cbbjr

This was my fifth time seeing the band. I certainly enjoyed the show - how can you not enjoy seeing Wilco - but it wasn't my favorite.

The difference between this and the other tours I have seen (all between 2005 and 2009) was that this seemed to have far fewer songs off Yankee and Ghost. I don't think that is a bad thing at all, but part of the reason the crowd wasn't as into the show might have been being unfamiliar with the new songs, particularly when you start off with three new ones (although Art of Almost may have been my favorite song all night). And after that, the show seemed to be a bit all over the place and lacked flow. For example, after opening with three new ones, the crowd got into a tizzy hearing the opening of I Am Trying to Break Your Heart. That energy transferred to One Wing and then a stellar Bull Black Nova. The crowd seemed really into it (I was in the pit on Nils side) and then...One Sunday Morning completely took the life out of the place. It isn't only that it is such a long song, it just didn't fit the progression of the previous three.

Other random thoughts: It is worth mentioning twice how amazing Art of Almost is live and I also really liked Born Alone. I have always enjoyed Via Chicago, but it seems so much more powerful now than previous tours. Getting to see Nick Lowe was a treat and I'm the Man Who Loves You > Monday > Outtasite is a great way to end a show. The stage setup and lights were tremendous. At one point it looked like Tweedy deviated from the seltlist - I can't remember when, but after one song he made a point of walking around and saying something to everyone. I also think that during one song there appeared to be a light effect of a large bird flying on stage - maybe the deviation was to remove Hummingbird in favor of something else and the crew couldn't change the lights.

Overall I would say the band executes each song really well and it was a good show, but there were a couple of lulls.

I really enjoyed Deeper Down. I have skipped it a couple times on the album, but it works for me live. Spiders is one of my favorites, and this was the first out of the four times I have seen them that they played it, so I was pretty pleased (although I understand how some could be upset when a long song appears towards the end of the night when the band is approaching the curfew). Other highlights were Bull Black Nova, Misunderstood, and the comment about making 36 fans happy.