Wilco: A Dream Can Mean Anything

Wilco performed at Otto's Niteclub in Dekalb, Illinois, on Wednesday, May 19, 2004 and gave fans all the reassurance they needed that Jeff Tweedy is back from the road to recovery. From Glorious Noise review "A Dream Can Mean Anything" by Jake Brown:

"From the moment they took the stage to the whining riff of "Ashes of American Flags," this was a band who had their shit together. They sounded like they had been playing together for years. Guitarist Nels Cline knew exactly when to take control and when to step back and let Jeff Tweedy show off his newfound skills at lead guitar. Together, they tore shit up. In their most boisterous and indulgent instrumental passages, like at the end of "Muzzle of Bees," they sounded like a noisy Grateful Dead. And that's not an insult. I was not on drugs, yet at times I felt moved by the sheer ruckus of the sound to an almost transcendent place. They rocked.

"Before the final encore, Tweedy thanked his fans for our support during his recent stint in rehab. 'I had a rough time recently and you guys have been amazingly great.' A renowned music fan himself, Tweedy ended the evening with a tender rendition of Wilco's ultimate ode to fandom, 'The Lonely 1,' and we all knew he was singing through us, for us, and about us: 'When you perform it's so intense / When the critics pan I write in your defense / I understand I am just a fan / I'm just a fan.' And never has there been a band that understands the fan-star relationship better than Wilco."

Full review, photos and setlist on Glorious Noise. Bit torrent download is available at Sharing the Groove . Thanks to chromewaves.net for tip. Also, see Jeff Tweedy and Neil Young influences page.

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