Author Archives: C. Gilcrease

PHOTOS: RICHIE DOWNS | When I purchased my Wilco tickets last year, I didn’t realize it would be the same night as Super Bowl Sunday. No matter, as Sunday night proved to be much better than any Coldplay/Moldplay/Beyoncé/Bruno Mars half time show. Wilco played their new album Star Wars in its entirety along with classics to a sold out audience. Even Tweedy commented, “Thank you for coming out on a national holiday. We are like Jews at a Chinese restaurant at Christmas. You are our people.”

Fittingly, the stage was set simply with flickering light strands which moved at times in tandem to the experimental sounds backing up the cohesive movements of the bands’ instruments. Guitarist Nels Cline performed several excellent solo pieces and drummer Glenn Kotche beat the crap out of the drums and provided enough sweat at the end of the show to fill an oak barrel.

The encore performances included several Wilco classics providing audience sing-a-longs, including a final number—perfect and exact—David Bowie’s “Space Oddity.” As for DAR Constitution Hall, the evening included a malodorous air akin to a backed-up gym bathroom—and worse, its acoustics are rather lackluster. The fact that Wilco’s performance overcame these obstacles only reinforces their talents as performers and musicians.

Read More »

PHOTOS: RICHIE DOWNS | Standing outside the Lincoln Theatre on a rainy Sunday evening, a crowd of forty-something women with a sprinkling of husbands and boyfriends populated the sidewalk waiting to see ’80s heartthrob Rick Springfield. His one man show (along with a laptop he calls his “Band in the Box”) consisted of personal stories about his life infused with music that in the ’80s had women between the ages of puberty and death swooning. He continues this tradition even today at age 65.

As a collection of photos appeared on a screen highlighting his career in both the music and acting worlds, Springfield began the show with his story of growing up in Australia and did a quick montage of chart hits—“I Get Excited” and “Affair of the Heart”—closing with the line “Why can’t I find a woman like that,” which geared the crowd up for what was to come.

Through his story telling, facts emerged from his life that people may or may not know—such as after being kicked out of high school, Springfield and his band were recruited to play for American soldiers in Vietnam where the locals afforded them steady supplies of pot. After playing a cover of “Oh Well” by Fleetwood Mac, he rolled into the first song from Working Class Dog, “Love is Alright Tonite” which everyone sang along to enthusiastically.

Read More »