Wilco @ Ryman Auditorium, Nashville

Unbelievable Show. Best of any concert I’ve been to. Period.
The Ryman. Seven rows back. Wilco. F*ck yeah.

Sometimes lady luck shines on you. Whenever I travel, I always check for shows in the area, and as soon as I knew I was going to Nashville for a conference, I started checking and snagged a ticket right away.

Saved by Rock and Roll…
Story and photos from: Nashville Scene:

Sometimes we lament the fact that we weren’t born earlier, so that we could have experienced the great rock acts of the ’60s in their prime. What was it like to see Jefferson Airplane at the Fillmore or Bob Dylan at Royal Albert Hall? Sadly, we will never know, though we imagine WILCO’s Saint Patrick’s Day performance at the Ryman must be what the heyday of rock felt like—assuming everyone in the ’60s wore green shirts and drank a lot of beer.

Wilco may be indie darlings, but their live performances are pure rock ’n’ roll, clean and simple. JEFF TWEEDY brought out the guitar solos in full-force, but instead of wandering aimlessly into mediocre jam band territory, he kept the solos tight and compelling, proving that he’s more than just a gifted lyricist. We always wondered how the instrumental melee in “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” was created, and now we know—PAT SANSONE pounded on a keyboard with his fists, then picked up his tambourine and dropped it on the floor.

During the set, Tweedy limited the between-song banter to an observation that “playing here is really fun,” and a subsequent self-deprecating remark about his ineloquence. But in the first of two encores, he opened up and explained to the drunken St. Patrick’s Day throng that the world was miserable and they needed to scream during “Kingpin” to help “move energy around the world”—and the crowd happily obliged.

Then something happened that our kids can fantasize about having been alive to witness: Tweedy came out to the front of the stage with his acoustic guitar, asked everyone to be real quiet and played a solo version of Uncle Tupelo-era “Acuff-Rose” without any microphones, letting the exquisite acoustics of the Ryman carry his words out to the awestruck multitudes. “Early in the morning, sometimes late at night, sometimes I get the feeling that everything’s alright….”

WILCO SETLIST

Sunken Treasure

Remember the Mountain Bed  

Airline to Heaven  

At My Window Sad and Lonely  

Forget the Flowers

When the Roses Bloom Again

California Stars  

Muzzle of Bees

Hell Is Chrome

Spiders (Kidsmoke)

Jesus, Etc.

Walken

Handshake Drugs

I Am Trying to Break Your Heart

A Shot in the Arm

At Least That's What You Said

The Late Greats

Hummingbird

Either Way

Theologians

I'm the Man Who Loves You

Kingpin

Passenger Side

War on War

Acuff-Rose (Uncle Tupelo)