Jeff Tweedy — 2/26/16, Three Oaks, MI (Acorn Theater) [Benefit For Ibrahim Parlak]

[bböp]

It'll take me a little while to get a full recap together, and I'll never be able to fully capture all of Jeff's very amusing forays around Banter Corner, but suffice it to say that it was a treat to be able to witness this intimate 75-minute performance in the cozy Acorn Theater. This was, as Jeff himself remarked at one point, "maybe the closest I've ever played to a bed that I owned," so it was especially nice to see how invested he was in a performance in front of many members of one of his adopted communities and that directly benefited a member of said community (namely Ibrahim Parlak, a local restaurant owner who is a Kurd from Turkey and faces what many see as an unjust deportation back there).

Because of Parlak's plight — and, apparently, his status as a symbol of the Kurdish struggle in Turkey — this show definitely attracted more media attention than your average benefit concert. There were a reporter and photographer from the Chicago Tribune, a reporter/cameraman from one of the South Bend, Ind., television stations and at least one or two other local reporters/photographers covering the event. I won't really get further into the details of Parlak's situation here, but anyone who's interested can easily read more about it by simply Googling him. As far as the show, however, the politics were set aside in favor of simple themes of togetherness and community that were put forth by Parlak and his family and reiterated by Jeff.

At the outset, the show kind of had an old-timey, Pete Seeger-esque feel to it with the Acorn's wooden stage and Jeff's ultra-stripped down setup. Aside from two microphones, one vocal and one at guitar level, and a stool that held a harmonica and his setlist, Jeff really had nothing else in front of him. No monitors at all, or pedals or tuners. In more than a few ways, it reminded me of Jeff performing at the annual 24-hour Second City That Never Sleeps event for those who have attended that before. Because the show was relatively quiet, the crowd obliged and remained relatively quiet as well — with the exception of some ill-timed clinks from beer bottles being knocked over that cause Jeff to jokingly label the crowd "inept...at holding onto things" and change the lyric near the end of I Am Trying To Break Your Heart to "what was I thinking when I let go of...a beer bottle" — until the alcohol flowing from the bar in the corner of the room began to escalate the noise level from that side of the venue. Jeff himself pointed that out, and I think maybe the sense that he was starting to lose the crowd a bit contributed to him stopping slightly sooner than planned. But of course we'll never know for sure.

What we do know is that among Jeff's abundant banter were stories about once sharting on his way to take the stage at a show (apparently this involved a show at a venue on a college campus some time back when Jeff was still smoking and had gone out to smoke, which can affect one's digestive tract, and got locked out of the stage door...or something like that); Jeff told it in an attempt to make a female audience member who had made a very bad joke feel better. Later Jeff informed us that he had recently been consuming a lot of drinking vinegars, which he was told made his sweat smell like vinegar (but somehow that turned into him saying that what he really smelled like was a douche...or something like that).

One other moment worth mentioning came when Jeff's guitar strap snapped just after he had started Dawned On Me. He seemed to recover well enough and hiked up his guitar mid-song. Not long after, though, he flubbed a chord and mumbled something to the effect that playing like this was harder than he thought. He then put one foot up on a crossbar of the stool to try and get some stability, but when somebody in the audience suggested he sit on the stool to play the song, he moved everything off of it and did just that despite saying he had almost never sat down while playing because he had "too much respect for the audience" to do so. In this case, though, he made an exception and restarted the song and played it through (after hunching his shoulders and making a sheepish face). Of course he also had to show some defiance afterward by gently kicking over the stool and, well, maybe you just had to be there.

Only 280, by one estimate, were actually able to be there. Fortunately, there was just enough rowdiness (but not rudeness) on that fine line I often talk about that makes for an interesting solo show. I'm sure I'm forgetting something interesting, so maybe at least one of the other 279 attendees will chime in here. If not, I'll try to add any other details/observations I remember well enough to convey coherently.

For now, here was the complete setlist as played (Jeff's handwritten setlist appeared to also have Ashes Of American Flags and The Late Greats on it, but neither were played; meanwhile, Normal American Kids was not on the setlist but was played):

Misunderstood
Be Not So Fearful [bill Fay]
Lost Love
Remember The Mountain Bed
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
New Madrid
new song-Normal American Kids (second time played?)
You Are Not Alone
Dawned On Me (started and restarted — and performed while sitting on a stool!)
Passenger Side
A Long Time Ago
Hummingbird
We've Been Had
Via Chicago (with harmonica)
Jesus, etc.
Born Alone
I'm The Man Who Loves You
----------------------------------
A Shot in the Arm

[Magnetized]

Oh, so glad you were there to experience this show and report back to us, Paul. Can't wait to read even more details when you fill out the post, but already it sounds like a special night. New song! Jeff on a stool! Lost love! A Long Time Ago!

 

I won't be seeing Jeff in an intimate setting until the Vic shows, which seems so far off, but the anticipation is building.

 

Edit: After you filled out more banter details, I was just thinking that I can totally picture Jeff climbing on that stool and then later, all older punk defiant, he kicks it quietly over. Cool gesture.

 

I'm sure his family loved the sharting story. Well, maybe not Susie.

[nalafej]

Sounds like a great evening.

 

Chicago Tribune has the article on the show at the top of their home page right now. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-tweedy-parlak-benefit-concert-met-20160226-story.html

 

Also, I'm a fan of change.org which has a petition going: https://www.change.org/p/president-barack-obama-stop-the-wasteful-and-unnecessary-deportation-of-ibrahim-parlak

[Beltmann]

As always, huge thanks for these details, Paul.

[bböp]

As always, huge thanks for these details, Paul.

Always appreciate you reading, Eric!

[Gewee]

Thanks Paul! Glad to hear the show was a hit. Appreciate the review.

