My first car was a big green Buick LeSabre, and my only options then for music were Extendo-Ride, who were awesome, and a mix tape my older sister had made, full of Wilco songs off Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002, Nonesuch). That was how I got to know Wilco, and also at the same time into the local music scene. When Wilco played at the Maine State Pier on Saturday, their set — which spanned three encores — covered every song I hoped to hear. The set was remarkably tight, and fun to watch.
The high point for me was "California Stars" off Mermaid Avenue, their 1997 collaboration with Billy Bragg (sans Billy, sadly). When the noisy intro to "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart" began, I flashed back to my old Buick. I thought about how much the local music scene has changed over the course of Wilco's career. So many bands have come and gone, and few have ever been on the same professional level as Wilco.
There is no reason why Portland cannot generate its own such band. Fifteen years on the road, playing many of the same songs, and still with an energy and professionalism rare to our city, Wilco must have offered Portland's local musicians a lesson in having a band and making it work out, on stage and off.
Related:
Wilco | Wilco (The Album), Ghost stories, Tower of Song Festival, Eric Bettencourt, and the Outsiders, More 
- Wilco | Wilco (The Album)
The cover photo of a camel wearing a party hat on a terrace is a clue: after nearly a decade of fighting Jeff Tweedy and Wilco have lightened up.
- Ghost stories
For all of the excitement that surrounded Wilco on the Maine State Pier or Sufjan Stevens at Port City Music Hall or the various sold-out Ray LaMontagne shows of the past year, there is no question that last Sunday's Phish show at the Cumberland County Civic Center was the biggest thing to hit our fair city in a very long time.
- Tower of Song Festival, Eric Bettencourt, and the Outsiders
This is shaping up to be one of the best summers in a long time when it comes to outdoor and festival-type shows.
- Photos: Bonnaroo 2009
Bruce Springsteen, Wilco, Elvis Costello, and more at Bonnaroo 2009 in Manchester, Tennessee
- The Big Hurt: Brand new Dio; same old Yoko; auguries of Creed
In the process of writing last week's column about hidden Satanic messages in pop music, I listened to a bunch of shit backward and discovered that the track "Poker Face" by Lady Gaga is much, much better that way.
- Slow hand
In his Village Voice review of Jeremy Udden’s Plainville (Fresh Sound New Talent), Jim Macnie recalled how a friend of his tried to file it as “jazz for Wilco fans.” As Macnie explained, that’s not the whole story with Udden or Plainville , but it’s not a bad starting point.
- Every Friday there's an art walk
This Friday, as the first Friday of every month, Portland art-lovers will wander the streets, checking out the latest and greatest our galleries, museums, and shops have to offer. Nearby communities have their own versions, too.
- Council sinks pier deal, floats arts TIF
Three pieces of big news came out of Monday's Portland City Council meeting. Make sure you stay in the loop.
- Review: The Bad Plus's For All I Care
On each of their previous albums, the Bad Plus let it be known they owed as much to classic rock and pop as to prog jazz.
- Covers uncovered
The Bad Plus plus a singer
- Ridiculous and sublime
Certainly what will stick out most in our minds are those wonderful hours late on November 4, when we hugged and cheered and attempted to get from one side of Empire to the other without spilling our beer.
- Less
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New England Music News
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, Entertainment, Music, Pop and Rock Music, Culture and Lifestyle, Wilco, Wilco, Billy Bragg, Cars and Car Design, Maine State Pier, Maine State Pier, Less
