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Wilco — 26 February 2017, Chicago, IL (Chicago Theatre) [Night 4 of 4]


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Well, that was a mighty fun way to end another Chicago run. When it's all said and done, I doubt the Chicago Theatre will ever reach the top of many local fans' lists of favorite venues, but it's almost certainly the city's premier indoor theater at the moment (and owing to its brilliant marquee, its most iconic) so it was probably about time that Wilco finally played a headlining concert — or four — on its stage. And Jeff basically said as much near the end of last night's show, thanking the venue's staff for making the band feel so welcome during its residency.

 

A couple of hours earlier, about six songs into the show, Jeff had complimented the crowd, quipping, "You guys are awesome, and I don't say that very often. I don't like most audiences. But I feel good about where this is heading." He also acknowledged and thanked people for coming out to the show when they could have been watching the Oscars. Someone apparently yelled "Best dressed" at Jeff (perhaps on account of the black T-shirt he wore under various jackets/shirts at all four shows which featured the phrase "We're in this together" in large print with "Except Trump. He's a dick," in smaller print underneath). "Best dressed?" Jeff replied. "We don't hear that very often."

 

A few songs later, Jeff took the time to acknowledge a Japanese fan, Maki, who had traveled from there to see the shows this week. I forget if she actually had/has a VC account, but I know some folks on here know her. Anyway, it was a very sweet gesture to thank her for coming such a great distance and dedicate her favorite song, A Magazine Called Sunset, to her. I couldn't see her reaction in that moment, but I'm sure it was priceless.

 

Once again, Banter Corner featured more than a bit of political talk by Jeff; he repeated his previously stated belief that he was allowed to talk about politics because those who support Trump voted for a reality TV star. Tonight, Jeff told an anecdote about his 83-year-old father that he hadn't previously mentioned during this Chicago run. Jeff said his father, who worked for the railroad for 40-plus years and lives in downstate Illinois surrounded by Trump supporters, had called him the night the travel ban was announced, cried and said he had never felt more ashamed to be an American. And Jeff added that his father, who has had a knee replacement and other physical issues and doesn't get out much anymore, told him that if he had been in Chicago that night, he would have joined Jeff and his family in going out to the airport to protest. "This is not a radical man," Jeff said. "So I guess I should thank Trump for 'making America great again' because that's more like it."

 

From there, the show accelerated toward its completely crowd-pleasing conclusion (well, at least this member of the crowd was pleased). Jeff once again coaxed Glenn into doing his standing drum-stool pose/Todd Trainer tribute before launching into I'm The Man Who Loves You. And then there was the awesome end of the first encore with Monday — which hadn't been played by the full band since Solid Sound 2015 — and I'm A Wheel.

 

Finally, this latest edition of Winterlude drew to a close with the "singing riff," electric version of Spiders that originated in South America last fall and has proven so popular here this week. Jeff even successfully reignited the riff singing after the apparent conclusion of the song, something he hadn't been able to do the previous evening. As the band left the stage, Jeff urged the audience to "stay optimistic. Stay optimistic, because times are too shitty to be pessimistic!" (Earlier, as the band walked off after the first encore, Jeff had offered another variation: "Don't get discouraged! We can be pessimistic during better times.")

 

It's unclear how many in the somewhat sedate Sunday night crowd — which, by the way, Jeff had earlier declared the victor in the week's Jesus, etc., singalong "contest" — actually heard him. But here's hoping those sentiments resonate strongly with more than a few folks as we all navigate the minefields ahead.

 

Here was the complete setlist, as played, for Winterlude 2017 Night 4 (pretty sure there were no changes from the printed setlist):

 

On and On and On

Normal American Kids

If I Ever Was A Child

Cry All Day

Muzzle Of Bees

Bull Black Nova (acoustic arrangement — Jeff on acoustic guitar, Nels on resonator guitar)

I Am Trying To Break Your Heart>

Art Of Almost

Pickled Ginger

Misunderstood (hootenanny arrangement — Jeff on acoustic, Nels on lap steel, Pat on banjitar, John on 12-string acoustic)

Someone To Lose

A Magazine Called Sunset

Reservations

Impossible Germany

Say You Miss Me

Via Chicago

Box Full Of Letters

Heavy Metal Drummer>

I'm The Man Who Loves You

Hummingbird

The Late Greats

---------------------------------

Random Name Generator

Jesus, etc.