[Cold as Gasoline]

Thanks, Paul, for the detailed recap, as usual!  What did you think of the new song? 

[bböp]

Thanks, Paul, for the detailed recap, as usual!  What did you think of the new song? 

 

Thanks for reading! As far as NAK, it's always so hard for me to fully absorb a song the first time hearing it, but generally speaking, I liked it. I liked the lyrics, as I usually do with Jeff's work. It'll be interesting to see, if it is indeed destined for the next Wilco record, how the band arrangement ends up being. Structurally, if memory serves, it didn't seem to have a classic chorus but more of like each verse had some reference to "Normal American Kids," if that makes any sense (maybe a little bit like We've Been Had?). Anyway, I could kind of see it fitting in with what Jeff has described as being a "fucked up country record," but yeah, it could come out sounding somewhat differently than the solo version we heard last night depending on the other players' parts.

[Albert Tatlock]

Thanks for the report!

[Gumby]

It'll take me a little while to get a full recap together, and I'll never be able to fully capture all of Jeff's very amusing forays around Banter Corner, but suffice it to say that it was a treat to be able to witness this intimate 75-minute performance in the cozy Acorn Theater. This was, as Jeff himself remarked at one point, "maybe the closest I've ever played to a bed that I owned," so it was especially nice to see how invested he was in a performance in front of many members of one of his adopted communities and that directly benefited a member of said community (namely Ibrahim Parlak, a local restaurant owner who is a Kurd from Turkey and faces what many see as an unjust deportation back there).

 

.........

 

For now, here was the complete setlist as played (Jeff's handwritten setlist appeared to also have Ashes Of American Flags and The Late Greats on it, but neither were played; meanwhile, Normal American Kids was not on the setlist but was played):

 

Misunderstood

Be Not So Fearful [bill Fay]

Lost Love

Remember The Mountain Bed

I Am Trying To Break Your Heart

New Madrid

new song-Normal American Kids (second time played?)

You Are Not Alone

Dawned On Me (started and restarted — and performed while sitting on a stool!)

Passenger Side

A Long Time Ago

Hummingbird

We've Been Had

Via Chicago (with harmonica)

Jesus, etc.

Born Alone

I'm The Man Who Loves You

----------------------------------

A Shot in the Arm

 

What an accurate write-up! Thanks for putting words to the evening, as well as sharing the setlist. I didn't know he had a house in Harbert...that means it's possible he's heard me on the NPR station that covers north central Indiana and SW Michigan. I'm also willing to say he fulfilled my "Passenger Side" request I made on Twitter...my birthday was the 28th.

 

My wife and I were numbers five and six in the line to get in and we immediately made our way to front row center. I was not expecting that. It was amazing being that close, watching his fingers move up and down the fretboard and the different methods he used on the strings, as well as seeing his facial expressions - could've sworn he was staring at my wife...can't blame him! He is such a showman (surprising no one here). I don't think I have too much more to add. The busted strap was hilarious. After he threw it down, it was a little close to the front of the stage and he told the guy immediately in front of it, "Don't touch it, that's mine!" Then a few songs later when he used the repaired strap, he dutifully checked it before letting it hang.

 

Again, thanks for the write-up. How many went over to Journeyman after and spent far too much on whiskey? This guy did...

[nalafej]

If you missed the Jeff Tweedy benefit concert for Ibrahim Parlak on Friday Feb 26 at the Acorn Theater in Three Oaks, you can hear it re-broadcast TOMORROW: Friday, March 11 from 6:30-8PM EDT at Radio Harbor Country in Three Oaks, MI. Stream the show at http://radioharborcountry.org OR use the Tune-In app: http://tunein.com/: (search for 'WRHC Radio Harbor Country).'

[blureu]

Sweet. Thanks for the heads-up.

[The Inside of Outside]

Very cool. Thanks for passing this along.

[Gumby]

If you missed the Jeff Tweedy benefit concert for Ibrahim Parlak on Friday Feb 26 at the Acorn Theater in Three Oaks, you can hear it re-broadcast TOMORROW: Friday, March 11 from 6:30-8PM EDT at Radio Harbor Country in Three Oaks, MI. Stream the show at http://radioharborcountry.org OR use the Tune-In app: http://tunein.com/: (search for 'WRHC Radio Harbor Country).'

I'm going to try recording it. If anyone would be interested, I can provide the .wav file somehow (suggestions on that?).

 

Edit: I'm not getting their stream to work on TuneIn (android), iTunes, or their web player. Anyone else?

[blureu]

Not working for me either.

[knotgreen]

Great writeup, Paul. Interesting that he avoided any material from Star Wars (perhaps even he needs a break from that material!). 

[Magnetized]

It's working for me on Tunein on my phone. Can't get it to work from my computer though.

 

Edit: Never mind--just started working from the station's website on my computer too!

[blureu]

Hope someone is able to record.

[Gumby]

Hope someone is able to record.

I'm recording it. It's really quiet, I'll try to fix it in post. Any idea how I should share it when I get to that point?

 

Edit: shoot! My streaming device just had to buffer.

[Magnetized]

I'm recording it. It's really quiet, I'll try to fix it in post. Any idea how I should share it when I get to that point?

 

Edit: shoot! My streaming device just had to buffer.

I don't think it's just you. I've got this streaming on a couple of devices and it's choppy on both. Still a treat to hear, though.

[Gumby]

I don't think it's just you. I've got this streaming on a couple of devices and it's choppy on both. Still a treat to hear, though.

That's really strange. It must be WRHC's uplink to tunein.

 

edit: I'll at least try to salvage the complete songs from the broadcast.

[Magnetized]

Totally geeky side note: I think the outro music they were playing at the very end of the show was Finally Bored, the title song from a 2013 album by The Blisters, Spencer's band.