Review: Wilco @ Keyspan Park

[Photo by Deanne Herman]

The highs were many: Jesus Etc. was stunning as usual, Deeper Down and Sonny Feeling felt like earnest works in progress, Hate It Here was unhurried pop goodness and a set-closing run of Walken, I’m The Man Who Loves You and Hummingbird kept things chugging along. That effortlessly delightful Leslie Feist – who’s been making the rounds all over the place lately – confirmed the day’s hot rumor of her guest appearance during the first encore, duetting with Tweedy on a tentative You and I (the song itself is weak, the performance was fine), and then, with Grizzly Bear’s Ed Droste in tow, helping outfor the always-welcome California Stars and the new You Never Know.

[Screenshot by Deanne Herman]

And there was still more guesting to be done; Yo La Tengo, which had brought the fuzz-bomb madness early in the evening as a special guest opener, emerged for Spiders (Kidsmoke) and hinted at the possibilities of an all-out, brain-erasing Ira Kaplan/Nels Cline guitar showdown without quite pushing the envelope past anyone’s comfort zone. Same could be said of the show: safe and relaxed by Wilco standards, but the band’s convinced you, at least for a few hours, that you don’t need anything else in life.

SETLIST: Wilco (the song), I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, Shot in the Arm, At Least That’s What You Said, Bull Black Nova, You Are My Face, One Wing, Handshake Drugs, Deeper Down, Impossible Germany, Jesus Etc., Sonny Feeling, I’m Always In Love, Can’t Stand It, Hate It Here, Walken, I’m The Man Who Loves You, Hummingbird

1st ENCORE: Heavy Metal Drummer, You and I*, California Stars**, You Never Know**, Misunderstood, Spiders (Kidsmoke)#

2nd ENCORE: The Late Greats, Hoodoo Voodoo

* with Leslie Feist
** with Leslie Feist and Ed Droste
# with Yo La Tengo