Last night, fellow P2-er/Albany denizen Jeff Sohn and I saw Wilco with Vic
Chesnutt at Pearl Street in Northampton, Mass. A couple of random drive-by
observations:
Some of Wilco's new pop songs are OK, but overall I wasn't impressed by the
new stuff. I can't see myself humming any of them in the shower, which is
my simplest criterion for a good, catchy pop tune. On the other hand, the
new material did seem to attract a younger crowd as compared to the last
time I saw them. Lots of college kids. Of course, Northampton is a college
town, but there's usually a wider range of ages at Pearl Street shows. I
was surprised by how many of the younger folks recognized the Uncle Tupelo
material. I wonder how well their records sell now as compared to when they
were together?
Maybe Tweedy's getting road burnout, but for most of the evening, he looked
like he'd rather be almost anywhere but onstage. I know life on tour can be
a drag, but am I expecting too much when I think a performer should at least
try to look like they're having a good time? He finally broke out of his
funk when he got pissed off at a couple of drunks in the front row. They
wanted him to speed up "New Madrid", so he deliberately slowed it down to
spite them. The rest of the audience got a kick out of it, and it was the
most engaged I'd seen Tweedy all evening.
So there's my off-the-cuff review. On Thursday, it's back to Northampton to
hear Kelly Willis with Bruce Robison at the Iron Horse. We'll be sending a
full Albany P2 delegation (Jeff, myself, Evan Cooper and assorted wives and
friends). Stay tuned...
