Last Night Wilco @ Marymoor Park
posted by on August 22 at 0:10 AM
Wilco is one of the best performing rock bands on the planet.
Last night’s show was phenomenal. Sold-out, 5,000 people under a cool, clear (finally!) August evening sky. Marymoor is an ideal outdoor venue—get there early and there’s little traffic; you can bring in blankets and picnic coolers and relax in the grass before the show. Even at capacity the place felt roomy, and I could’ve walked right up to the front row if I wanted to. Could’ve been louder, but I was told by a park staffer that was the band’s choice, not the venue’s.
Wilco took the stage and started off without a word, band leader Jeff Tweedy diving gently into the intimate “Sunken Treasure.” After a song from Wilco’s latest, Sky Blue Sky, they went into “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart.” Whenever, wherever I hear it, that song kills me, and even in the photo pit, camera clicking away, I was stricken; it’s a painfully vulnerable, poetic ode to broken-down love, delivered with dramatic restraint. Nobody does true romance like Wilco.
Tweedy is an incisive, creative lyricist: From “Handshake Drugs” (“I was chewin’ gum for something to do”) to “A Shot in the Arm” (“The ashtray says we were up all night”) to “Jesus, Etc.” (“You were right about the stars: Each one is a setting sun”), he’s easy with simple, evocative imagery and the deeper themes it implies.
Every great rock band has its lead and it foil; in Wilco’s case, Nels Cline is the smoldering, outer-orbiting instrumentalist that counters Tweedy’s diamond-in-the-rough street corner troubadour. Throughout the night, Cline rocked some kind of 12-string electric, as well as a six-string and a lap steel. His chromatic solos on songs from Sky Blue Sky—“Side With the Seeds,” especially—were more eloquent here, more suited to the live setting than the record. He switches tones and moods unnoticed, until the crucial moment, when he suddenly falls in synch with the rest of the band. He carried “Impossible Germany” into bubbly, cozy ’70s rock territory, refreshed my appreciation for the jaunty, funky “Walken” from Sky Blue Sky, and blew “Via Chicago” into a space-shot frenzy.
That tune, delivered halfway through the set, was the theme song for the night, transplants in the crowd shouting out love for their home city as Tweedy strummed a solo acoustic guitar. Out of nowhere, the rest of the band came crashing in, seemingly playing a different song, metal to Tweedy’s velvet, and then fell silent again. Tweedy continued until the intrusion happened again, hilariously, before his quiet melody and the band’s erratic roar aligned into crescendo, making for one of the night’s most unexpectedly potent moments.
The audience was seemingly subdued, but as the night went on, it was clear that it wasn’t subdued but attentive, singing along at the appropriate moments, clapping on demand, cheering for solos and climaxes. The aforementioned “Jesus, Etc” has a wonderful chorus
Tall buildings shake
Voices escape
Singing sad, sad songs
Tuned to chords
Strummed down your cheeks
Bitter melodies
Turning your orbit around
that sounds especially sweet with 5,000 people singing it in unison.
Tweedy saved the banter til about halfway through the set. Once he started, he kept going. “George Bush is an asshole?” he asked, repeating something shouted at the stage. “The grass is green. You’re masters of the obvious.” Later, someone in the front row announced a recent marriage. “You got married this Sunday?” Tweedy said. “You got a long way to go.” Improvised or no, the band responded with “Hate It Here”
I try to stay busy
I do the dishes, I mow the lawn
I try to keep myself occupied
Even though I know you’re not coming home.
Notes towards the end of the show are spotty; the band finished abruptly before returning for a four-song encore. “What Light” is Tweedy in rare lyrical form, addressing the audience directly
If you feel like singing a song
And you want other people to sing along
Just sing what you feel
Don’t let anyone say it’s wrong
rather than a potential lover or narrating in first person. That song was the only one weakened by the live setting, missing the rock-gospel grandeur of the album version. Tweedy introduced “a friend of ours, a local guy,” and Seattle avant guitarist Bill Frisell emerged like he might’ve just shut down his computer and walked over from Redmond to innocuously strum chords for a couple songs.
They played two from Mermaid Avenue, the folky “Airline to Heaven” with Frisell, and the lovely “California Stars,” after his departure. Tweedy dropped the guitar for a minute to belt out “Hummingbird”—another damaged, melancholy love song, Wilco’s forte—to end the encore.
