Philzone.org - Philzone Phansite Community Discussion Board: Setlists and Reviews: Non GD Related Reviews: Archive: WILCO :: Cincinnati OH :: 6.14.07

WILCO
Thursday – June 14, 2007
Aronoff Center – Cincinnati, OH

** disclaimer: I’m not familiar with all of their songs, so the titles may be a little off **

Shake It Off
You Are My Face
I’m Trying To Break Your Heart
Shot In The Arm
Side With The Seeds
Handshake Drugs
Impossible Germany
Sky Blue Sky
Pot Kettle Black
Searching For A Home Via Chicago (?)
You Have To Die If You Want To Be Alive (?)
Orbit
Walken
I’m The Man Who Loves You
Hummingbird
- - - - - - - - - -
Hate It Here
Poor Places
Spider
- - - - - - - - - -
What Light
Heavy Metal Drummer

Nice night, great weather, easy drive up to Cincinnati from my resting place in Louisville, KY. Pretty much set the mood for the evening. We arrived in plenty of time, saddled up to a couple drinks at the bar and waited for the opening band ( Low ) to finish their set before we found our seats.

The theater itself is located in the Aronoff Center for the Arts in Downtown Cincinnati and drenched in a very sterile vibe. No décor or fancy pictures, mirrors and interesting facades … pretty much just a straight up theater with an Orchestra floor, LOGE (where we were seated) and separated, above us – the Balcony. The staff was very courteous and we had no troubles getting in and getting situated.

Wilco came out approx. 8:45pm and without hesitation dropped right into SHAKE IT OFF. Excellent opener, tearing spaces and relaxing traces. Next up, YOU ARE MY FACE strolled into neatly pressed sheets. It had much more swagger live than on their latest album. At this point I noticed that the overall sound seemed fairly well dialed in, with the crispness and rich clarity I enjoy. I’M TRYING TO BREAK YOU HEART kicked the doors in, punched your sister and kissed your Dad. The feedback on the tail was enormous and had plenty of lift. SHOT IN THE ARM curtailed back around to massive openings and kept the place plenty ~ hot ~. After all this heat had melted any ice inside the theater, SIDE WITH THE SEEDS had us casting off on the vast oceans that were created. Gently searching and distracted all at once. Jeff Tweedy and Nels Cline were creating fantastic textures with this one and it made the transition to the heady boogie of HANDSHAKE DRUGS pop extra good. The creamy, caramel undertones made this a delicious path to wiggle a butt on. Another screamer-ending that bent the last fabric of identity and that also had no problem persuading us with the next selection, IMPOSSIBLE GERMANY. Steeped in a hypnotic jam, we were headed down to the valley floor absorbing a fresh perspective. Left to wander, the SKY BLUE SKY poked around to try and stay busy with Jeff Tweedy taking a fantastic solo on his acoustic during this adventure.

At this point, Jeff Tweedy talks to us about going way back and leads us into POT KETTLE BLACK. I’m not familiar with this one, but it kept the energy up and the cuts were sharp. Another unfamiliar one, SEARCHING FOR A HOME VIA CHICAGO (?) kept a more mello vibe with some seriously twisted, wrenching sections thru the choruses that strangled my freak and tweaked my wig a bit. After this, Jeff Tweedy talks to us about how they worked up a nice backdrop for the show. With a built up introduction he asks the crew to drop the thing and lo-and-behold … nothing happens. Puzzled, but unfazed Jeff explains it’s an Owl … and then Presto! Down drops the Owl. Hmmm … not a very impressive backdrop. Too funny to be taken seriously, the string of unfamiliar tunes continues with YOU HAVE TO DIE IF YOU WANT TO BE ALIVE (?). Hell if I remember what this thing did to me … I’m sure it was good, but the next treat, ORBIT really had me sailing and I enjoyed every drop of it. Pluckin’ the cover-alls and dancin’ 2-step, WALKEN busts outta the barn to a nice romp and rocks it’s way separating pastures and crop. I’M THE MAN WHO LOVES YOU at the moment, I’m sure … was killer but remains forgettable to me now. The set closer, HUMMINGBIRD blossomed back into colorful drift and had Jeff Tweedy without guitar, dancing and waving as he sang. Fully addicted to their return, we generously offered our happiness with what had been played so far.

The first encore started swinging right away with HATE IT HERE, another song that has a better live interpretation than the one on their latest album. Staring back into black, POOR PLACES kicked the can around a bit before dissolving into a spacious, exploratory SPIDERS. This rattled and trembled something fierce before the guardians of the gate. Leaving on a high note, they exited saturated with excitement.

Squeezing every minute before curfew, they return with WHAT LIGHT with it’s sing along tag on the end that had the audience clapping in sync and locked in tight. HEAVY METAL DRUMMER smashed the gates and left us free to ask happiness for a stamp that’s good for at least a week.

All and all, I left thrilled and amazed at how great the new material stacks up against some of the old favorites. Nels Cline is amazing at creating some jaw dropping, soul shaking moments. I would highly recommend seeing them if they’re near you – I’d be headed up to Indy tomorrow night for the show at the Murat if I didn’t have a good friend getting married tomorrow. Great stuff!

We tried to take some pics, some turned out crappy and others turned out super crappy. O'well - live and learn.

... we'll try this again for what it's worth ...

... followed by more crappy shots ... (gotta get a better camera obviously, Hmmm)




me and the Lady before and after show >>

Very nice!!

GREAT review, Wonka!! Thanks for sharing. Sounds like you had a real good time.

**** looks like this is the real setlist below ****

Shake It Off
You Are My Face
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
Shot In The Arm
Side With The Seeds
Handshake Drugs
Impossible Germany
Sky Blue Sky
Pot Kettle Black
Via Chicago
War On War
Jesus, etc.
Walken
I'm The Man Who Loves You
Hummingbird
---------------
Hate It Here
Poor Places-->
Spiders (Kidsmoke)
----------------------
What Light
Heavy Metal Drummer

Nice review Wonka--thanks a lot! I can't wait until the 26th when I'll be seeing Wilco at Hammerstein.

Can't wait for the Greek in August! Just too far off....

Man, the setlists over the past few years look like they forgot that the first two albums ever existed