Wilco — 30 August 2023, London, England, UK (O2 Kentish Town Forum)

[bböp]

The 30th of August 2023...this will be a day long remembered. It has seen the end of Kenobi, it will soon see the end of the Rebellion. Wait, that's not right. The 30th of August 2023...a date which will live in infamy. Yikes, nothing anywhere near that dire. The 30th of August 2023...another Wilco Wednesday, the band's first show in the British capital in more than four years and another pivot point as Jeff and his bandmates head into the home stretch of this current European tour. OK, I think we finally got it.

 

Oh, and it might also have been the 46th anniversary of the arrival on this mortal coil of a certain humble correspondent (but more on that later)...

 

Anyway, I always sort of forget that Wilco hadn't really toured in the UK behind Cruel Country until now with the exception of one scant festival date last year. I suppose that among the places the band has previously toured, Australia/New Zealand/Japan also has a valid gripe, but really, it's a bit hard to believe that with another record set to come out in a month's time, Cruel Country hadn’t gotten any more than a brief spotlight in probably the biggest market outside the US of A.

 

There are, of course, positives and negatives to having had to wait so long. On the plus side, I think the version of the peculiar and thrilling jam Bird Without A Tail/Base Of My Skull has never sounded better than now. It seems like Pat and Nels have really meshed their guitar parts, with Pat shining on lead, and Glenn's drumming has gone a new level, propelling the song along with it. In addition, Falling Apart (Right Now) as the anchor of the encore most nights has become a fun romp and a nice showcase for Pat with his B-Bender Telecaster. On the flip side, other fine Cruel Country numbers such as All Across The World, Hearts Hard To Find and Many Worlds have dropped off the setlist entirely on this run.

 

In London, we got a setlist that pretty closely mirrored one from a couple of days earlier in Utrecht with a reprise of the Hell Is Chrome opener as well as other relative rarities such as I'll Fight and Side With The Seeds. Impossible Germany was another highlight, with Nels really stretching out his solo to the delight of most of the audience. I'll always remember seeing IG in London circa 2009 and it being still fresh enough that you could feel the emotion swelling up inside you when the song reached its climax when Jeff and Pat's guitars rejoin the arrangement and the parts all fit together. Though I've heard it hundreds of times since then, I'm still awed by how Nels can take his part in a different direction every night and create something new. Afterward, as the crowd was giving him his due, Jeff looked over at him and quipped, "Exactly how it was written. You did really good."

 

Another highlight came in the encore when, as on Night 2 in Utrecht, support act Courtney Marie Andrews came back out and duetted with Jeff on You And I and then remained on stage for California Stars. Tonight, Andrews was joined not only by her bandmates Sean Mullins and Taylor Zachry on percussion — tambourines this time, in addition to the shakers they used in Utrecht — but also by surprise guest Macie Stewart of Finom and the Tweedy band. Stewart, who is about to kick off a short European tour in support of her excellent solo record Mouth Full Of Glass, and Andrews shared one microphone and joined forces for the second verse of the Woody Guthrie-penned crowd pleaser.

 

By the time Jeff managed to get the London audience to actually clap somewhat in time on the subsequent, show-closing Spiders (Kidsmoke) — though Glenn seemed somewhat dubious — and even sing the ba-ba-ba-ba-ba riff a couple of times, Wilco had shown that it could still deliver the rock 'n' roll goods. Even with Jeff struggling noticeably with his hip pain when he walked on and off stage and occasionally sneaking in a stretch or two, the band powered through and sent the audience home on a resounding note and right at the 11 p.m. curfew.

 

Banter Corner was a pretty lonely place on this evening, with Jeff saying next to nothing during the first half of the show except for a brief deadpanned comment after someone yelled out something or other: "This is the part of the show I enjoy, when I get to speak to some of you individually, one at a time." Before the start of the encore, he also joked about how when he and his bandmates returned to the stage, one of their crew members said to them, "I knew it." As Jeff replied jokingly, "That's how that works."

