Baby, All I Need(ed) is a Shot in the Arm

I often find myself flipping through the CD's at the library. Its a habbit that rarely reaps rewards. One day, however, I found a CD entitled "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" by Wilco. The name Wilco sounded vaguely familiar, and so, I decided to check it out and give it a listen. Move forward 2 years. I am now an obsessed Wilco fan. I think they are the best active American band. I can't stop listening. They are often referred to as the "American Radiohead," which, in my opinion is only true in that the are both extremely talented and not afraid of taking sonic adventures. I heard one person describe it like this. "Radiohead gets you in the head, Wilco gets you in the heart." I have to agree.

When I find a great band, I have a tendency to get up on a soap box, and begin to proselytize . So, when I found out Wilco was coming to Salt Lake, I went into missionary mode with vigor. Mix CD's were burned, DVD viewing of live performances were forced down various throats, and various bribery was used to organize a group to go see Wilco. My efforts were successful. I had convinced Andrea, Gary, and Scott to attend with me. Ah, the glee. Then, they sold out before the tickets were available to the public. I pouted. I moaned. I groaned. I complained. Then, I found out they were playing Boise, and to my surprise, found my concert going group willing to make the journey, even at $4.11 a gallon for gas.

Have I dragged out this post long enough? I guess all I really need to say is this. We went to Wilco. They were incredible. Everyone enjoyed themselves. The band played for 2 and a half hours, thanks to a second encore entitled the "longcore." Scott became a bigger fan, Scott's buddy Jeff became a bigger fan, Andrea and Gary survived the more "experimental" elements of their music, and at a minimum became more interested in listening. Oh, and by the way, I became a bigger fan, which I thought was impossible. As a live act, they showed more richness and depth than I thought they had. Thanks Wilco, your great.


*since posting this, Andrea and Gary have called to report that they are fans, and need access to more Wilco ASAP. All in a days work.