Wilco is one of my favorite bands. I’ve seen them more times in concert than any other artist by far. Not that this is a great accomplishment, I don’t actually go to that many concerts. But I catch Wilco every chance I can.
They seem to love playing at the Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa. We’ve seen them (or Jeff Tweedy solo) there half a dozen times. When they announced their most recent tour a few months back, they did not list Tulsa as a stop, but they were playing Bentonville, which is only about a two-hour drive from where I live. I immediately bought tickets. Naturally, about two weeks later they announced they were playing Tulsa in July.
I looked at my wife and asked, “Are we going to see Wilco twice this summer?” We bought tickets. My sister and her husband will be in town then, flying in from South Korea, and we bought them tickets too.
The Bentonville show was an outdoor gig and general admission. There was a time when I’d show up to a show well before the doors opened, hoping to score those great seats. But I’m old now, and the idea of standing for two hours before a show and then another couple during the show is just too much for my back to take.
We left about five for a show that started at eight. I figured that would be plenty of time to get there and even have a bit to eat on our way. We arrived about 7:30 and found a great long line. That was annoying because we had three lawn chairs, just as many blankets, plus a pillow, and some other stuff. Security was nice, but they made us open up our lawn chairs and open up my wife’s purse.
Because everyone brought their own chairs, things were a little haphazard. Mostly people put them in straight lines, but there were large gaps and spaces everywhere. This meant we had to sit quite a ways into the back. We were maybe twenty yards behind the soundboard and off to the side. Behind us was a small hill, which meant there was a walkway between it and us. The rest of the venue was pretty flat, which made it hard to see the stage.The sound back that far wasn’t great. It was really kind of distant, making the show sound like it was taking place someplace else.
I set all that up to say that the crowd was kind of obnoxious. I understand people are going to talk at a concert. I mean, I don’t get it, I don’t know why anyone pays a lot of money to see a band and then acts like they are just background music for their stupid conversation. But I understand that’s just the way it is. But this show was out of hand.
There were two dudes behind us, sitting on that hill, that loudly talked through every song. One lady came in late and sat beside my daughter. She literally turned her seat away from the band so she could chat with her friend. A whole gang of folks gathered behind the soundboard, acting like they were at a bar, not a concert.
I do think the outdoor venue, the way we were all haphazardly positioned in our own chairs, and the poor sound quality at that contributed to all of this.
The music was good. The setlist was great. They opened with “Via Chicago” and then went into “Handshake Drugs.” The first set was a nice mix of newer songs and some old ones. Bassist John Stirratt even sang “It’s Just That Simple” off of their first album, AM. It ended with “California Stars”, one of my favorites.
I did my best to enjoy the music and not be annoyed by the talkers. Sometimes I’d close my eyes and just try to listen. It didn’t always work. I remember thinking this might be the worst concert I’ve ever been to. Which sucked, because, like I said, the music was good.
At the set break, my daughter went to the bathroom, bought a drink, and then looked at the merch. On our way back to our seats, we noticed some open spaces much closer to the stage. We grabbed our chairs, explained everything to my wife, and, like the Jeffersons, “moved on up.”
What a difference that made.
The sound was so much better. The audience was much more into it. There were still a few talkers, but the sound drowned them out. The band was on fire. The setlist was off the charts good. They played songs from just about every album they’ve made and concentrated on the older ones.
“Impossible Germany” was impossibly good. I’m a Nels Cline maniac. When we see them at Cain’s, I always stand on the Nels side of the stage. There is always a point where I turn to my wife and go, “Nels Fucking Cline!” On songs like “Impossible Germany” he tends to go crazy. He’ll launch into these frenzied solos where he just strums super fast and the band creates feedback behind him. I love it. But this time he played real solos. It reminded me a lot of the Jerry Garcia Band, where he was jamming, but it was still within the rhythm of the song. It was fantastic.
Jeff seemed in good spirits. He chatted amiably and even had some short convos with the crowd. The crowd was pretty laid-back. There wasn’t a lot of whooping and hollering. During “Kingpin” there is a section where the crowd usually screams in response to Jeff singing “How Can I?” but here they were silent. Jeff even joked with them about it, but it was a no go.
I suspect the cold had something to do with that. It was quite chilly, and most of us were huddled under blankets. And the crowd seemed like they were maybe not huge fans. The big songs off of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot got a lot of cheers, but the rest of the songs got claps, but nothing super enthusiastic.
But I was loving it. This show went from one of my least favorite concerts ever in the first set to one of my absolute favorite gigs in the second.
If you are a fan I highly recommend checking them out this tour.
Here’s the setlist:
Set 1:
Via Chicago
Handshake Drugs
If I Ever Was a Child
Cruel Country
Forget the Flowers
Evicted
Bird Without a Tail / Base of My Skull
I’m Always in Love
Everyone Hides
Hummingbird
It’s Just That Simple
You and I
War on War
Falling Apart (Right Now)
California Stars
Set 2:
Box Full of Letters
Annihilation
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
One Wing
Either Way
Love Is Everywhere (Beware)
Impossible Germany
Jesus, Etc.
The Universe
Hate It Here
Walken
Kingpin
Heavy Metal Drummer
I’m the Man Who Loves You
Encore:
The Late Greats
I Got You (At the End of the Century)
Outtasite (Outta Mind)
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