Wilco, Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN - 10/01-02/2011

I'd had a good, long break from Wilco, and I kind of needed it. They remain one of my favorites, but their shows had become a bit rote for me by the time Wilco (The Album) had come out. I'd seen them get downright magical at the Ryman back in the mid-aughts, so I was feeling pretty excited for 2 straight nights.

Night one, we had friends in town and pre-partied at home with some grilled out goodness and a nice pinot (what typical Wilco yuppie scum fans we are). By the time we got to the venue, the Hatch Show prints were all sold out and Nick Lowe had started his set. We actually kind of hung out and skipped Mr. Lowe, which I know is sacrilege, but we needed a breather.

We were sitting midway up in the balcony for night one, and it was definitely the "angrier" of the 2 nights, with Tweedy not getting into a lot of banter and kind of rocking through and featuring a few of the darker recent numbers ("Poor Places," "Bull Black Nova") before giving way to a lot of uptempo older cuts from AM and Being There to round things out. Some moments off the new album, especially "One Sunday Morning," were absolutely enthralling, while some were a bit flat. "Jesus Etc." hit me particularly hard for some reason. It was good stuff, great at times, but did not seem to hit those crazy highs that they were reaching circa A Ghost Is Born.

NIGHT ONE:

One Sunday Morning (Song for Jane Smiley's Boyfriend)
Poor Places
Art Of Almost
I Might
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
One Wing
Bull Black Nova
Rising Red Lung
Impossible Germany
Shouldn't Be Ashamed
Handshake Drugs
Standing O
Jesus, Etc.
Born Alone
War On War
Dawned On Me
A Shot in the Arm

Encore:
Whole Love
36 Inches High (Nick Lowe cover) (with Nick Lowe)
I Love My Label (Nick Lowe cover) (with Nick Lowe)
Box Full Of Letters
Walken
I'm the Man Who Loves You
Monday
Outtasite (Outta Mind)

Night 2 found us in about the seventh row on the main floor (see photo was above), which was pretty killer. The setlist would appear to be much darker, but the mood was much more jovial and light. I'd never heard "Less Than You Think" played live before, and you'd think that "Black Moon," "Ashes of ...," and a mid-set "One Sunday Morning" would be major downers, but it was more of a mellow, laid back vibe. Nels played one of Gregg Allman's old Les Pauls for "Impossible Germany" (and killed it, I thought). "I'll Fight" reminded me of how mediocre that last album was.

I was hoping for a bit more variety between the two nights, but I've seen them so many times over so many years that my expectations are probably a bit off the chart. Similar to their recent recorded output, I'd say that this was a very solid outing though not one that was going to break your heart.

NIGHT TWO:

Less Than You Think
Art Of Almost
I Might
Black Moon
Ashes of American Flags
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
Pot Kettle Black
Born Alone
Side With The Seeds
One Sunday Morning (Song for Jane Smiley's Boyfriend)
I'll Fight
Impossible Germany
Open Mind
Handshake Drugs
Dawned On Me
A Shot in the Arm
Hummingbird

Encore:
Whole Love
36 Inches High (with Nick Lowe)
I Love My Label (with Nick Lowe)
California Stars
The Late Greats
Heavy Metal Drummer
Red-Eyed and Blue ->
I Got You (At the End of the Century)