Wilco, the Gem of Columbia

Wilco, with Dr. Dog.

Better than: Having the show inside the Blue Note, where there are places to sit and better vantage points to actually see the bands, as opposed to standing on pavement for three hours behind some tattooed love girl who will not stop invading our space.

Review by Megan Metzger, amateurish-but-earnest photos by Darren A. Fox, bastard French cutlines by Harper

Le crowd.

After a two-hour road trip and a pit stop at the Flatbranch Brewery, we arrived at Ninth and Broadway to catch Philadelphia’s Dr. Dog. Although we aren’t a fan of the band’s name, we totally dig its ’70s-infused, blue-eyed granola soul, which the boys in sunglasses and retro threads rollicked through for about an hour.

Attendance was fairly light for the opener, and we surmised the threat of rain and the just-announced October 13th Wilco show in KC kept some fans away. But the night turned out to be clear and gorgeous, and as Wilco’s start time crept closer, the crowd got bigger and bigger.

The Bob Newhart theme streamed through the PA, and Wilco took to the stage, opening the long show with “You Are My Face” off of latest release Sky Blue Sky.

Le dog docteur.