Review: Wilco - 5/6/00 - Carleton College - Northfield, MN

I also made the trip down to beautiful Northfield, MN yesterday. There was next to no security; it couldn't have been easier to get in.
Any talk about not admitting non-students was merely a smoke screen. On a
related note, I was shocked to find out from a student that Los Lobos had
played at a chapel on campus Wednesday night for a free "private" concert
(they played the next night in Mpls) and there was, again, minimal security
present. I'm definitely going to check the student activities calendar next
spring to see what pops up! The concert yesterday was held in an open field
next to a big rec hall on the edge of the campus. I'd say there was no more
than 1000 people total in attendance and there was far less than that by the
end of Wilco's set. Maybe 25% were actually in front of the little stage,
which bordered a big field. At the end of the show, Jeff gave props to some
students who had buried a keg in the field the night before. He applauded
their resourcefulness and said someone "should give them a job with the Air
Force or something." It was weird during the Wilco set to turn around and
realize that the vast majority of the people there weren't even paying
attention to the music; this definitely wasn't a "Wilco concert." It was an
unseasonably warm day here in Minnesota (it was still 80 degrees at 10pm!),
so it looked more like the 4th of July than the first week in May - lots of
Frisbees, beer drinkin' and beach attire. Ultimately, it was a neat, if not
a bit surreal, setting - beautiful weather, idyllic surroundings, free
beverages, only a few hundred people watching and pretty damn good sound for a "little" PA.

It was indeed strange to see a 4-piece Wilco. Somebody shouted out "where's
Leroy?" and Jay mouthed "in Philadelphia." At another point Jeff spotted a
Jayhawks t-shirt and said "some guy with a Jayhawks t-shirt is wondering
were Gary Louris is. Well, sir, you're at the wrong concert. Gary Louris is
in England. Kissing ass." Or something close to that. Without Leroy, the
rock quotient was higher than the 4 Wilco shows I saw last year. Lots of
noisy, grungy guitars and even some nice effects - I hadn't seen the boys
rock out like this since probably the height of the "Being There" tour.
"Someone Else's Song" was particularly gnarly. Jay lessened the blunt force
a bit on a very nice "She's a Jar / Shot in the Arm" 1-2 which featured
some beautiful flutey mellotron keyboard work.

The setlist leaned away a bit from the Summerteeth stuff, which gave the
show a kinda "time warp" sensation. The new Mermaid Ave. song sounded like a winner to me, almost "rock gospel." Jeff got pretty intense a few times - an
interesting contrast to the "party" atmosphere. At the end of a fine "Sunken
Treasure" he was yelling "I don't need rock 'n' roll / you don't need rock
'n' roll / NOBODY needs rock 'n' roll." You go, boy! The usual rave-up at
the end of "Misunderstood," turned into a wild cacophony of echoing
"Nothing" s that caused more than a few perplexed looks from the
sun-drenched students, some of whom were probably wondering "hmm, I thought these guys were some kind of *country* band..." And I loved the Who intro to "Outtasite" - wondering if they've done that before and, if so, for how
long.

All in all, a pretty damn good show on a gorgeous day and a rare chance to
see the boys from 15 feet away.

SETLIST
Wilco @ Carleton College - outdoor festival - Northfield, MN - May 6, 2000
6:05 - 7:25

1. Candy Floss
2. I'm Always in Love
3. I Must Be High
4. Too Far Apart
5. Hotel Arizona
6. Red Eyed and Blue -->
7. I Got You -->
8. Someone Else's Song
9. Sunken Treasure
10. She's a Jar
11. A Shot in the Arm
12. Misunderstood
ENCORES
13. Forget the Flowers
14. Airline to Heaven (Mermaid Ave. 2 song)
15. California Stars
16. Can't Stand It
17. Casino Queen -->
18. Hoodoo Voodoo
19. Won't Get Fooled Again instrumental break -->
20. Outtasite (Outtamind)

Saw a few people taping. Somebody was patched out of Adam's DAT deck at the soundboard and I hooked up with a student who ended up with an outstanding MD recording using an elevated mic. Shouldn't be a problem tracking down this show.

And as a final postscript...After the show I talked to a few people and
headed for home. I stopped in at "The Big Steer" truck stop on I-35 and 19
for a pit stop before I made the 45 minute drive up the interstate. I was
waiting in line for an ice cream cone and who should come walking by but Mr.
Tweedy himself! Needless to say, I was a bit taken aback - I shook his hand
and muttered something about how great the show was. He was real nice but
obviously in a hurry. He apologized for his haste and said he was on his way
home. As for Leroy, he said he was "unavoidably detained." Nice little
capper for the day. Saturday morning I had my doubts about even making the
trip - now I'm glad I didn't stay home and mow the lawn!