Jeff Tweedy is Good
By his own admission, Jeff Tweedy’s December 7 solo concert at DC’s Lincoln Theater was not flawless. When he forgot a line during the first verse of Remember the Mountain Bed, he confessed that the song was not on the setlist, and that 9 verses might be a bit much for him. Self deprecation may have gotten him through the rough spots, but there weren’t many to get through.
The Autumn Defense, fronted by Wilco’s Pat Sansone and John Stirratt, opened the show with well-crafted (and even better-performed) soft rock music. While their songs don’t hit me viscerally, the band is unbelievably tight. Toward the end of Tweedy’s performance, the whole band accompanied him on a few songs, with Passenger Side and California Stars standing out.
Tweedy’s setlist included songs from every Wilco album, and songs he wrote for Loose Fur (The Ruling Class), Mavis Staples (You Are Not Alone), and Uncle Tupelo (Acuff-Rose). He delivered the latter from the edge of the stage, sans amplification for an intimate finale.
From my seat, the sound was perfect. There were several moments where his guitar created overtones so strong it sounded like he was accompanied by a organ. Or maybe the theater’s haunted. Either way, Tweedy manages to get a full, glowing sound from his instrument, complementing his voice in all of its not-flawless beauty.
Do you have a setlist for last night’s show? (Thanks for the review!)
I didn’t write down a setlist, unfortunately.