I was offered an option of last minute ticket to a Wilco show at the Capitol Theater in Concord NH last night. I had heard some of Wilco’s songs and read rave things about the bands live shows, even seeing them referred to as “Americas Best Live Rock & Roll Act”.  So I accepted the offer to hang with some great friends, make some memories and see what this Wilco hoopla was all about.

The venue was the Capitol Theater in Concord NH, this is a typical old theater and was much smaller than I thought it would be, seating about 1200 people with a rear balcony shelf area.  Wilco took the stage and immediately began the onslaught and relentless attack to the senses. Many of the tunes I was familiar with as being slower acoustic mixes were picked up and re-invigorated. Wilcos method of playing is literally non-stop. At the end of one song Jeff Tweedy swings his guitar off , swings on a new one and they are off on another sonic escapade. After an hour or so they reconfigured the stage and went into a more acoustic mode, again all while never stopping a song. The conversion back to a normal stage was just as seamless. Impressively they played over three hours continuously. When Wilco did eventually stop and leave the stage the crowd called them back out and they did three more tunes.

Jeff Tweedy - Wilco

I certainly was baptized by Wilco’s performance and left the performance a solid born again fan. The lyrics, melodies, and song progressions really come alive in their live show, and the vocal or performance never seems pressed, it’s all genuine.  The crowd vibe in the hall was amazing, and I have to agree with with one spectator who exclaimed at one point it was like church. The entire audience was singing a tune for Wilco and dancing in place. Wilco maintains an up vibe and allows the introspective lyrics to come through. Wilco covers all the bases weaving many musical genres into there own unique sound and style.

So your asking.. Is Wilco the best rock act in America?   I will dodge and let you decide… My friends say every time they see Wilco they get even better.  If you get the opportunity to see them DO IT!   You won’t be disappointed.  They have a massive body of work If you want to hear some of the live cuts check out this link http://www.avclub.com/milwaukee/articles/five-places-to-download-free-wilco-shows,26544/

Wilco also streams live shows and podcasts off their website Wilcoworld.net on occasion and they do a lot of charity work for causes like sustainable farming , Haiti relief etc.  The tickets for the three hour plus “sold out” show were $35 and unheard of value and a testimony to the bands working class roots. More artist should follow Wilco’s lead.  BTW… Wilco stands for “will comply” in radio parlance, Jeff Tweedy the bands founder and front man thought it ironic to refer to a rock band as in this way.

I want to send out a special thanks to Marty, Jay and Mark for thinking of me… it was an Awesome time!