bböp Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Well, if anyone thought the guys (and maybe now, gal) in Tweedy might be a little fatigued the night after two big hometown shows, then they were fortunately mistaken. An off night could still happen on this relatively long tour, but it won't be in Minneapolis.Part of that surely had to do with being back in that city's iconic rock club, which Jeff said was "still an oasis for every fucking rock band out there," (and which of course brings to mind how his wife's late, lamented bar Lounge Ax was often described). While I came into the show annoyed at First Avenue for not letting you pick up your ticket before doors opened, for having confusing entry procedures (multiple doors, platinum early entry, etc.) and for completely whiffing on having the list of people who bought tickets through the Wilco presale at will call (wtf?), it was touching to hear Jeff thank Minneapolis in general — and by extension, this venue — for being one of the first cities to really make him think a career in music could be achieved and how he would never forget that early support.I had forgotten that it had been nearly 10 years since Jeff last played at First Avenue, and that Spencer had joined him on a song back then. Jeff remarked that he didn't remember the stage being quite so high ("Or maybe I was higher....No, I'm sure I was much lower,") and it smelling so much like pizza, and then told an amusing story about Wilco playing there once and food being delivered back and forth through the photo pit right in front of the stage. Haha. Anyway, the members of the Tweedy band seem to have a little extra juice playing venues like First Avenue (probably because that's what most of them are used to) as opposed to plush, seated theaters IMHO.It's Minneapolis, of course, so there's always the likelihood that Jeff's old friend Gary Louris will make a cameo if he's in town, and fortunately tonight he was. It was a treat to hear them play a couple of Golden Smog songs together just the two of them, even if there was a little bit of rust on A Long Time Ago. "It's just like riding a bike," Jeff quipped about playing with Louris.Perhaps the more surprising appearance, at least to me, was Sima Cunningham — the older sister of Tweedy multi-instrumentalist Liam Cunningham – joining the band on backing vocals as she did the previous two nights in Chicago. It would have been easy to assume those were just guest spots because she lives there, but now it seems like she'll probably be with the band for at least the rest of this tour. And I have to say, it's kind of hard to imagine the band without her now. Just three shows in, it kind of seems like she's always been there in some ways (and I mean that as a compliment).Well, I suppose I've prattled on long enough for one show so I'll just briefly mention a few other tidbits from Banter Corner and that neighborhood:*Jeff seemed very taken with hash tags once again. The #waltzwave theme continued, of course. And then he brought up #needytweedy after he asked the crowd if it was having a good time. Then he mentioned how he would be pissed if that caught on (and then possibly displayed a middle-finger emoji or something?)*That led to another funny running interaction with a woman in the crowd who, when Jeff said something like "Don't tweet that," replied, "Can we Tweedy it?" That drew some mock boos from the crowd near her and Jeff made sure everyone knew what she had said. "That's why I have a microphone, sweetheart," he joked. Then he said he had never called a woman "sweetheart" in his life. And later on, in wishing everyone a happy International Women's Day, noted the irony of him calling a woman sweetheart on such an occasion.*Jeff also reprised his "riff intro" to Only The Lord Knows, saying he had learned in Chicago that it feels better when you make some riff faces. A little bit of a "you had to be there moment," but he cracked the crowd up when he did a few seconds of like a hair metal riff with his fingers up on the fretboard. (Of course, that caused mention of #guitarhero.)*And re: Hotel Arizona, he noted how that song had received a lot of requests via the Wilco web site. "A disproportionate number," Jeff said, adding that it would surely suck the energy out of the room but doing the opposite when the audience chimed in on the do-doos and when Jeff played his actual guitar part during the solo (which sounds hilariously simplistic without the rest of the band).I'm sure I've missed some stuff as always, so maybe others will chime in, but for now, here was the complete setlist as played:Fake Fur Coat>Diamond Light, Pt. 1FloweringWorld AwayNew Moon*Nobody Dies Anymore*HazelSummer NoonYou Are Not Alone*Love Like A Wire* [Diane Izzo]Wait For Love*High As Hello*Low Key*Via Chicago^I Am Trying To Break Your Heart^New Madrid^Hotel Arizona^Passenger Side^Please Tell My Brother^Born Alone^Jesus, etc.