A Night at the Opera (With Wilco)
The Chicago vets bring the heat on their Cruel Country Tour
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I’ve been a massive Wilco-head for over two decades at this point, but the band is on such an elevated level right now while rolling through their Cruel Country Tour that I was caught off guard by how much I needed to see them last night.
One of the most influential groups in my lifelong musical journey, my interest has sometimes waned with their past few records. While I enjoy this summer’s double alt-country album Cruel Country which finds the band back in their early days, formed out of the ashes of Uncle Tupelo, I found it to be a bit long. Then again, sometimes you just need to see the new stuff live, and that was most definitely the case last night while the group tore through a 24-song setlist at the Santa Fe Opera.
Not only do the Cruel Country songs sound phenomenal out on the road, but this particular tour includes a good amount of songs from A Ghost is Born, which I’ve suspected is my favorite Wilco album since it came out in 2004. Last night’s show confirmed it. “Handshake Drugs” is a great opener, bringing the crowd in with something familiar before launching into the new stuff. “Company in My Back” and “Hummingbird” were also phenomenal. Still, closing out the set with “Spiders (Kidsmoke)” is just something you gotta see to believe (and congrats to the guy behind me who kept yelling “SPIDERS!”).
It’s been since, let me check, oh god, 2005 since I last saw Wilco, at a memorable night at Red Rocks with The Roots. As great as that show was, there’s a rejuvenated air with the band at the moment. With Jeff Tweedy and most of the band now in their mid-50s, there’s no reason for these fellas to be grooving as hard as they are right now. Toss out any sleepy notions from their past decade of albums, though, and there is nonstop heartfelt comradery. It was nothing short of uplifting to see drummer Glenn Kotche and bassist John Stirratt genuinely laugh and smile at each other through a lot of the set. Even with the lineup changes, consistent since the early aughts, it shouldn’t look this easy for a band that’s been together for almost thirty years to enjoy playing together so much.
The night’s biggest surprise was one of the best encores I’ve ever seen. Red Rocks may have had an appearance from Margo Price the night before, but Santa Fe resident and outlaw country legend Terry Allen came out to perform his signature tune in “Amarillo Highway” and “The Death of the Last Stripper,” a newer offering from the icon who is pushing into his eighth decade. Allen manned the keys and sang with great might, and everyone in the house could see Jeff Tweedy was on cloud nine in the process.
One of those reaffirmations of the power of live music, Wilco at the Santa Fe Opera, was one for the books. If you have the chance, do not miss out on seeing the Cruel Country Tour, as it’s truly a special snapshot in the storied career of one of indie music’s great bands.
Enjoy the weekend, and give Terry Allen’s Lubbock (On Everything) a spin while you’re at it.
