A Calm Center, A Growing Circle

Wilco In Stride: (l to r) Pat Sansone, Glenn Kotche, Mikael Jorgensen, Nels Cline, Jeff Tweedy, and John Stirratt

The year has reached its half way mark and Wilco are riding a momentum that perhaps no one could have imagined. In a career where artistic success is measured much higher than commercial accolades, Wilco seem to have finally become an over night success story during an age where over night success is almost an expectation placed on the shoulders of bands by the record industry.

"I'm a Grammy award winning artist," said singer/songwriter Jeff Tweedy during a benefit show in Chicago just this past March. "Very weird." It definitely is new turf for Tweedy, the primary architect of Wilco. A month prior to his solo show at the Vic Theatre for the Kawasaki Disease Benefit fund the group received two Grammy nominations for their fifth album A Ghost Is Born. They were previously nominated in 1999 for the Woody Guthrie project Mermaid Avenue with partner Billy Bragg. This year's Grammys saw Wilco sharing the "Best Alternative Album" category with veterans like Bjork and PJ Harvey along with buzz groups Franz Ferdinand and Modest Mouse. Wilco walked away with the prize as well as in the "Best Recording Package" category.

Some may argue that it was the Recording Industry Association of America's (RIAA) way of making up for the zero nominations Wilco's 2002 album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot received. It's not like it hasn't happened before in the history of the Grammys. Metallica was considered a lock for the 1988 Grammys in the category of "Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance Vocal or Instrumental." To their shock and even the victors of the category, Jethro Tull landed the Grammy win. But the next year Metallica was given the award for "Best Metal Performance." The refusal by Wilco's former label Reprise Records to release Yankee Hotel Foxtrot made it the most talked about album of the year. It was not only thought of as Wilco's masterpiece but also as one of the best albums deserving of recognition. The album recently became the band's first Gold album (500,000 copies). Not bad for an album that spent almost a year on the Internet download circuit before finally achieving an official release with Nonesuch Records.

Down time seems to be few and far between for Wilco and its members. Now in a more comfortable position, Wilco could afford to take a year off from performances, but just when you think they've played their final note they come back with additional shows. There's almost a sense that there is an awareness among the band that their window of opportunity, artistically and commerically, could very well close at any moment. So, it's in their best interests to enjoy what they have now while not being blind to the bigger picture that Wilco can not last forever as a band.

During his first of two solo shows in Chicago since a trio of shows in January of 2003, Jeff Tweedy lent his services and his songbook to assist the Children's Memorial Hospital in early March. The benefit for the Kawasaki Disease fund at the Vic Theatre carried a heavy connection to Tweedy and his family. His oldest son, Spencer, was treated for the heart disease. The average child's age treated by Children's Memorial for the disease is 20 months. Begun in 1985, the Kawasaki fund earned $45,000 from Tweedy's performance. According to a representative from the Children's Memorial Foundation, James Lynch, "A great majority of the funds will be used for supplies and equipment in the lab that is working to find the cause for Kawasaki disease."

The two nights at the Vic Theatre was in many ways a stroll down memory lane for Tweedy and fans. After performing his Uncle Tupelo contribution "Gun" on the second night, Tweedy remarked, "Geez, that song's like 12 years, 13-years-old now." The body of work he has accumulated over the years amazed even Tweedy. It was like watching Tweedy not as the performer but as the fan. From the innocence of "Pecan Pie" to the seasoned heart of "Wishful Thinking," Tweedy laid out the true portrait of the artist.

In the first week of May, Wilco returned to the Vic Theatre with director Sam Jones to film four consecutive nights for a concert film. Reunited with Jones--director of the Wilco documentary I Am Trying To Break Your Heart (2002)--Wilco bashed out a total of 121 songs over the four nights. Each night had their little unique moments like Tweedy revealing his nicotine patch on the second night to prove he had given up smoking and a stage diving Tweedy on the final night. Whether or not the cameras caught the magic of this current lineup on stage will be made clear upon its release as a DVD/CD package in the fall.

So far, the year has been good to Wilco. Since being treated for his dual diagnois condition over a year ago, Tweedy has remained in healthy spirits and it shows within the band. Fans anxiously await for new material to begin creeping into the band's setlists as possible glimpses of their next album. It's unthinkable what this band could do to excel past the accomplishments they have achieved thus far, but you never know with Wilco.