Wilco — 4 November 2019, Grand Rapids, MI (20 Monroe Live)

[bböp]

Through the magic of automotive transport (not to mention Eastern Standard Time), I am currently typing in the setlist for tonight's Wilco show whilst watching the band perform Love Is Everywhere (Beware) on Late Night With Seth Meyers...whoa. Mind blown.

 

Anyway, as for the show that happened in real time, I guess a Monday night in Grand Rapids wasn’t the worst place in the world to kick off this next leg of the Ode To Joy tour. It certainly wasn’t dull. Jeff even remarked of the quality of the crowd singalong to I’m Always In Love that it “was Wednesday night singing.” High praise, indeed.

 

Having taken a week off from their last show, Wilco showed they aren’t robots. What I mean by that is, even after a short break, Jeff and his bandmates usually require a show or two to get back up to full speed. So, for example, there was Jeff opening his mouth to sing the first notes of If I Ever Was A Child only to have an odd, squeaky sound come out, which in turn caused an amused look to come across his face. “I think my voice just changed” Jeff joked afterward. “I meant to do that because that song is about puberty, you know.”

 

Then there was Nels, who I can hardly believe I saw in a New York City club on Friday night playing a record release show for Cup — his excellent side project with wife Yuka C. Honda — and jamming with another group into the wee hours of Saturday morning and then, just over 40 hours later, being on a stage in Grand Rapids playing Wilco music again. You could hardly blame him for some minor mishaps, such as the one he experienced during his solo on Hummingbird when he hit a slightly wonky note that caused him to briefly shake his head and even Jeff to glance over.

 

I’m sure there were a few other subtle mishaps that I didn’t notice as well, but this is when professionalism isn’t a bad thing. Being a true (total?) pro, Nels came through with another beautiful solo on Impossible Germany and even added some unique lines that I can’t remember hearing. Certainly he could have phoned it in on that song during a Monday night show in a tertiary market and no one would have batted an eye, but he gave the crowd what really seemed like his best effort in that moment and really deserved the ovation he got.

 

As far as visits to Banter Corner, Jeff didn’t really pay too many over the course of the show. He did joke once again later on about his squeaky voice on If I Ever Was A Child and mentioned the week layoff. “I think we picked up right where we left off,” he said with a deadpan. And just before leaving the stage for the final time, he did mention, “We’re just down the road; we should come here more. Next time, bring a friend.”

 

In general, though, Jeff did seem to be having fun. He jogged in place at points during Random Name Generator, for instance. After the first verse of California Stars, he even stood directly in front of Glenn with his back to the audience for a few seconds and did a little private hip swaying for his favorite percussionist/foil. And of course, he delighted in the opportunity to draw out the “big riff” ending to Theologians, once again playing off Glenn to bring the song to a melodramatic close.

 

From a tour standpoint, I guess it’s worth noting that this show at 20 Monroe Live (a pretty solid, if blandly named, venue that featured general admission standing on the floor and a decent-sized balcony with reserved seating) did not feature the 3-D abstract art projections that have been a feature of some of the larger theater shows on this run. Also, Glenn’s bass drum head featured yet another different image than the ones he had in Europe in September and on the first leg of the North American run last month (the latter being the Ode To Joy album cover); the one he had last night featured an abstract grid image that looked almost homemade.

 

Jeff, meanwhile, must have shaved again since doing so prior to the previous weekend’s shows in Austin. He had done so, apparently, in preparation for an appearance with Mavis Staples at last week’s Obama Summit, but must have liked the change enough to shave again prior to the start of this next few weeks of touring. The lack of facial hair didn’t allow him to escape this show without one final flub, as he sang “You can’t hear ‘em on the radio” twice during the second verse of The Late Greats instead of “They never even played a show,” before shrugging and correcting himself mid-song.

 

As I mentioned earlier, Wilco are not robots. And we (or at least most of us) wouldn’t want them to be. It’s nice to see a show like this sometimes to be reminded of that. It was hardly a virtuoso performance, but the band and audience all seemed to be enjoying themselves despite that — or because of it.

 

Here was the setlist, as played (there were no changes from the printed list):

Bright Leaves
Before Us
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
War On War
One and a Half Stars
If I Ever Was A Child
Handshake Drugs
Hummingbird
White Wooden Cross
Via Chicago
How To Fight Loneliness
Laminated Cat (aka Not For The Season)
Random Name Generator
Reservations
We Were Lucky
Love Is Everywhere (Beware)
Impossible Germany
Jesus, etc.
Forget The Flowers
Box Full Of Letters
Everyone Hides
I'm Always In Love
Theologians
I'm The Man Who Loves You
Hold Me Anyway
Misunderstood
---------------------------------
California Stars
The Late Greats

[TimRoss]

I thought it was a great show! Second time bringing the whole family out. Looking forward to seeing them again tonight in Ann Arbor. 

 

Thanks (as always) for the setlist!

[uncool2pillow]

Did anyone see Deep Sea Diver open? I saw them Friday in Des Moines. I really enjoyed them. 

[jokin' dealer]

Did anyone see Deep Sea Diver open? I saw them Friday in Des Moines. I really enjoyed them. 

Yeah, I thought Deep Sea Diver were great.

 

I've lived in Grand Rapids for over 12 years and this was Wilco's 1st show here in that time.  I checked Wilcobase and it seems that there's only been one other Wilco show in town... back in April of 1999    (1 Jeff solo and Tweedy came through about 5 years ago, all 3 previous shows at Calvin College).  Grand Rapids didn't really have a 'size appropriate' venue in-town until recently.   20 Monroe Live is excellent.  Jeff commented on how good the audience was for a Monday night and how the band is "just down the road and they'll try and stop by more often", or something like that.  Nice not to have to drive to Kalamazoo, East Lansing, Ann Arbor/Detroit to see them.

[bböp]

Did anyone see Deep Sea Diver open? I saw them Friday in Des Moines. I really enjoyed them. 

 

People seem to dig them. They should be right up my alley, but they've never really done it for me for some reason. They definitely do all the things an indie band should, though. Like playing hard and seeming to care. Like paying attention to their stage presentation (i.e. the lit sign with their band name on it and their frontwoman standing atop it for her guitar hero moment). Like hanging out at the merch table afterward. I'm sure they're very nice. It's just that none of their songs really grab me.

[uncool2pillow]

People seem to dig them. They should be right up my alley, but they've never really done it for me for some reason. They definitely do all the things an indie band should, though. Like playing hard and seeming to care. Like paying attention to their stage presentation (i.e. the lit sign with their band name on it and their frontwoman standing atop it for her guitar hero moment). Like hanging out at the merch table afterward. I'm sure they're very nice. It's just that none of their songs really grab me.

At their gig in Des Moines, everyone in the band besides the singer "opened" as Meat Hair. They played some instrumental stuff. I'd never heard so much rock music clearly built around the drummer. I think that helped me get into their stuff a bit more. He is outstanding.

[wilcofarmstores]

sorry GR doesn't deserve them.  crowd was absolutely asleep Nels launched IG solo