By this time the sky had completely darkened and a tilted cresent moon hovered off to the side of the stage. The night air was fresh, free of this weekend’s humidity, and Wilco’s music breezed crisp and rich from the stage. Now was not the time to be leaving Marymoor park. The crowd’s only wish: another encore, and the band granted it. They came back on and cranked out a smashing version of “Spiders (Kidsmoke),” a tune that explosively defines the powerful, masterful band that Wilco is. Tweedy asked for an extened clapping session and the crowd obliged, keeping time as the band faded out, one by one. The clapping continued, a capella, until Wilco came back heavy mid-beat with the song’s guitar-grinding crescendo. It was a cooperative move that elevated the whole set, the whole setting, with an off-the-cuff giddiness, and a beautiful way to end the night.
They didn’t play everything I wanted to hear (no “Heavy Metal Drummer,” no “Kamera”) but I was glad—I’ll see those songs next time. Wilco is a band I look forward to growing old with.
good post.
That Wilco show last night was just fantastic. What a great band.
Masterful.
Great band, and they were just so good last night. The one other great moment that really showed their unbelievable skill was the CD skipping thing they did in (I can't remember which song it was). I'm not the biggest Wilco fan - the new album's Don Henley / Glenn Frey love-child vocal stylings really don't work for me, and I'd prefer a whole night of Spiders (Kidsmoke) live, which was more punk than any band I've seen this year. But that show was really too good to miss. People who go to see bands playing way past their prime should be made to go see a band that's so incredibly in their stride.
I thought the sound was really good last night - better than anywhere I've heard in Seattle. I really hope people from Bumbershoot were there because there is no reason the sound should be shit with the excuse that it's outside. I was up front, and everything was crystal clear and perfectly mixed. Brilliant. I couldn't find my car after, but Marymor was a wonderful surprise. Nice venue, and I guess I don't hate everything about the eastside anymore.
Forgot three things. Really good post. You were spot on about Nels Cline who just blew me away. And the crowd were really nice and cool - attentive for sure and no BS - other than getting flipped off out on 520 by the tool who eventually parked next to me. They did have to be prodded to clap by again being shamed about the fact that Vancouver is a far cooler town. C'mon Seattle, this is embarassing.
I'm biased, of course, because that was one of the best shows I've ever seen. Long time Wilco fan, first time seeing them live. But jz, that's a great review; put it in the print edition, ya? A show of that magnitude by one of America's most unique and important bands (yes, totally in their prime) should be duly noted. Was also my first show at Marymoore, and I agree the sound was fantastic, as well as the venue in general. Beer prices were even reasonable! I'm pleased if that was in fact a sell out, because it was easy getting a place to set up a blanket, easy to move up closer to the stage, and back and forth. Gotta love a venue that doesn't over-sell its capacity.
Great review! I agree, Wilco is a band I look forward to getting old with. I was thinking that same thing towards the end of the show. I saw them in June at Bonnaroo and it was equally as good, but with more banter. I was hoping for "Heavy Metal Drummer" too... oh well.
For whatever its worth, I was standing right next to the soundboard for most of the show and found it to be louder when I went to the bathroom. My friend asked the sound guy to turn it up and he said that they were already over the decibel restriction for the park. I think they were worried about rain and put the speakers under the stage rather than hanging next to it.
Missed one of the highlights: the first song of the 2nd encore, Misunderstood. Amazing song, done amazingly well. (From what I recall, there were only two encores, not three....)
Overall a great show, great sound. I like Wilco's live show much better than their albums--Kicking Television, their live album, is their best.
One more thing - - The plastic Beer cups at Marymoor are made out of corn and are completely compostable!! It made me drink a lot of beer. More places need to do that. Make the cups out of corn, not make me drink more beer. That's not a problem
@3--what WAS that CD skipping thing? i thought i noticed that too, but then was like, nah, that wasnt what i thought it was. but if you heard it too that means i (probably) wasnt hallucinating. anybody else catch that blip in the matrix?
@7--youre right, there were two encores, though i guess in my head i was thinking of the second encore as, like, a third set or something. and yeah, "misunderstood" was teriffic.
@8--i didnt notice the compostability of the plastic cups at marymoor, but thanks for pointing it out. youre right, every venue should be doing that now.
