Tweedy's crankiness

[anysongworthsinging]

Loved the Richmond show last night, looking forward to Philly, but JT was pretty cranky, as I've read he has been at other shows, with the chatty crowd and cell-phone pic snappers. He's getting like a bluegrass musician with his intolerance of chatterers. I have to confess I was a bit irritated or on edge a few times about his grousing (not that I was doing anything he'd get cranky with me about!), but then I thought if I were him I'd be much nastier than he was. Is it the smaller, more intimate venues this tour (dunno, he is always pretty attentive and interactive with the crowd, which I love about him), or perhaps so far anyway on this southern leg maybe there are a lot of very casual Wilco fans (just guessing there are not as many Wilco-heads in the South as the Midwest and Northeast but that could be wrong, too). Any other theories? Great show, but loud, left ear still ringing.

[Guest Speed Racer]

Everybody gets cranky sometimes; you got cranky last night - how is that different from him?

[Shakespeare In The Alley]

If people weren't jackasses, he wouldn't have to be "cranky." One of the guys he kept yelling at was behind me shrieking and obnoxiously bumping into me, so I appreciated the fact that Jeff notices these things.

[u2roolz]

I don't know but maybe playing for 3 hours straight 36 songs a night for the fans might do that to someone on top of the environmental bullshit.

Not recycling either. I mean I recycle. I'm talking about the chatty cathys. Bam Bam the photographist. Lou Lou the tweeter. Sammy Wayfarer the texter. Claude the drunk. Timmy King the frat boy. Susie Q the sorority girl. Gregg Allman. The list is endless.

[Central Scrutinizer]

You should of climbed up on stage and offered him a hug. That would of cheered him up.

[W(TF)]

Jeff seemed cranky for the first part of the Lewiston show last summer, but he warmed up later. Based on some of the banter, my guess was that the venue or some other logistics weren't up to par (the sound sucked in some parts of the auditorium).

[anysongworthsinging]

Everybody gets cranky sometimes; you got cranky last night - how is that different from him?

 

i wasn't cranky, had a great time!

[Dude]

I got into a Shushing War with some drunk chatters at one of the Vic shows a few weeks ago. Totally ruined the vibe for me. I can feel his pain.

[jff]

He made some comments at the Atlanta show towards the audience that I felt were justified, but which some might interpret as cranky.

 

He said to someone at the beginning of the show who kept pestering him: "I don't want to hear from you again. It's not all about you."

 

He said something about the crowd being "diverse." I might be reading something into it, but to my ears it came across as a subtle dis. It seemed like he was commenting on the fact that much of the audience was engagerd in a variety of activies other than paying attention to the concert. I could be way off on that, though.

 

He also asked the audience not to converse during the quiet songs and that if they wished to converse to do it during the loud songs. Reasonable request...unfortunately, request denied.

 

Later in the show he made some complimentary comments about the crowd, particularly the people in the balcony.

[Magnetized]

I guess it might come off as a little cranky when Jeff schools the audience, but that's what's so refreshing about him. Last night in Richmond, for instance, I had yelled out a couple of requests for Passenger Side (OK, 3 times) and then when he got ready to play it he said something about "well, I know somebody's just been requesting this song, but that's not why we're playing it. It was on the setlist already." Like, hey, we're not doing you any favors! Some might interpret that as cranky, but to me it's just Jeff being Jeff. He's got integrity, and I love him for it.

[Pophead2k]

Jeff's still no match for Lou Barlow or Ryan Adams though. Lou once stopped a quiet Sebadoh number and said 'you guys are talking louder than we're fucking playing' and refused to continue. Sadly, he was right. RA stories are legion as well.

[tinnitus photography]

Jeff's still no match for Lou Barlow or Ryan Adams though. Lou once stopped a quiet Sebadoh number and said 'you guys are talking louder than we're fucking playing' and refused to continue. Sadly, he was right. RA stories are legion as well.

