Tweedy March 6th, 2015 Vic Theatre Chicago, Illinois
To kick off his 19 show March tour, Jeff Tweedy brought his new band, Tweedy, to the century old Vic Theater in Chicago on Friday evening. The show featured a setlist of tunes mostly from the new album Sukierae, several covers and a few from the Wilco and Uncle Tupelo archives.
The new band features Jeff’s 19 year old son Spencer on drums, who is currently differing College for a year to record and tour with his father and also was a huge factor in helping form the new songs with his distinct peculiarity and allure. Sima Cunningham provided strong, emotional backing vocals, which were especially illuminating on “Nobody Dies Anymore”, one of the many stellar tracks off the new album. The new touring band also features Darin Grey on bass, whose stage presence and groove at times took over the show and sound, while the brilliantly chaotic guitar(s) of Liam Cunningham and Jim Elkington bled together with ease during songs such as “World Away” and “Diamond Light Pt. 1”. Liam, a multi-instrumentalist, also provided keys for the band for much of the show, helping Tweedy blend and progress into a vivid display of the new project, a band much different from the solo acoustic tours of Jeff Tweedy’s past.
Tweedy effortlessly tore through a dozen tunes off the new album, in the first set, and also threw in a Diane Izzo cover, “Love Like a Wire”, before Jeff came out to perform an intimate solo selection. Soaked under the beam of a single stage light with eyes shadowed beneath the brim of a cowboy hat, Jeff stood before an almost silent crowd and played “Via Chicago” and “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart”, classic Wilco from the Summerteeth and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot archives. He then joined the band for a short but much needed break as the disclosure of a painful migraine was shared with the crowd earlier in the set.
The second set started with an intense and short “Please don’t let me be so understood”, where the opening lines stated “I don’t wanna give in, all is falling, I don’t wanna cold out, trolling”, which seemed to speak of his courage in the face of adversity, which has unfortunately been somewhat of a theme throughout Jeff’s career and personal life.
Rounding out the set was “Only The Lord Knows”, a song Jeff Tweedy wrote for Mavis Staples, “The Losing End (When You’re On)”, a somewhat obscure Neil Young cover and a Doug Sahm cover, “Give Back The Keys To My Heart”, which was recorded with Sahm on vocals for Uncle Tupelo’s 1993 album, Anodyne. The show closed with “California Stars”, a song written by Woody Guthrie and recorded by Billy Bragg and Wilco back in 1998.
For those fans who are hungry for anything Tweedy, this is a band sure to satiate. Tour continues to the West Coast and back to the Midwest throughout the entire month of March. If you get a chance, go see this amazing spectacle of sound.
Setlist:
Fake Fur Coat, Diamond Light Part One, Flowering, Summer Noon, World Away, New Moon, Nobody Dies Anymore, Hazel, Slow Love, Wait For Love, High As Hello, Love Like A Wire (Diane Izzo), Low Key
Jeff Tweedy (Solo Acoustic Wilco): Via Chicago, I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
Set Break
Please Don’t Let Me Be So Understood, Only The Lord Knows (Mavis Staples song written by Jeff Tweedy), The Losing End (When You’re On) (Neil Young), Give Back The Key To My Heart (Doug Sahm/Uncle Tupelo), California Stars (Woody Guthrie)