Ah Wilco. I’ve got a lot of history – both musical and emotional – tied up in this band and it was great to see them back at Red Rocks after a bunch of years (I think the last time I saw them at Red Rocks was 2015 – Read about it here).
As the rainy afternoon turned into evening, it was beginning to look like this one might be a soakfest but, on our ride out to Red Rocks, the skies cleared and a magnificent rainbow appeared over Denver. By the time Margo Price hit the stage, it was windy, but there wasn’t a raindrop in site. Price and her band leaned into the wind with a set of hard driving Country that had many in the crowd on their feet. As she sang songs like “Been To The Mountain,” “Four Years of Chances,” and “All American Made” her dress billowed in the wind and her hair swirled around her face. It certainly added to the ambiance of the night and set the stage well for Wilco.
During the stage changeover, I caught a glimpse of the stage crew try to hang the backdrop that Wilco has been using on this tour. I say “a glimpse” because I think it took them all of about 2 minutes to realize that there was simply no way they were going to get that giant piece of fabric up in the air without 1) it shredding or 2) all of us sailing right off the mountain and into downtown Denver. Needless to say they abandoned the effort and soon Jeff Tweedy and company took the stage.
“Handshake Drugs” was a welcome opener and had the crowd singing along with the Ghost Is Born gem from the get go. The band then turned their focus to their great new record, Cruel Country – an album that got a lot of attention over the course of the evening – and served up “I Am My Mother” alongside the title track. Both were very well received by the faithful and no doubt sent many people scurrying to pick up the album.
As the wind continued to whip through the crowd and across the stage, the band featured “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart” and “War on War” from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (order your 20th Anniversary edition here) and the lone track of the evening from Schmilco, “If I Ever Was A Child.” “Via Chicago” is a song that has always held a special place for me. I remember hearing that song way back in 2007 or so with my now wife and as they finished the cacophonous breakdown that I now love so much, I said “woah, did they just totally lose track of the song?” She smiled and said “nope, that’s how it goes!” I was dumbfounded, and still am, every time they play the tune. It just shows how much control they have over this song and themselves as a band. (Listen Here!)
Jeff and the band revisited Ghost Is Born for “Hummingbird” and another favorite of mine “At Least That’s What You Said.” They mined Sky Blue Sky only once but came up with the masterpiece of a tune that is “Impossible Germany.” The lyrics to that song always spawns goosebumps, but it’s really Nels Cline’s solo that makes that song something truly special. It showcases what a true genius of the guitar that man is and I love it.
As the set was drawing to a close Tweedy slowed things down a bit for the Billy Bragg collaboration “California Stars” and then turned up the heat for a scorching finish with a trio of the band’s best loved tunes. The trifecta kicked off with “Heavy Metal Drummer,” gave way to “I’m The Man Who Loves You,” and finally went out in a blaze of glory with “Spiders (Kidsmoke).”
While the band was taking their obligatory encore break, the stage crew set up an extra microphone and I knew Margo would be joining them, I just didn’t know what for. Turns out she helped out on “Falling Apart (Right Now)” from Cruel Country and stuck around for a raucous sing-along on “US Blues.” (Listen Here!) While Price seemed a little lost on the Grateful Dead classic it was fun as hell to watch. To round the night out Wilco reached back to 1996 and Being There for “I Got You (At The End of The Century).” It’s always a treat to catch this band anywhere, but Red Rocks (or “Rust Rocks” as Tweedy said was a little more appropriate) makes it that much more special.
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