Five places to download free Wilco shows

As Jeff Tweedy says in this year's fantastic Wilco tour documentary, Ashes Of American Flags, "our band has made its living on the road from the beginning.” Because Wilco has long allowed fans to make and distribute concert recordings—as long as it’s nonprofit—it’s relatively easy to trace the band’s development as Tweedy has chucked band members and genre tags every couple of years. So, if you can’t make the shows Oct. 18-19 at the UIC Pavilion—or you’re looking for a good warm-up—here are five places to download some quality (and legal) Wilco live recordings.

tauthal.com: July 20, 1995 in Nashville, Tenn.
There’s been so much turnover in Wilco during the years that many fans might favor one incarnation of the band over another. If you like Wilco Version 1.0—the one that released 1995’s A.M. and fits best with the “alt-country” label Wilco still gets tagged with—you’ll want to download this show from early in the band’s history. Look for songs like “I Got You (At The End Of The Century),” “Say You Miss Me,” and “Outtasite (Outta Mind)” that would surface a year later on the landmark Being There. (Also check out the set-closing cover of Tom Petty’s “Listen To Her Heart.”)

thesteamengine.blogspot.com: July 4, 2001 (Jay Bennett’s last show)
The most infamous ex-member of Wilco is easily Jay Bennett, who (unfortunately) is probably best known for his Philip Seymour Hoffman-esque turn as Tweedy’s arch-nemesis in I Am Trying To Break Your Heart. Here you’ll find a recording of Bennett’s last show with the band, which occurred nine months before the official release of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and features many of that album’s songs.

aquariumdrunkard.com: September 15, 2007 episode of Austin City Limits
Like most every other album Wilco has made, 2007’s Sky Blue Sky had its share of detractors. But even fans that felt the record leaned too heavily on pleasant soft rock melodies and windy guitar solos often came around to the songs after hearing them live. This audio recording of Wilco’s stellar performance on the Austin City Limits TV show is one of the best representations of the band’s Sky Blue Sky period.

themidnightcafe.org: “Winter Residency” Feb. 15-20, 2008 at The Riviera Theatre
Last winter, Wilco set up camp at Chicago’s Riviera Theatre for five shows and played every song in its catalog. (Even the Mermaid Avenue albums recorded with British folk singer Billy Bragg are represented.) Hardcore fans and Wilco novices might want to start here. 

zak425.blogspot.com: Jeff Tweedy’s “Letters To Santa” Vol. 1
Anyone who has seen Tweedy perform a solo acoustic show knows what an engaging—and often hilarious—performer he can be in an intimate setting. And settings don’t come much more intimate than this undated living room show, which (judging by the set list) likely occurred either before or right around the release of Sky Blue Sky. Tweedy performed this show for charity, and he lets each audience member (all two dozen or so of them) pick a song. The crowd even chimes in on backing vocals.