Wilco stretches out at Beak & Skiff
Wilco stretches out at Beak & Skiff
Review: Two sets, three decades of songs and a band that still is still innovating.
Wilco brought a sprawling slice of Americana rock to Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards on Tuesday, filling the LaFayette venue with the loose confidence of a band that has spent three decades reshaping folk, country and rock into something distinctly its own.
Billed as “An Evening with Wilco,” the show unfolded across two full sets, moving from quiet alt-country textures to jagged, guitar-heavy passages that pushed well beyond traditional Americana.
Opening with “Handshake Drugs,” the band immediately established the night’s defining tension: Jeff Tweedy’s understated vocals set against Nels Cline‘s sharp, restless guitar work, with John Stirratt‘s steady bass and Glenn Kotche‘s inventive drumming anchoring it all.
Formed in Chicago in 1994 following the breakup of roots rock legends Uncle Tupelo, Wilco has steadily expanded beyond its alt-country roots, building a catalog that moves through folk, indie rock, experimental noise and melodic pop.
Tweedy and Stirratt have anchored the band since the beginning; its current six-piece lineup — rounded out by guitarist Cline, drummer Kotche, keyboardist Mikael Jorgensen and multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone — has been together since 2004.
That continuity showed throughout the night. The band sounded less like a legacy act revisiting its greatest hits than a group still finding new corners inside songs it has played for years.
A clear, cool evening gave the orchard a relaxed summer feel, with fans pressed near the stage and scattered across the lawn as daylight faded behind the hills.
Cline’s guitar added jagged bursts of texture throughout, while Kotche’s drumming drove “War on War,” “Heavy Metal Drummer” and “Spiders (Kidsmoke)” with restless energy.
The second set leaned into the band’s most celebrated material, including “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart,” “Impossible Germany,” “Jesus, Etc.” and “Theologians.”
Wilco closed with an encore of “The Late Greats” and “I Got You (At the End of the Century)” that captured the band’s range: sharp, melodic and still pushing forward.
The second set leaned into the band’s most celebrated material, including “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart,” “Impossible Germany,” “Jesus, Etc.” and “Theologians.”
Wilco closed with an encore of “The Late Greats” and “I Got You (At the End of the Century)” that captured the band’s range: sharp, melodic and still pushing forward.
