There are three separate and distinct Ryan Adams stage personas: the folk guitarist of his early solo years, the front-man for a band that sounds suspiciously like the Grateful Dead, and bad alternative country heartthrob. At Foellinger Auditorium last Thursday, we got a taste of the last two, with a side bonus of the pissy wannabe-rock star Ryan Adams that started showing up a few weeks back. It’s a shame, though, because a solo acoustic show in the very intimate Foellinger could’ve been great.
Okkervil River are loud, passionate, energetic, and nice guys to boot who put on a good, diverse show. No one can accuse the band of giving less than 100%.
It’s no surprise that Rilo Kiley‘s Jenny Lewis can sing. And it’s not much of a surprise that Blake Sennett can play guitar. But what is a surprise is that both of them sound just as good live as they do in the studio, and that the rest of the band’s musicianship is of such a high caliber. Lewis, talented and sexy as ever, nailed every note while transitioning through the group’s wide array of styles and switching from keys to guitar to bass and back all night long. Sennett’s guitar playing was spot-on. And when he stepped up to the mic for songs such as “Ripchord” and “Dreamworld,” he only further proved his abilities.
LCD and Arcade Fire; my iPod couldn’t have devised a better 1-2 punch on random. On a brisk night (by southern California standards) in a legendary venue, LCD officially started the party with the addictively repetitive “Yeah” and their sign-off, “New York I Love You.”
After 13 years, 6 studio albums, hundreds of shows, and several personnel changes, the collective that is Wilco is having fun. That much was apparent at Wednesday night’s performance.Throughout their albums, a common theme of well-crafted songs is present, though styles have changed drastically and each incarnation of the band shines through with each new release. For this performance at home in Chicago, Wilco showcased all of their styles–unexpectedly playing songs from each of their albums.
