Jeff Tweedy - Todos Santos Music Festival, 14 January 2016 (Night 1)

[eckythump]

Will post more later, for now here's Jeff's setlist tonight:

Misunderstood

I Am Trying To Break Your Heart

Unknown

New Madrid

Please Tell My Brother

Born Alone

Hummingbird

I Must Be High

Passenger Side

Hesitating Beauty

Simple Twist of Fate

California Stars (with John, Pat, Peter Buck, Spencer, Mike Mills, Scott McCaughey, Josh Kantor, Joseph Arthur, and some more I'm probably forgetting).

 

All songs were solo except the last one.

The unknown song included the lyrics ''before I could drive before I could vote... always afraid of those normal american kids', any ideas anyone what it was?

 

Fantastic set, Jeff was in a great mood (and when he asked what we wanted to hear my requests for Hummingbird and Passenger Side were played! I Must Be High was also a request). 

[RaspberryJam]

I wondered for a minute if the unknown song was "I'm afraid of Americans" by David Bowie, so I looked up the lyrics.......and no.

 

Hope you are having a great time for the rest of us!!

[nalafej]

Looks great. 

 

Did we ever figure out what the first song was that Jeff played at second city? Could it be the same? The lyrics I was able to decipher, write down and post in another thread were "happiness depends on who you blame" 

[Firecracker Kid]

The unknown song wasn't anything I've heard before, and the only lyrics I jotted down were the same ones Eckythump captured, as well as something about "bongs" and a "carpeted van". I think I recall something similar to what Nalafej quoted as well but didn't write it down. I couldn't find anything through various searches, so I'm guessing it's either something new or something obscure. BTW, Googling "carpeted van" returns some pretty groovy results.

 

As for the rest of the set list, Eckythump is spot on. Just a minor add of detail, on California Stars the full lineup was Jeff (acoustic guitar), John (bass), Pat (elec. guitar), Spencer (drums), Peter B. (elec. 12-string), Scott M. (keyboard), Josh K. (accordion), Joseph A. (congas), Mike M. (backing vocals) and Greg "G. Wiz" Wieczorek (shaker) and James Haggerty (backing vocals). Also, start time was 11:38pm and finish was 12:25am.

 

Jeff's performance was quite solid, despite some obvious annoyance with the sound setup. There was an odd reverb/feedback that he thought was coming from the monitors and he tried to get the sound guys to turn them off, but it turns out it was coming from the PA. Jeff shrugged it off and played through it, but I'm sure he (along with a few of us in the crowd) missed having Stan there. There were also a few lyric flubs, but, as usual, he was proactive in pointing them out and laughed through them.

 

There were also a couple of gems from banter corner. One was something along the lines of "oh, I forgot I had two more nights up here, so I better be nice to y'all". Another was when "I Might Be High" was requested and he said he doesn't think it sounds good played acoustically. After he played it (and nailed it), with a mock arrogance tone he said "I've heard worse" followed quickly by "I've PLAYED worse!"

 

Hopefully one of us will be able find out more details on the mystery song over the next couple of days, as bumping into performers seems to happen every block or so when wandering around town.

[eckythump]

Good report don't think there's too much else to add to that, other than that it was really chilly! Jeff's comment about being here for 2 more nights and having to be nice was after I Must Be High, when at the end of the song he said he figured out how to play the solo better after the song was over, which he played. I then said that he could play it again tomorrow night, which then prompted that comment about having to be nice. I think Jeff relaxed more after the reverb issues when we all reassured him it sounded fine, and he apologised for being a perfectionist.

 

If you see me tonight say hello, if it's cold tonight as last night I'll be wearing my Wilco hoodie again (and I'm about 6'4 and wear glasses if that helps). I'm going to be at Hotel California this afternoon for the soundcheck and will try and ask Jeff there what the song was if I can chat to him.

[Holdin on to black metal]

Thanks for the reports! Really excited to hear about the sets, as it was a very tough decision to attend next weekend's shows there as opposed to this weekend. Can't believe this festival is happening there as Todos Santos was the first town in Mexico I fell in love with 10 years ago and ever since Buck started hosting this festival a few years ago, I've been itching to get back. If more people knew what an amazing, unique place it is, I imagine there'd be so many more people there!

 

I'll be curious to hear what the space/layout at Hotel California is like. We purchased the "Reserved" seats just to guarantee a spot before purchasing flights down there, but are obviously much more interested in just standing next to the stage.

