i was a wilco virgin

I went to see Wilco last night and now I get what all the fuss is about.

When my friend, Chris, ended up with a spare ticket, she tossed it my way. I'd heard of Wilco because Chris' husband, Gary, makes fantastic compilation cds and almost always includes a Wilco cut. I also knew that there was some distant connection to Uncle Tupelo. Plus, it was at the Pageant and I'd never been, so why not!

I checked the Pageant site to see who was opening—not a band I knew. But, more importantly, I saw that Wilco was here for three nights and sold out every one. Very impressive. I had a feeling I was about to link into something big.

When I met up with my friends, I found out that our mission after the show was to meet the band so that Gary could get a picture with Jeff, whoever that was. But, judging from Gary's excitement this was a big deal.

Before I forget, the Pageant is awesome. I know you all know that, but it must be said. And the opening act? They took themselves way too seriously and sounded awfully angsty.

I was highly entertained by the fans. There was the blonde duo, doing the blonde dance, and the drunk girls doing the "when I'm drunk I'm such a good dancer" dance. An amazing amount of men were dancing—some doing the man dance, some playing air drums… one even had a little tush shimmy that Chris pointed out.

I'd never seen a band that I didn't recognize a single song, but every other person in the room knew every single word. I felt like I was the new person at an evangelical revival.

The band was, in short, incredible. They had entertaining lyrics, were very tight and damn, that Jeff guy has a lot of guitars. I even remembered a couple of songs this morning, which for me says a great deal since I have the memory of a gnat.

After the show, we did indeed get to meet the band. Gary's brother gets kudos for pulling that together. Gary got his picture with Jeff, who turned out to be a perfectly charming, regular guy. Thanks to Gary, I had a brief moment of contact with Glenn Klotche, the drummer—a moment that may rank in one of my top ten.

The absolutely splendid thing about being an outsider and meeting a band that generates such intense devotion, was that I could calmly observe and just meet a bunch of guys that were really, really good at what they do. Well, with the exception of the drummer. That was one of those flat line moments you aren't expecting.

The end result was a very high wow factor and I woke this morning wanting more.

Now, I see what all the fun is about.