When most bands hit the road in support of an album, they load their set full of that album’s songs and beat it into the audience for a hope of sales. Well, Wilco isn’t a band that ties itself to the industry norms, with the numerous entrances and exits of members in the previous years around Tweedy and bassist John Stiratt’s nucleus, Wilco has become a collective of musicians who are in it for the music. If tonight’s setlist was promoting an album, we’d be back in the late 90s and Being There would be all the buzz.

After an absense of nearly 9 years between shows in Houston between the first 2 times they played here, the mere 3 year wait for this show seemed like a blink of an eye. Fortunately though, no one took this speedy return for granted and the Verizon Wireless Theater was filled to the brim. From teenagers pressed against the barricades professing undying love for Tweedy and co, to the older fans in the back quietly singing along with their favorite songs, the night was all about music.

Taking a cue from their Austin City Limits performance, the band opened with You Are My Face from Sky Blue Sky. It was a nice mellow opener that was a change of pace from the riff-laden freakout at the end of At Least That’s What You Said, which began their last show here in Houston. While normally this is information is of the trivial sort, Tweedy made a point to show the tear the current tour is having on his throat between songs.

While the gravelly, hoarse voice was apparent between songs, Tweedy held it together well and sounded wonderful singing the songs most in the audience knew by heart. Of course, at the time, it was a bit shocking the band kept such a mellow vibe going for the first half of the set, it made sense as the between song banter sounded more and more like Wolfman Jack, but as I stated, the songs didn’t suffer in the least…at least to my ears.

The night was quite the reward for those in Houston as the band touched on every album, hitting selections from AM, Being There and Summerteeth as well as the recent albums. You could argue all day on the periods of this band, but Reprise era stuff differs a bit from the Nonesuch era albums so it was nice to see the oldies getting as much play as the new tracks.

Guitarist Nels Cline showed a great ability to adapt as he played the Brian Henneman created leads on the AM tracks, which were very different from his work on the Wilco albums he’s participated in. He weaved through all the genre changes with authenticity, not just hitting the notes, but embellishing them the right way to fit the context. With Pat Sansone alternating between keyboards and guitar, the sound was perfect. The older songs took a bit of a new twist with the new players, but maintained the charm that made them memorable.

And yes, I realize the show wasn’t just about the old music, but for me, as with most Houston fans, this was a treat since we missed live shows for that era.

Wilco also touched on both Mermaid Avenue albums during the set. Nothing was left untouched and everyone rejoiced until the fateful 11 p.m. curfew ended chances of a second encore.

Opening the show was John Doe, of X fame. This was a treat, if I do say so myself. Doe and his band were wonderful. The melodies were strong, the music sounded full and they got the audience worked up as they should. Nels Cline even took a few opportunities to run out on the stage and play with the band.

With Cline, Doe and company played a scorching version of the Rolling Stones’ Gimme Shelter to close out their set. It was a moment that would have been worthy of a headliner and this was just the warmup. That’s the best indicator of what a wonderful night it was.