Wilco came to town again for the third time this year, this time with Old 97s in tow. Just like in the spring when Wilco last headlined in Toronto, they played a club that becomes one of those trendy rave-type clubs at night. So Wilco played an early show (6 PM), then they chased all us rock fans out to make room for the hipsters. After the show in the spring, I had the opportunity to talk to some of the guys in the band. John Stirrat asked (tongue in cheek, obviously), "So, you sticking around for the rave?"
Old 97s headlined two shows at Toronto's Horseshoe Tavern in June, indicating they probably have a solid fan base here. Those shows likely earned them some new fans as well. Therefore, when they took the stage opening for Wilco, there was a fair amount of cheering and a good number people in the crowd seemed familiar with their tunes. And those who weren't couldn't help but bob their heads to the high-energy music!
The guys put on another great show. Rhett (lead singer) egged on the crowd by commenting, with a mischievous grin, that they were on stage at the Horseshoe here in Toronto when the Dallas Stars won the Stanley Cup. You're in hockey country now, pal --better watch your step! There were some good-natured grumbles from the Leaf fans in the audience, but it was all in good fun.
I found the show to be even higher-energy than what I've seen them do. Actually, maybe "edgier" is the better term. Rhett screamed more than I've seen him do and even though tempos were a touch slower on some tunes, there seemed to be an underlying aggression. The aggression was especially apparent on "Salome," "What We Talk About..." and "Timebomb."
Early in their set, Murry said something like "thanks y'all." The guy behind me said, "Did he just say 'y'all'?" He was incredulous. Duh - they're from Texas. That's how they talk, eh!
The band must be completely exhausted from constant touring over the last several months. My hat goes off to them for playing such a great show and really giving it their all, rather than going through the motions like you see some bands (maybe understandably, maybe not) do when they get road-weary.
Old 97s set list (written on the back of my subway transfer):
My embarrassing moment of the night: Between acts, the guy next to me turns and asks "Are you having a good time?!" real enthusiastically.
I answer "Yeah! They're awesome. How about you?" He looks at me with a confused look, then smiles and says, "No, do you HAVE THE TIME?" That's like when you run up to someone on the street and say hi, then realize it's not the person you thought. All you can do is laugh! Which I did, of course. And we ended up chatting for a while anyway.
Now, back to our show in progress....
I don't think the show sold out in advance, but they must've sold out at the door; the place was packed. Wilco has a tremendous following in Toronto. I've heard speculation that it's because of the ranking Being There got in NOW Magazine's (local alternative weekly) top ten list the year it came out. Not sure if it was #1, but it was prominent. Their show in the spring sold out well in advance and tickets were being scalped at $80 a pair.
The highlight of the show was the first song of the first encore: "Give Back The Key," which Tweedy dedicated to Doug Sahm who passed away two days prior to the show. The performance was truly was heartfelt. Tweedy then recounted a story from the Uncle Tupelo days when they played this song with Doug. He instructed them on how to sing a particular line: instead of "And let my love flow, like a river, straight into your heart dear" they must sing "And let my love flow, like a river, straight into your heart - dear." Jeff said "I'll never forget that. It was a valuable lesson."
The band delivered another very powerful performance on "Misunderstood." That's hands-down my favorite song to see them do live these days. The piano in the first part, all the guitars in the middle to the end, the feedback, the screaming, the building up, up, up, then crashing down to be very quiet and subdued. There are so many layers to their live performance of this song. And it was an interesting contrast to have them launch into the innocent "Hesitating Beauty" next.
During "She's A Jar," they realized they weren't getting sound from one of the keyboards. While they were operating on it, Jeff started strumming and they ended up doing a new song from the Woody Guthrie collection. The chorus was something like "I saw no wrong in you and you saw none in me." Jeff's comment after the song was something to the effect of "don't those lyrics just kick ass?"
"Passenger Side" was... interesting. Jeff ditched his guitar and mike stand and stood at the edge of the stage to sing to us. I fully expected him to stage dive, but he didn't. We still got a show, though. He wiggled his hips, then turned around and shook his ass for us. Then he ditched his jean jacket (which was quite a struggle), untucked his shirt to show us his tummy, rubbing it and everything. Oooo, baby! After the song he said, "We've been working out." Too funny. He did keep his shirt on, though!
During "Casino Queen," instead of doing dueling guitars, Tweedy announced a drum solo, saying, "I apologize in advance."
Ken moved aside for JP to take over, which was hilarious.
Any time JP is on stage is guaranteed to get a laugh! What a character.... Ken then did a solo too. Leroy moved one of the stools from behind the keyboards for Jay to take a load off and sit in rapt attention right in front of the drum kit. When they launched back into "Casino Queen," John came over and spun Jay on the stool, winding both of their cords around the stool. John extricated himself and his bass fairly effortlessly, but it was a fight for Jay. We didn't get to see JP do "Immigrant Song" (as he's done on several other shows on this tour), but the drum solo was priceless.
Wilco set list (written on the stub from my photo developing envelope thingy):
Encore 1
Encore 2
As expected, it was a great night of music in Toronto.
Last but not least, my customary Simpsons quote, this one from the classic "Homerpalooza" episode: "Nobody knows the band Grand Funk? The wild, shirtless lyrics of Mark Farner? The bong-rattling bass of Mel Shocker? The competent drum-work of Don Brewer?" (Homer).