Wilco marks its 25th anniversary by making an artful racket at KC’s Midland theater
Exactly 25 years after Wilco made its public debut in St. Louis, the rock band played a remarkably menacing concert across the state in Kansas City.
An audience of about 2,500 at the Arvest Bank Theatre at the Midland on Sunday heard a very different version of the group perform just two of the songs played during its debut on Nov. 17, 1994. Rather than mellowing, Wilco is substantially meaner, noisier and more interesting than it was at its inception.
Only bandleader Jeff Tweedy and bassist John Stirratt remain in the band that arose from the ashes of the seminal alternative country group Uncle Tupelo. Wilco’s evolution from a bar band to an experimental ensemble is astonishing. During a perfunctory rendition of “Box Full of Letters,” one of two holdovers from the initial Wilco show on Sunday’s set list, the musicians resembled adults reluctantly reading a diary entry from their awkward teenage years.
Tweedy noted that “Wilco is not a nostalgic band.” Unlike many longstanding ensembles, Wilco doesn’t need to rely on common thematic gimmicks like recreating a beloved album in its entirety. Wilco’s current work is as vital as its back catalog. None of Wilco’s 11 studio albums are bad, but the misleadingly titled new release “Ode to Joy” is its most rewarding effort in more than a decade. Sunday’s set list included eight of the album’s 11 songs.
The riveting contributions of Nels Cline, the avant-garde guitarist who joined Wilco in 2004, made most of the new selections seem like old friends. Thrusting and parrying his instrument like a champion fencer, Cline dominated the evening. He transformed the depressive “Laminated Cat” into a confrontational jam, instigated an anarchic cacophony on “Via Chicago” that simulated an explosion in a fireworks factory and brought the audience to its feet with a monumental solo on “Impossible Germany.”
The audience’s vacillation between sitting and standing amused Tweedy. He noted that “there are some Wilco songs, that, well, it’d be good to have a chair.” The divergent blend of gentle ballads, fist-pumping anthems and barrages of noise kept fans off-balance throughout the 175-minute concert. Before taking his final bow, Tweedy joked that Wilco might perform in Kansas City for its 50th anniversary. While it’s impossible to predict what Wilco might sound like in 25 years, it’s safe to suggest that the music it might make in 2044 would be similarly extraordinary.
Set list
Bright Leaves; Before Us; Company in My Back; War on War; Handshake Drugs; At Least That’s What You Said; One and a Half Stars; Hummingbird; White Wooden Cross; Via Chicago; Bull Black Nova; Laminated Cat; Random Name Generator; Reservations; Impossible Germany; Jesus, Etc.; We Were Lucky; Love Is Everywhere (Beware); Dawned on Me; Box Full of Letters; Everyone Hides; I’m Always in Love; I’m the Man Who Loves You; Hold Me Anyway; Misunderstood; Too Far Apart; California Stars; The Late Greats; I’m a Wheel.