I had pretty much decided the Wilco concert was going to be amazing as soon as I heard the news that they were coming to play two shows in New Zealand. Not only do I remember their 2008 visit as being one of the best shows I’ve ever seen, but I’m always completely wowed by the beauty of the Civic – where Tuesday’s Auckland show was held.
I wasn’t disappointed. The richness of Wilco’s music matched perfectly with the richness of the decor and we were treated to a stunning performance. They played a great range of songs including several from their very early days. Of course, they were here to promote their latest album, Wilco (The Album), so they performed a good number of tracks from that album. I have to say I didn’t enjoy the concert as much as I did the 2008 one – not that that’s saying anything; as I said, it was one of the best I’ve seen – and I can put that down to not knowing their new music very well. I really felt for my friend, who barely knows two Wilco songs. It does make a difference, knowing the music and the lyrics. But she says she loved it, and I believe her – although I wouldn’t blame her for lying, because Wilco is Good Music and it can be intimidating to argue against that. Anyway I adore Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost is Born, know Sky Blue Sky reasonably well, but I’m not particularly fussed on their new album. Perhaps that’s because lead singer Jeff Tweedy isn’t miserable anymore, in which case I’m very happy for him.
I didn’t have much of a go at people-watching because we were running late, but the audience was a very varied lot. Quite a lot of plaid and/or denim-on-denim outfits on both hipsters and dad-rockers. I loved seeing the 15(ish)-year-old boy next to me really getting into the music just as much as the middle-aged ladies in front of me. Not many bands could pull such a varied audience. I thought it was funny reading the Herald review of the John Mayer concert, where it was mentioned that there were a lot of ‘I love you’s’ from ladies in the audience. At Wilco there were a lot of ‘I love you’s’ too, but they were all from men.
The highlight of the show for me was their rendition of ‘Reservations’, which is my favourite of their songs, and their quietest, as far as I know. Wilco love making noise and do it well – it’s melodic, not just a whole lot of clanking. However it did start to grate on me a wee bit, so perhaps that’s why ‘Reservations’ stood out so much. It was incredibly tender and beautiful.
Overall it was a wonderful show, clocking in at a good two-and-a-half hours. Even before that we’d had Justin Townes Earle and his awesome white suit and his awesome dance moves. I was harbouring an irrational grudge against him because of a childhood road trip to New Plymouth with nothing but Steve Earle, Justin’s dad, on the stereo, but he was great and I think I’m over it.
I have it from a pretty good source that Wilco will be back in a year or so. If they’re telling the truth, I urge you to head along. They’re incredibly talented and creative musicians, and what’s best is that they really don’t take themselves too seriously (as evidenced by Tweedy’s fail with the microphone-swinging). They seem to enjoy playing for the audience just as much as the audience enjoys seeing them play.
My Mixtape for the week:
Feist ‘My Moon My Man’ 
Wilco ‘Handshake Drugs’
Wilco ‘Reservations’
Donkeyboy ‘Ambitions’
Pendulum ‘Watercolour’
INXS ‘Don’t Change’
Hot Chip ‘And I Was a Boy From School’
