Headed down to Pomona to catch Wilco at the Fox Theater in Pomona, because 1. This show was announced before the Wiltern shows and I wanted to make sure I caught them on this tour, and 2. because I’m getting older and I’d much prefer to see the on a weekend. After some good falafel at Alladin Jr. and a quick pitcher at Joey’s Bar-B-Q we headed on to the Fox Theater.
First impression was, dang this place is strict. Concertgoers were forced to spit out their gum upon entering the theater, only to be met immediately by a cow-chompin’ security guard.. well done.
My second impression was, wow this place looks exactly like a slightly-smaller Wiltern. Tiered standing room only, same small bar areas in the lobby (with the addition of the alley bar, which is basically one of those smaller bars.. in the alley.) There also seemed to be some strange rules about letting people on to the main floor up front which appeared to have plenty of room.
I should start bringing a real camera.. but if they don't even let gum in..
The show itself: Wilco is always awesome, but they seemed especially solid last night. They played maybe 3 new songs, including the opener Wilco (The Song) and hit on a lot of favorites. This band could easily play a 4 hour set and not many people would budge. Jeff Tweedy got cryptic for a second when he announced that “we’re at the end of an era, we’ll keep you updated on that.” Hopefully this was just foreshadowing the presentation of multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone’s 40th birthday cake. (That guy is 40? I hope I pull of that hair when I’m 40.)
