Wilco — 5 December 2024, Austin, TX (ACL Live at the Moody Theater) [Night 1 of 3]

[bböp]

Well, in terms of audacity and endurance, tonight might not quite have been the legendary "An Evening With..." Wilco run of March and April 2010 — when the band played a series of epic, extended shows that included a mid-set segue into and out of an acoustic run of songs — but it came pretty darned close. Kicking off a run of seven shows in which the stated goal was to take the "Winterlude" concerts that Jeff and his bandmates have performed in Chicago over the years on the road to some different places, the first of three nights in Austin featured two separate sets (and a short encore) that added up to more than 30 songs, including more than a few that the band doesn't break out very often anymore.

 

As Jeff noted pretty early on, I'm pretty sure that the two separate sets format was the first time that Wilco has ever done such a thing live. And in retrospect, it's kind of surprising that it hasn't because the way the band broke things up was very logical. The first set featured more of an acoustic, moody — no pun intended — vibe with Jeff not playing electric guitar at all (except for the bass on It's Just That Simple), while the second emphasized some of the more electric guitar-focused songs from the Wilco catalog (including Jeff on a rarely seen "Flying V" on Random Name Generator).

 

"We divided up the night into two sets, maybe for the first time ever," Jeff said of adding a 15-minute intermission between two halves of the show. "I don't know if we've ever done that, (so) it's a big night for us."

 

Given that it was Wilco's first show in just over six months, you might have expected the sextet to ease into things with an emphasis on more recent songs from Cousin and the freshly released Hot Sun Cool Shroud EP. But that would have to wait for another night, apparently, with exactly one song from Cousin played (Levee, which wasn't even one the band played very regularly while touring the album) and none from HSCS. No, Night 1 proved to be more of a show for the hardcore fans with plenty of deeper cuts sprinkled into the mix. Obviously Jeff and Co. had rehearsed — at least more than usual — and that resulted in some relatively unexpected song choices. Topping that list surely was You Satellite, a Star Wars fan favorite that hadn't been played live in eight and a half years and I'm almost certain never independent of a performance of the full album.

 

Another satisfying pairing came in the first set with the back-to-back performances of Hints and Country Disappeared — two of Jeff's most explicitly political songs — in Wilco's first show since Election Day. Jeff didn't make any comments on the subject, but I can't believe that those two songs making the setlist of the first show back was purely coincidental.

 

Amusingly, the only song that was kind of a train wreck was one of the few that Jeff said he and his bandmates hadn't really practiced: Hesitating Beauty. Of that tune, Jeff said he and the band figured, "Ah, we know this one," and when the song started, he said he started thinking, "Oh shit, I do know this." So of course he almost immediately botched the opening verse and proceeded to struggle his way through the rest of it. "That's a lesson to all of us," Jeff joked afterward. "Don't ever think you're doing great."

 

On the whole, everyone on stage seemed to be pretty relaxed and enjoying themselves in a good way. Jeff didn't wear any sort of jacket for the first time in a long time, and even unbuttoned his shirt during the encore (to reveal, I think, his trusty Big Bill Broonzy T-shirt underneath). Pat, meanwhile, had his well-regarded "winter beard" well underway. And it was certainly nice to hear John's voice on It's Just That Simple and on various harmonies throughout the show, smiling all the while.

 

From a banter standpoint, Jeff also had a little fun with his bandmates. After It's Just That Simple, Jeff mentioned that John "just turned 47" and followed it up with something about how they were going to lie about stuff like that from now on. A little later, before Box Full Of Letters, Jeff looked back at Glenn and quipped that the drummer "wanted me to let you know this (song) is from our first album and he wasn't on it." Jeff also mentioned in that stroll down to Banter Corner that there was an internal debate about what music to play in between sets and that he wanted to play the Chipmunks — presumably from Christmas With The Chipmunks? — but no one would agree on it. "I don't know whether they got cancelled, but I still like them," he said.