^I'm The Man Who Loves You^Please Don't Let Me Be So UnderstoodOnly The Lord Knows*The Losing End (When You're On)* [Neil Young]----------------------------------------A Long Time Ago#Radio King#Give Back The Key To My Heart% [Doug Sahm]California Stars@* — with Sima Cunningham on backing vocals^ — Jeff Tweedy solo acoustic# — Jeff Tweedy and Gary Louris on acoustic guitar and vocals% – with Gary Louris on electric guitar and backing vocals and Sima Cunningham on backing vocals@ — with Gary Louris on electric guitar and backing vocals, Scott McCaughey on keyboard and backing vocals and Sima Cunningham on backing vocals Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bböp Posted March 9, 2015 Author Share Posted March 9, 2015 For the folks tracking The Minus 5's setlists, the quartet of Scott McCaughey, Peter Buck, Linda Pitmon and Michael Giblin also seemed to have a little extra juice tonight, owing perhaps to the venue as well as having a few recent shows (and in Scott's case, a drink or two) under their belts. And it apparently being Giblin's birthday... The Minus 5 setlist for Minneapolis, as played: Blue RickenbackerIt's Magenta, Man!Hold Down The FortI'm Not BitterIn The GroundIt's Beautiful HereThe Old PlantationLies of the Living DeadThe Zero ClownsMy GenerationAw Shit Man A couple of quick notes: *They also soundchecked The Unforeseen, but it wasn't played.*Before My Generation, Scott introduced it as an "anthem for super rockin' old people" and said he was going to dedicate it to Gary Louris but then decided not to. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chrisha Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Thanks again for the setlist info bbop, great to see Gary Louris from The Jayhawks joining Tweedy - got to meet him & the other Jayhawks in Todos Santos at Peter Bucks Festival this year, & they were superb, & really nice people as well. Really wish we could be there, the shows look fab! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
remphish1 Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Hotel Arizona acoustic? Interesting Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bböp Posted March 9, 2015 Author Share Posted March 9, 2015 Forgot to mention that in his introduction, the person from The Current radio station said that some incarnation of the band (not sure if it was Jeff and Spencer or the whole band) had done a session earlier in the day and it would air I think at 5 p.m. today (Monday)? Guess there aren't too many Minnesotans on here or else they probably would have chimed in already, but maybe someone can confirm this... Edit: I was informed that the details are in Wilco's most recent Instagram post from yesterday. 5 p.m. CST today then. I'm sure it will be archived for future listening at some point. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Heartbreak Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Dang, if they play a set like this at Solid Sound, I will freaking levitate. Love the Fake Fur Coat>Diamond Light Opener. Also prefer Via Chicago acoustic to the current arrangement, so that would get me psyched. And the first J.T. solo show I ever heard, 3/26/98, featured Hotel Arizona. The "made us all want to feel like stars" sounds kind of poignant, somehow, when it's just acoustic. Seriously, this sounds like a great show! Thanks for the report, as always. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Magnetized Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 I feel the same way about the "I feel some connection between you and me" line. I was just talking about this with a friend yesterday. It always feels like Jeff is singing that song directly to me. Dang, if they play a set like this at Solid Sound, I will freaking levitate. Love the Fake Fur Coat>Diamond Light Opener. Also prefer Via Chicago acoustic to the current arrangement, so that would get me psyched. And the first J.T. solo show I ever heard, 3/26/98, featured Hotel Arizona. The "made us all want to feel like stars" sounds kind of poignant, somehow, when it's just acoustic. Seriously, this sounds like a great show! Thanks for the report, as always. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Stoffel Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 For the folks tracking The Minus 5's setlists, the quartet of Scott McCaughey, Peter Buck, Linda Pitmon and Michael Giblin also seemed to have a little extra juice tonight, owing perhaps to the venue as well as having a few recent shows (and in Scott's case, a drink or two) under their belts. And it apparently being Giblin's birthday... The Minus 5 setlist for Minneapolis, as played: Blue RickenbackerIt's Magenta, Man!Hold Down The FortI'm Not BitterIn The GroundIt's Beautiful HereThe Old PlantationLies of the Living DeadThe Zero ClownsMy GenerationAw Shit Man A couple of quick notes: *They also soundchecked The Unforeseen, but it wasn't played.*Before My Generation, Scott introduced it as an "anthem for super rockin' old people" and said he was going to dedicate it to Gary Louris but then decided not to. The old Plantation, nice! thanks again for the setlist Quote Link to post Share on other sites
