By Mike Frash //
Wilco //
The Greek Theatre – U.C. Berkeley
September 21st-22nd, 2012 //
Wilco made their second swing this year through the Bay Area, this time gracing the Greek Theatre Berkeley with their presence for two nights Friday and Saturday. As usual, they played balanced sets from their collection of eight albums. Many songs were repeated both nights, including “Impossible Germany,” which Nels Cline absolutely thrashed on lead guitar both nights.
Saturday was much more crowded than Friday night, even by Jeff Tweedy’s admission. Tweedy thanked the people who returned Saturday for “bringing their friends,” and he commented that there was much less weed being smoked Saturday, which picked up after he made the comment. About five songs later, Tweedy said that the “folks from last night would have liked this song” and promptly went into “I Must Be High”.
The Saturday show began with three tracks off Wilco’s newest album The Whole Love and started with the slow, drawn-out “One Sunday Morning”. The song set a uniquely bittersweet tone to the two-hour-and-15-minute show. “Art of Almost” followed, and it picked up the pace considerably. When it got to the seizure-inducing part of the song (watch the video above), not a person in the pit was moving. But that’s not to say the crowd of 30- to 50-year-olds weren’t along for the ride.
Two songs later, one of the night’s biggest highlights, “Misunderstood”, the entire crowd yelled the line “if you still like rock ‘n’ roll”, and this was screamed as if it were 1998. It was an endearing moment, though; group singalongs and indie rock don’t really go together much anymore.
The set ended on a strong note with “Shot in the Arm” and “On and On and On.” The eight-song encore Saturday night didn’t include many fan favorites, and the crowd was treated to more countrified tunes like “Christ for President” and “Dreamer in My Dreams.” The 11 p.m. curfew always comes quickly at the Greek, but most concertgoers probably needed to get home to relieve the babysitter, if they didn’t bring their kids to the show. Not that I blame them for bringing their children because Wilco truly delivers for every age group.
Setlist ~ September 22nd at Greek Theatre Berkeley
01 – One Sunday Morning (Song for Jane Smiley’s Boyfriend)
02 – Art of Almost
03 – I Might
04 – Misunderstood
05 – Company in My Back
06 – You Are My Face
07 – Impossible Germany
08 – Capitol City
09 – Born Alone
10 – Jesus, Etc.
11 – Say You Miss Me
12 – Nothing’severgonnastandinmyway(again)
13 – Whole Love
14 – I Must Be High
15 – Walken
16 – I’m the Man Who Loves You
17 – Dawned on Me
18 – Shot in the Arm
19 – On and On and On
Encore:
20 – Via Chicago
21 – Passenger Side
22 – Forget the Flowers
23 – Christ for President
24 – Monday
25 – Outtasite (Outta Mind)
26 – Kicking Television
27 – Dreamer in My Dreams
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