WILCO AT THE PINES THEATRE

Published Jun 25 2007, 07:33 PM by Carly Carioli

Wilco
June 24 at Pines Theatre in Florence, MA
All photos by Caitlin E. Curran

And we thought the MFA’s Calderwood Courtyard was a sublime spot to see a rock show. We made our first trip to the Pines Theatre at Look Park in the Florence section of Northampton to see Wilco last night and wowza. First of all, the place is cozy (2000 capacity), especially compared to the Bank of America Pavilion, where the band is playing this Thursday. The sound was near-perfect, loud enough, every note crystal clear — no small feat given the band’s size (six pieces). And to say the setting was idyllic would be an understatement — the theater is smack in the middle of a beautiful 150-acre park and surrounded by impossibly tall pine trees, which were lit from underneath, creating a surreal backdrop as the sun set over the course of the show. It was general admission (no seats, just grass) and we had enough room to spread out a blanket and get comfy. And perhaps inspired by the scene (or maybe the MTV and VH1 cameras that were present), the band were on their A-game for the duration of their two-hour set, which drew mostly from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, A Ghost Is Born, and the breezy new Sky Blue Sky. Big dynamic changes, like the abrupt noise bits in “Via Chicago,” were expertly executed. Jeff Tweedy’s voice was golden, and sounded even sweeter when bassist John Stirratt sang under it. Nels Cline (whose work on the new album we actually find a bit irritating at times) was a guitar god, whammying and widdly-wooing like his life depended on it. They closed the show with a rowdy rendition of “I’m a Wheel,” with multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone doing the Pete Townshend windmill, Cline pogoing around stage right, and Tweedy screaming bloody murder at the pines.

—Will Spitz

Filed Under: Boston, Live

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