Watch Wilco Perform Songs from Being There, Released On This Day in 1996
Photo by Anton Coene Music Features Wilco
When did you first discover Wilco? For me, it was decades after everyone else, well into the press cycle for their 2016 album Schmilco. I stumbled upon a single from that record, “If I Ever Was a Child,” a warm folk-ish number that first introduced me to Jeff Tweedy’s soft-spoken wisdom.
You, on the other hand, probably learned about Wilco years and years before I did, at the peak of their popularity. Maybe you fell in love with their 1995 debut A.M., or maybe you hopped on board in time for 1999’s Summerteeth, or perhaps you joined in for the arrival of their quintessential LP, 2002’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Or maybe you even just discovered Wilco during the rollout of their 11th studio album, Ode to Joy, which arrived earlier this month. But in the mix of all those, Wilco released another classic: 1996’s monumental double-disc Being There. To commemorate its release, we’re unearthing Paste vault footage of a concert from later that year, about a month after Being There arrived on this day, Oct. 29. Highlights from this massive setlist include “Hotel Arizona,” “Misunderstood” and “Sunken Treasure.”
Watch the full concert from 1996 below, followed by the singular “Misunderstood.” Revisit our review of Ode to Joy right here.