Last summer, when it was apparent that Wilco would not be coming to St. Louis during their 2007 Sky Blue Sky tour, my wife and I decided to make the road trip to Indianapolis and catch the amazing live band at the Murat Theatre. There are a lot of things I remember from that show--great seats that catapulted the energy from the stage straight into our ears and minds, the weird t-shirt that we bought (which we later realized read Wiilco), smiling as the band opened with Summerteeth’s “A Shot in the Arm,” laughing as Jeff Tweedy looked confused, but went along anyway with the crowd’s “wooooo’s” to “ Shake it Off,” and most importantly, realizing how special all the Sky Blue Sky songs were after we had heard them live. As with every Wilco show we have attended together, it was a wonderful night of music.
Still, I wondered, why did we have to drive to Indianapolis to see a band that once played the Pageant three times in little over a year, a period from October of 2001 to November of 2002 (and had only been back twice to St. Louis since)? I realize that plotting out a tour isn’t an easy game of securing push-pins firmly into a map and stumbling into a tour bus, but really, where did they go? Did it have anything to do with St.
Louis?
Perhaps this was on Jeff Tweedy’s mind as he addressed the crowd at The Pageant during the last show of a sold-out three night stand. Before ripping into “Too Far Apart,” one of the four songs performed from the band’s first album, A.M., he took a moment to thank everyone for being “touched by the feelings in this room in the last three nights.” This may have gone unnoticed to some – heck, some of the crowd probably talked through his words – but I suspect that for many fans and followers in attendance, it meant the world to finally hear that all was comfortable and well between Jeff Tweedy and St. Louis, even if there never was a problem.
“We were too far apart, right from the start” Tweedy sang after sending out what was essentially a verbal group hug. “And I couldn’t be any closer to you now.”
And he and his band probably never will be, not after playing three shows that their fans had been waiting for, hoping for, and finally were treated to, all in classic Wilco fashion.
Opening with “Misunderstood,” Tweedy, dressed in a vintage white suit covered with red flowers (the same one he wore on SNL), packed a punch with his standard screaming of “Nothing!” near the end of the tune, firing up the crowd for a show that would warm-up and eventually become a full blown-out rock fest also featuring Nels Cline and Pat Sansone on thundering guitars, the always moving and talented Glenn Kotche on drums, and the quirky Mike Jorgensen on keyboards.
But before the endless rock that was the 13-song encore, Tweedy and Co. reached back and performed a glorious array of tunes from their fine catalog that now boasts eight studio albums (if you count Mermaid Avenue Volumes 1 and 2). Some of my favorite moments included:
*During “Hummingbird,” Tweedy swung the microphone down to let a few girls in the front row, who were standing and singing along the entire evening, become Wilco karaoke queens. I’m not sure if they succeeded, only because everyone else was singing. Of course, Tweedy did his “Hummingbird” running man dance, which is always a treat.
* Midway through “Handshake Drugs,” Nels Cline, who would show off many of his absurd talents during the show, looked as if he was having a small seizure as he rocked with his guitar.
* Pat Sansone.
* Some lady in the pit flipping Tweedy the bird, which prompted him to ask if that was somehow a cool thing to do these days. “Is it opposite day?” Tweedy asked.
*The back-to-back performances of A.M.’s “Pick up the Change” and “Too Far Apart,” two tunes I had been wanting to hear live for a while now, but had always missed. A.M.’s an album that took me a while to warm up to, but I view it now as one of my favorites.
*The frantic pace of “I’m the Man Who Loves You,” which was preceded by Kotche standing up behind his drum kit, extending his arms upward, and taking the spotlight for a few seconds.
*The always beautiful “Jesus, Etc.,” one of my favorite Wilco songs. Although many were talking through it the acoustic “She’s a Jar,” they were both moments not to be missed, even though people still won’t shut the hell up and listen.
All of these would come before “Bob Dylan’s 49th Beard,” which led off the second set of encores that would seemingly last longer than the main set itself. And somewhere in the middle of “Casino Queen,” or maybe “Hoodoo Voodoo,” I was reminded of a few lyrics of Uncle Tupelo’s “If That’s Alright,” a song that Jeff Tweedy wrote a long time ago. In that song, he describes dreamlike days where he ponders someday looking back on his life as a slideshow, somehow out of focus. Except, here, at this show, everything was coming into focus for Tweedy—the bond between himself and a St. Louis audience was once again alright.
We just needed to hear him say it.
Songs, by album, performed during Wilco’s three-night stand at The Pageant:
A.M.
Casino Queen, Box Full of Letters, Pick Up the Change, It’s Just That Simple, Passenger Side, Too Far Apart
Being There
Misunderstood, Far, Far Away, Monday, Outtasite (Outta Mind), Forget the Flowers, Red-Eyed and Blue, I Got You (At the End of the Century), Sunken Treasure, Kingpin
Mermaid Avenue, Vol. 1
California Stars, Hoodoo Voodoo
Summerteeth
Can’t Stand It, She’s a Jar, A Shot in the Arm, I’m Always in Love, Via Chicago, ELT
Mermaid Avenue, Vol. 2
Airline to Heaven, Blood of the Lamb
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, Kamera, War on War, Jesus, Etc., Ashes of American Flags, Heavy Metal Drummer, I’m the Man Who Loves You, Pot Kettle Black, Poor Places, Reservations
A Ghost is Born
Spiders (Kidsmoke), Muzzle of Bees, Hummingbird, Handshake Drugs, Company in my Back, I’m a Wheel, Theologians, The Late Greats
Sky Blue Sky
You Are My Face, Impossible Germany, Side With the Seeds, Hate it Here, Walken, On and On and On
Misc. Songs
New Madrid (Uncle Tupelo), Just a Kid, Bob Dylan’s 49th Beard
PHOTO CREDIT: Laurie Charlot
Were you at the show? Let me know what you thought. jgonulsen2@yahoo.com