Wilco Kicks off Three Straight Nights in L.A. With Masterful Performance

Matt Matasci

Wilco remains one of the most enduring groups in alternative music, as the fact they sold out the three consecutive nights at Theatre at Ace Hotel makes clear. The Chicago band treated a buzzing audience with a set that touched on most of their albums and even featured an Uncle Tupelo tune.

With the recent release of “Schmilco,” one might expect the set to feature these new tunes and while they played most the album, they also reached across the band’s history for a handful of fan favorites that left the crowd swooning. Opening with the first three songs from “Schmilco,” the simple acoustic ditty “Normal American Kids,” the psych-pop influenced “If I Ever Was a Child” and “Cry All Day,” the crowd reception was warm but “Radio Cure” from their popular, “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot,” won a more enthusiastic response. Other songs from that record included were “Reservations,” “Heavy Metal Drummer” and “Jesus, Etc.”

After playing “Misunderstood” from their early “Being There,” album, Tweedy announced another new song, “Someone to Lose.” Featuring dueling guitar solos, it was the first upbeat performance of the night and finally got the crowd out of their seats. Before launching into a number from last year’s “Star Wars,” Tweedy deadpanned about the band’s penchant for non sequitur album titles. He laughingly defended himself by explaining he had not gotten tired of naming records but instead was just extremely passionate about using the title “Star Wars.” With that, they performed “The Joke Explained.”

The band treated the audience to a powerful encore that began with the Uncle Tupelo song “We’ve Been Had,” breaking out a banjo for a frenetic cover. They band concluded with two songs from their collaboration with Billy Bragg, “Christ For President” and “California Stars.” With the crowd still on their feet, the band offered up one last final number, “Spiders (Kidsmoke).”

Wilco played at The Theatre at Ace Hotel Sept. 13-15.