[ATTENDED: June 17, 2026] Wilco
This was my third time seeing Wilco. I’ve been trying to see them again since 2021 but for some reason it never worked out. In fact, I’ve been trying to see them a lot since 2016, but it never worked out until tonight.
SteelStacks outside is a fun venue and I grabbed a ticket for my wife and I. The last time I saw Wilco it was a co-headlining tour with Sleater-Kinney, so their set was short.
But this time, it was just them, so they did two sets (although, somehow they played fewer songs than when I saw them ten years ago).
We arrived at SteelStacks wih plenty of time, but were kind of herded into the grassy area. I didn’t even realize that they had a merch table. I probably would have bough the poster (see below) so it’s probably for the best that I didn’t know about it.
This was my wife’s first time seeing them and I knew she’d enjoy the show, both for the songwriting and for the wildness (because Wilco may be dad-rock, but they absolutely crush thing live).
Wilco has been around forever, so they have a million songs to choose from. It’s possible that you’re not going to hear your favorite song at any of their sets, but it’s pretty likely that you’re going to hear a bunch of your favorites–and some unexpected deep cuts.
I’m not a massive Wilco fan. I enjoy most of their stuff, although I haven’t really listened to the two latest albums. And, yea, I really start at around Summerteeth, but I could easily make an ideal setlist and this show covered most of it.
We got off to a great start with Handshake Drugs and If I Ever Was a Child. Jeff was playing acoustic guitar and we were in front of Nels Cline (with a clear view of Glenn Kotche on drums). They played a few newer songs that I didn’t know. I was intrigued by the lyrics to Cruel Country, especially since the first line is cleanly stated–I love my country. It’s hard to feel that way, but I guess it’s nice to be reminded that we could feel that way again.
It’s always interesting seeing what the crowd gets excited by. I was really pleased to hear Evicted (I love that guitar melody); there was a huge reaction for I’m Always in Love, but an even huger reaction for Hummingbird.
I’d often wondered if Pat Sansone ever felt like Nels Cline gets all of the love (I didn’t realize they joined in the same year). But at this show Pat had some absolutely stellar, showoffy guitar solos. In fact, there were two extended jams in which he and Nels played off of each other. It was really fun and the songs they chose to do them in were totally rocking so it just felt like a fantastic jam session.
Bassist John Stirratt has been with Wilco since the beginning and for this show, he sang a song that he wrote (and sang on) on the debut album. The song was It’s Just That Simple, which I didn’t recognize, but it was fun to see Jeff on bass. (more…)
I Just Read About That... 