't been able to get tickets to any of their non-arena shows since 2004. At this point, though, I'm no longer trying. The band's last two albums have left me cold. Mr. Kot, in the Wilco biography that you wrote, Tweedy discusses how, when he was younger, he couldn't enjoy a band if he couldn't imagine himself performing the music that band created. Somewhere else, I read that he would write bands off if he didn't like the way they carried themselves--there was one band I remember him saying he discounted simply because he didn't like the singer's smirk. Every time I see the contrived cover art of their latest release, especially the photos of the band members, I can't help but think of these comments made by Tweedy. If I'd never heard anything but their last two crummy albums and had never seen anything of the band members other than the photos in the booklet of Wilco (The Album), in which Tweedy and his mates look like smarmy jerks, I'd write them off for the exact same reasons Tweedy has given for other bands.
Posted by: Bill Sherman | October 19, 2009 at 04:51 PM
A.C., if you're willing to walk a couple of blocks you can park on the street. We parked on Adams at Racine at about 7:15 last night. Enjoy the show.
Posted by: M.C. | October 19, 2009 at 04:57 PM
Great band, average show.
For me, their music belongs flowing out of my speakers and headphones as the soundtrack to life rather than the in-person experience.
Maybe I will try again at a more intimate venue. It just did not work for me.
Posted by: Publius | October 19, 2009 at 05:07 PM
It was my 15th Wilco show and by far the loudest. I liked how loud it was because it drowned out the drunks and casual arena fans. setlist was very predictable any solid fan could have seen that coming after the first 5 songs especially on this tour. Stoked for tonight though "just a kid" was great too.
Posted by: Curtis Nichols | October 19, 2009 at 05:16 PM
Believe me I can't imagine "Bill Sherman" (above) performing Wilco's music either. I think he should find something better to do with his time. If he does not like Wilco then why spend his time providing long-winded and fragmented commentary about them?
Posted by: Peter Schwartz | October 19, 2009 at 10:53 PM
This was my first Wilco concert. Somehow, all the concert video I've seen in the past still didn't prepare me for the energy, tightness, and outright skill they displayed Sunday night. And Nels -- OMG! I hope he's getting regular cortisone shots, because what abuse his body must be taking! Nothing I've heard about seeing Wilco live has been overstated -- they are a must-see live act.
Posted by: Kris W | October 20, 2009 at 09:51 AM