I am going to start this review by letting you know that I had a fantastic time last night. There will be no pissed off rants about venues, crowds, sound systems, or a band’s attitude. This was the complete opposite experience to my last concert, so if you are looking for angry I suggest you move on, you won’t find it here today my friends. Simply put, The Wilco and Mystic Valley Band concert last night at the Bluerock’s stadium in Wilmington Delaware was an absolute joy to go to. I hit no traffic during rush hour, the parking was free, the stadium was clean and full of families and respectful concert goers, the sound was outstanding, and the bands were both in top form. Let’s get down to it.
[Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band]
I reviewed the MVB’s latest album last week in my Sunday Leftovers column and I mentioned that I didn’t really enjoy Oberst’s work under the Bright Eyes name and had overlooked his other work. Let me repent now: this guy is an excellent musician, song writer, and entertainer. On top of that, the bastard knows how to surround himself with good musicians. The Mystic Valley Band players are all top-notch; excellent tone, harmonies, and timing. I honestly thought that they sounded better than Wilco last night (and Wilco sounded great).
The band did a solid 50 minutes and kept to the more upbeat and fast moving tunes from Oberst’s last two albums “Conor Oberst” and “Outer South” which I respected. This was an outdoor show in a minor league baseball stadium – keep it rocking! He snuck in a few slower songs like “Cape Canaveral” and gave the revelers time to catch their breath. I have been getting on the Mystic Valley Band bandwagon pretty hardcore the last month and this performance sealed the deal. I hope Oberst doesn’t ditch the band and manages to keep this sound and concept going because it’s really good.
Behold the power of terrible phone video…
[WILCO]
When we walked into the stadium, we were give an official Wilco touring program free of charge. This book was put together very nicely and features art by the band, profiles of the road crew, and an interview of Jeff Tweedy by his two sons (which was great). I mention this because as I looked around I saw kids everywhere… and they were all well behaved, chilling, and listen to the music. Wilco has become a family friendly band (or have they always been one?) and it suites them and it suites me. I enjoyed the vibe they created and I felt like they really appreciated people coming out to listen. The whole experience makes me feel like when I have kids I can take them to shows like this and we can all have a good time.
Back to Wilco. They had a very good night. Nils Cline is my new guitar hero: we have been watching Wilco DVDs the last few weeks (which prompted us to look for tickets and finding they were playing Delaware two nights before the concert) and this guy is a fucking stud. Tweedy is a damn genius for recruiting this guy into the band a few years ago – I hope he never leaves! Wilco began with “Wilco (the song)” which is also the opening tune on the new CD. Solid opener that was upbeat and they kept the tempo going for the 95+ minutes (we heard that it was hard to get out of the venue so we opted to cut out a little early). I was very satisfied with the tunes and the variations they introduced. Personal standouts were Hummingbird, Impossible Germany (which some lady kept screaming for until she was appeased), You are my face, and my favorite Handshake Drugs (thanks to Cline’s ass-kicking guitar solos).
Tweedy engaged the crowd and looked like he was having a good time playing for the people. The Bluerocks have a celery stick for a mascot (both he and I questioned the meaning – something to do with Buffalo wings – I don’t get it), Mr. Celery was the butt of many jokes throughout the night. At one point he mentioned that seeing the celery stick made him hungry and the crowd, not missing a beat, tossed up some food which he and Nils gladly consumed.
I don’t know if eating your vegetables and rocking out with eight year olds captures the true heart of rock and roll, but it sure does sound good. If you get the chance, go see these bands, it will make the world great for a few hours.
Here is another terrible phone camera clip:
