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If this really was "an epic show," as Jeff paused to observe late in his third of four solo acoustic performances at Brooklyn Made this week, then it'll be pretty interesting to see what happens tonight when the run reaches its denouement. It was easy to see why Jeff said what he did when he did after an alarmed voice toward the back of the room shouted, "Jeff!" as he was nearing the end of Even I Can See. Apparently someone had passed out and the person was trying to get some help — they were quickly deemed to be fine — and Jeff didn't really stop playing for long, explaining that

OK, finally getting off my lazy ass and getting this one started. In a way, I'm glad I didn't get around to chiming in on either of Jeff's Brooklyn Made shows until now, because while there were some similarities between the two nights, the vibe of the crowd was quite different and that made for a pair of unique evenings. I've been known to remark that when it comes down to assessing a Jeff Tweedy solo acoustic show, it usually comes down to whether he's in more of a mood to play or a mood to talk — and, of course, what your preferred amount of each happens to be. But of course the

I'll get back to this in a little while, but suffice it to say that Jeff seemed to feel a bit more confident in exploring some of the dustier corners of his catalog on the second and final night of his annual charity benefit shows at the Vic Theatre (not to mention venturing into a few cracks that aren't even old enough to have picked up any cobwebs at all). The result was a performance that might have been a little lighter on the chat than Night 1, but certainly felt more like the kind of overall effort that causes people to travel in from various corners of the country and wait on the sidewa

Yeah, save your (ta) tas for those doing the heavy lifting...

Corrected, thanks. I really did the original post in a rush this morning, just to get the setlist on the record. Will add to it later.

Four years (and a couple of months) since he last strode onto the Vic Theatre stage in Chicago to perform his annual benefit solo acoustic shows for various charities, Jeff once again found himself before a sold-out crowd that was eager to see him do his thing after missing out for so long due to the pandemic. Of course that begs the question: What is that thing, exactly? Is it playing his own compositions in a stripped-down setting? Is it a de facto comedy act in which Jeff balances songs with amusing anecdotes and crowd work? Is it a chance to have a public moment with a singer-songwriter th

Just doing a little housekeeping, so this one didn't slip through the cracks. I wasn't able to attend this tour-closing performance that was an abridged set as part of a taping for the venerable Mountain Stage public radio program, with Wilco headlining and being joined on the bill by Peter Case, Guy Davis and Garrison Starr, so I'm just lifting and cross-posting the setlist from the good folks at Wilcoworld as a matter of record keeping (but it would of course be nice to hear any details from anyone who was able to attend in person). For now, here was the complete setlist accordin

I'm a little alarmed that anyone other than Uncle Albert would be on pins and needles waiting to read any of my cockamamie blatherings, but thanks for being interested, I guess?

I was all prepared to lead with something about the Mother Church of country music and how Wilco was finally, at long last, playing the one venue it had to play when it finally embraced the genre by putting out an album called Cruel Country. And furthermore, how the band then typically subverted that potential pigeon hole by opening with two of the loudest, skronkiest and probably least country songs in its catalog before finally mixing in some of its "country" material from the most recent record and going on to acknowledge the venue and how special it was to be playing some of this material

You haven't picked up on the fact that's always what I aim for? (You'll get nine grafs out of me, and you'll like it!)

Byrne kind of butchered it, didn't he? If we're being honest...

Yes and no. There’s a lot of tricky wordplay in that one, and maybe the allergies make it a little tougher to focus or something?

Seven songs into tonight's set, Jeff finally broke the silence by acknowledging Wilco's return to the state of Alabama. Ordinarily such a proclamation might have been more dramatic since the band doesn't necessarily get to this part of the world to perform every year — or even every few years — but in this case, you could say that the return wasn't especially long awaited. "We were just (here) a couple of days ago," the frontman observed genially. "We can't stay away." Despite the fact that it hadn't been very long since a show in the area, local fans didn't seem to mind having ano

I think there has been some level of either indifference or bemusement, unfortunately — indifference in the sense that it seems like a lot of people haven't even arrived yet by the time they go on, and bemusement because a lot of the people who are there don't seem to know what to make of them. The latter could be because they kind of have adopted this stage presence that is like a combination of, like, 1950s-era "sister" groups with their matching pink dresses and songs featuring yodeling and harmonies and a comedic duo act with their kooky banter and minimal instrumentation. And

As I was gathering my stuff after tonight's show and trying to let the people who were further down the row exit past me, the woman who had been in the seat next to me turned to me on her way out and said, "Best show ever?" And I looked back at her and replied, "Was it?" I swear I wasn't necessarily trying to be snarky in the moment, and I don't think she took it that way since she sort of muttered, "Yeah," and continued on her way. This is the kind of interaction I find somewhat fascinating since this was a lady who, from our seats just off center in the second row, remained seated for nearly