 

Banter was hardly the focus for Wilco's long-awaited return to the stage, however. In these sorts of multi-night runs with the promise of no repeated songs, whether a mini-residency in the same venue or at a festival such as Sky Blue Sky, the first night is always arguably the most interesting show because everything is theoretically on the table and then as the shows go on, it becomes a little easier to know what to expect based on what hasn't been played yet. It's kind of antithetical to the idea of each night being better than the previous one — the "second night is always better than the first" rule, if you will — but based on tonight, if Wilco can significantly improve upon that show we just saw, then we'll have quite a pair of performances to look forward to the next couple of evenings. Long live "An Evening With Wilco," amirite?

 

Here was the complete setlist, as played, for Night 1 in Austin (I didn't get a glimpse of a printed setlist, so can't say if there were any changes/omissions — though it seemed like there was at least one audible called to start the encore when the crew initially brought out an acoustic guitar for Jeff but then took it away):

 

Set 1

One Sunday Morning (Song For Jane Smiley's Boyfriend)

Company In My Back

Country Song Upside-Down

Shouldn't Be Ashamed

How To Fight Loneliness

I Am Trying To Break Your Heart>

Hints

Country Disappeared

Misunderstood

Far, Far Away

Bob Dylan's 49th Beard

It's Just That Simple

Secret Of The Sea

Hesitating Beauty

Bird Without A Tail/Base Of My Skull

 

Set 2

Hell Is Chrome

Panthers

Levee

You Satellite

You Are My Face

Pot Kettle Black

Box Full Of Letters

Random Name Generator

Side With The Seeds

Someone To Lose

I'm Always In Love

On And On And On

Theologians

I'm The Man Who Loves You

A Shot In The Arm

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

Too Far Apart

Casino Queen

[nalafej]

Wow. Love the ambitious night one. Wish I had been there.

 

Great recap.

 

Now making plans to see some of the shows.

 

The first show of the 2010 Evening With tour, in Miami, had a set break. I was there. It was weird and the band must have felt that way too at the time. Glad they figured it out. Long shows with a break for beverages and bathrooms and raving about bustouts is the way to go.

[worldrecordplayer]

You Satellite! You have to be kidding me. Damn. I requested this a million times for the Deep Cuts show at SS. Hope everyone dug it. 

[Magnetized]

Kinda makes sense to do the deep cuts set on a Thursday night, when many of the hardcore fans will have gotten to town early and will be thrilled to hear so many relative rarities. The “hits” can wait for the weekend shows. That was an amazing night!

[Albert Tatlock]

6 hours ago, bböp said:

amirite?

Do you mean these guys?

Bit of a curveball from you. Anyway. Ta.

[Texas Geo]

It was an awesome show, and Hints from Cruel Country really hit home given recent events.   I also was particularly moved by On and On and On in its latest incarnation.  The whole band seemed fresh and ready to rock the whole night.  We Austin-based Wilco fans are enthusiastically looking forward to the next two nights. 

 

 

[Brian F.]

That is quite a set list. Every album represented except Ode to Joy. More songs from A.M. than Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Songs from Cruel Country that aren't "I Am My Mother" and the title track. "Secret of the Sea," "Country Disappeared," "On and On and On." No "California Stars" or "Jesus, Etc." Love almost everything about it.

[TCP]

I wonder if they'll go for an even 100 songs across all three nights. 

[bböp]

8 hours ago, nalafej said:

Wow. Love the ambitious night one. Wish I had been there.

 

Great recap.

 

Now making plans to see some of the shows.

 

The first show of the 2010 Evening With tour, in Miami, had a set break. I was there. It was weird and the band must have felt that way too at the time. Glad they figured it out. Long shows with a break for beverages and bathrooms and raving about bustouts is the way to go.

 

Oh I was at that Miami show, too, and you're right about the set break. But I'm not sure it was intended that way, just that they hadn't figured out yet what they were doing. Haha. Anyway, I figured this setlist (and the prospect of more) might get you out of frigid Chicago. See ya in, uh, St. Paul? Lol.

 

5 hours ago, Albert Tatlock said:

Do you mean these guys?

Bit of a curveball from you. Anyway. Ta.

 

Yeah, exactly.