JZ - I don't see a photo credit on any of these photos - did you take them yourself?? HUZZAHS!
the photos are all me, kelly. thanks for the props! i have a ton more, too.
Now that is a review! Beauty, JZ
Glad to read my fellow gushers. I went to this alone and so it helps to connect this way. It is amazing how rocking this band is and yet the fans are cerebral for the most part -- "attentive" someone wrote, which is true. I am so glad that Wilco is going strong especially since Elliott Smith offed himself I am so grateful for the uber-talented cats who get clean when they need to and STAY ALIVE to bring us more and more. I'm greedy for it. I've seen Wilco twice and Jeff Tweedy solo once and I must say this venue was fabulous. I was able to walk up to the front even though I arrived near the end of the opening band. I found that to be true of their show at the Paramount, too. Guess it's that cerebral thing again -- people like to watch them while seated, like rows of Rodin's "The Thinker." Alas, this thinker likes to shout and wave her arms at Wilco like she's waving for Jesus.
What a show! I was amazed at how relatively not crowded it was. I agree that they do not oversell the venue. But the best thing of all (other than Wilco's actually performance) was the sound. I'm not sure how much of that can be credited to the venue, and how much is Tweedy's perfectionism, but the sound was probably the best I've ever heard at a show. Flawless (other than the CD skip!) Great song selection. California Stars was prime, and ending with Spiders was a startling finish. Who else with end a final encore with a ten minutes song. I heard the venue requires a finish by 10. At the end of Spiders (and 23 songs), it was 9:59 We definitely got our money's worth.
California Stars (amazing rendition) With Bill Frisell - 1st encore
[IMG]http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1439/8704453/16119725/273650902.jpg[/IMG]
Misunderstood (2nd encore
[IMG]http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1439/8704453/16119725/273650905.jpg[/IMG]
I too was blown away by the quality of the PA and the sparseness of the crowd. Didn't wander out of the beer garden until Sunken Treasure started and ended up dead center about 10 meters in front of the board. Crystal clear sound and plenty of room.
And Nils Cline is a monster. I don't know about skipping CDs -- some of the stuff he pulls off with his magic pedal board is like a million confused bees riding CDs out of a nitrous tank. Maybe that was it . . .
Just to clarify, I was writing about that thing they did where they'd all play like one note and stop so that there was this staccato sound like a CD skipping - all of them in perfect timing. I was both stunned and thinking that it was a little precious and somebody should relax a little and just play. That said, they are the one band I've seen that didn't cover lack of polish with live exuberance. They were too good for that. The only band I've seen that really were so into the show that the music was a mess are And You Shall Know Us by the Trail of the Dead.
I'd like to third the praise for Marymor in not overselling. Arrived after the first song, but got a piece of grass up front to the side. Beer was $5.50 (compared to $8 last year at the Gorge), and parking was free (although I couldn't find my car after the show and was practically sober). Other than Ticketmaster, sweet deal all round, the sound was CD quality and I didn't have to slum it in the cowfield 'campground' in George.
jz, your photos are great. I'd like to share mine (and a few more than the two) as well, but they didn't show up. any advice? thanks.
and I was joking about the cd skip thing, it was cool. They are as tight as a band can get.
hey cme, how would you like to share them? i dont think you can post them here in the comments.
if you want, email them to me at jzwickel@thestranger.com and then i can add them to the post.
Excellent show one of the best live performances I've seen in 25 years of going to shows. The band was clearly having a great time and Nels Cline is a great addition to the mix. Anybody on the fence about Wilco must see them live before passing judgement. They are one of the best live bands I have heard and a big hand to the guys working the board as well. 40' back from stage in the center sounded awesome. It is so rare when there are six musicians onstage and you can hear all the nuances & atmosphere from each player. Louder? maybe just a hair would be nice but I am sure Marymoor has their restrictions & curfew. My only misgiving about the show is not hearing 'Thanks I Get' and Glenn Kotche (Drummer not really getting to showcase what a talented & interesting drummer he is. Great mix, great set, great band! Nice work Marymoor Park now I have something positive to say about the Eastside.
Tonight I will be posting my recording of Wilco from this show on the Traders Den. Wilco allows live recording that is freely traded, please share and enjoy! -Basshead
Basshead,
Looking forward to that. Thanks~!
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