Chords Strung Down My Cheeks: Reflections on Wilco Via Columbia

Written by Colin LaVaute - Photos by Notley Hawkins

Fall is in the air in Mid-Missouri and with it the sounds of Roots n Blues emanate throughout Columbia. Aside from being able to enjoy the festival, for me it also means the planning and execution of the Roots n Blues Betsy Farris Memorial Run. Because of this task I also rarely get to experience much of the first day of the fest as I usually run the pre-race packet pickup in which hundreds of runners grab their shirts and swag ahead of the Saturday morning run. With that + race prep it can be exhausting by the time that I usually arrive at the festival. 

I showed up as country maven Tanya Tucker was closing out what seemed to be a fiery set. I lamented that I hadn’t been able to see the majority of her performance. However, I had to move on before she finished as I had to make it in time to see one of my favorite acts of all time, for the very first time, on the other stage. 

The premise of The Big Muddy Music Hour has always been “playing what’s relevant in music from the country of the midwest and beyond.” Perhaps there has been no midwest band that has been had more relevance (and maintained said relevance) than Chicago’s own Wilco. By the time that I had caught wind of their magnificence, it was the aughts. Before even really listening to their iconic album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, I watched the seminal documentary about the making of it titled I Am Trying to Break Your Heart. This film in and of itself made me fall in love with a band that had already made their mark as one of the most exciting alternative bands in the US before releasing what was universally acclaimed as their masterpiece. I was hooked. I went down the wormhole of their discography and became an adoring fan. 

Alicia had to leave with the kiddos at this point, so I approached the stage alone as Wilco broke into Handshake Drugs. Our good friend Emma found me in the crowd and we burst into a wild fit of dancing as the band effortlessly pulled the crowd into what will go down as a monumental set in the history of Roots n Blues Festival. I honestly wasn’t prepared for how visceral of an experience it would be. While much of the set was dedicated to the band’s groovy new effort Cruel Country, it was the moments of experiencing cuts from Yankee, Summerteeth, and Sky Blue Sky that hit me like a ton of bricks. 

One of the most impressive aspects for me was their ability to recreate the soundscapes of some of their most experimental and disjointed songs. From the way in which I Am Trying to Break Your Heart disassembles during its denouement to the rapturous and thundering heavy metal drum fills by Glenn Kotche during Via Chicago; Wilco easily made their way through a set of organized chaos. Having a live performance bring me to tears doesn’t happen that often, but I was a literal wreck during many of my favorite cuts. Perhaps nowhere nearly as much as when the band kicked into Jesus, Etc. 

“Tall buildings shake

Voices escape singing sad, sad songs

Tuned to chords strung down your cheeks

Bitter melodies turning your orbit around”

For fans of the band, hearing those particular songs that resonate with each individual no doubt had the same weight of emotional gravitas. I thought of (Roots n Blues Festival Owner) Tracy Lane as the band broke into Hummingbird. She had chosen the song to be played on the BMMH episode I hosted that covered the fest this year. She worked at The Blue Note back in the day when Wilco (and their former iteration known as Uncle Tupelo) were coming up. Back in those days, Columbia was just as much of a musical home to Tweedy and company as Chicago was. Tracy was embedded with the band during this time. Hummingbird held a special significance for her, though she held her cards close to her chest as to why. Sometimes the musical connections to our heartstrings are best left unspoken. 

To quote local folk hero and 2022 Roots n Blues performer Pat Kay, “Tweedy’s stage banter is top shelf.” Tweedy hilariously not only asked the crowd itself how there were doing, but proceeded to poll crowd members individually. He also took a moment to assert that he does in fact consider Columbia some semblance of “home.” As far as homecomings go, this one touched my soul in a way that few live performances have.