Review of Wilco at the Enmore Theatre, Saturday 21st April 2007
Not often does life transcend the ordinary. Sometimes moments of epiphany occur when you're alone, meditating on beauty or intricacy of life, but they're most glorious when shared. In a society where the self is worshipped above the whole, it is a rare thing.
It's something I love about fellowship with my christian brothers and sisters. We have a collective purpose, and a connected love, we are one body, have one spirit, one father. We are called to unity in Christ. We don't often succeed, but we are fundamentally, spiritually one.
This is a unique and lovely thing and it doesn't occur much elsewhere. However, I have to say, on Saturday night, I felt a life-changing oneness outside the spiritual realm, or... perhaps it was a spiritual experience. If music is a stirring of the soul, then at the beginning of their Sky Blue Sky tour, Wilco are stirring souls like you could never imagine.
To start with, the band were in fine form. As a friend said "it was a flawless gig". Flawless technically, but also they were in high spirits, relishing every moment. The setlist covered songs from each of their albums and the arrangement of emotions and narratives covered all possibilities, from love lost to love gained, hope to fear, failure, success, irreverence, pensiveness, wistfulness, even the pragmatic. Such is the mastery of Jeff Tweedy's lyricism. The punches were rolling. Everyone was in awe of this band, knowing how far they'd come since they were dropped by their label in 2002, since Jeff went through rehab, since life, as it inevitably does, swallows us up and spits us out.
I woke up Sunday knowing something had changed in me. Some part of my being had been awakened.
Experiences like this mean I wait eagerly for the day when I will wake up for good, when I will no longer drag my feet, sonambulant across this earth which is hollow and fading. When the sun will never set, the rivers will overflow and trees will be in fruit all year. Work will not be arduous, for it will be to the glory of god. Oceans won't churn, but envelop, winds will not destroy, but waltz elegantly across the land. Our cities will not aspire to greatness, but humility and our eyes will not look downward, but be lifted up in joy.