I'm braggin' Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Wow, Saturday night was great and all but sure would've liked to see Radio King! Looks like another awesome night. Thanks for the setlist *And re: Hotel Arizona, he noted how that song had received a lot of requests via the Wilco web site. "A disproportionate number," Jeff said, adding that it would surely suck the energy out of the room but doing the opposite when the audience chimed in on the do-doos and when Jeff played his actual guitar part during the solo (which sounds hilariously simplistic without the rest of the band). I requested Hotel Arizona a couple years back at one of the Vic shows and Jeff made the same point about the solo. Still sounded good to me! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
blureu Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 http://blog.thecurrent.org/2015/03/review-tweedy-jeff-and-spencer-enchant-first-avenue/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
H.Stone Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 Well, P, you referring to Sima as a "gal" surely makes up for Jeff's "sweatheart" bit. Sounds like a great show. I haven't been to First Ave in a couple of years and haven't seen a band I LOVE there in an even longer time. Your post made me wistful! How did Louris look and sound? Man...so many great memories involving Jeff and Gary on stage together! A1998 Golden Smog show there is one of my favorite concert memories (Dan Murphy was dressed in all white--STUD)--I wish I could've been there last night, but thanks for the detailed report.P.S. If they play "I'll Sing It," DO NOT REPORT. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Inside of Outside Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 That is fantastic that Gary played with them for the encore. I've always been partial to Gary's and Jeff's contributions in Golden Smog, and they sound great together. Radio King is a flat out gem. I was fortunate to see them onstage together at a GS show in the 90s in NYC - a top ten show all time for me. Lucky Minnesotans! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bböp Posted March 10, 2015 Author Share Posted March 10, 2015 Well, P, you referring to Sima as a "gal" surely makes up for Jeff's "sweatheart" bit. Sounds like a great show. I haven't been to First Ave in a couple of years and haven't seen a band I LOVE there in an even longer time. Your post made me wistful! How did Louris look and sound? Man...so many great memories involving Jeff and Gary on stage together! A1998 Golden Smog show there is one of my favorite concert memories (Dan Murphy was dressed in all white--STUD)--I wish I could've been there last night, but thanks for the detailed report. P.S. If they play "I'll Sing It," DO NOT REPORT.I know, I know...I doubt I've called too many people "gal," in my life either. How about "person of the female persuasion?" Gary looked and sounded more or less the same as ever (especially when he got an SG strapped on), and he even managed to get in a couple of zingers of his own that I neglected to mention. Like after Jeff's comment about how playing with him was like riding a bike, Gary fired back with, "Ride me, Jeff!" And later, he said something like, "It's an honor to be up here with Mr. Tweedy...I mean, Spencer Tweedy." (All this after Jeff had introduced Gary by saying, "Look who I found...Prince!") I'm sure that you saw a bunch of legendary shows at First Avenue, but yeah GS in '98 must've been right up there! I've gotten to see them a few times, luckily, but not in their peak supergroup era. (One of the best cover bands ever, maybe? Along with Yo La Tengo, GS is certainly up there.) I know people are always clamoring for this or that reunion, but I'd definitely take those guys coming together again...even in their relative old ages. It's been too long! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Albert Tatlock Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/blogs/295602391.html Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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