TWEEDY — 3/7/15, Chicago, IL (Vic Theatre [Night 2])

[bböp]

More details provided by Cold As Gasoline below, but this was definitely a much more typical Tweedy set than the first night. It was clear from how chatty he was that Jeff was feeling a lot better. He joked about his headache on Night 1 stemming from his hair being too long, so he got a haircut. And before the start of the encore, he remarked that tonight's crowd had gotten a more substantial set so "don't tell (the previous night's crowd)," though he went on to modify that slightly — and perhaps dig himself out of a hole — by saying that the previous night's show had probably been better on a per-song basis. Haha!

 

Once again, the Chicago crowd got a special treat with Sima Cunningham — sister of multi-instrumentalist Liam Cunningham — joining the Tweedy band on backing vocals for a significant portion of tonight's set. The female backing vocals definitely add a depth to the Sukierae songs, IMHO. There were a couple of differences from the Night 1 set with Honey Combed (one of my favorites on the record) and Desert Bell being added and Slow Love subtracted. And tonight, I don't know if it was just where I was standing but I could really hear lead guitarist Jim Elkington's playing featured prominently in the mix and better appreciate the solidness of his contributions.

 

If anyone had a rough night tonight, it was the Chicago Tribune. Gently but firmly, Jeff took the newspaper to task for what he saw as two missteps. First, he said he read the first paragraph of Greg Kot's review of Night 1 and took it to be a generally positive one except for the assertion that Jeff's headache from that show had been one of "a couple running gags." He assured the writer that it was not. (As an aside, I don't know how you could write something like that in a review without being sure. Seems like a bad bit of journalism to me by the usually reliable Kot. Hopefully it wasn't just deadline pressure.) Jeff also chided the Trib for the headline on a story about the cancellation of last year's Taste of Chicago show with Lucinda Williams at the Taste of Chicago that asserted that Tweedy and Williams "pocket fees despite Taste cancellation." Jeff clarified that the decision to cancel was made by Taste officials and that the performers had simply accepted the terms of their agreements. "It's called a contract, sir," Jeff said.

 

All in all, though, tonight's show wasn't marked by bitterness but a rather sense of gratitude to the Chicago community for its support over the past year. Jeff mentioned in passing Spencer's comment in the recent RedEye cover story about "all other cities being stupid." And while Jeff's headache might have slightly derailed the first night's performance, the two shows finally gave the hometown crowd a chance to experience some of the beauty and strength that the Tweedy band (and Sukierae) has to offer.

 

Here was the complete setlist, as played:

Please Don't Let Me Be So Understood
Fake Fur Coat>
Diamond Light, Pt. 1
Flowering
Summer Noon
Honey Combed
Desert Bell
World Away
New Moon*
Nobody Dies Anymore*
Hazel
High As Hello*
Love Like A Wire* [Diane Izzo]
Wait For Love*
Low Key*
New Madrid^
Hummingbird^
Remember The Mountain Bed^
Born Alone^
Please Tell My Brother^
Jesus, etc.^
What Light^
I'm The Man Who Loves You^
---------------------------------------
You Are Not Alone*
Only The Lord Knows*
The Losing End (When You're On)* [Neil Young]
Give Back The Key To My Heart* [Doug Sahm]
California Stars#

* — with Sima Cunningham on backing vocals
^ — Jeff Tweedy solo acoustic
# — with Sima Cunningham on backing vocals and Scott McCaughey on keyboard and backing vocals

[bböp]

And by request, here was The Minus 5's setlist as played (the band tonight consisting of Scott McCaughey on electric guitar and lead vocals, Peter Buck on electric guitar, Linda Pitmon on drums and backing vocals and Michael Giblin on bass and backing vocals):

 

Hold Down The Fort

It's Beautiful Here

Twilight Distillery

In The Ground

Adios Half Soldier

With A Gun

??? [edit: Scott introduced the song as "Dungeon Golds," but I think he just meant to say it was off the upcoming Dungeon Golds release; unfortunately I didn't note any other identifying song lyrics]

Blue Rickenbacker

Days Of Wine & Booze

Aw Shit Man>

My Generation

[chisoxjtrain]

Good for Sima!

