On the Road Again
Live Reviews:

Wilco
May 19, 1999
Palladium, Vancouver

"We haven't played a show in ten days,' said Wilco front-man Jeff Tweedy in apparent disbelief. 'You're lucky you're getting us....fresh."

Vancouver not only got a fresh Wilco; they got a show that will be remembered as one of the years' finest. Essentially a best of performance from their first two records, A.M. (1994) and Being There (1996), it saw Wilco bidding an apparent farewell to their country roots.

Their new illogically progressive album Summer Teeth, destined by Tweedy to feature zero country references, is a rock album that was deemed by critics as headed straight for fan alienationville. Instead of Wilco's signature country touchstone, fans got a voluminous rock show that trotted through a packed to the rafters set of essentially genius pop harmonics and lyrical heavyweights.

Tweedy, who was sarcastically energetic throughout, lit the way through 100 minutes of rock-o-plenty, sturdily anchored in by band mates Jay Bennett (guitar/keyboards), Ken Coomer drums) and John Stirrat (bass).

Even before the triple encore, the show's highlight came when a rather scruffy Tweedy stated, "This next song isn't about Fascism, it's a song about love. But I guess if you really think about it, you could say that love is a pretty fascist emotion."

With that he launched into the Woody Guthrie-penned "Hesitating Beauty" from the Mermaid Ave. sessions (recorded with Billy Bragg), followed by a soul-soaring performance of "California Stars." Then, displaying a gracefully symbolic changeover from old to new, Wilco churned out songs like "My Darling' — the lullaby ballad from their latest — with considerable amounts of unexpected country twang.

As the sold out audience was all but engulfed by the special atmospheric warmth reserved for Wilco's two key-note ballads — eveidenced by the stoner romantics of A.M.'s "I Must Be High" and the lazy dreaminess of "Box Full Of Letters" — they seemed unable to get enough.

Both songs can, and have, ended Wilco shows. Tonight, however, the house was metaphorically brought down by the hit-radio sound of "Outta Sight (Outta Mind)", a song that left the crowd hungry for a fourth encore. It was a good thing, because the roof might actually have caved in.