Photo by Charles Harris

Last night, April 15, American indie-rock band Wilco kicked off their Yankee Hotel Foxtrot 20th Anniversary Tour at the United Palace Theatre in New York City. The performance, which served as the first of three scheduled for the United Palace Theatre, saw the band perform their iconic 2001 LP Yankee Hotel Foxtrot in its entirety.

Wilco was joined at the theatre by a horn section that included American jazz trombonist and vocalist Natalie Cressman. The ensemble started the evening how many had hoped, with the opening song of the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart.” The evening followed the album’s format perfectly. “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart” was followed by track 2, “Kamera,” which was followed by track 3, “Radio Cure.” As one may expect, this remained true for the rest of the set; track 5, “Jesus, Etc.” was followed by track 6, “Ashes Of American Flags,” and so on. The performance was so true to form the Marina City complex–featured on the album’s cover–may as well have erected itself from the ground up right then and there.

After the penultimate track 10, “Poor Places,” was followed by the closing song “Reservations,” few knew what was next, but an encore felt imminent. Wilco returned to the stage and opened with a cover of Bill Fay’s “Be Not So Fearful,” which marked the first time the band had performed the song since June 24, 2017. Next came two pieces in honor of the late Jay Bennett, who was a member of Wilco until his death and also acted as an engineer on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. First came “Pieholden Suite,” which they haven’t played since Dec. 8, 2014, which was followed by the final track of the evening “A Magazine Called Sunset,” which was last heard just two days before “Pieholden Suite” on Dec. 6, 2014.

Read more about Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot 20th Anniversary Tour here.

Wilco
United Palace Theatre – New York City
April 15, 2022

Set: I Am Trying To Break Your Heart, Kamera, Radio Cure, War On War, Jesus, Etc., Ashes Of American Flags, Heavy Metal Drummer, I’m The Man Who Loves You, Pot Kettle Black, Poor Places, Reservations

Enc.: Be Not So Fearful, Pieholden Suite, A Magazine Called Sunset