Wilco w/ Jenny Lewis
Marymoor Park, Redmond, WA
08.11.15
From the deeply personal to off-the-cuff independence, WIlco has long been respected for their genre-bending eccentric brand of Americana. Call it dad rock, call it alt-country, it doesn’t matter, their signature is that they don’t really have one. And yet, they are ever recognizable. And a sold-out crowd at the outdoor Marymoor Park Amphitheater seemed to know exactly what they were in for.
WIlco took to the stage with Jeff Tweedy leading the band through the entirety of their latest surprise-release album Star Wars, his scratchy, often falsetto vocals powering through the Beatles-esque, glam-rock influenced, countrified sounds of late. It took a few songs, but when Tweedy starts bantering – while constantly changing out guitars – it just makes you like them even more. Twenty years and nine albums in, the chemistry of this band is palpable.
A full two-hour set covered over twenty hits from their deep catalogue, and then they brought out some guests (Bill Frisell, Ben Gibbard, Jenny Lewis and Scott McCaughey) for “California Stars.” Swaying from the goofy pop innocence of “Heavy Metal Drummer” to the hauntingly popular “Jesus, Etc.” Wilco showcased every reason they deserve to be as respected a band as they are and no one went home disappointed.
Show opener Jenny Lewis surely didn’t disappoint either. While the crowd had yet to fill in, those who were paying attention were treated to a concise 30-minute set that mixed old Rilo Kiley hits with songs from her latest album Voyager, and showed off one new track “Girl On Girl” which Lewis advised not to google. Lewis’s voice is heartbreaking and soaring and completely self-aware. Her harmonies are gripping, her songwriting sophisticated, and her live presence always a joy to take in.
Review by Stephanie Dore
Wilco
Jenny Lewis
