Wilco, The Concert

Wilco, the fans

This summer, we have tickets for three shows - something that hasn't happened since before Rebecca was born. Greg and I trekked out to Lowell last night to see show #2, Wilco, with Eric and Sara Treem and my brother, Kenny. This has to be about my tenth Wilco show, and lets just say they've really broadened my horizons with some of their opening acts. Last night's opening band, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, was by far the best one (despite some of the band members appearing, um, well, let's just say it looked like they had themselves some fun before the show?). Greg and Kenny were both familiar with Oberst's work with his other band, Bright Eyes, which they said is awesome. This performance was good enough that it made me want to purchase his new Mystic Valley Band album, and also get a hold of some Bright Eyes tracks. For an interesting look at the beginning of this band, check out this free documentary.

Under an ominous sky, the crew quickly changed up the stage and front man Jeff Tweedy led out Wilco, opening with their new song, 'Wilco, the Song'. The rest of the show was a thoroughly enjoyable (albeit slightly shortened) mix of old and new. Unfortunately, right about the time they were getting ready to start the encore, it started down pouring. If you've ever seen Wilco, you probably know they love the encore, but this time it wasn't meant to be. I was willing to stick it out, and even donned my Mom's bright blue raincoat (I've been borrowing this for the past five years - thanks Mom!). Although a canopy covered the band, the wind was blowing the rain all over them and their instruments were getting soaked. So that was it, just one song for the encore and then they had to go. Probably for the best since I threw out my back the night before, and had been standing for five hours straight at that point. I held up pretty good, but by the end I was really starting to feel it. Want to see someone who wasn't experiencing much pain last night? This guy:

That's Taylor Hollingsworth (I think) of the Mystic Valley Band, with some pans to Conor Oberst. Despite appearing somewhat incapacitated, Taylor's guitar playing was fine (according to Greg, who would know - his exact words: "That guy was jamming out"). I must be getting old or motherhood must be taking over, since I mostly felt concern for his health. Go figure.

Note: This show was Saturday, July 11 and this post was written Sunday. I tried to upload the video to blogger to for two days and finally gave up this morning and uploaded to YouTube.