 

Enjoy your time there and eat as much food as you can. The fish tacos up at Barajas are superb, as are the food, drinks, and charm at Miguel's. The hot dog carts on the streets around there are the best hot dogs I've ever had too. Cheers!

[eckythump]

Todos Santos is still beautiful, but it's changing rapidly - gentrification is making its way up from Cabo (wait till you see the paved streets), so get here while you can still see it before it becomes mobbed with tourists!

 

Did you get VIP reserved or normal reserved? It's a pretty small area, I had VIP so I sat at the table until Old 97's, then went down the front for them and Jeff. VIP gives you a great view but normal reserved is a little restricted (and you'll be at the back with the talkers), so if you want to see any band close up I'd recommend going up to the stage. It's quite high so you'll see fine.

And here's California Stars from last night 

 

https://youtu.be/OQqRU7Ht-sk

[remphish1]

Thanks eckythump for the review! Enjoy yourself and good job on getting the request played!!

[bböp]

The unknown song wasn't anything I've heard before, and the only lyrics I jotted down were the same ones Eckythump captured, as well as something about "bongs" and a "carpeted van". I think I recall something similar to what Nalafej quoted as well but didn't write it down. I couldn't find anything through various searches, so I'm guessing it's either something new or something obscure. BTW, Googling "carpeted van" returns some pretty groovy results.

 

As for the rest of the set list, Eckythump is spot on. Just a minor add of detail, on California Stars the full lineup was Jeff (acoustic guitar), John (bass), Pat (elec. guitar), Spencer (drums), Peter B. (elec. 12-string), Scott M. (keyboard), Josh K. (accordion), Joseph A. (congas), Mike M. (backing vocals) and Greg "G. Wiz" Wieczorek (shaker) and James Haggerty (backing vocals). Also, start time was 11:38pm and finish was 12:25am.

 

Jeff's performance was quite solid, despite some obvious annoyance with the sound setup. There was an odd reverb/feedback that he thought was coming from the monitors and he tried to get the sound guys to turn them off, but it turns out it was coming from the PA. Jeff shrugged it off and played through it, but I'm sure he (along with a few of us in the crowd) missed having Stan there. There were also a few lyric flubs, but, as usual, he was proactive in pointing them out and laughed through them.

 

There were also a couple of gems from banter corner. One was something along the lines of "oh, I forgot I had two more nights up here, so I better be nice to y'all". Another was when "I Might Be High" was requested and he said he doesn't think it sounds good played acoustically. After he played it (and nailed it), with a mock arrogance tone he said "I've heard worse" followed quickly by "I've PLAYED worse!"

 

Hopefully one of us will be able find out more details on the mystery song over the next couple of days, as bumping into performers seems to happen every block or so when wandering around town.

I don't have my setlist from Second City in front of me — hey, I'm in Thailand at the moment — but I'm pretty sure he played a new song there that he said was called Normal American Kids [edit: he must've mentioned NAK somewhere, but the song he played at Second City wasn't it]. So judging by the reports thus far, I'd say it's pretty safe to say that's what the mystery song is.

 

He also played the Jose Feliciano cover he did for Fargo at Second City, so maybe that will get played at some point — especially if he has two more sets. Thanks for the setlist reporting in my absence!

 

And enjoy those Todos Santos vibes. I noticed that's one of the NY Times' "52 Places to Go" in 2016, so you guys have already got a leg up...

[Holdin on to black metal]

Todos Santos is still beautiful, but it's changing rapidly - gentrification is making its way up from Cabo (wait till you see the paved streets), so get here while you can still see it before it becomes mobbed with tourists!

 

Did you get VIP reserved or normal reserved? It's a pretty small area, I had VIP so I sat at the table until Old 97's, then went down the front for them and Jeff. VIP gives you a great view but normal reserved is a little restricted (and you'll be at the back with the talkers), so if you want to see any band close up I'd recommend going up to the stage. It's quite high so you'll see fine.

And here's California Stars from last night 

 

https://youtu.be/OQqRU7Ht-sk

Thanks for the tips! We got the normal reserved. Not concerned about actually sitting, much prefer to stand, but was just curious what the setup would be like. I've been back on that patio a few times but not since 2011 and I think I heard they expanded it, so was just wondering what the overall space was like.