Wilco doesn't demand that much from its listeners. The band's name stands for "will comply," and listening to music this melodic, depressing, sleepy, and disarming can feel like popping a Valium. Much like the drug, the band has loads of fans.Photo by Richie Wireman Jeff Tweedy's Shaggy Mop set as the opening act
One such devotee recently named a sandwich shop after the Grammy-winning Chicago foursome's soft-rockin' seventh album, Sky Blue Sky, which mixes piano, a few frenzied guitars, and lyrics about the sun. Wilco posters litter the restaurant's walls, and all the sandwich names are cheekily culled from the band's oeuvre (examples: "Side With the Seeds" and "Hoodoo Voodoo").
Rabid fandom is unsurprising considering the band's consistent output
over a career that has eclipsed the 15-year mark. From A.M., its
country-scruffed debut, to last year's Wilco (The Album) -- boasting the
strong track with a gag-inducing title, "Wilco (The Song)" -- the band
has changed its stripes with each release, evolving with more complex
musical arrangements and simple poetics. Wilco (The Album) even got them
on Colbert Report without particularly pushing things into new
territory, proving they're still as cozy as ever. No prescription
required.
Wilco, 6:30 p.m. Monday, March 22, at the Fillmore Miami Beach, 1700
Washington Ave., Miami Beach. Tickets cost $24.50. 305-673-7300; click here.