 

Lou's gotten over his crankiness though...i saw a couple of Sebadoh shows back in the day where he was a petulant little brat, but i've also seen him ~5 times in the last couple of years (sebadoh, dino jr, solo) where he's consistently having fun.

[Central Scrutinizer]

it's just Jeff being Jeff.

[Three dollars and 63 cents]

If people weren't jackasses, he wouldn't have to be "cranky."

 

Exactly. Everyone who complains about Jeff's mood or about the new no-camera policy needs to realize that in the end, the band wants everyone to be able to enjoy the shows without distractions. I'm disappointed that it's gotten to the point where Jeff has to call people out and where we can no longer take cameras to shows, but it doesn't shock me. Some people only care about themselves and think that buying a concert ticket enables them to do whatever they want during the show, regardless of how it impacts the people around them, and those are the kind of people who ruin or at least detract from others' concert experiences.

 

Manny

[sunken treasure]

there was a show I saw in 2007 at St. Vincent's college where Jeff started getting in a security guards face during Kingpin I think?

 

I'm not really sure what the issue was - the guy was just standing there doing his job...but Jeff berated him pretty bad for not rocking out and singing along. It was funny at first, but he did it for like 3 minutes straight...by the end I felt kinda bad for the guy.

 

Jeff was cranky that night.

[UrbanSurfer]

I'm talking about the chatty cathys. Bam Bam the photographist. Lou Lou the tweeter. Sammy Wayfarer the texter. Claude the drunk. Timmy King the frat boy. Susie Q the sorority girl. Gregg Allman. The list is endless.

 

Great thread, imo, since I'll be at my firstest Wilco show this Friday nite. Having heard AUD's of the last 18-months, one thought about seeing them was that I'd be a misfit in such a chatty crowd. I'd like a good time but all the hooters, yellers, look-at-me uber-chicness of today's attendees is not appealing. But, this behavior has been going on for decades. The dude at Dead shows who did the throat-yelling (ai-ai-ai), folks at Garcia's solo concert with endless-chatter. Who knows what these folks get out of the musical experience.

 

This is a wide-open topic. They're entertainers, out to please and see the audience respond, and also artists who want to present their output in the right conditions. I plan to be entertained and intrigued by the inter-play.

 

Am hoping for the best, but am prepared to observe this current music/culture scene with great curiosity (and no picture-video taking or caterwauling:)

[Golfishin]

I thought he was having fun. It was refreshing to me NOT to have those cell phone lights shining in my face OR 30 people with their phones in the air. He gave a couple of dirty looks to some people but they deserved it. I'm a shusher(shhhhhh) for sure and will put a finger up to my lips or cup my hands by my ears first. Then if people continue to chat I will say "I came to hear the band play, shut it" or "You sure are talkative tonight" and to think someone is even going to hear what you are saying during a song is absurd. You have to scream into their ear and they still won't hear you. Realise you have nothing important to say while the music is playing. I thought he was pretty funny when he said "I'm going to take back all those things I said about you...But I only said good things about you" I'm glad there were no camera phones in my face, I'd have poked you if you even tried.

[PageTheSage1275]

Whoever mentioned Ryan Adams hit the nail on the head. Tweedy's perceived crankiness is such a non issue compared to RA's. I've been to Adams shows when I warned chatty folks to quit talking or he'd fucking explode. Cussing matches with audience members, going on a five minute diatribe, or the worst: Just shaking his head and ignoring the audience altogether. The guy is a time bomb...

 

The best ever was Sam Beam from Iron & Wine though. At a chatty show in Charleston, he breathed into the mic, in that sleepy-eyed, softspoken way of his: "So... who's here to listen to some music?" (people cheer) "OK. Who's here to run their fuckin' mouth?" (laughter, talking) "Whatever, it's your money."

 

It was a brilliant moment.

[Wendy]

In case you are wondering where your posts with videos went ...

