Wilco

I think my entry into heaven is getting better these days. We took our kids to 6 Flags on Sunday and last night I went to see Wilco with my husband at Irving Plaza, his favorite band of the moment. Last time I was at Irving Plaza was to see Lauryn Hill give a concert for inner city kids that Mouse, the non-profit that I chaired, perform.

Wilco was fantastic. I admit, I am a huge fan too. But, I am either getting older or shorter. The warm-up band did not come on until 9:15ish so Wilco wasn’t going to come on until about 10:30. Yikes. Way past my normal bedtime. But, I persevered. We found a place in the corner where I could basically see the stage instead of a bunch of nodding heads. So, that was a bonus.

A few things about this concert were great. We had missed the day to buy the tickets, so we found a seller on Ebay. We hooked up with her right before the concert and went in with her group. The security is pretty tight so you must go in to pick up your ticket and then once you do that, no leaving. Once you leave, you can not return. A bit of a bummer because we could have come back around 10ish but c’est la. The other thing is that Wilco’s new album, A Ghost is Born, is not coming out for 2 more weeks but the majority of the audience knew the songs already because they have been streamed over the Internet for a few months already. My husband had downloaded Wilco’s fourth concert of this tour over Bit Torrents which took about 20 hours but he was able to put that into his MP3 player in 20 minutes. So, we were listening to the music in advance. I will absolutely buy the album to support the band and I want the studio version. But, through the Internet, we pre-heard the music and got our tickets. Awesome.

Jeff Tweedy who is the lead singer and writer is incredibly talented. His voice is distinct and he plays the guitar like a true rocker. I am generally all about the sound. I took piano for years, taught guitar and played it too and don’t have the ability to hear the words and memorize them – although I wish I did, so the music is what moves me. I love the sound of Wilco. You can hear the influence of the Beatles and Neil Young.

If you have never heard their music, I strongly recommend the last 2 albums, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and Summerteeth. As I have been listening to A Ghost Is Born (the new album), I’d get that too!