Concrete Playground

I remember thinking country music was mega uncool when I was a teenager. And I suppose it is, if you judge it by, say, Garth Brooks or Lee Kernaghan — you know, douche bags in stupid hats. Brooks is the worst of them all. I picked up this amazing book from an op-shop about him, which is full of great slogans like "The greatest conflicts are not between two people but between one person and himself.” Douche.

Anyway my point is, thank the lord Jebus (to use the correct vernacular) a friend of mine introduced me to Johnny Cash, Gram Parsons and contemporaries like Gillian Welch and Ryan Adams — people that made music that tapped into the rich history of blues, bluegrass, dixie sounds and folk and combined these with the provincial simplicity and purity of real country music. Some of them still had stupid hats, but they didn't bullshit.

Wilco embody this alternative approach to country music. After 16 years of making amazing records, they are absolute legends. The two original members — head honcho Jeff Tweedy and bassist John Stirratt — along with a cast of others, have brought country to a lot of younger people that may have never have listened to it otherwise. They are stopping in Australia, still touring their seventh record, Wilco, which came out in June 2009. The album is hailed as one of their most accessible, and the State Theatre will be an amazing setting to see these luminaries. As a just-announced bonus, Liam Finn will open the proceedings.