 

http://forums.viachicago.org/topic/38190-via-chicago-rules-and-regulations/

 

Wilco has a long-standing policy against the videotaping of their shows, and out of respect for this policy, the posting of such videos on Via Chicago is not allowed. This also applies to solo Jeff Tweedy shows.

[anysongworthsinging]

I guess it might come off as a little cranky when Jeff schools the audience, but that's what's so refreshing about him. Last night in Richmond, for instance, I had yelled out a couple of requests for Passenger Side (OK, 3 times) and then when he got ready to play it he said something about "well, I know somebody's just been requesting this song, but that's not why we're playing it. It was on the setlist already." Like, hey, we're not doing you any favors! Some might interpret that as cranky, but to me it's just Jeff being Jeff. He's got integrity, and I love him for it.

 

yep, that was funny, and then they played a rousing "Passenger Side" so that exchange was all to the good!

[tinnitus photography]

The best ever was Sam Beam from Iron & Wine though. At a chatty show in Charleston, he breathed into the mic, in that sleepy-eyed, softspoken way of his: "So... who's here to listen to some music?" (people cheer) "OK. Who's here to run their fuckin' mouth?" (laughter, talking) "Whatever, it's your money."

 

It was a brilliant moment.

 

but even if it is *their* money, the talkers can ruin the experience of the other spenders.

 

last year i caught an acoustic gig from Scott Kelly, who's better known for his day job w/ Neurosis. i guess it helps to be an intimidating physical presence, as he only needed to give one sharply-worded warning to shut up the talkers.

 

here he is w/ Shrinebuilder, from a couple of weeks ago

[MarkyMark77]

I'm not really sure why people go to a show and talk through it. Do they really have that much money to piss away, that they treat going to a concert like going to a club? I saw Bob Dylan in October, and I was surprised that so many people were talking like there was no show going on.

 

With the yelling of requests, I could do without it, unless asked to by the artist I'm seeing. What a lot of fans don't understand is that, as a musician, you rehearse and prepare your setlist, and a lot of thought goes into the order and the pacing of a show. I know this because I've played in bands for twenty years. Certainly not with the success or fandom that Wilco has experienced, but I do know what it's like to prepare for shows. This thing where people just start shouting song titles multiple times is ridiculous.

 

I blame the American way of thinking, where everyone understands that they have a right to be heard, but they think that right applies anywhere at any time.

[Beautiful & Stoned]

I blame the American way of thinking, where everyone understands that they have a right to be heard, but they think that right applies anywhere at any time.

Haha I might have suggested this but didn't want to seem unpatriotic

 

The whole "crankiness" thing is a non-issue to me. The guys are smiling, laughing, joking, having a great time up there. Jeff's just doing what he can to try and calm down the folks distracting away from the show. He's talked several times about wanting people at shows to have a great time, and the me-me-me folks tend to take away from the experience Wilco likes to create.

 

I enjoy those moments in a Curb Your Enthusiasm kind of way. How many times have you actually told a stranger who's being an ass, "Hey, stop being an ass."

[Rusty Shackleford]

I'm not really sure why people go to a show and talk through it. Do they really have that much money to piss away, that they treat going to a concert like going to a club? I saw Bob Dylan in October, and I was surprised that so many people were talking like there was no show going on.

 

This baffles me as well. I was at one of the 9:30 shows in DC a few years back and couldn't believe all the yammering from the crowd. This was an event that had sold out within minutes, and for which tickets were being scalped for well over $100 a pop. Every person in that club had burned some serious calories to get a ticket, and yet many of them were treating it like any night out at a bar. I just don't get it.

[jff]

 

With the yelling of requests, I could do without it, unless asked to by the artist I'm seeing. What a lot of fans don't understand is that, as a musician, you rehearse and prepare your setlist, and a lot of thought goes into the order and the pacing of a show.

 

I could do without it, too. Unless I heard it wrong, the robot intro to Wilco's show states that yelling song requests is among the things that are allowed during the show, so it'll probably start happening more.