Journal Sentinel: Wilco Gives Milwaukee "A Dusty Jewel of a Performance"

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For the past few days, Wilco has made a home-away-from-home in a very welcoming Milwaukee, Wisconsin, including Jeff Tweedy's first pitch in Monday's Brewers game and a sixth-inning sausage race with Glenn Kotche and Mikael Jorgensen. Wilco also played the first of two sold-out nights at the Pabst Theater last night, in which, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says, the band "gave a dusty jewel of a performance," concluding of this "gorgeous patchwork quilt of the set" that "when the entire band converged ... the music exploded beautifully." Tonight's show will be webcast live on wilcoworld.net.

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For the past few days, Wilco has made a home-away-from-home in a very welcoming Milwaukee, Wisconsin. From Jeff Tweedy's first pitch in Monday's Brewers home game against the Cincinnati Reds to the sixth-inning sausage run by Glenn Kotche (lederhosen-laden sausage) and Mikael Jorgensen (smirking sausage), the band's first night in town was a good start (the Brewers's consecutive losses Monday and last night against the Reds notwithstanding).

In addition to all of their baseball-related activities in Brew City, Wilco played the first of two sold-out nights at the Pabst Theater there last night. Tonight's show will be webcast live on the band's site at wilcoworld.net/roadcase.

As for last night's show, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says the band "gave a dusty jewel of a performance." Reviewer Jon M. Gilbertson writes that, given the breadth of influences that contribute to the band's sound, "few other bands could combine those influences with the deftness of a street vendor crafting masterpieces from balloons, string and a handful of glitter."

Gilbertson praises "the strength of the songs and the skill of the musicians" in the band, citing, for example, Nels Cline's guitar solos for pushing certain songs "toward rock splendor" and Kotche's drumming as being "so on top of rhythmic possibilities that it seemed he could make coherent chaos simply by hurtling his sticks toward the kit."

The reviewer concludes of this "gorgeous patchwork quilt of the set" that "when the entire band converged—or at least drew closely parallel lines—the music exploded beautifully."

Read the complete review at jsonline.com.

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Ashes of American Flags, the new Wilco concert film directed by Christoph Green and Fugazi’s Brendan Canty, is out on DVD through the Nonesuch Store this Saturday, Record Store Day. It made its New York debut on Monday in a special screening with Saturday Night Live cast member Fred Armisen as host, and concludes three nights of screenings at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Austin, Texas, tonight.

The film is also showing tonight at the WorkPlay Theatre in Brimingham, Alabama, and at the University of Indiana's Whittenberger Auditorium. The school, in fact, is hosting Wilco's first post-Milwaukee concert, tomorrow night, and is giving away free tickets to the show at tonight's Ashes screening. For more information, visit imu.indiana.edu. For more screening dates, visit ashesofamericanmovie.com. For upcoming tour dates, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.

featuredimage
Wilco, by Chris Strong
  • Wednesday, April 15, 2009
    Journal Sentinel: Wilco Gives Milwaukee "A Dusty Jewel of a Performance"
    Photo: Chris Strong

    For the past few days, Wilco has made a home-away-from-home in a very welcoming Milwaukee, Wisconsin. From Jeff Tweedy's first pitch in Monday's Brewers home game against the Cincinnati Reds to the sixth-inning sausage run by Glenn Kotche (lederhosen-laden sausage) and Mikael Jorgensen (smirking sausage), the band's first night in town was a good start (the Brewers's consecutive losses Monday and last night against the Reds notwithstanding).

    In addition to all of their baseball-related activities in Brew City, Wilco played the first of two sold-out nights at the Pabst Theater there last night. Tonight's show will be webcast live on the band's site at wilcoworld.net/roadcase.

    As for last night's show, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says the band "gave a dusty jewel of a performance." Reviewer Jon M. Gilbertson writes that, given the breadth of influences that contribute to the band's sound, "few other bands could combine those influences with the deftness of a street vendor crafting masterpieces from balloons, string and a handful of glitter."

    Gilbertson praises "the strength of the songs and the skill of the musicians" in the band, citing, for example, Nels Cline's guitar solos for pushing certain songs "toward rock splendor" and Kotche's drumming as being "so on top of rhythmic possibilities that it seemed he could make coherent chaos simply by hurtling his sticks toward the kit."

    The reviewer concludes of this "gorgeous patchwork quilt of the set" that "when the entire band converged—or at least drew closely parallel lines—the music exploded beautifully."

    Read the complete review at jsonline.com.

    ---

    Ashes of American Flags, the new Wilco concert film directed by Christoph Green and Fugazi’s Brendan Canty, is out on DVD through the Nonesuch Store this Saturday, Record Store Day. It made its New York debut on Monday in a special screening with Saturday Night Live cast member Fred Armisen as host, and concludes three nights of screenings at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Austin, Texas, tonight.

    The film is also showing tonight at the WorkPlay Theatre in Brimingham, Alabama, and at the University of Indiana's Whittenberger Auditorium. The school, in fact, is hosting Wilco's first post-Milwaukee concert, tomorrow night, and is giving away free tickets to the show at tonight's Ashes screening. For more information, visit imu.indiana.edu. For more screening dates, visit ashesofamericanmovie.com. For upcoming tour dates, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.

    Journal Articles:On TourReviews

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