Wilco and Nick Lowe Played Central Park - Pictures, Review, Setlist

Last night we stopped in at Rumsey Playfield to catch the first of Wilco's two nights in New York.  The band is helping to close out the final days of the year at the Central Park venue, and despite predicted rain, the evening managed to go off without any serious interference from the weather.  Alongside the band was legendary musician and producer Nick Lowe.  The band recently covered Lowe's "I Love My Label" as a B-Side to "I Might", and apparently dug doing so enough that they decided to bring him along for their inaugural tour under dBpm Records.

Nick Lowe was touring without a band, and delivered a set in true singer-songwriter style with his voice and a lone acoustic guitar.  Much akin to his longtime friend and collaborator Elvis Costello, Lowe can still command a crowd even with such simple implements.  Lowe's voice is unquestionably in top form, and hearing him live was a real treat; Roy Orbison came to mind as we listened to the delivery.

If anything, the years have improved Lowe's voice, by giving it an even warmer, more even timbre - sweet without being saccharine.  His set started off with a fair dose of his newer material, which definitely held its own.  However, Lowe managed to truly win over the crowd when he delivered his own "Cruel To Be Kind" and "What's So Funny (About Peace, Love, and Understanding)?", as well as a cover of Elvis Costello's "Alison", at the end of the set.

Wilco took to the stage soon thereafter, and launched in to a 2+ hour set that covered the breadth of their entire catalog.  Before we go any further, we'll start by saying this:  Wilco is one of those bands who, no matter what, in any circumstance, always seem to win us over live.  Even if we're dragging a bit on the way to the show, the opposite is always true on the other side.  Inevitably, we spend the next few weeks revisiting their entire catalog and getting back into the band.

This is why it was such a surprise, that last night, this simply didn't happen.  Did the band put on a bad performance?  Not particularly, but it wasn't great either.  There was something in the band's approach and attitude that simply felt staid; like they were just going through the motions.  It didn't help things that the crowd was a bizarre mix of insanely devoted fans, and arbitrary New Yorkers who didn't even seem aware that they were at a concert.  There were no quiet moments, but there were no truly raucous moments either.  Everything chugged along a steady, neutral pace.

The new material from the band's latest, The Whole Love, was certainly tolerable, but it didn't have any real grip on the crowd.  Moreover, the arrangements of the band's old material were the same ones that we've been hearing for the past few years, with little deviation or inspiration.  The lone standout was a somewhat updated version of "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart", that added some fuzzy tones and textures, no doubt culled from the recent album sessions.

It's difficult to issue such a negative assessment of a Wilco show, because the fact remains that they are a fantastic band, and they do truly deliver, even when they're a little bit off.  Nonetheless, after watching their shows for the past ten years, we also feel pretty confident saying that they've reached something of a creative impasse, and perhaps need to find a way to get "unstuck".  It brings to mind the scene from the film I Am Trying To Break Your Heart where Jeff Tweedy opts not to play it safe as the band constructs their live setlist.  Mr. Tweedy, it may be time to take some of your own advice.

Wilco Setlist 09-22-2011
Art Of Almost
I Might
Ashes Of American Flags
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
One Wing
Bull Black Nova
At Least That's What You Said
One Sunday Morning
Shouldn't Be Ashamed
Born Alone
She's A Jar
Handshake Drugs
Standing O
Rising Red Lung
Impossible Germany
Dawned On Me
A Shot In The Arm
Hummingbird
--
Via Chicago
Whole Love
War On War
Jesus, Etc.
I'm The Man Who Loves You
Monday
Outtasite Out Of Mind


Wilco and Nick Lowe play Central Park again this evening.

Broken Social Scene Add Central Park Date

Broken Social Scene at Outside Lands, from the HAD Archive

If you weren't lucky enough to get in on the Webster Hall awesomeness, you're in luck: Broken Social Scene will be back this fall on September 18th to play a date at Rumsey Playfield. The venue (which earlier in the year is host to Summer Stage) is significantly large, but also offers up the opportunity to see the band in the great outdoors, which is pretty damn awesome. Combine that with a sparkling new album, and you've got yourself a winner.

Tickets go on sale this Friday.

mp3: Broken Social Scene - World Sick

Phoenix And Passion Pit Played Central Park - Pictures, Review, Setlist

On Saturday night, after hearing a chat with Ryan Adams, we headed uptown to see Phoenix and Passion Pit rock out in Central Park. The pair had already played Rumsey Playfield the night before, and by all accounts it was a spectacular show. We were eager to take in what would be one of the final outdoor concerts of the summer.

Passion Pit opened the night, and despite what we had from some haters the night before, the band delivered a solid set that was firing on all cylinders. The vocals were on point, the instrumentals were tight, and most importantly, they got the entire crowd dancing without exception. Not only that, but they were the perfect opener for Phoenix: fun, cheery, and full of energy.

Phoenix took to the stage around 8:30, and started things off with a bang: "Lisztomania" was the first song out of the gate. From there the band dove into a traversal of their last three records with "Long Distance Call", "Lasso", and a searing version of "Run Run Run". From there the set, while occasionally making a step into the back catalog, focused heavily on Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. This obviously wasn't much of a stretch for the crowd, who eagerly sang along to every word of the band's latest record.

After closing out the set with a jam that included "Rome" and "Funky Squaredance", the band returned for an encore. The encore began with Thomas Mars and Christian Mazzalai delivering stripped down versions of "Everything Is Everything" and "Playground Love". This was followed by the full band kicking into killer versions of "If I Ever Feel Better" and "1901". Needless to say, we, and the crowd, were extremely pleased.

If you're even a semi-regular reader of HAD, you've probably picked up on the fact that we're pretty smitten with Phoenix, in particular their live show. Well, Saturday night did nothing to change that: the band expertly delivered a set that not only traversed their catalog, but never had a dull moment. The bottom line is that this is a band who are perfectly in line with their ever-expanding popularity, and show no sign of slowing down any time soon.

Phoenix Setlist
--
Lisztomania
Long Distance Call
Lasso
Run Run Run
Fences
Girlfriend
Love Like A Sunset
Too Young
Rally
Consolation Prizes
Rome->
Funky Squaredance ->
Rome
--
Everything Is Everything (quiet)
Playground Love (quiet)
If I Ever Feel Better
1901

Many more photos at the HAD Archive