Wilco
Kicking Television:
Live in Chicago
Nonesuch
Wilco’s progressive transformation
from straight-ahead country-rock to daring experimentalism almost defies
belief. Yet as much as the band is praised for its live show, it still seems
challenged to keep the intensity level high for an entire concert. On this
double-disc set Wilco avoids the problem by
cherry-picking from a four-night engagement. Longime
loyalists beware: the program draws heavily from the last two albums.
Last year Wilco became a
six-piece, so these new arrangements can sound busy at first. Nonetheless, the
gorgeous piano work of Mikael Jorgensen and powerful
presence of new guitarist Nels Cline save the day.
Expect your love for some of these new versions to sneak up on you. Pristine
sound quality and a palpable sense of the band really going for it don’t hurt.
If nothing else, Kicking Television raises the intrigue factor on the question of where Wilco
will go next.
— Saby Reyes-Kulkarni
Daddy
At the Women’s Club
Cedar Creek Music
In the early ’90s, Will Kimbrough and Tommy Womack were down
in Nashville giving the status quo
a purple nurple with their alt-country act The Bis-Quits. In that same tradition the duo has re-emerged as
Daddy — a rockin’ outfit that gives real rockin’ country an 18-wheel push.
There’s just enough long hair and flannel in the tone to
appease those who arrived at Merle via The Bottle Rockets and enough rich
harmony and southern charm for those who remember Nashville
before the boob job. They reverently and proficiently pluck and twang over a
2/4 stomp but are still able to pull off an unexpected cover like The Faces’ “Ooh
La La.”
At the Women’s Club is
wild and loose — due in part to it being a live recording of the band’s second-ever show. I give these guys a year — then
everybody’s gonna know who their Daddy is.
— Frank De Blase
This article appears in Dec 28, 2005 – Jan 3, 2006.
