Wilco
Murat Theatre at the Old National Centre
Indianapolis, IN
May 7, 2015
Written by Mike Foreman
Photos by Tony Vasquez
Photo gallery: Wilco

With Wilco having 20 years of stage history and a well-established fan base, the Murat Theatre at the Old National Centre was truly the best venue for me to catch my first Wilco show. I don’t think there’s another large space within Indy that would’ve been more perfect for me to grasp and understand what an amazing live show this band can put on. It’s a spacious theater that still has the intimacy needed for a band like this to connect with its audience. I could tell that Jeff Tweedy delights in the conversations he can have with his audience, but it might be more of a symbiotic necessity; this audience needed the connection just as much as Wilco did.

The show began with “Via Chicago,” and it got me thinking right from the beginning. Did I just hear him say “I dreamed about killing you again last night and it felt alright…?” Humph, ok. Not the first lyric I thought I’d hear out of his mouth. This is going to be a blast!

John Stirratt at the Murat Theatre in Old National Centre in Indianapolis, IN shot by Vasquez Photography

After a couple more songs, I hear a familiar intro!! The drum beat that trips over itself! Those alarm clocks! The lights are drifting across the grey rock-like stage backdrop and I feel as if I’m descending down into a cave and “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” pulls me in a thousand different directions all at once. It’s such a loosely tight methodical song that it sort of puts me into a trance until Tweedy tips his hat at the words “Hello!”

“Poor Places” jams into “Art of Almost” and I’m thoroughly engaged with the scene! The band is hitting on all cylinders now and I’m on a space trip watching the head banging silhouettes on stage. The crowd responds with a deafening roar after the long jam of “Art of Almost.”

As any with any good musician they understand how timing and balance should work. The flow of set list is no exception to this rule. “Either Way” is a great way to bring us back down to Earth. This is a Sky Blue Sky staple and what a joy it is to hear it live.

Before “Jesus, Etc.” Jeff Tweedy expressed his heartfelt appreciation by thanking everyone and everything he could think of. He also told the audience to “Go thank yourselves!”… Maybe he was planting a subliminal seed to be proud of ourselves for straightening out the Religious Freedom Act. This song also prompted a lot of audience sing-a-long and Tweedy said that it was one of his favorite sounds on Earth to hear people singing together.

Jeff Tweedy at the Murat Theatre in Old National Centre in Indianapolis, IN shot by Vasquez Photography

The band ripped into “Hotel Arizona” as their first tune of the first encore. In the song Tweedy sings, “That’s all there is,” which must have been the queue for Nels Cline to have his 20th seizure of the night. I mean, the guy was convulsing and choking the neck of his guitar so hard that it was screaming, in a good way.

After closing the first encore with “Monday,” the band came back out for a second encore, but this time, they decided to ditch the cords and amps for a 5 song acoustic set. The audience went bonkers and the anticipation was felt throughout the theater. They also changed the stage lights to mimic a night sky of stars and had me feeling like I was watching a late night pick-a-long bonfire jam. This was a real treat, even for the most seasoned Wilco fan, and I understood that I was watching something special that night. They played the Uncle Tupelo tune “We’ve Been Had” but it felt fresh and fun. Wilco ended the acoustic encore, and night, with “A Shot in the Arm” which was completed by the audience singing along “What you once were isn’t what you wanna be, anymore.”

I’m grateful for this fun-filled night and I’m beholden to the band, the venue, the audience, and my friends for the experience. I have a greater appreciation for one of my generation’s most successful and true American bands. They’ve defied definition and made a believer out of me. Before this night, Wilco was an acquaintance and I was a part time fan, but now I just want expand my Wilco experience and grow as a listener. What I once was isn’t what I wanna to be, ANYMORE!

Pat Sansone at the Murat Theatre in Old National Centre in Indianapolis, IN shot by Vasquez Photography

Set list

Via Chicago
Handshake Drugs
Camera
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
One Wing
Panthers
Hummingbird
Poor Places
Art of Almost
Either Way
Secrets of the Sea
Heavy Metal Drummer
I’m the Man Who Loves You
Jesus, Etc.
Born Alone
Dark Neon
Impossible Germany
A Magazine Called Sunset
Airline to Heaven
Red Eyed and Blue
I Got You (At the End of the Century)
Dawned On Me

Encore:
Hotel Arizona
Monday

Encore:
Misunderstood
Casino Queen
We’ve Been Had
War On War
California Stars
A Shot in the Arm