Wilco & Old 97s
By: Sean Slone - ModernRock.com
Wilco and Old 97s are two bands normally associated with the alt-country genre that have branched out into pop territory with their latest releases.
During Wilco’s recent sold out show at Washington, DC’s Nightclub 9:30, singer Jeff Tweedy was amusingly acerbic as he flipped off a fan who yelled for a song by his former band, the seminal alt-country outfit Uncle Tupelo. "Hey, I like Uncle Tupelo more than you do," Tweedy scolded as the band launched into a three guitar, feedback-drenched version of "Misunderstood" from Wilco’s 1996 album Being There. He directed the lyric, "I know you’re just a mama’s boy, positively unemployed," at the fan. Though Tweedy later pulled out Uncle Tupelo’s "New Madrid" during the first of two encores, Wilco concentrated much of their set on their latest album Summerteeth, performing 12 of its 15 songs during their two hour, 27 song set. That album’s reference points seem to be the Beach Boys and even ELO.
Approximating the dense, keyboard-laden sound of Summerteeth’s songs proved to be a challenge for the band live. They got off to a slow start, opening with the dark imagery of "Via Chicago." "I dreamed about killing you again last night and it felt alright to me," a dour Tweedy sang. The cheerier "Candyfloss" followed, but it wasn’t until the third song, "Summer Teeth," that the band seemed to hit their stride. Highlights among the Summerteeth songs included the pretty "How to Fight Loneliness," the power pop "Nothing’severgonnastandinmyway (again)," and the dreamy Brian Wilson-meets-Pink Floyd lullaby "My Darling."
Guitarist Jay Bennett moved over to keyboards for several of the Summerteeth songs and proved to be an accomplished pianist on songs like "red-eyed & blue" from Being There. But the band still sounded strongest, and most comfortable, with Bennett supplying the power chords on "I Must Be High" from Wilco’s first album AM or exploding into Being There’s "outtasite (outta mind)" in the second encore.
Four songs from Mermaid Avenue, last year’s collection of Woody Guthrie songs recorded with Billy Bragg, were also strong, with Bennett adding tasty guitar licks to "Christ for President." A terrific version of "California Stars" concluded the first encore. The band is working on a follow up collaboration with Bragg for release next year.
The show threatened to get a bit sloppy towards the end as the band brought audience members up to play drums, guitar and keyboards during "Casino Queen." But they righted the ship quickly, concluding the show with a version of "Kingpin" that morphed into Mermaid Avenue’s "Hoodoo Voodoo," a crowd favorite.
Old 97s’ forty-five minute opening set showed they have by no means deserted the sound that identified them with the alt-country movement. Philip Peeples’ galloping drumbeats, Ken Bethea’s unusual "strangled" guitar sound, singer Rhett Miller’s engaging energy, and bassist Murry Hammond’s solid harmonies were all there. The band showed its debt to traditional music with a cover of Bill Monroe’s "My Sweet Blue-Eyed Darlin’," which was on their Wreck Your Life album. They ventured into poppier sounds on "Murder (Or A Heart Attack)" from their latest Fight Songs. But revved-up versions of older songs like "Doreen" and "Timebomb" were the highlights of their set.
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