Wilco rocks out for a wet crowd
Graeme McRanor
Special To The Sun
Wilco
With Default and Califone When: Saturday Night
Where: LiveCity Yaletown (David Lam Park)
If you’re keen on attending any of the LiveCity evening concerts during the Winter Games, the rule, however redundant, is simple: Get there early.
A colossal lineup to get into the Yaletown venue snaked around the block Saturday night as thousands of folks dutifully shuffled one by one through 10 airport-style metal detectors before being searched by security guards toting hand-held metal wands.
Reportedly, though, the line moved reasonably quickly considering its imposing length, but the already wet Lead singer Tim Rutili, clad in a parka, scarf and toque with earflaps, occasionally channels the onstage demeanour of former Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. Jennifer Heil’s silver medal in women’s moguls, polite cheers and chants for Wilco indicated the crowd had waited long enough.
Rain fell faster as Wilco took the stage, fronted by a shaggy-haired, scraggly-bearded Jeff Tweedy.
Fittingly, the band opened its lengthy set (more than 90 minutes) with Wilco (the song), from their latest, self-titled album.
The boys then bridged into I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, from their highly acclaimed album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, a song that culminated in a sustained instrumental melee that, to be frank, didn’t sound very good.
In fact, during the first quarter of its set, the band sounded mediocre.
But things seemed to improve during a couple of the band’s slower-paced, more melodic songs and continued to pick up right through to the end of what turned out to be a fairly solid set and a nice cross-section of the group’s material.
Don’t get me wrong: These guys are all great musicians. I just occasionally (especially earlier) found myself thinking that things were getting a bit clangy.
I tried moving around to various points in the venue and, sure enough, there were some weird spots for sound, particularly near the front of stage right near the Coke pavilion, where there was a noticeable echo. This probably explains the sound’s occasional jaunts into mash land. That said, Tweedy and his mates looked like they were genuinely enjoying themselves onstage, and the crowd, in spite of the rain, certainly seemed to appreciate the band’s efforts.
Now, if only the weather would try to cooperate.
Source: www.vancouversun.com