[Cold as Gasoline]

Quick thoughts:

• Jeff was clearly MUCH better tonight.  He said last night was one of the worst "stage headaches" he's ever had, and you could tell.  So glad to see him feeling better.
• The Minus 5 ROCKED!  First time I have seen them, and it was a nice kick in the pants to start off the night.  I was a massive REM fan in the 80s and 90s, so seeing Peter Buck play live so close up was a dream come true.  
• Setlist for Tweedy band remarkably similar to last night's (unsurprising) with a few variations and a significantly longer Jeff solo set, which was lovely.
• Banter tonight was top-notch.  My favorite wit of the evening was when Jeff introduced "Wait for Love" and said it isn't about abstinence.  Then he turned to Spencer and said "yes, it is."  He also said he wants someone on Etsy to make him a giant Baby Bjorn that he can carry Spencer onstage with. I'm not sure if the lighter guy really meant to mock Jeff, but it was still obnoxious and I'm glad Jeff told him to stop it.
• Jeff asked everyone in the crowd to say hello to Susie, which they did vociferously, and he gave a heartfelt thanks to everyone for their support through the last year.
• Remember the Mountain Bed!  Glorious.  And Love Like a Wire is one of those songs I cannot ever hear enough of. "It breaks every last bone in me.  It throws the earth on me." What a lyric.

[lost highway]

I wonder why they never play "I'll Sing It".

[Stoffel]

thanks for the minus 5 setlist!

[chrisha]

Thanks for helping us out bbop!! - sounds like a great night, and a very similar (but obviously shorter) setlist to what The Minus 5 did in Madison the night before.

 

We knew Peter was joining them but was surprised he didn't come out & join Scott on 'California Stars', which he's done in the past.

 

Really can't wait now for Solid Sound - counting the days!

[bböp]

I wonder why they never play "I'll Sing It".

 

I know at least one other person on here who was disappointed to learn they never play her favorite song off the record. From what I understand, it has something to do with a part that was created in the studio that they have a tough time replicating live or something to that effect. Usually that's why stuff doesn't get played live (Sunloathe, anyone?)...

 

Thanks for helping us out bbop!! - sounds like a great night, and a very similar (but obviously shorter) setlist to what The Minus 5 did in Madison the night before.

 

We knew Peter was joining them but was surprised he didn't come out & join Scott on 'California Stars', which he's done in the past.

 

Really can't wait now for Solid Sound - counting the days!

 

No problem! I'll make it a point to post the Minus 5 setlists for any show on this tour I attend since I know there's interest. I always wonder why the M5 aren't bigger than they are since they always seem to have lots of dedicated fans (a lot of crossover from the R.E.M. fanbase, obviously).

 

Re: California Stars, a couple of friends said that it looked like Jeff was surprised that even Scott joined them on Cali Stars tonight. I will say Scott didn't exactly nail his solo, but anyway, hopefully there will be more collaboration as the tour goes on. Incidentally we saw Peter hobble into the venue on crutches for soundcheck and there was a stool sitting on stage at his spot when the M5 came on, but he didn't use it and played standing up for the whole 45-minute set.

[Jcamp]

The Minus 5 set was soo much fun and they sounded great. Fantastic!!

TWEEDY has come a long way. They were really good last year in Milwaukee, tonight they played on a completely different level. Every aspect was stellar!

Jeff's solo set was absolutely great, as usual.

So many great moments tonight. Scott McCaughey's accompaniment on California Stars brought a lot of smiles onstage by the time the show closed out. Was a really great show, I wish I could tag along for more of this tour!

[chrisha]

Thanks bbop for posting other Minus 5 setlists - we try to get the word out & encourage other R.E.M. fans to go along to The Minus 5 shows (with or without Peter) as they are so much fun & great live.

The song 'Dungeon Golds' is that a new one? - we have the album of the same name coming out - didn't know of a song of that name as well.

As per your observation of Peter Buck on crutches, he was hobbling at his Todos Santos Music Festival in Mexico in January, I asked him what the problem was, he said he had broken a toe which he had done previously, he said not to worry, a couple of drinks before the show will take care of it. Obviously it hasn't got any better!

