JEFF TWEEDY
w/ ELIZABETH MOEN
BARRYMORE THEATER
MADISON, WI
OCTOBER 18, 2024As a longtime fan of the band Wilco and their bandleader, singer/songwriter/guitarist/author Jeff Tweedy, I believe that this evening's show was the best way to see him perform live for the very first time.
To provide some background and yes, to clarify, I have never seen Jeff Tweedy, either solo or with Wilco in a live setting before...and it was not for lack of trying as my home base of Madison, WI is a frequent tour stop. My love of Tweedy's musical legacy began fairly quietly as I remember being introduced to them via MTV's "120 Minutes" program circa the era of the band' s second release, the double album "Being There" (released October 29,1996). Despite songs that often reminded me of the likes of R.E.M., The Replacements and Big Star, for example, the more country leanings didn't reach me. But, I was intrigued enough to keep an ear to the ground.
While the sunshine psychedelia of "Summerteeth" (released March 9, 1999) pushed me closer, it was not until the masterpiece of "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" (released April 23, 2002) where everything clicked for me and I was ALL IN with Wilco, making them a band I was ready to follow anywhere.
Which leads me as to why I have not seen Tweedy, either solo or with his bandmates until now. It is quite simple. With the Chicago based Wilco/Jeff Tweedy's proximity to Madison, a location where they are beloved, tickets sell out rapidly! Tour after tour over years, I would try to score a ticket and I would be gobsmacked by how quickly the show would receive a SOLD OUT notification. This became so prevalent, that I essentially stopped trying. Now, this also was occurring during a point where my love of Wilco and Jeff Tweedy was ebbing instead of flowing. Ever prolific, some releases just were not reaching me as emotionally as past releases and while I kept up, my interest waned.
This being said, my interest eventually picked up all over again. By the time of more recent Wilco albums like the excellent double album "Cruel Country" (released May 27, 2022)," "Cousin" (released September 29, 2023) and this year's EP "Hot Sun Cool Shroud" (released June 28, 2024), combined with his wonderful book releases, including his memoir, Let's Go (So We Can Get Back): A Memoir Of Recording and Discording With Wilco, Etc. (published November 13, 2018) and his most recent, World Within A Song: Music That Changed My Life and Life That Changed My Music (published November 7, 2023), it was more than enough to inspire me to revisit previous works that did not initially hit the mark for me.
When I received an email alert that Tweedy was returning to Madison for an acoustic solo performance, I thought I would try my hand again after not having done so for years. This time, to my surprise...paydirt!
Arriving on stage promptly at 8:30pm., Jeff Tweedy, bespectacled, adorned with his mane of greying hair and dressed in his trademark denim and surrounded by a collection of acoustic guitars (including one 12 string guitar that elicited a great mid set story time), was greeted with healthy applause and he quickly launched into a 90 minute, 21 song set of material that reached throughout a large swath of his songbook peppered copiously with his signature laconic self deprecating wit and superb storytelling.
Flowing through Wilco classics like
"Box Full Of Letters," "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart," "Via Chicago," "Impossible Germany," and
"Jesus, Etc." to excellent newer material like the glorious
"Ambulance" and the soaring
"Meant To Be" alongside solo material like
"Gwendolyn," "Family Ghost," "I Know What It's Like" (side note: I wonder if he has ever heard to stellar cover version by Madison's very own
Disq) and a clear highlight, the spiky
"Lou Reed Was My Babysitter," an affectionately sardonic look at the concert life social pet peeves that were all missed during the Covid 19 pandemic lockdown.
As a concert experience, I have to say that the night was not a transcendent one...but it never had to be. Jeff Tweedy delivered a show that was congenial, intimate, casual...and well, truthfully, the best word to describe it is in the title of one of his solo albums..."Warm" (released November 30, 2018). Very much like his books, it was a conversational evening, one that felt to demystify him and his status as a "rock star"--most notable as he eschewed the encore ritual of leaving the stage just to stand in the wings and then (surprise!) return for more songs by just remaining right where he was and continuing to perform.
He just had the entire proceedings feel to be so effortless, much like the late Tom Petty always achieved. And to that end, and as I remember Petty, Jeff Tweedy often feels to be cut from that same cloth. One who has clearly devoted himself to the art and craft of songwriting, to set such a high bar for himself and his band, and to create a body of work that is truly so consistent in its excellence that we can almost take it, and therefore, Tweedy, for granted because the song book he has amassed is so dependable.
This was not a night of rock and roll pyrotechnics. Jeff Tweedy presented a night where the song itself was the star and we were invited to make the lyrical connections in these melancholic tales of love, loss, mortality and the art of life as it is lived. Often times, Tweedy's voice struck a John Lennon tenor, the addition of a harmonica (which threatened to pull at his moustache hairs, he admitted) suggested Neil Young, a sardonic sentimentality recalled Paul Westerberg at his most wistful, and even more aggressive guitar strums hinted at Pete Townshend flourishes.
For my first time seeing Jeff Tweedy live, I am fortunate it was within this setting, one that informal and personable. and without the more excessive elements that can create spectacle but sometimes, a bit of a distance. Tonight, a bare stage save for Tweedy and his guitars were all that he needed to weave a spell and create a connection.
He had us all in the palms of his most confident hands.
SYNESTHESIA CODA: ELIZABETH MOEN:
I never envy the artist who has to serve as the opening act. It is no fault of that artist in question as you are at the show to see the main event. Your excitement is for the main event. Your anticipation is for the main event. The opening act just delays that main event. But, every once in a while, there is an opening act that captures your attention.
Last night, Elizabeth Moen delivered a short but captivating set of acoustic music that fully displayed her ethereal voice and stellar songwriting gifts combined with guitar skills that felt to touch at the spheres of Joni Mitchell.
She's the real deal, folks. Keep an eye out for her!
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