 

On a final note, I must say a sincere thank you to Jeff for the birthday gift he tossed my way after Hummingbird. Normally I wouldn't share that private gesture but since Jeff, of course, took a few seconds a little later in the set to point out that it was indeed my birthday and hang the usual "he's gone to more shows than we've played" identifier around my neck, I feel as if I can say a few words about it here. Jeff shared with the rest of the audience  — spoiler alert — that he had given me "the lamest present in the world. I gave him my (new) book." Then a few songs later, he qualified his statement by saying that the book wasn't out yet, so that was pretty cool. And Jeff added that he also signed it, which he said "makes it worth less. If you ever spot a copy of anything I've ever put out in the world and it's not signed, snag it." I'm more than happy to have it, signed or unsigned, and probably just as glad it didn't also come with any group singing of that birthday song. You know the one.

 

Here was the complete setlist, as played, in Kentish Town (I didn't get a glimpse at a printed setlist, so can't say if there were any changes/omissions):

 

Hell Is Chrome

Handshake Drugs

I Am My Mother

Cruel Country

I Am Trying To Break Your Heart

Kamera

I'll Fight

Side With The Seeds

Hummingbird

Bird Without A Tail/Base Of My Skull

Random Name Generator

Misunderstood

Evicted

Impossible Germany

Jesus, etc.

The Late Greats

Dawned On Me

Heavy Metal Drummer

A Shot In The Arm

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

Falling Apart (Right Now)

You And I (w/Courtney Marie Andrews on vocals)

California Stars (w/Courtney Marie Andrews and Macie Stewart on vocals and Sean Mullins and Taylor Zachry on percussion)

Spiders (Kidsmoke)

[Albert Tatlock]

Ta

Glad you made it after the recent flights nightmare. Maybe you got a ferry or used the Chunnel. 

For various reasons I was not there. Bad, bad fanboy. A double shame as it was your birthday then. I shall aim to make up for it on the rousing Cousin tour.

[jackpunch]

It really was a splendid evening. I even bumped into Ed O'Brien. I thought Jeff's vocals were excellent....as good as I've ever heard him.

 

Roll on Manchester.

[Plumplechook]

The Guardian weigh in with a 4 star review.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/aug/31/wilco-review-venerated-band-remain-startlingly-brilliant-alt-rock-greats

[kidsmoke]

16 hours ago, bböp said:

The 30th of August 2023...this will be a day long remembered. It has seen the end of Kenobi, it will soon see the end of the Rebellion. Wait, that's not right. The 30th of August 2023...a date which will live in infamy. Yikes, nothing anywhere near that dire. The 30th of August 2023...another Wilco Wednesday, the band's first show in the British capital in more than four years and another pivot point as Jeff and his bandmates head into the home stretch of this current European tour. OK, I think we finally got it.

 

Oh, and it might also have been the 46th anniversary of the arrival on this mortal coil of a certain humble correspondent (but more on that later)...

 

Anyway, I always sort of forget that Wilco hadn't really toured in the UK behind Cruel Country until now with the exception of one scant festival date last year. I suppose that among the places the band has previously toured, Australia/New Zealand/Japan also has a valid gripe, but really, it's a bit hard to believe that with another record set to come out in a month's time, Cruel Country hadn’t gotten any more than a brief spotlight in probably the biggest market outside the US of A.

 

There are, of course, positives and negatives to having had to wait so long. On the plus side, I think the version of the peculiar and thrilling jam Bird Without A Tail/Base Of My Skull has never sounded better than now. It seems like Pat and Nels have really meshed their guitar parts, with Pat shining on lead, and Glenn's drumming has gone a new level, propelling the song along with it. In addition, Falling Apart (Right Now) as the anchor of the encore most nights has become a fun romp and a nice showcase for Pat with his B-Bender Telecaster. On the flip side, other fine Cruel Country numbers such as All Across The World, Hearts Hard To Find and Many Worlds have dropped off the setlist entirely on this run.

