Watch Wilco perform a Tiny Desk Concert at NPR Music
XPN favorites Wilco have always been known for their largely rocking and experimental, and musically intense live shows, however, in quiet beauty the band shows another side of themselves.
Wilco recently stopped by the NPR Music for a Tiny Desk Concert to play acoustic versions of new and old songs. They opened their set with “The Joke Explained” from their most recent album, Star Wars, a rollicking country rock song featuring guitar virtuoso Nels Cline on slide. They followed up with “Misunderstood,” a melodic ballad that captures everything that is great about the band, introspective storytelling lyrics about inner-self and strange atonal mumblings that channel Jeff Tweedy’s former crippling migranes.
The band then rocks through two cuts from 1999’s Summerteeth, “I’m Always In Love” and “Shot In The Arm.” Synths are replaced with glockenspiel and melodica, interesting arrangements coming from a band with a solid musical bond that comes from years of playing together. (If you look closely, you can find several Wilco albums hidden on the NPR shelves behind the band.)
Wilco will be returning to Philly for the first time in years to play at the Mann Center this summer with Richard Thompson. For tickets and more information for that show, check out the link Concert Calendar.
Watch Wilco’s Tiny Desk Concert below.