I'm surprised Jeff was surprised by Scott's entrance - Scott will do that! lol

[bböp]

Thanks bbop for posting other Minus 5 setlists - we try to get the word out & encourage other R.E.M. fans to go along to The Minus 5 shows (with or without Peter) as they are so much fun & great live.

 

The song 'Dungeon Golds' is that a new one? - we have the album of the same name coming out - didn't know of a song of that name as well.

 

Re: Dungeon Golds, I was just going by Scott's own introduction of the song. I actually didn't realize at the time that it's not on the 5-LP set that came out last year, but then I noticed that it is the title of the best-of album from that collection that's being released here in the U.S. next week so perhaps it's a new song on that?

[chrisha]

It's not featured on the new album - so will have to look out for that one! Was the title sung in the song if you can remember?

[The Inside of Outside]

 

• Banter tonight was top-notch.  My favorite wit of the evening was when Jeff introduced "Wait for Love" and said it isn't about abstinence.  Then he turned to Spencer and said "yes, it is." 

That is hilarious.

[bböp]

It's not featured on the new album - so will have to look out for that one! Was the title sung in the song if you can remember?

Not sure, unfortunately!

[bböp]

One other cool thing, at least to me, was after Give Back The Key... when Jeff mentioned how it had just occurred to him (and it apparently hadn't on Night 1) that he had played that song on the same stage when he was about Spencer's age.

 

I presume he was referring to Uncle Tupelo's renowned 10/15/93 show at the Vic (though I haven't checked to see if they played the Vic other times). If so, the timelines don't quite match up in terms of Jeff's and Spencer's ages; Jeff would have been around 26. But obviously the sentiment of being relatively young musicians playing that venue remains.

 

Anyway, the thought had crossed my mind on Night 1 because I think that was one of the first UT live recordings I heard. It was a very good quality recording because it came from an XRT broadcast and circulated pretty widely, as I recall. And there was also that promo EP, The Long Cut + 5 Live, the live portion of which I believe was taken from that show.

[Pot Kettle Black]

Mr. Cheeztastic, really nice review.  Wonderful to read how great the night was and the Jeff was in better spirits.  Thank you.

[coolerbythelake]

A good night, and Jeff's banter to the guy with the lighter was pretty funny.  Jeff mentioned that while touring in Europe they have been telling everyone that waltzes have been making a big comeback in the states.  So if we run into any Europeans, they'd appreciate it if we could back them up on that.

[H.Stone]

My first TWEEDY show--finally! I really enjoyed it, even though I was momentarily derailed by the "I'll Sing It" news. (There has to be a way, people!) 

 

P, you had a great recap of the show and the banter, and I was thinking more about the Trib headline after the Taste cancellation. How many benefit gigs has Jeff done in the city? Not only the Letters to Santa events themselves but also the LRSs that used to be auctioned off there, the school benefit shows, the synagogue benefit shows--I'm sure plenty of other donations and auctions and charity events we aren't even aware of. Meanwhile, Mayor Emanuel doubles the price of concert tickets, starts charging for 3,000 previously free GA lawn seats, and raises the cost of food and beverages at Taste. But Jeff Tweedy is screwing Chicago? HA. Also, my better half pointed out that Greg Kot LITERALLY WROTE THE BOOK on Wilco. Based on what he learned and saw during that time, how could he call the headache thing a gag? Weird.

 

But back to TWEEDY--fun show, great seeing these songs live for the first time. I'm glad I get to see them again on this tour!

[Preferred B]

I've been meaning to comment here, but I guess I don't have a lot to add that hasn't been said already. I enjoyed the opportunity to see a 2-night stand at the Vic, and I'm glad Jeff wasn't in pain both nights. I really enjoyed Sima's contributions; neither of the previous shows I'd seen had any female backing vocals. Seeing The Minus 5 is always a treat, too. Maybe they'll work on "I'll Sing It" before Solid Sound, T. (Or Omaha!)

[Albert Tatlock]

Jeff mentioned that while touring in Europe they have been telling everyone that waltzes have been making a big comeback in the states.  So if we run into any Europeans, they'd appreciate it if we could back them up on that.

 

I feel like I've been played like a fool ...

[theashtraysays]

I feel like I've been played like a fool ...

No, really, it's all the rage over here.  I heard Kanye's doing one on his next record.