WILCO

I had a hot date with Haley tonight at the Wilco concert in Millennium Park. Well, originally she'd invited some other people and her roommate along, but through a series of unfortunate events, it ended up being me and her hanging out for the bulk of the night. Maybe for the best, actually.

The concert was one of the best shows I've ever seen, with a ridiculous set that spanned the entire Wilco catalogue. Admittedly, I am mostly familiar with just one of their albums, but it's a sign of a good concert when you can enjoy the unfamiliar material. My neck is sore from extreme head-banging.

The usual slew of highly special concert goers was present. This included the overenthusiastic constantly screaming Wilco t-shirted girl, the dancing machine, and the avid air keyboardist. (If you've ever seen the World Air Guitar Championship, you'll know that this is serious business.) Lots of smoke filled the air, people took multiple pictures of their palms, and bottles of mouthwash with suspiciously clear contents were passed around.

Tonight also marked the start of Rosh Hashanah, and Jeff Tweedy took ample jabs at the "non-observant" Jews in the crowd. "So, for all the Jews out there, why are you here? Don't worry, this is like being at temple, really...Well, you just listened to a song called 'Jesus, Etc.' But don't feel guilty, just remember that Jesus is also an interjection, as they say in Schoolhouse Rock!"

I hadn't realized that Wilco was a Chicago-based band, but as it turns out, Tweedy still lives in town and they even have a song titled "Via Chicago." The open-air lawn at Priztker turned out to be a great setting, with the skyline in the background as the sun set.

The (first) encore ended with a phenomenal rendition of "Spiders," which is about 10 minutes of pure jamming. At the end, the audience started clapping along, with Jeff's encouragement. "Come on, it's ok to clap, you're only at a rock concert. For once, you're going to do something as part of a group, something together. Not as two, or four, as one..." And as the band faded out, the sound of clapping echoed through the air.