WILCO + The M's @ Metropolis

By Alex Huynh - Losing My Edge - 07/10/2006

Making their seemingly annual June visit to Montreal, Wilco stepped up to a feverish and slightly bro-tastic audience and after the two first songs, I had this review all written up. Kicking off with "The Late Greats", they seemed in great spirits but there was something too perfect in their rendition. I had maintained after last year's show that we will look back at their A Ghost Is Born tour (yeah, which one?) as their peak, as after years of well-documented turmoil inside and outside of the band, the addition of multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone and of course, guitarist/fuckin' genius Nels Cline seemed to have revitalize Wilco and Jeff Tweedy in particular. While the two new members didn't work on the album, they had fleshed out AGIB to a point where it wouldn't be so wild to call Wilco the best touring act on the medium-size venue circuit. Well, on this night, something just didn't seem to kick in. Following the opener, "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart" was decent, but given the musicianship assembled on stage, they could shit out "decent" in their sleep -- a state I was rapidly approaching myself.

Then it happened. "Hell Is Chrome" was simply arresting, like a poisonous dart right through the heart. It was as though time stood still, as Tweedy's presence was felt for the first time and when Cline's solo kicked in, Wilco was finally in the building and my mental review was trashed. Continuing with "Handshake Drugs" and a monstrous and crowd-pleasing version of Summerteeth's "A Shot In The Arm" (where drummer Glenn Kotche slightly inched out his bandmates for the song's MVP), the band was hitting on all cylinders and delivering a beautiful performance. Half of the set consisted of AGIB songs, not surprising as it was during those moments where you saw what Tweedy calls the defining Wilco lineup really come out. You really felt then that they loved playing together and it wasn't just Jeff Tweedy's backing band.

Yet, it was difficult to ignore the fact that the setlist was nearly identical to the last few times they came to Montreal. Only a handful of new songs were unveiled, though I suppose that is hardly a common complaint. There also seemed to be a slight evolution to the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot songs, a "let the good times roll"-ification, if you will. Songs like "Jesus Etc." and especially "War On War", desolate and heartfelt on the album, were rollicking and fun here. This is not a complaint, however, because the studio recordings reflected the band's (and their nation's) situation at that point in time and here we are, four years later, Wilco emerging as triumphant survivors -- their nation, not so much -- so the current versions reflect their outlook today. It was like they had to reinvent the YHF songs to get away from their 2002 selves and again, it is obvious that Wilco is in a much happier and saner place these days.

Perhaps that contributed to what I felt was a certain confidence -- bordering on cockiness -- in their performance. Whereas the two previous Montreal shows had the band experimenting with the AGIB tracks with the aforementioned addition of Sansone and Cline (though never tentatively, one has to add), they were now sure of the places they wanted to go and were nailing the songs with almost clinical precision. Whether this enhanced or detracted from the show is debatable and certainly a subjective matter. However, even without the element of surprise or fresh perspective, one can't help but be moved by moments like the solo kicking in at the start of "At Least That's What You Said" or the genuinely good vibes of the set closer "Hummingbird".

To their credit, the encores mixed things up a little bit, showcasing the folkier side of Wilco, some Being There tracks ("Forget The Flowers", "Kingpin", "Monday") and the already good-times of YHF's "Heavy Metal Drummer" and "I'm The Man Who Loves You". So all things considered, Montreal got a relatively diverse performance from the present incarnation of the band and while nothing absolutely new was unveiled, they still preserve the title of the best touring act on the medium-size venue circuit.

A little word on fellow Chicagoans and openers The M's: while I still think that they lack a bit in the songwriting department, their performance grew on me just like their album Future Women did. They sounded great despite the initially cavernous Metropolis -- I thought it was background music being played on the house speakers and not a live band when I stepped in. The Elephant 6 element was downplayed live -- I didn't see any xylophones! -- but the four-piece were rockier and had great harmonizing, as pointed out by an idle mind. Worth a few listens, because just one might not do.

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