It’s only been two times that I have seen Wilco (unfortunately) and this was only the third time that they have played in Sydney. Simply stated: they know how to put on a rock and roll show on so many levels, and all of them are perfect.

Blending their alternative-country sound and rock and roll guitar sensibilities with Jeff Tweedy’s words, they are able to deliver songs that are soft and warm – like they did with the gorgeous first tune Sunken Treasure from Being There. Following this was a dreamy Reservations, taken from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. But the third song of the evening was one I had wanted to hear live for many a day and it was spectacular and epic. With lyrics by Woody Guthrie and music by Wilco, the reading reminded me of Dylan and days gone by. Jeff was wearing his “cute hat” (as someone from the audience had said) and looked like a member of The Band. We could have been sitting in Big Pink in upstate New York….down in the Basement.

But the beauty of the concert was the way the band sounded, and the absolute perfect mix of songs that built from a cozy campfire sound to a sweaty rock and roll gig by the end of the night. Nels Cline showed once again that he is truly a genius on anything with strings, switching from guitar to lap steel (notably on Jesus, Etc. ) over and over again. When Pat Sansone, Jeff Tweedy and Nels all kicked out on guitars on I Got You On The End Of The Century during the encore, it was an incendiary moment.

It appeared that Jeff and company were having a ball. Delivering 26 songs through out the night with five each from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Ghost Is Born, Sky Blue Sky, Being There, three from Summerteeth and a couple from their first release A.M (including Just That Simple sung by high lonesome bassist John Stirrat ). It was a much better overview of their career then the last time they were in town.

I assume the five nights in Chicago recently where Wilco attempted to play most of their catalogue got them familiar with some songs they had not visited in a while. Although their gig here in 2007 was very special, I really felt a relaxed and energetic groove from the band this time. And Jeff really does appear to like playing in Australia. He joked with the audience about picking up the local dialect, mimicking the audience call-outs for songs, which were unrecognisable to his ear.

As many of the songs on this tour have been selected by Wilco fans online, I am happy to say that many of them must have loved Being There. The night concluded with a memorable seven song encore and the last four tunes were from the aforementioned release.

Monday into Outtasite (Outta Mind) was a terrific way to end the evening and the smiles on the stage reflected the crowd’s. I had a sense they did not want to clock off, but the lights came on after some prolonged applause and Wilco were once more gone from our city. Do yourself a big favour and don’t miss them…ever.