 

In London, we got a setlist that pretty closely mirrored one from a couple of days earlier in Utrecht with a reprise of the Hell Is Chrome opener as well as other relative rarities such as I'll Fight and Side With The Seeds. Impossible Germany was another highlight, with Nels really stretching out his solo to the delight of most of the audience. I'll always remember seeing IG in London circa 2009 and it being still fresh enough that you could feel the emotion swelling up inside you when the song reached its climax when Jeff and Pat's guitars rejoin the arrangement and the parts all fit together. Though I've heard it hundreds of times since then, I'm still awed by how Nels can take his part in a different direction every night and create something new. Afterward, as the crowd was giving him his due, Jeff looked over at him and quipped, "Exactly how it was written. You did really good."

 

Another highlight came in the encore when, as on Night 2 in Utrecht, support act Courtney Marie Andrews came back out and duetted with Jeff on You And I and then remained on stage for California Stars. Tonight, Andrews was joined not only by her bandmates Sean Mullins and Taylor Zachry on percussion — tambourines this time, in addition to the shakers they used in Utrecht — but also by surprise guest Macie Stewart of Finom and the Tweedy band. Stewart, who is about to kick off a short European tour in support of her excellent solo record Mouth Full Of Glass, and Andrews shared one microphone and joined forces for the second verse of the Woody Guthrie-penned crowd pleaser.

 

By the time Jeff managed to get the London audience to actually clap somewhat in time on the subsequent, show-closing Spiders (Kidsmoke) — though Glenn seemed somewhat dubious — and even sing the ba-ba-ba-ba-ba riff a couple of times, Wilco had shown that it could still deliver the rock 'n' roll goods. Even with Jeff struggling noticeably with his hip pain when he walked on and off stage and occasionally sneaking in a stretch or two, the band powered through and sent the audience home on a resounding note and right at the 11 p.m. curfew.

 

Banter Corner was a pretty lonely place on this evening, with Jeff saying next to nothing during the first half of the show except for a brief deadpanned comment after someone yelled out something or other: "This is the part of the show I enjoy, when I get to speak to some of you individually, one at a time." Before the start of the encore, he also joked about how when he and his bandmates returned to the stage, one of their crew members said to them, "I knew it." As Jeff replied jokingly, "That's how that works."

 

On a final note, I must say a sincere thank you to Jeff for the birthday gift he tossed my way after Hummingbird. Normally I wouldn't share that private gesture but since Jeff, of course, took a few seconds a little later in the set to point out that it was indeed my birthday and hang the usual "he's gone to more shows than we've played" identifier around my neck, I feel as if I can say a few words about it here. Jeff shared with the rest of the audience  — spoiler alert — that he had given me "the lamest present in the world. I gave him my (new) book." Then a few songs later, he qualified his statement by saying that the book wasn't out yet, so that was pretty cool. And Jeff added that he also signed it, which he said "makes it worth less. If you ever spot a copy of anything I've ever put out in the world and it's not signed, snag it." I'm more than happy to have it, signed or unsigned, and probably just as glad it didn't also come with any group singing of that birthday song. You know the one.

 

Here was the complete setlist, as played, in Kentish Town (I didn't get a glimpse at a printed setlist, so can't say if there were any changes/omissions):

 

Hell Is Chrome

Handshake Drugs

I Am My Mother

Cruel Country

I Am Trying To Break Your Heart

Kamera

I'll Fight

Side With The Seeds

Hummingbird

Bird Without A Tail/Base Of My Skull

Random Name Generator

Misunderstood

Evicted

Impossible Germany

Jesus, etc.

The Late Greats

Dawned On Me

Heavy Metal Drummer

A Shot In The Arm

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

Falling Apart (Right Now)

You And I (w/Courtney Marie Andrews on vocals)

California Stars (w/Courtney Marie Andrews and Macie Stewart on vocals and Sean Mullins and Taylor Zachry on percussion)

Spiders (Kidsmoke)

 

Happy birthday, and thank you for a wonderful, detailed review.

I'm dying to read that book! ❤

[King oscar]

Happy birthday and thank you for the field reports!