Jeff Tweedy’s secret weapon as a songwriter has always been his utter avoidance of the comfort zone. Whereas lesser artists might fall into the potential dad-rock sand trap that a seemingly innocuous tune such as “Via Chicago” may advertise, Tweedy has always been in favor of putting these simpler and prettier moments into sharp relief through any number of devious twists, turns, and trap doors he may consider along the way.

Of course, this also speaks to Wilco’s greatest strength as a band. It’s their unparalleled command of dynamics and the dramatic flair, dexterity, and sheer effortlessness with which they shift gears on the fly that make each and every song crackle and burst with vitality. Or to put it more cheesy: Tweedy may provide the roadmap full of hairpin turns and detours, but Wilco is the precision driver that expertly navigates and makes the whole trip worthwhile.

Again, “Via Chicago” is the perfect place to start. Conveniently, it was also the first song from the band’s nearly two and a half hour set last night. Now, I don’t mean to suggest this tune is simply pedestrian until saved by glimmers of “weirdness” towards the end, but rather that it serves as the prototypical example of the patience with which Tweedy – and the rest of the band – approach the craft of songwriting, building a precious and lilting ballad slowly and surely only to deconstruct it before our eyes and ears via an apocalyptic clatter of cannon-fire drums and feedback. The sweet parts feel that much sweeter, and the cacophonous freakout lets us all know what was in store for the rest of the evening.

At that point, 7:40 p.m. to be exact, 6,000 people probably could have gone home glowing and happy. That there were 26 songs remaining was, how can you say, a bonus?

The length of their performance was key also in that it allowed plenty of Nels-ogling. If you don’t know – or haven’t been in the conversational crossfire of music nerds’ breathless Nels-worship of late – Nels Cline is the virtuoso experimental guitarist brought in to bat cleanup on 2007s Sky Blue Sky.

As a quick aside, Wilco has always been a revolving door of members to some degree, from co-founding member Jay Bennet’s notorious defection to Leroy Bach’s more recent departure, but it really feels like the current lineup is THE ultimate, ideal, fitter, happier and more productive Wilco lineup. I’ve always admired the intuition and exuberance with which Glenn Kotche approaches the drums – on display last night as he stood on top of his throne and jettisoned a series of rock star poses before resuming his flawless pummeling a second later – and believe that Nels Cline is the perfect melodic foil to Kotche’s rhythms.

(Sigh) Ahh Nels. Clearly I wasn’t the only one worshipping at the altar of Nels. The entire crowd went off during the abrupt tempo change in “You Are My Face” out of sheer anticipation for the face-melting that was about to ensue from Nels’ side of the stage. Which was of course just a warm up for “Impossible Germany”, the track from Sky Blue Sky that allows Nels the freest sonic playground from which to shatter, shred, bend, coax, punish and alter traditional conceptions of what is allowed and possible in a guitar solo.

Which is exactly the point of Wilco circa 2008, a band that is so frightfully on top of their game that their whole pleasure comes from subverting traditional songs and structures just ever so slightly (and sometimes ever so drastically) that we get to feel in on the experiment and seek pleasure from the results.

Stretching the climax of “Misunderstood” like taffy to the almost uncomfortable extent of a Family Guy punchline (think Peter hurting his shin), juxtaposing the rock star cliché of coaxing audience screams with a sweeping counterpunch of the bridge breakdown in “Kingpin”, the memorable moments from this show just kept stacking up. And unlike a Tweedy song, there would be no deflating and manipulating these goosebump moments in favor of something bigger. Last night, there was nothing bigger than Wilco.

*slideshow created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

**photos by Matt

Setlist (via Brooklyn Vegan):
Via Chicago
Blood of the Lamb
You Are My Face
Hummingbird
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
A Shot in the Arm
Side with the Seeds
Misunderstood
Far Far Away
Impossible Germany
Pieholden Suite (w/horns)
California Stars (w/horns)
Handshake Drugs
Pot Kettle Black
Poor Places - into -
Spiders (Kidsmoke)

First Encore

Jesus, etc. 

Can’t Stand It (w/horns) 

Hate It Here (w/horns) 

Walken (w/horns) 

I’m the Man Who Loves You (w/horns)

Second Encore


Heavy Metal Drummer 

Late greats (w/horns) 

Kingpin (w/horns) 

Monday (w/horns) 

Outtasite (w/horns)

I’m a Wheel

See Wilco Live:
16 Aug - Jackson Hole, WY @ Jackson Hole Music Festival
18 Aug - Salt Lake City, UT @ Red Butte Garden
20 Aug - Boise, ID @ The Winery at Eagle Knoll
21 Aug - Spokane, WA @ INB Performing Arts Center
23 Aug - Bend, OR @ LES Schwab Ampitheater
24 Aug - San Francisco, CA @ Golden Gate Park (Outside Lands Music Festival)
30 Aug - County Laois, Ireland @ Electric Picnic Festival

Visit Wilco on MySpace.