Wilco kicked off a three-show, four-night run at New York’s Beacon Theatre on Friday, which also marked the 55th birthday of multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone. The band honored the Mississippi-born guitarist/keyboardist/percussionist who joined the band in 2004 with a traditional “Happy Birthday” in the encore.
The seminal Chicago indie folk-rock sadbois are still riding the release of their 13th studio album Cousin in September. Though the band made sure to touch on the latest release and move a few copies at the merch stand, Wilco paid more attention to Cousin‘s predecessor Cruel Country. The ambitious country double album from 2022 saw plenty of love at the Thursday run opener, as the band dished out “I Am My Mother”, “Cruel Country”, and “Bird Without a Tail / Base of My Skull” in the main set and “Falling Apart (Right Now)” in the five-song encore (including “Happy Birthday”). By the end of the night, Cruel Country had gotten as much attention as landmark Wilco albums Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost is Born, the latter of which celebrated its 20th birthday on Saturday.
After the 20-song set, the Jeff Tweedy-led outfit returned to the stage and turned its attention stage left to Pat Sansone. Along with guitarist Nels Cline who also joined Wilco in 2004, Sansone was the last piece of the puzzle that cemented the band’s lineup, which has remained intact ever since. The love was felt throughout the Beacon before the band got back to business with the aforementioned “Falling Apart (Right Now)” and a run of classics closed out night one with the Woody Guthrie-penned “California Stars”, Summerteeth‘s “Via Chicago”, and finally “Spiders (Kidsmoke)” from A Ghost is Born.
Check out a gallery of images from Wilco at the Beacon Theatre from photographer Andrew Blackstein along with some fan-shot videos. Wilco returns to the Beacon tonight, June 24th, to finish out the three-show stint. Visit the band’s website for tickets and a full list of tour dates.
Wilco — “Forget The Flowers” — 6/21/24
[Video: remphish1]
Setlist: Wilco | Beacon Theatre | New York, NY | 6/21/24
Set: Misunderstood, Forget The Flowers, Handshake Drugs, Pittsburgh, I Am My Mother, Cruel Country, I Am Trying To Break Your Heart, Meant To Be, If I Ever Was A Child, Summer Teeth, Hummingbird, Bird Without A Tail / Base Of My Skull, Passenger Side, Evicted, Impossible Germany, Jesus, Etc., Whole Love, The Late Greats, Heavy Metal Drummer, I’m The Man Who Loves You
Encore: Happy Birthday To You (Mildred J. Hill, Patty Hill) [1], Falling Apart (Right Now), California Stars (Woody Guthrie), Via Chicago, Spiders (Kidsmoke)
[1] Band and audience sang to wish Pat Sansone a happy birthday