Locator

Monday>

Outtasite (Outta Mind)

I'm A Wheel

--------------------------------

Spiders (Kidsmoke) (electric arrangement)

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This was my 12th Wilco show, 2nd of this run. That's far fewer shows than a lot of people here but I started late! I was minutes away from not going due to the lack of diversity in the set lists this run. Figured I'd seen what I needed to on Wednesday.

 

The reason I still go to Wilco shows is to catch that feeling of hearing their songs, songs I've listened to over and over again, in some kind of different light. Doubted I'd get that after reviewing the sets for Thursday and Saturday.

 

Tonight was great, of course, and I walked away reminded that Jesus, Etc. is the most beautiful song that I've ever heard. First Wilco song I ever listened to over a decade ago. But it felt different tonight and I'm glad I saw it. Every time I've seen them I've walked away with that feeling about a song or two. I'll never second guess an opportunity to see them again. Great run.

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Not sure if it was because I had my best seat of the run, if it was because they played a bit longer than they had or because I finally let go and accepted the structure of the setlist, but this was my favorite show of the run (just ahead of Wednesday). Really liked the On and On and On opener and Say You Miss Me is one of my all time favorites. Was kind of bummed that it seemed like we were going to get the same encore as Wednesday, so the Monday, Outta Site, I'm a Wheel trio to close it was even better. I really hope they do a Milwaukee date this summer since I'm guessing it'll be some time before they come back to Chicago.

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Nice recap Paul.  This was the only show I saw on this run and I was going to blow off the entire thing, but glad I picked what seemed to be a great night. After listening to the lack luster show on Saturday, I think they pulled it together.  Glad for the political banter personally.  The story about his father was heartfelt and genuinely moving.  Thanks Jeff for sharing that and putting Trump supporters in their place (wherever right wing Wilco fans go.)

 

LouieB

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To pay homage to the four night run I offer up…


 


WILCO CHICAGO RESIDENCY 2017: THE FINALE IN FOUR PARTS


 


PART ONE: WILCO LOVES YOU BABY


Hey Wilco fans, if I were to tell you the band would perform a mini set for you consisting of the following but all you had to do was listen to them repeat other great songs from the Wilco catalog for a couple nights in a row, wouldn’t you give a resounding yes?!?


 


On and On and On


Muzzle Of Bees


A Magazine Called Sunset


Say You Miss Me


Monday


I’m A Wheel


 


Those are the half dozen songs we were delivered on Sunday night at the Chicago Theatre that had not been played at any of the previous 3 shows this past week.  Now add these to your list and see if you are even more excited:


 


Bull Black Nova


I Am Trying To Break Your Heart>


Art Of Almost


Reservations


Via Chicago


Box Full Of Letters


Heavy Metal Drummer>


I'm The Man Who Loves You


 


These are the songs that appeared Sunday night that were not repeated all 4 nights.


My point being, once you break it down, there were a ton of great songs with decent variety played over the course of the Chicago Theater residency.  With that in mind here are my thoughts on the last show of the run Sunday night.


 


