Co-headliners Wilco and Sleater-Kinney end the It’s Time tour at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago, along with opener NNAMDÏ.
It was the night of the hometown bands, as local artist NNAMDÏ opened for the co-headliners at Millennium Park. The multi-instrumentalist clearly had some local fans in attendance as they whooped and cheered as each of the members of the band took to the stage. NNAMDÏ warmed the excited crowd up for the night that lay ahead as the audience settled into their seats and some lay out their picnics on the lawn area, enjoying the last of the summer heat.
It was the final night of the aptly named It’s Time tour and Sleater-Kinney was the first of the co-headliners to take to the stage. The seats were full to capacity and you could barely see a blade of grass on the lawn area as everyone crammed in their picnic blankets and camp chairs. The moment Sleater-Kinney took to the stage, the audience were on their feet, and with just a few little words of encouragement from the band, they swarmed the front pit area of the stage.The majority of the songs performed in the 19-song set were taken from their 2020 album Path of Wellness, their first since drummer Janet Weiss left the band. Their set has energetic with both Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein regularly glancing over at each other with beaming smiles, clearly enjoying the show as much as the audience. The smiles and joy were reciprocated by the crowd who danced and sang along. Brownstein’s Portlandia co-star made a guest appearance on the tambourine to add to the fun of the evening.
Typically, when you go to see a co-headlining tour, the sets are shorter than usual. However, this did not feel to be the case here. With an opening band and then this set, you could quite happily call it a night and feel like you had your money’s worth. But there was still more to come!
Time for another Chicago band to be welcomed to their hometown stage as Wilco was warmly greeted by the audience. As they opened their set with “A Shot In The Arm,” they were joined on stage by Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein who provided additional. As the song came to an end, Jeff Tweedy exclaimed, “Chicago, finally!” to which the audience erupted with screaming and cheering to show they were glad to finally be getting to experience this show.As with Sleater-Kinney, Jeff Tweedy also looked like he was enjoying every moment of being back on the stage. Guitarist Nels Cline, constantly looked lost in the moment as he put his heart and soul into the performance. It always feels that extra bit special when you see a band perform in their hometown, and this was definitely one of those nights. This was especially so when they performed “Via Chicago,” which received a number of cheers whenever the city was mentioned. If you’ve ever heard this song performed live, you know what to expect, but it was fun to see the almost meerkat responses of those relaxing on the lawn area as the drums came crashing in.
Wrapping up the night, Tweedy exclaimed, “We missed you. We missed this and we missed that.” Rest assured we have too and here’s hoping that the current influx of show cancelations and postponements are kept to a minimum so that we can continue to experience live music. Not just for the fans who have missed this so much, but for the musicians who make a living from touring.
WILCOWebsite Facebook Twitter
SLEATER-KINNEY
Website Facebook Twitter
