This past weekend was the big back-to-back concert extravaganza. Wilco on Friday followed by Beastie Boys on Saturday. The type of weekend us music geeks dream of. Two bands known for their stellar performances. Both shows at Berkeley's legendary Greek Theatre. And Airbag Radio was there to take in every minute of it.
In this post we have included a review of the Wilco's performance, to be followed by Beastie Boys in a separate issue.
Let's start by pointing out that these six guys can play. Wilco masks their deadly accuracy in deceptively loose delivery but when they turn it on its apparent how tight the band really is. That night's performances of "Shake It Off" and "Hate It Here" demonstrated their perfect live skills.
Frontman, Jeff Tweedy, was not only a killer bandleader and singer (even better live than on record) but also an entertaining spokesman, conversing with the crowd between songs on various topics, including phrases not to use e.g. "I loves me some..."
Lead guitar player, Nels Cline, was certainly the stand-out musician of the band. His style comes off as a hybrid of John Frusciante (of the Chili Peppers) and Tom Morello (of Rage). With a little slide guitar in there to mix it up. He really belongs on the list of best guitar players of our time. Drummer, Glenn Kotche was equally impressive but had less opportunities in the set to wow the crowd.
Show highlights included "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart," "Impossible Germany," "Hate It Here," "Jesus, Etc." and "Sky Blue Sky." Deeply missed were "Heavy Metal Drummer" and "What Light." (Maybe next time they come around.) And if they do come around again, you gotta be there. Even though they probably won't have this awesome of a poster next time.
Stay tuned for Part II of Weekend Extraordinare.
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