Indie legends deliver triumphant career-spanning set in Philadelphia
Last I checked around two years ago, Wilco had played 372 shows since 2016, with only two of those shows occurring in the great city of Philadelphia, both at the Mann Music Center. I was at those shows, in 2016 and 2021, and in such a beautiful venue with an undisputedly legendary band, they were as amazing as expected. Evidently, I was not the only fan who wanted more Wilco in town. In his limited banter with the sold-out audience at the Met, Jeff Tweedy remarked that “of all the cities in the world, this is the city that complains the most that we don’t come here.” Well they certainly made their rare trip to Philly count. The first show of their “An Evening with Wilco” series, the band played a sprawling 32-song set, with a short intermission in the middle. To my delight, Sky Blue Sky led with setlist with a whopping 6 of those songs. Even after seeing the band countless times over the last 10 years, the expert musicianship and endless catalog of songs that I love never gets old. As I listened to the magnificent guitar playing by Nels Cline, Pat Sansone and Jeff throughout “Impossible Germany,” which deserves a spot high up on the list of all time great songs, I noticed with slight shock that said song is nearly 20 years old. Maybe, if we’re lucky, Wilco will be back in Philadelphia to mark the occasion.
All Photos by Max Sall
