Live Show Review: Wilco

Wilco
w/ Okkervil River
Greek Theatre
Berkeley, CA
6.2709



Two years in a row we have been willing participants in glorious evenings under the stars at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, CA. Last year, we watched My Morning Jacket level the amphitheater into a smoldering pile of amp buzz and reverb, and this year Wilco loved us with their mid-western brand of rock 'n roll and we loved them in return.

As they have done for much of this tour, the band strode onstage to the theme from The Price is Right before launching into "Wilco (the song)" off their new album. The song being a love-fest between the band and its fans got the show off to a big start and woke up the sun drenched crowd who had been baking in the afternoon sun for much of the past 90 minutes.

Songs on record that can be dirge-like sprang to life in the live setting: "At Least That's What You Said" off the A Ghost is Born album was played like it was custom built for an outdoor amphitheater, complete with the crowd erupting at the first blast of Crazy Horse style guitar chords. Guitarist Nels Cline tortured his guitars and amps, sqeezing every last ounce of feedback out of them possible.

Songs off the mellow Sky Blue Sky album also benefited from the live setting. The Floyd-ian "You Are My Face" synced perfectly with the setting sun and "Impossible Germany" allowed one of many guitar duels between Cline and keyboardist/guitarist Pat Sansone and ringleader Jeff Tweedy.

Tweedy's vocals sounded superb all night. Clearly enjoying the evening, Tweedy addressed the crowd often, checking on a fan who might have overindulged before the show and even blaming the Bay Area crowd for turning his son into a hippie just as his son walked out on stage in ahead-to-toe tie-dye outfit.

The crowd deserves props too. Everyone seemed into it and the balance of songs played by the band seemed to leave something for everyone's tastes. One thing that did leave us scratching our head were the amount of people sitting during the show. Not that this diminished the energy level in the crowd, but it's not often that you see a Saturday night rock show with people seated.

We must be getting old.

Live Review: My Morning Jacket

My Morning Jacket
Greek Theater
Berkeley, California
9.19.08

You know a band is special when they can control the weather.

Just prior to taking the stage, My Morning Jacket was able to convince Mother Nature to stop the rainy mist that had enveloped the Greek Theater in Berkeley for much of the past hour and allow the band to play a stunning 3 hour rock show for it's ever growing legion of fans.

Touring in support of 2008's fan-dividing Evil Urges album, My Morning Jacket ripped the studio sheen off the new songs and exposed each song's raw rock 'n roll nerve as well as treated fans to early-career gems like "Phone Went West" and "War Begun".

After an overture blast of loud feedback and crashing percussion, the band locked into the proggish reggae rhythm of"Evil Urges" followed by the electronic pulses of "Touch Me I'm Going to Scream Pt. 1". Like Radiohead did with the electronic leanings of Kid A, MMJ applied their manic stage energy to each electronic bleep and beat from songs off the new album, revealing a band that has added some new colors to their already colorful musical palette.

These new musical textures that began to appear on 2005's Z have taken full bloom in concert: Reggae, Prog, 80s R&B, and Psychedelia have joined MMJ's trademark brand of celestial southern rock to create the BIG rock show. Combined with an impressive light show, MMJ made a case for being one of the most ferocious live bands out on the road today.

Expertly controlling the pace of the show with a nice balance of rockers like "Aluminum Park" and "Off the Record" and drifty songs like "Librarian" and "Golden", My Morning Jacket took the Bay Area crowd on a rollercoaster ride through their musical discography.

Songs are now epic hurricanes of sound and emotion. "Smokin from Shootin" "Run Thru" and "Dondante" filled the amphitheater with swirls of guitar, piano and percussion. And the bass. The BASS. Like medievil cannons firing on the hillside, sub-sonic booms from bassist Two Tone Tomm rattled the concrete slabs of the Greek all night.

"The Bay Area looks like a glossy, misty Scottish battlefield." said lead singer Jim James, referring to the rainy mist from earlier. Through out the night, James often donned a black cape while singing his R&B inflected falsetto vocals on songs like "Wordless Chorus" and the electro-funk of "Highly Suspicious", before grabbing his Flying V guitar and ripping into a guitar shredding dual with fellow guitarist Carl Broemel.

The years on the road have transformed MMJ into a finely tuned musical engine. It's indescribable how effortless things appear to be when watching the band perform. Drummer Patrick Hallahan's Keith Moon like energy, keyboardist Bo Koster's electronic symphony of beats and sounds, Carol Bromemels saxophone and pedal steel flourishes on songs like "Dondante" and "Cobra" and Jim James control of his otherworldly vocal reverb are reasons why this band's following continues to grow while the music business falls further and further apart.

Ending with the one-two punch of "Anytime" and the epic "One Big Holiday", MMJ sent fans and new converts out into the streets of Berkeley with big wide grins and a beautiful ringing in the ears.

Ignore the mixed reactions to Evil Urges and get out there and see these guys live.


set list
evil urges
touch me pt 1
off the record
aluminum park
way that he sings
im amazed
wonderful man
sec walkin
war begun
dancefloors
thank you too
mahgeetah
golden
librarian
phone went west
gideon
dondante
smoking from shootin
touch me pt 2
run thru
---------
wordless chorus
highly suspicious
cobra
rollinback
laylow
anytime
one big holiday

Download a live recording of this show from Archive.org

Photos courtesy of MyMorningJacket.com