Once again, I must apologize to my by-now surely dwindling readership for not being able to immediately provide a report with the level of detail I would ordinarily like. But such is the curse of independent travel and the necessities of getting at least a few hours of shuteye and also making it to the next gig... For now, I'll just report that it was beautiful night in ol' Alabam, and Jeff copped to feeling like doing a little pandering to the audience by the end of the evening. If Stars Fell Over Alabama at one time, then surely Woody Guthrie could also be imagined to have laid h

I wasn't able to make it to this one, having to abandon my brief tour of F-L-A to get back to Chicago for Record Store Day and a brief off day. So just a little housekeeping on my part to kick things off, with setlist borrowed from Wilcoworld. Seems like it was a classic "Night 3" situation, borrowing from the three-night runs in Chicago, Port Chester and Iceland. Feel free to chime in, anyone who was in attendance (or just wants to make a cheeky comment)... Here was the complete setlist, as played: At Least That's What You Said Spiders (Kidsmoke) The Universe

Super early flight, so just stopping by to set things up for myself when I do get a chance to fill in more details. A brief preview: I guess there is such a thing as a nice shed; apparently when you double the guitar power on Impossible Germany — and with no less a player than the legendary Derek Trucks — things can get pretty epic; and hey, it's probably a good thing if the singer of the band can hear himself sing in his monitor on a fairly regular basis. Here was the complete setlist, as played (didn't see a printed list, so can't say if there were any changes/omissions):

Picture, if you will, your faithful correspondent traipsing across black-sand beaches on the southern coast of Iceland, trying not to be overtaken and swept into the frigid North Atlantic by a powerful "sneaker wave" on Sunday morning, then making a mad drive across half the island back to the airport to catch a flight back to Chicago, arriving home just long enough to catch a bit of shuteye and throw some clothes into the wash before waking up and dashing to another airport on Tuesday morning and, after a few minor issues, finally making it to the parking garage of an utterly American landsca

Thanks for the report! Knew I could count on you as I was midair, returning from the land of ice and wind. Glad you were able to make it down there — I trust you also found plenty of good stuff to eat (that's one of the festivals, along with Outside Lands, that I sort of secretly just wanted to attend for the food — and got to see a solid festival set! When I saw the picture of Jess and Holly singing with Jeff, I figured it had to be Jesus, etc., and while that song is obviously a well-, well-, well-, well-, well-, well-worn concert staple, it's nice to see the ladies sharing a stage with the

Again, I will have to circle back to this — all of those waterfalls and other sights of natural beauty won't see themselves, after all — but suffice it to say that if there was one overarching theme of tonight's third and final Wilco show at the Harpa Center this week (and fourth overall in Iceland), it was gratitude. Jeff once again took time out to specifically thank the small portion of the Icelandic audience that was actually from Iceland for "sharing your beautiful country with us" and generally just seemed to convey his and his bandmates' pleasure at the opportunity to come to a place th

Again, I don't really have time to get into a full recap right now but will circle back around. I will say that the sound — at least to these ears — was much improved over Night 1. Whether it was just a matter of my getting used to the room's acoustics or if indeed the dynamics of Wilco's performance were adjusted or something happened with the sound mix, it just sounded overall much more like normal Wilco show to me. And that was a good thing. Setlist-wise, again, nothing too surprising if you have been following along of late, although the full Many Worlds, for perhaps just the s

I think this "bonus show" performance earlier in the day for a relatively small group of ticket purchasers and lucky lottery winners (and apparently even a rogue straggler or two who managed to sneak in) of the Wilco In Iceland extravaganza deserves its own thread, so I'm doing that. Even though I don't really have time right now to get into a full recap, I will circle back around. For any Chicagoans or others lucky enough to attend one or more of the band's sets at the intimate Carol's Pub last October, if you take that sort of vibe and atmosphere and transfer it into a barnlike V

Well, Wilco finally made its much-anticipated Icelandic debut tonight in the main hall (Eldborg) at the stunning Harpa complex here in Reykjavík and it was a) an entertaining set that capitalized on the stellar acoustic elements in the ultra-modern room, b ) a show that was fine, but to me lacked some of the energy of the club shows in Chicago and Port Chester the last couple of weeks, c) an evening's worth of music performed overwhelmingly for folks who had traveled from the U.S. and Europe and not so many locals, d) a collection of tunes that may have triggered a sense of déja vu for anyone

Thanks for chiming in, Rob! Hopefully more folks will do so, both here and in the future, since this is hardly meant to be an exclusive domain for my dumb ramblings. (And extra bonus points for adhering to the titling convention. Maybe I should start awarding a trophy for that!)