Wilco’s Homecoming In Chicago Features Sleater-Kinney’s Last Show On The Tour

Last night’s “It’s Time” tour show was a homecoming in Chicago at the Millennium Park Pritzker Pavilion with Wilco, and supporting acts NNAMDÏ and Sleater-Kinney, pumping the audience up with their audio hijinks (sorry, I’ll never say ‘audio hijinks’ again).

The concert (Sleater-Kinney and Wilco’s sets) was live streamed on nug.net, so many were able to join in on the experience, which was notable as it was Sleater-Kinney’s last performance on the tour. I was happy to see one of the 16 shows that they played. They are a perfect opening band for Wilco, as they have a body of strong songs and are a blast to watch bounce around the stage.

 

Guitarist/singer Carrie Brownstein addressed this early in their set:

 

“This is our last night of tour with and Wilco and we have to say we’re quite sad to end it but what we have been so happy about, and what has been truly a joy is getting to play live music again. For how many of you, is this your first show back? Well, on behalf of all three bands, we want to say thank you. We have missed this as performers, we miss it as fans – just this ability to communicate and commune with all of you in moments that are spontaneous and extemporized. So thank you for being a part of it tonight in Chicago.”

 

I haven’t covered every set by Sleater-Kinney, but since this is their last on this tour, here’s how they ended this excursion:

 

“High in the Grass” / “Hurry On Home” / “Price Tag” / “Down the Line” / “Jumpers” / “Shadow Town” / “Can I Go On” / “What’s Mine is Yours” / “Path of Wellness” / “A New Wave” / “Method”/ “Complex Female Characters” / “Surface Envy” / “Modern Girl” / “Bring Mercy” / “The Fox” / “Worry With You” / “One Beat” * / “Entertain” 

Brownstein’s comedy co-star on the IFC program Portlandia, Feed Armisen, helped out on tambourine during “One Beat.” The former SNL performer is also well known to Wilco fans for his appearance in the doc I AM TRYING TO BREAK YOUR HEART, and also because in the ‘90s he used to work at Chicago’s legendary Lounge Ax, which was co-owned by Jeff Tweedy’s wife, Sue Miller.

 

After S/K’s set, Wilco took the stage around 8:30pm, and struck up their consistent opener “A Shot in the Arm” but with the help of Brownstein, and Corin Tucker who provided back-up vocals and some awkward half-dancing on the side.

Tweedy appeared to not be very talkative at this show, but did tell the audience at one point: “We missed you. We missed this, we missed that.” He also paid thanks to what he called “an amazing crew,” saying “my amplifier blew up at 2 o’clock today and it’s fixed. That’s amazing! So if you have any amplifiers that need to be fixed, just drop ‘em off at the bottom of the stage here.”

 

So here’s the meat of the matter:

 

“A Shot in the Arm” / “Random Name Generator” / “At least That’s What You Said” / “Love is Everywhere (Beware)” / “Via Chicago” / “Art of Almost” / “If I Ever Was a Child” / “Impossible Germany” / “Hummingbird”/ “Box Full of Letters” / “Everyone Hides” / “Dawned on Me” / “Jesus, Etc.” / “Theologians” / “I’m the Man Who Loves You” / “Heavy Metal Drummer” / “I’m Always in Love” 

 

Encore: “The Late Greats” / “Outtasite (Outta Mind)”

Next up, the Wonderbus Festival in Columbus, Ohio.

More later...

 

Wilco Setlists: Portland 8/25 & Lewiston 8/26

The “It’s Time” tour keeps on keeping on with Wilco and guests, NNAMDÏ and Sleater-Kinney, hitting Thompson’s Point in Portland on Wednesday night. The setlist was solid, but didn’t contain any surprises. You can watch a clip of the show’s encore after the setlist:

“A Shot in the Arm” / “Random Name Generator” / “At least That’s What You Said” / “One Wing“ / “Love is Everywhere (Beware)” / “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” / “Art of Almost” / “If I Ever Was a Child” / “Impossible Germany” / “Hummingbird”/ “Everyone Hides” / “Box Full of Letters” “Dawned on Me” / “Jesus, Etc.” / “Theologians” / “Heavy Metal Drummer” / “I’m the Man Who Loves You” / “I’m Always in Love”

Encore: “The Late Greats” / “Outtasite (Outta Mind)”

Next up, the tour makes a stop at Artpark Amphitheater in Lewiston, NY. This show does contain a surprise in the addition of “Via Chicago,” which hasn't been played since early 2020.

