Jeff Tweedy The Vic Theatre Chicago, IL March 12 & 13, 20010

Just as in past shows Tweedy has performed for this charity, the general rule has been that the first thirty people standing in line before the show get to request a song; those requests become the setlist for the show. It’s a fan friendly gesture and a fun twist to turning the keys to the car over to the audience and letting them drive the show. The choice of songs has never been contained solely to the Wilco canon. Everything from side projects (Loose Fur, The Minus 5, Golden Smog), Uncle Tupelo and cover songs are totally fair game. Suddenly, Tweedy becomes the human jukebox that so many artists of his stature refuse to allow happen when the show is in the hands of the artist, but Tweedy took that notion in good humor. “People who stand in line all day pick songs that aren’t good,” said Tweedy on the first night early in the set.

To a casual fan, the charity show can always be hit or miss. It can sometimes be viewed as the monetary line in the sand that can cause some fans to become self-conscious of their own wallets. You can’t fault that person especially during a time when bailout has entered the everyday lexicon. The shows were first announced by Tweedy’s wife, Sue, on the Wilco fan site “Via Chicago” on February 6th. Tickets ranged from $100-$250; the top ticket placed you in the “Gold Circle” directly in front of Tweedy. By March 6th, all general admission tickets were lowered to a reasonable $50.00. Both shows did not sell out; whether the lowered ticket price worked in attracting more people is debatable. Merchandise sold each night was made by students of the Montessori school. “If you don’t buy t-shirts, you’re jerks,” proclaimed Tweedy, “Kids made those.” The theatre’s main floor, generally left open, was converted into an unassigned seated set up (aside from the limited reserved seats).

Backed by five acoustic guitars, Tweedy allowed himself to be guided by a 30 song setlist each night. The majority of songs selected either pre-dated or revolved around the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot era of Wilco. “It’s a cute song. It’s not a good song,” said Tweedy of the Golden Smog tune “Pecan Pie.” Having recently participated at the pre-Grammy event MusiCares, honoring Neil Young, Tweedy tackled a request for Buffalo Springfield’s “Broken Arrow” that Wilco covered along with an intro tease of Young’s “Mr. Soul.” The setlist, at times, became sort of one on one challenges presented to the singer/songwriter. Of all the songs Tweedy faced on the first night, only one song made Tweedy admit he was stumped but made good his promise to re-learn the song by the second night. The song was a leaked demo from the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot sessions commonly known as “Alone (Shakin’ Sugar).” The crowd roared with laughter as Tweedy gave a semi-serious reading of “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” by Beyoncé and soaked up his rendition of Radiohead’s “Fake Plastic Trees.” In a rare detour, Tweedy previewed a song he wrote for the upcoming Mavis Staples album, which he is producing. The song’s line, “You’re not alone,” tied itself to a constant theme that has for years followed Tweedy. The song’s tone was somewhat ironic when after a fan request’s of the B-side “Blasting Fonda,” Tweedy jokingly posed to the crowd, “Why do you like so many depressing songs?”

The casual shows were not without an odd moment or two. Tweedy’s banter has always held a sense of comedic timing, and his self-deprecating manner keeps him one step ahead of the audience. On both nights, Tweedy felt it necessary to explain his sense of humor and bemoaned how no one seems to ever be sure when he’s only kidding (citing the recent news of Wilco being named honorary band of Duluth, MN and honorary citizen considerations in Madison, WI on the count of Tweedy “kidding”). Tweedy also experienced, what he called, his “Michael Richards” moment when he made the mistake of assuming a fan’s ethnicity based on the fan’s name, which he was having difficulty pronouncing off the setlist. It wasn’t the type of slip one would want to make at a charity event aimed at helping children get an education.

On the second night, while waiting on a guitar being tuned, Tweedy opened up the room for questions. No matter how intimate the show, a Q&A session is a train wreck waiting to happen. A question asked from the main floor that basically inquired about how the past year had been for Tweedy and the band, especially with the passing of former Wilco member Jay Bennett, caused Tweedy to turn swiftly in mood. “Really? That’s your question?” said Tweedy, visibly annoyed as he glared at the person. The question brought a low rumbling hum throughout the crowd, obviously recognizing the sensitivity of even mentioning Bennett. “It’s been rough (tough),” responded Tweedy as he quickly tossed the question aside. You can’t feel too sorry for Tweedy since it was his choice to take questions. It was a rare unpleasant glance at Tweedy’s passive aggressive side that has, for the most part, remained in the confines of the band setting, be it Uncle Tupelo or Wilco.

The singular moment that wiped away the uncomfortable air was when Tweedy accepted $5.00 from a fan in the balcony that asked to play a G chord on his acoustic guitar. The young fan jumped on stage, strummed the chord, and then was further tested by Tweedy, who had the fan play a few more chords.

Only five songs found themselves being repeated from the first night. For over two and a half hours and no opening act, Tweedy revisited some old tour standards to the delight of many inside the Vic Theatre. As Tweedy and Wilco prepare to visit 33 cities for a spring tour, fans savored every opening note that would unravel the surprise of songs like “More Like The Moon” and “Promising.” After nearly three decades of creating music, Jeff Tweedy’s catalog continues to breathe new life through songs that never seem to grow old. In Tweedy’s case, his best songs may never be sung, but he sometimes comes pretty close.

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