PART TWO: THE GIG or I UNDERSTAND I’M JUST A FAN


Pat's side, about 12 rows from the stage.  Excellent vantage point to watch all band members do their thing.  I’m a huge fan of the Sky Blue Sky record so when Wilco opened up Sunday’s show with “On and On and On” I was encouraged that this was going to be a special night.  It’s one of those dramatic openers that moves from Tweedy on solo acoustic guitar singing in hushed voice to a textured and powerful full band finish.  The next three selections were the standard opening stanza songs on the run, all three are very strong songs that will certainly stand the test of time as they age; a fully enjoyable triad of tunes.  Up next was our second debut of the run, fan fave “Muzzle of Bees” followed by another dark and brooding “Bull Black Nova”.  This version was equally as haunting as Wednesday’s take on this tune.  Another welcome return from Wednesday’s set was the “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart>Art Of Almost” power combo.  I really continue to like “Pickled Ginger” off of Star Wars, it’s a quirky little rocker.   A couple of 4 night repeats followed and were played with grace and purpose.  A fan from Japan requested the rarity “Magazine Called Sunset” that doesn’t appear on any proper Wilco record other than the 20 year retrospective Alpha Mike Foxtrot and Jeff was very gracious in thanking said Japanese fan for making such a long journey to be at the show.  Another pin drop “Reservations” graced the old theater before jumping into the mid set staple that is “Impossible Germany”.  If I were ranking the 4 versions I would say that Thursday night was the strongest of the run.  Sunday’s version was more in tune with the subdued vibe of this Sunday night crowd.  A huge bustout of “Say You Miss Me” off Being There was next and was easily one of the high points of the run for me.  Great cut off of a legendary album.  They followed with two strong selections in “Via Chicago” and “Box Full of Letters”.  Can never get enough of either of those songs.    The main set closed out as expected with the band again goading Glenn to stand on his drum kit before slamming down to the start of a funky “I’m the Man Who Loves You”.   The first encore section kicked off with a couple oft repeated cuts including the expected “Jesus Etc.” including a hearty sing along by the fans.  But it was the next trio of tunes that really brought this whole run home for me: the band clapped us right into the straight up rock and roll of “Monday”, a definite highlight of the whole run, right into a fiery “Outtasite” before crashing through with a pleasant surprise of Ghost Is Born rocker “I’m A Wheel”.  The encore section of this show proves why you ‘Never miss a Sunday show’.  Wilco left it all out there on those and all that was left was the singing guitar riff return of “Spiders” to send Julie and I out the door and on the road back to Milwaukee fully satisfied as this show lasted a few minutes longer than preceding nights.


 


PART THREE: I’VE GOT RESERVATIONS ABOUT SO MANY THINGS BUT NOT ABOUT YOU


I would be remiss not to mention how grateful I am to have shared this run with so many friends.  Each night brought new, special people into our Wilco universe which really added to the overall success of this run.  Thank you to all of you for being part of this crazy quest to catch some inspiration in a bottle for even one song, one night or one run of shows.  However if not for my best friend, wife and fully able running partner Julie at my side every night, I could not be dancing my way through this crazy world from one show to the next.  She is the best.


 


PART FOUR:  I’M NOT GONNA GET CAUGHT CALLING A POT KETTLE BLACK or FINAL THOUGHTS


First, I can't wait to be on the sacred Jazzfest grounds in a couple months to hear this band live again.


 


Finally, Jeff Tweedy spent quite a bit of his banter time over the course of four nights alternately imploring us to resist and persist and to work together for the common good.  We all (or most of us in the theater) had the common enemy of the current executive branch to rail against as we all cheered in unison in resistance.  But ultimately, Jeff left us with these words which summed up the Wilco experience over the past two decades as well as any:


"Don't get discouraged. We can be pessimistic during better times."


Well put, Mr. Tweedy.  And bravo!


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2nd Wilco show. I saw them for the first time in 2015 in Bloomington, IN. I got to the party late, but this has been a great 2 years of deeply discovering Wilco.

 

Last night, I got a chance to see them for the second time, and this time from second row instead of the balcony. Scored 2nd row tickets out of pure luck after waiting an hour when the tickets went on sale. It was a great set and Jeff was in a great mood. I loved hearing the Being There tracks in the encore.

 

Random note: I got Aftershow passes through a speaker company I am associated with. A group of us got escorted behind the stage and down into a medium sized room. There was food and drinks. Possibly 50-60 people hanging out that knew the band in some capacity. Everyone from the band came down to hang out besides Jeff. It was a little tough to get in any conversations with anyone, but I did get an opportunity to speak to Nels for about 5 mins. He was super nice and really grateful about how much we enjoyed the show and the band's music. Without being asked, he expressed how great the show was and how much he loves playing with the guys. A really unforgettable night. I hope the radio broadcast shows up somewhere.

Nels is golden.

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Have loved this band for almost two decades, since I was a very young child, and finally got to see them for the first time last night. Great show even though my seats were just okay and there was this six ft six guy two rows in front of me (and I'm five eleven on a good day). The encore was a particular treat as I used to bounce around my parents' dining room to the tune of Monday and Outtasite when I was about five or six or so. Only minor disappointment was that I would have loved Laminated Cat or an Uncle Tupelo song but hey man they can't just bust those out every night.

 

Hope it doesn't take me another twenty years to see them again!!!