Here’s the rest of what they played:

“A Shot in the Arm” / “Random Name Generator” / “Via Chicago” / “Art of Almost” / “If I Ever Was a Child” / “Impossible Germany” / “Love is Everywhere (Beware)” / “One Wing“ / “Hummingbird”/ “Everyone Hides” / “Box Full of Letters” / “Born Alone” / “Jesus, Etc.” / “Theologians” / “I’m the Man Who Loves You” / “Heavy Metal Drummer” / “I’m Always in Love”

Encore: “Outtasite (Outta Mind)”

Coming soon: Wilco’s show at Millennium Park Pritzker Pavilion, Chicago on 8/28 will be live streamed on nugs.net.

More later...

Wilco Setlist: Leader Bank Pavilion, Boston, MA 8/24/21

Official show poster by Dan Black/Landland

Like all of the shows on the “It’s Time” tour, Wilco's concert in Boston, MA, last night stood out for a very special reason. Tweedy and company including Sleater-Kinney's Corin Tucker broke out a cover of The Rolling Stones classic “Honky Tonk Women” in tribute to Stones drummer Charlie Watts who passed away early that day at the age of 80. 

The Stones music is certainly part of Wilco's DNA as they've previously covered “Dead Flowers,” and have several songs, particularly on their first few albums, A.M. and Being There, that owe greatly to the tunes of England’s Oldest Hitmakers.

Check out Wilco's rendition of “Honky Tonk Women”:

“A Shot in the Arm”

“Random Name Generator”

“At Least That’s What You Said”

“Love Is Everywhere (Beware)”

“I Am Trying to Break Your Heart”

“Art of Almost”

“If I Ever Was a Child”

“Impossible Germany”

“Hummingbird”

“Box Full of Letters”

“Everyone Hides”

“Born Alone”

“Jesus, Etc.”

“Theologians”

“I’m the Man Who Loves You”

“Heavy Metal Drummer”

“I’m Always in Love”

“Honky Tonk Women”

“The Late Greats”

“California Stars”

Next up: Thompson’s Point, Portland, ME 8/25/21 & later this week, Wilco’s show at Millennium Park Pritzker Pavilion, Chicago on 8/28 will be live streamed on nugs.net.

More later...

Wilco Setlists: Columbia 8/20, Forest Hills 8/21, & Philadelphia 8/22

Official show poster by Dave Caron/Hoverchair studio

I’m playing catch up now as after I went to see Wilco in Asheville last week (read the review and all here), I fell behind for several days. So now I’ve got three, count ‘em, three setlists to post. Let’s get right to them:

Merriweather Post Pavillion, Columbia, MD 8/20/21

“A Shot in the Arm” / “Random Name Generator” / “Before Us” / “You Are My Face” / “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” / “Art of Almost” / “If I Ever Was a Child” / “Impossible Germany” / “Love Is Everywhere (Beware)” / “Box Full of Letters” / “Hummingbird” / “Everyone Hides” / “Born Alone” / “Jesus, Etc.” / “Theologians” / “I’m the Man Who Loves You” / “Heavy Metal Drummer” / “I’m Always in Love”

 

Encore: “The Late Greats” / “Outtasite (Outta Mind)” / “California Stars”

 

Forest Hills Stadium, Forest Hills, NY 8/21/21

Official show poster by Zoca Design

This show was somewhat truncated by heavy rain - a constant concern during this leg of the “It’s Time” tour.

