Wilco — 2 June 2025, Santiago, Chile (Teatro La Cupula)

[bböp]

I don’t know when — or even, if — Wilco will make it back to South America. I know these things often have to do with scheduling and economics, but it sort of pains me to think about how things could be different if it takes another near decade for the band to return to the continent the way it did since its previous visit in 2016. It’s tough to do in the moment, but that’s why it’s important to try and savor these unique sorts of experiences whenever we are fortunate enough to experience them.

 

So that was one thing going through my mind as I watched Jeff and Co. take the stage for the final show of their 2025 South American run, which was only comprised of four shows but which definitely felt longer because of the multiple off days between shows. Shortly after 9 p.m., all six members of Wilco emerged into the Teatro La Cupula — a unique circular venue located within the confines of the Parque O’Higgins that sort of reminded me of a planetarium — and proceeded to delight a crowd of about 1,000 for the next 2 hours and 13 minutes.

 

Near the end of that time, Jeff gave that audience a hint that it had almost witnessed an especially memorable show. In the encore, Jeff made a point to single out and thank the Wilcrew as he often does at the end of a tour. “I want to thank our crew,” Jeff said. “We’ve had some tough days. … As of 3 o’clock this afternoon, one of them was willing to play drums tonight. Thank God that didn’t happen. I’m just kidding, Ashwin. That would have been fun.” Jeff was referring to the band’s production manager, who also happens to be a talented drummer in his own right, and him sitting in would have made for a really singular spectacle.

 

(As it was, Ashwin came out and quickly gave Glenn a big hug and Glenn managed to get through the show without really letting on that anything had been wrong. A little birdie later told me that he had suffered a bout of food poisoning that left him in pretty bad shape as of mid-afternoon.)

 

Despite the relative uncertainty about Glenn being able to perform, it didn’t keep the band from mixing up the setlist at least a little bit from the previous full-length shows in Uruguay and Argentina. We finally got Random Name Generator for the first time this year, for example, which had been on a recent setlist but not played. RNG might have been a request because beforehand Jeff pointed at a young woman in the front row and said, “All right, this is for Carolina.” And the enthusiastic Chilean crowd also got the Spiders (Kidsmoke) that the Argentine audience missed out on to close out the main set.

 

“You’ve been the best audience,” Jeff said prior to Spiders. “Can we stay with you? We want to live here.” And in the encore, he even admitted (in a moment of sincerity, without his usual ensuing punchline), “I’m starting to get sad; it’s almost over.”

 

Perhaps it was because it was the end of the tour or the challenging day the band had experienced, but Jeff, in particular, seemed to be a bit more irreverent than usual. Toward the end of the main set, during Hate It Here, he hit a particularly skronky note and looked around almost guiltily with a funny expression on his face. Both Hate and the subsequent Walken lived up to their lighthearted natures, and I suspect both were included in the set at least in part because of their audience appeal — the former with its call-and-response component and the latter because of South American audiences’ propensity for collectively singing along with guitar riffs.

 

In the encore, someone threw a baseball cap with a ‘W’ on it on stage. Jeff ascribed the W to being for Wilco, though to me it looked more like the W flag that is flown at Wrigley Field when the Chicago Cubs win (and has become a symbol for Cubs fans). Though the frontman briefly considered donning the cap and pleasing the crowd, eventually he opted to hang it on one of Glenn’s drum stands. “I’m not gonna put it on,” Jeff quipped, “because my hair looks amazing.”

 

What I’ll remember about this show, though, probably comes back to what I’ll remember about South American concerts in general — namely, the audience. It’s just the enthusiasm and gratitude, really. We take it for granted sometimes when we are able to see the artists and bands we like on a fairly regular basis, but when the opportunities are as rare (or rarer) than a blue moon, then that combined with the natural passion of people in this part of the world turns some shows into almost-religious experiences. I’m not sure if this one at the Teatro La Cupula quite reached that level, but I won’t forget the sheer excitement and expressions of joy I witnessed here anytime soon either.

 

Here was the complete setlist, as played, for Wilco's second-ever show in Chile (there were no changes/omissions from the printed setlist):

 

Company In My Back

Evicted

Handshake Drugs

If I Ever Was A Child

I Am Trying To Break Your Heart>

One Wing

Pot Kettle Black

You Are My Face>

Whole Love

Bird Without A Tail/Base Of My Skull

Box Full Of Letters

Annihilation

Hummingbird

Random Name Generator

Either Way

Impossible Germany

Jesus, etc.

Hate It Here

Walken

Spiders (Kidsmoke)

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California Stars

Falling Apart (Right Now)

I Got You (At The End Of The Century)

A Shot In The Arm

[Albert Tatlock]

(Viole)Ta (Parra)

[bböp]

1 hour ago, Albert Tatlock said:

(Viole)Ta (Parra)

Saw quite a few of her records down there. As well as Inti-Illimani.

 

Also ate quite a nice (cen)t(oll)a at the Mercado Central…