I was there! Seen Wilco a few times but this was my first Jeff Tweedy solo experience and it was a great time. Some thoughts...
Kinda bummed there was no material from Summerteeth during the solo portion of the show, but this is pretty understandable given the time needed to devote to the new songs. As people have said, the solo stuff was a tad sloppy at times, maybe partly because of the weird lighting? I don't know if it was supposed to be this way, but the lower stage lights would fade and come back on at odd intervals, sometimes leaving him in darkness. Hearing Misunderstood in an intimate setting was great.
As for the band portion and new material, I thought his backing band was perfectly adequate and Spencer did great on drums. The songs were by and large quiet and contemplative, aside from a few poppy mid-tempo rockers in the same vein as much of TWL. Nothing too daring aside from Diamond Light which was, for me, the highlight of the new stuff. The only difference is that quite a few of the tunes were darker lyrically than in recent years. As has been pointed out, much of this seems to be influenced by his wife and his family's recent hardships. Appropriately seemed more personal than post-AGIB Wilco. General impression of quality: this probably won't blow anyone away or represent a radical change in musical direction. But if the album gives us even a handful of great new Jeff songs (and the new material strongly suggests it will), I'll be happy. Can't wait to hear more.
It was a terrific time in a beautiful venue and was worth the 4 hour drive from Traverse City. I was at Comerica Park earlier in the day, watching my Tigers continue to fall off a cliff against the Blue Jays, so this really erased the sting!
TWEEDY — 6/5/14, Detroit, MI (Masonic Temple [Jack White Theatre])
in After The Show
Posted
I was there! Seen Wilco a few times but this was my first Jeff Tweedy solo experience and it was a great time. Some thoughts...
Kinda bummed there was no material from Summerteeth during the solo portion of the show, but this is pretty understandable given the time needed to devote to the new songs. As people have said, the solo stuff was a tad sloppy at times, maybe partly because of the weird lighting? I don't know if it was supposed to be this way, but the lower stage lights would fade and come back on at odd intervals, sometimes leaving him in darkness. Hearing Misunderstood in an intimate setting was great.
As for the band portion and new material, I thought his backing band was perfectly adequate and Spencer did great on drums. The songs were by and large quiet and contemplative, aside from a few poppy mid-tempo rockers in the same vein as much of TWL. Nothing too daring aside from Diamond Light which was, for me, the highlight of the new stuff. The only difference is that quite a few of the tunes were darker lyrically than in recent years. As has been pointed out, much of this seems to be influenced by his wife and his family's recent hardships. Appropriately seemed more personal than post-AGIB Wilco. General impression of quality: this probably won't blow anyone away or represent a radical change in musical direction. But if the album gives us even a handful of great new Jeff songs (and the new material strongly suggests it will), I'll be happy. Can't wait to hear more.
It was a terrific time in a beautiful venue and was worth the 4 hour drive from Traverse City. I was at Comerica Park earlier in the day, watching my Tigers continue to fall off a cliff against the Blue Jays, so this really erased the sting!