Chicago’s Wilco are the archetypal musician’s musicians. They’re a hard working, endlessly-touring six piece who rarely play for less than two hours. They boast multi-instrumentalists, several guitar maestros and a lead singer who ticks all the boxes: gifted, tortured, fragile and flawed. Heck, even their drummer is ridiculously talented.
So, this evening, it’s no wonder that Sydney’s muso brigade is out in force. The audience is a sea of regulation-issue check shirts and includes several of our local alt-rock fraternity (Old Man River and Andy Kent among them). When the crowd is just as hip as the band themselves, nothing can go wrong. Right?
The first sign that something is slightly amiss comes when Liam Finn opens – the room is practically empty. Many punters aren’t just too cool for school, they’re too cool to even bother watching the support act (even a prodigiously skilful support act with 24 carat rock lineage). And Finn seems subdued tonight, by his standards. There’s less looping madness, there’s less of his own material, there’s less beard. There’s no drum kit and no EJ Barnes (until her late cameo on ‘Second Chance’). Three years after his marvellous solo album arrived, he’s treading water now.
Thankfully, everyone takes their seats before Wilco launch into their dazzling array of songs; each tune allowing different band members to shine. Played live, ‘Radio Cure’ has even more claustrophobic edge, thanks to Pat Sansone’s electronic wizardry. ‘You Are My Face’ is given added tenderness by John Stirrat’s gorgeous harmonies, and then extra groove by his bassline. Meanwhile, during ‘Impossible Germany’, Nels Cline receives spontaneous applause for his elaborate guitar solo.
But, strangely, that’s about as animated as the crowd gets until midway through the colossal ‘Spiders (Kidsmoke)’, when frontman Jeff Tweedy finally grumbles: “It’s been a long time since we’ve seen an audience sitting that still.” He has a point. Considering the room is full of Sydney’s movers and shakers, there isn’t much moving or shaking happening.
An awkward stand-off is only avoided when the crowd obligingly gets to their feet and, gradually, the room’s orbit turns around. By the end, there’s a mass singalong on ‘Jesus Etc’, a huge ovation for ‘Hate It Here’ and - during a belting encore of ‘The Late Greats’ and ‘I’m A Wheel’ - even the coolest of the cool kids are wigging out in the aisles.
By Andy McLean. Copyright held by author.
First published in The Brag, Sydney, 2010.
Wilco are touring the UK in September 2010.
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