Just before the big Bonnaroo blow-out performance this past Saturday, Wilco played the first stop on its summer tour of the States, in a sold-out performance at the Aronoff Theater in Cincinnati, Ohio, Friday night. Featured in the set were songs from throughout the band's catalog and, not least, from its forthcoming Nonesuch release, Wilco (the album), due out on June 30.

The Observer Music Monthly gives the album four stars, exclaiming, "Chicago's veteran alt-rockers haven't sounded this much fun in ages, their seventh album balancing their easy-going and experimental sides."

SPIN magazine gives it four stars as well and calls it "fantastic." Reviewer David Marchese says that what's clear from the band's latest is that "the Chicago sextet finally seems comfortable with itself—and wants you to buy in," citing first the album opener, "Wilco (the song)" and its assurance that, whatever your woes, "Wilco will love you."

From that opening track to "the simply gorgeous 'You and I,'" with guest vocals from Leslie Feist and "gently strummed acoustic guitar, warm keyboard chording, and lilting vocals," the band, which has already proved in the past that greatness can come from chaos, now recognizes the value of acceptance as well. "As Wilco (the album) proves," says Marchese, "sometimes submission is a beautiful thing."

Read the review at spin.com.

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"Jeff Tweedy and his collection of virtuoso cohorts are at the top of their game," says Cincinnati Enquirer's Bill Thompson, "staking a claim as one of America’s most innovative and entertaining bands."

In his review of Friday night's set at the Aronoff, before offering a song-by-song breakdown of the night's proceedings, Thompson sums it up this way:

For more than two hours, the six players showed what standout musicians can do with outstanding material. The performance featured five songs from the new record, all of which stood strong beside favorites from the band’s six studio albums, plus a fine reading of “California Stars” from the “Mermaid Avenue” project.

Read the complete concert review at news.cincinnati.com.

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MTV's Gil Kaufman admits to being a longtime fan of the band who strayed, having bypassed their previous tour, only to recognize just how big a mistake he had made after Friday's set, when the band "won me all the way back over and then some," he writes. "Unwrapping a handful of tunes from their new self-titled album, the band straight-up killed it, playing to a packed house of 2,700 who sang along to nearly every lyric."

Kaufman walks readers through the set list, with its catalog favorites and newly unveiled tunes, stopping at the fan-participation at the climax of Summerteeth's "A Shot in the Arm" to say "there’s truly nothing like it in all of rock."

It all comes together to make one unforgettable show, each time the band takes the stage to make it happen. Says Kaufman:

I’ve seen the band perform most of these songs many times over, but the energy and creativity they bring always makes them sound brand new. There may not be another band out there right now so in command of their catalog, yet so willing to let it mutate and re-invent it every night on stage.

Read the article at newsroom.mtv.com.

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Up next on the tour is a performance at the Abraham Chavez Theatre in El Paso, Texas, tomorrow night, with Sleepercar opening, and then at Centennial Hall in Tucson, Arizona, where Grizzly Bear supports for one night only. For more tour information, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.