Wilco

Posting will be a little light this afternoon and tomorrow as I'm off to Colorado Springs this evening to see Wilco. There's a bit of a "local band makes good" feeling for me in regards to Wilco. They are, obviously, an off shoot of the former band Uncle Tupelo. Tupelo and their original members were from Belleville Illinois, right across the river from my hometown. To this day Wilco and Son Volt songs contain references to life in and around Mound City. Wilco identifies as a Chicago band now but to some of us they will always be local boys. That they are one of the biggest bands in the world right now is sort of hard to wrap our heads around.

Tupelo broke up when I was a freshman in high school, too young to have seen them and to really "get" what they were doing - which was changing the face of music and reinvigorating an entire genre. Wilco formed soon after but they didn't play many shows in and around home for many, many years so my friends and I gravitated towards Son Volt. Every couple of months we cruise down to the old American Theater on Washington Ave (before Washington Ave became gentrified and full of lofts and swanky clubs and bars) and catch a great alt-country rocker from the band.

I still have split loyalties, both bands are great but both are as different as their genius front men. I'm just excited to get to go see my local band again.