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Have loved this band for almost two decades, since I was a very young child, and finally got to see them for the first time last night. Great show even though my seats were just okay and there was this six ft six guy two rows in front of me (and I'm five eleven on a good day). The encore was a particular treat as I used to bounce around my parents' dining room to the tune of Monday and Outtasite when I was about five or six or so. Only minor disappointment was that I would have loved Laminated Cat or an Uncle Tupelo song but hey man they can't just bust those out every night.

 

Hope it doesn't take me another twenty years to see them again!!!

Glad you enjoyed your first! It's addicting and I'm sure you'll be back soon

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Thanks to all for your great reports. For those of us in the "tertiary markets," who haven't had a visit since before Star Wars came out, it's nice to get a review that's almost as good as Being There.

 

On the set lists, I've been known to complain about repeat songs, but Wilco has never been known as a Grateful Dead-like "change all the songs every night" type of band. I was looking at the old set lists on Wilcobase, and here is a little overview of what they played when I saw three shows in one week on the YHF tour, all the way back in 2002.

 

The following songs were played at all three shows:

 

Sunken Treasure, IATTBYH, War on War, Kamera, Shot in the Arm, How to Fight Loneliness>Laminated Cat, Jesus etc, Heavy Metal Drummer, ITMWLY, Poor Places>Reservations, Misunderstood>Far Far Away, Hesitating Beauty, California Stars, Monday

 

The run from A Shot in the Arm/How to Fight Loneliness>Laminated Cat/Jesus etc/Heavy Metal Drummer was in that exact order all three nights.

 

We got a little spoiled when Wilco did those "Evening With" shows a few years ago, but no one could sustain that on every tour. They're doing a good job of mixing up the sets with new songs and a variety of classics.

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Thanks to all for your great reports. For those of us in the "tertiary markets," who haven't had a visit since before Star Wars came out, it's nice to get a review that's almost as good as Being There.

 

On the set lists, I've been known to complain about repeat songs, but Wilco has never been known as a Grateful Dead-like "change all the songs every night" type of band. I was looking at the old set lists on Wilcobase, and here is a little overview of what they played when I saw three shows in one week on the YHF tour, all the way back in 2002.

 

The following songs were played at all three shows:

 

Sunken Treasure, IATTBYH, War on War, Kamera, Shot in the Arm, How to Fight Loneliness>Laminated Cat, Jesus etc, Heavy Metal Drummer, ITMWLY, Poor Places>Reservations, Misunderstood>Far Far Away, Hesitating Beauty, California Stars, Monday

 

The run from A Shot in the Arm/How to Fight Loneliness>Laminated Cat/Jesus etc/Heavy Metal Drummer was in that exact order all three nights.

 

We got a little spoiled when Wilco did those "Evening With" shows a few years ago, but no one could sustain that on every tour. They're doing a good job of mixing up the sets with new songs and a variety of classics.

Bob Gendron, critic for the Chicago Tribune, tweeted: "Wilco's "Impossible Germany" has become equivalent of Dead's "Playing in the Band": Seemingly mandatory band does it at almost every show." Of course I let him know the Dead only played it that frequently in 1972. 

 

Interesting points on the setlist, but one would expect less setlist variation earlier in a band's career, as was the case with the Dead, and more variation as the repertoire expands. Except for greatest hits bands. But Wilco is still touring behind Schmilco, and have pushed previous albums hard on subsequent tours. Maybe the issue isn't so much the lack of variation but that the Schmilco songs aren't that great, at least not live, relatively speaking. 

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For those of you who were able to "sign the sign" that some crazy fanboy dude* brought to the show and passed around the pit.... you'll be happy to know that it put a smile on the face of a certain favorite singer of ours.  Thanks all for making it a great show and a great evening / weekend.  So great to catch up with friends old and new, and spend a fantastic couple of days in Chicago. 

Vince

 

* crazy fanboy dude would be me, of course.

 

 

17101712_1268580839924586_667949490_n.jp

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For those of you who were able to "sign the sign" that some crazy fanboy dude* brought to the show and passed around the pit.... you'll be happy to know that it put a smile on the face of a certain favorite singer of ours.  Thanks all for making it a great show and a great evening / weekend.  So great to catch up with friends old and new, and spend a fantastic couple of days in Chicago. 

Vince

 

* crazy fanboy dude would be me, of course.

 

 

17101712_1268580839924586_667949490_n.jp

 

 

Glad to see the banner made it there. See my scrawl and a feel all googly inside. Thanks Vince

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