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.
