Any opinions I had about Jeff Tweedy being
a brooding, tortured artist have undoubtedly been proven
inaccurate after seeing him play solo. I'm thinking that if he
ever tires of the musician route, he has a career waiting for
him in standup comedy. Yes, that's right. Jeff Tweedy is a
natural comedian with fast wit and a natural ability to make
people laugh.
There are still the remnants of his days
struggling with substance abuse. When audience members yell out
assorted comments to him between songs, he admits that he's not
quite certain if they are voices from the crowd or simply voices
in his own head. One of those voices yells out, "Don't hold
back!" To which Jeff self-deprecatingly yet humorously replies,
"I'm not holding back. This is all I've got."
But one of the funniest moments is when a
deep male voice yells out in the way only a sports fanatic can,
"Go Seahawks, baby!" (This was just prior to the Super bowl game
being given to the Stealers. "Stealers," Irony anyone?)
Jeff responded by telling the crowd, "Whatever it is about
sports that makes you do that (referring to the
uncomfortably overzealous yelling) is what keeps me from
watching sports."
Jeff also spoke about being naked in men's
locker rooms (or dressing rooms as the rock star part of him
accidentally referred to them) but we won't go into all of that.
We'll leave that to the imagine.
The opening act of the evening was the awe
strikingly talented Glenn Kotche, Wilco's drummer and an
indisputable artist in his own right. After performing a mind
blowing set consisting of miscellaneous gadgets and a drum kit,
Glenn later rejoined Jeff for a string of songs including the
amazingly poignant War on War which declares, "You have
to learn how to die if you want to be alive," as well as the
light hearted and fun Heavy Metal Drummer.
Seeing Wilco, easily one of the best bands
around today, perform together live is something not to be
missed. But seeing Jeff Tweedy or Glenn Kotche doing their solo
thing, is a different and unique aspect of the experience that
you would be crazy to miss.
~Melody Alderman
SET LIST
Sunken Treasure
Someday Some Morning Sometime
(Was I) In Your Dreams
Bob Dylan's 49th Beard
Please Tell My Brother
She's A Jar
The Ruling Class
Pieholden Suite
new song (Is That The Thanks I Get?)
Theologians
Someday Soon
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
A Shot In The Arm
(First Encore)
I Can't Keep From Talking
The Late Greats (with Glenn on drums)
Not For The Season (with Glenn on drums)
War On War (with Glenn on drums)
Heavy Metal Drummer (with Glenn on drums)
Far, Far Away (with Glenn on drums)
(Second Encore)
Gun
I'm The Man Who Loves You (with Glenn on drums)
Acuff-Rose
Setlist courtesy of wilcobase.com