“A Shot in the Arm” / “Random Name Generator” / “At Least That’s What You Said” / “Love Is Everywhere (Beware)” / “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” / “Art of Almost” / “If I Ever Was a Child” / “Impossible Germany” / “Hummingbird” / “Everyone Hides” / “Box Full of Letters” / “Dawned On Me” / “Jesus, Etc.” / “Theologians” / “I’m the Man Who Loves You” / “Heavy Metal Drummer” / “I’m Always in Love”

Here’s Wilco + Sleater-Kinney performing show-opener “A Shot in the Arm” at Forest Hills:

Mann Center for Performing Arts, Philadelphia, PA 8/22/21

Official show poster by Falk Schwalbe / Rainbow posters

“A Shot in the Arm” / “Random Name Generator” / “Before Us” / “One Wing” / “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” / “Art of Almost” / “If I Ever Was a Child” / “Impossible Germany” / “Love Is Everywhere (Beware)” / “Box Full of Letters” / “Everyone Hides” / “Born Alone” / “At Least That’s What You Said” / “Jesus, Etc.” / “Theologians” / “I’m the Man Who Loves You” / “Heavy Metal Drummer” / “I’m Always in Love”

 

Encore: “The Late Greats” / “Outtasite (Outta Mind)” 

 

Next up, Leader Bank Pavilion, Boston, MA 8/24/21 & later this week, Wilco's show at Millennium Park Pritzker Pavilion, Chicago on 8/28 will be live streamed on nugs.net.

More later...

Wilco Setlist: Ascend Amphitheater, Nashville, TN 8/15/21

Wilco, with friends Sleater-Kinney and NNAMDÏ, brought their “It’s Time” tour to Music City – that is, Nashville, TN, on Sunday night. The only notable change to Jeff Tweedy and Company’s setlist was the tour debut of “War on War,” which means that Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is getting more play these days than their most recent album, Ode to Joy.

 

So here’s what Wilco played at Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheater last night:

 

“A Shot in the Arm”

“Random Name Generator”

“At Least That's What You Said”

“Love Is Everywhere (Beware)”

“I Am Trying to Break Your Heart”

“Art of Almost”

“If I Ever Was a Child”

“Impossible Germany”

“War on War”

“Box Full of Letters”

“Hate it Here”  

“Everyone Hides”

“Dawned on Me”

“Jesus, Etc.”

“Theologians”

“I’m the Man Who Loves You”

“Heavy Metal Drummer”

“I’m Always in Love”

 

Encore: “California Stars”

Next up: Wilco will perform at Salvage Station in Asheville, NC, on Tuesday night (I'll be there!).

More later...

 

Wilco Setlist: Atlanta, GA 8/14/21

Wilco with their friends, NNAMDÏ and Sleater-Kinney, brought the “It’s Time” tour to Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park in Atlanta, GA, last night. Some fans have complained that their setlists are too similar with only minor changes each night, but at least last night featured the tour debut of “Hate it Hate,” which hasn’t been performed since their Sky Blue Sky stint in early 2020.

 

So here’s how Wilco’s fifth time at Cadence Bank Amphitheatre went down:

 

“A Shot in the Arm”

“Random Name Generator”

“At Least That's What You Said”

“Love Is Everywhere (Beware)”

“I Am Trying to Break Your Heart”

“Art of Almost”

“If I Ever Was a Child”

“Impossible Germany”

“Box Full of Letters”

“Hate it Here” 

“Either Way” 

“Everyone Hides”

“Dawned on Me”

“Jesus, Etc.”

“Theologians”

“I’m the Man Who Loves You”

“Heavy Metal Drummer”

“I’m Always in Love”

 

Encore: “California Stars”

Next up: Ascend Amphitheater, Nashville, TN

More later...

Wilco Setlist: Saint Louis Music Park, MO 8/13/21

Wilco’s “It’s Time” Summer 2021 tour was back on in full after the previous night in Kansas City being rained out. They hit Saint Louis Music Park. in Maryland Heights in St, Louis, Missouri last night with their support acts, NNAMDï and Sleater-Kinney, intact, a solid set in that contained the tour debut of “Casino Queen,” and maybe my favorite poster print so far of this current excursion. 

Here’s what Wilco played:

“A Shot in the Arm”

“Random Name Generator”

“At Least That's What You Said”

“Love Is Everywhere (Beware)”

“I Am Trying to Break Your Heart”

“Art of Almost”

“If I Ever Was a Child”

“Impossible Germany”

“Box Full of Letters”

“Side With the Seeds” 

“Either Way” 

“Everyone Hides”

“Dawned on Me”

“Jesus, Etc.”

“Theologians”

“I’m the Man Who Loves You”

“Heavy Metal Drummer”

“I’m Always in Love”

 

Encore: “Casino Queen”

Next up: Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park in Atlanta, GA

More later...