Wilco – Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY 10/28/14 (SHOW REVIEW)

On their first of three sold-out evenings at Port Chester’s Capitol Theatre, Wilco could have opened with virtually anything from their expansive discography. But somehow, “Wilco (The Song)”— a love letter of sorts to fans—seemed appropriate.

What followed was a continuation of that nod to Wilco aficionados; a 30 song set that took concertgoers on a sprawling journey through the band’s 20-year history—from the very first song they recorded (“I Must Be High”) to material from their most recent release, 2011’s The Whole Love.

Focusing heavily on tracks from the band’s brilliant 2004 release, A Ghost Is Born, the setlist demonstrated Wilco’s unparalleled musical talent—and exactly why they have been relevant for two decades. Highlights of the night included back-to-back soaring guitar solos on “At Least That’s What You Said,” “Handshake Drugs,” and “Side With the Seeds.” Fans—who were singing along most of the night—got the chance to take the lead on favorites including “Hummingbird” and “Hate It Here,” as frontman Jeff Tweedy stepped back from the microphone to let the crowd fill in for him on vocals. Deep cuts were also characteristic of the night, with rarely heard live gems such as “A Magazine Called Sunset” and “Promising” interspersed throughout. Closing out the set was the soaring, “Shot In the Arm,” featuring yet another sing-along with enthusiastic fans as well as kinetic work on the keys by Mikael Jorgensen.

“Kingpin” kicked-off the first of what would be two encores, with Tweedy adding a bit of local flair to the lyrics by substituting “living in Port Chester” and “living in Long Island,” for the original “living in Pekin.” The version also included a bit of musical banter—with Jeff carrying on a conversation with Nels Cline (think, “What’s that Nels, you want some coffee?”) and the incomparable Cline responding via guitar. The rollicking “I’m a Wheel” closed out the first encore, with the group returning to the stage for an all-acoustic, semi-amplified set. You could hear a pin drop as they took to their instruments for “Too Far Apart,” “Casino Queen,” and their last song of the night, a cover of Doug Sahm’s “Give Back the Key to My Heart.”

At one point in the evening, Tweedy cracked a joke about the band charging what they want for shows because “they’re the best.” All kidding aside, Wilco—a band that throughout its twenty year existence has weathered changes, churned out album after amazing album and still continues to deliver musical experiences to their fans that are second to none—just might be.

Wilco Setlist Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY, USA 2014, 20th Anniversary Tour

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