It appeared to this out-of-towner that Wilco's first-time visit to El Paso was greeted as some sort of watershed cultural event for the city, yet another sign that the town is quickly becoming a major urban center in the Southwestern U.S. The band appeared on the cover of El Paso's weekly entertainment rag, and the review of the show at the Abraham Chavez Theatre was spotlighted on the front page of Thursday's El Paso Times.
More indicative, however, was the reaction of the fans who filled about two-thirds of the lovely downtown venue. I've been to several Wilco shows before, but I've never been part of such an adoring crowd. They were on their feet from the get-go and never sat down again. I thought it would be great to see Wilco in a proper theater, but my major concern was that the crowd would be seated and sedate for much of the show (that was apparently the case at Thursday's Tuscon show). But any such concerns were entirely misplaced because the El Paso fans came to rock. And Wilco returned the gesture.
Clearly thrilled to be opening for Wilco in front of a hometown audience, openers Sleepercar probably overstayed their welcome by a couple of songs (they were good, but I saw at least one crewmember give them the "wind it the fuck up" signal). With the Wilco set not starting until around 9:20, I was concerned that the band was up against an 11 o'clock curfew. Though Jeff Tweedy and his bandmates blazed through the first half of the set with hardly a break between songs, they ultimately went until almost 11:30 and disappointed probably no one in attendance. The set was balanced nicely with songs from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and beyond, including four songs from their upcoming Wilco (The Album). Tweedy was a bit reserved until about halfway through the set, but the audience's enthusiasm clearly loosened him up, and he was positively giddy by the end. The best moment of the show (or maybe any show I've been to in a while) was when he invited a youngster in the front row to pick his guitar while he fretted the notes on a solo during "Spiders (Kidsmoke)" (very awesome to see that song back in rotation).
I'm usually impressed by the crowds at Wilco shows. They're generally attentive and enthusiastic (and often much younger than I expect). But with all due respect to my fellow Houston-based Wilco fans, these El Paso folks were in a different realm on Wednesday. My guess is that another Wilco show is in El Paso's future.
