Jeff Tweedy — 29 April 2016, Sheboygan, WI (Weill Center for the Performing Arts) [Benefit for The Étude Group Schools]

[bböp]

Don't have time to get a full report written up right now, but this was a fun little benefit show to benefit a local charter school group. Jeff got to help out a good cause, provided some Sheboyganites (is that the right term?) with an evening of musical entertainment that maybe they don't get in their town very often and even coaxed his son Spencer into doing a little singing with him.

 

All in all not a bad way to spend a Friday evening, I must say...

 

At any rate, there were a couple of humorous snafus and the occasional foray down to Banter Corner that I shall endeavor to recount later if someone else hasn't done it already.

 

For now, here was the complete setlist as played for the 90-minute performance (Airline To Heaven was on Jeff's setlist but apparently cut in favor of Give Back The Key and Handshake Drugs was apparently a consideration but also not played; I'm pretty sure those were the only variations from the stage list):

 

Via Chicago (with harmonica; started and restarted)

I Am Trying To Break Your Heart

New Madrid

Hummingbird

Remember The Mountain Bed (started and restarted)

Lost Love

Please Tell My Brother

The Late Greats

Bull Black Nova

Laminated Cat (aka Not For The Season)

Where Do I Begin

Impossible Germany

Nothing'severgonnastandinmyway(again)

In A Future Age

Kamera

Simple Twist Of Fate [bob Dylan]

I'm Always In Love

Jesus, etc.

Born Alone

Passenger Side

I'm The Man Who Loves You

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

Give Back The Key To My Heart [Doug Sahm] (with Spencer Tweedy on backing vocals)

A Shot in the Arm

[froggie]

(Airline To Heaven was on Jeff's setlist but apparently cut in favor of Give Back The Key and Handshake Drugs was apparently a consideration but also not played; I'm pretty sure those were the only variations from the stage list):

GRR.. i yelled out for Airline last month down here, and he nodded his head to me after mumbling something and didnt play it! (still a great setlist!)

[Preferred B]

Ooh, Simple Twist of Fate! Nice. I'm very bummed I couldn't be in town (or in country) for this practically local show. I can't remember the last time I missed Jeff or Wilco in Wisconsin. I'm glad it was good, but there was little doubt of that. I'll just have to bide my time until the Vic.

[Beltmann]

Thanks, Paul. I was thinking of jotting down the list until I spotted you just a few minutes before the show started (actually, it was Stacy who first saw you). I would have said hello, but you were up front and we were up in the balcony. Always great to see old friends!

[bböp]

Thanks, Paul. I was thinking of jotting down the list until I spotted you just a few minutes before the show started (actually, it was Stacy who first saw you). I would have said hello, but you were up front and we were up in the balcony. Always great to see old friends!

Sorry I didn't get to say hi in person. Someone mentioned that you guys would be there and I looked around, but like you said, we were in different areas. Glad you made it over to Sheboygan, and glad that it turned out to be a pretty good show!

[Magnetized]

I'd love to hear about the banter, etc., that bbop alluded to in the original post. I keep waiting for someone else to amplify so Paul doesn't have to do all the heavy lifting...

[Jcamp]

Thank you for reporting the setlist, bbop. I,too, was preparing to try to get the setlist correct from the 5th row when I saw you pass by a few rows in front just before showtime. What a fun show and a really nice theater.

 

Here's a few incidentals as best as I recall:

 

The first snafu happened right after Jeff was introduced and started playing Via Chicago. Maybe 20 seconds into the opening chords, the house music was still playing some funky MoTown song lightly over the PA. Jeff tried to played through it but obviously it was impossibly distracting. Soo, Jeff walked offstage momentarily and walked back to the mic, greeted the crowd again and restarted Via Chicago. (the funky music had ceased playing). 

 

There might have been more than one request for Kingpin. Jeff acknowledged Sheboygan would be a great place to perform Kingpin, but didn't think he could do it justice without the band. And went on to suggest Wilco should play Sheboygan soon.

 

Also, Jeff confessed to terribly flubbing lyrics to Remember The Mountain Bed once in which one lyric was riddled with the word fart more than once. Soo badly he said that it gave the rest of the band pause. But they were able to play through it because they were in Germany and nobody in the crowd caught it!

 

Jeff had a little bit of fun with Spencer Tweedy towards the end of the regular set asking him if he wanted to join him onstage. Jeff claimed something like, 'He doesn't want to hang out with you guys'. But it was fun that Spencer came out for Give Back The Key To My Heart.

 

P.S. I could've sworn Richard Thompson walked past me in the lobby before the show. I was wondering if he would make an appearance at some point.

[Magnetized]

Thanks, Joe. Wow, I wonder if that really was Richard Thompson!!

[Beltmann]

And went on to suggest Wilco should play Sheboygan soon.

Someone shouted, "Come back!," and Jeff replied, "Anytime. We're just down the road from here."

 

Jeff confessed to terribly flubbing lyrics to Remember The Mountain Bed once in which one lyric was riddled with the word fart more than once. Soo badly he said that it gave the rest of the band pause. But they were able to play through it because they were in Germany and nobody in the crowd caught it!

He also had a little trouble with "Where Do I Begin," and afterwards apologetically said that the reason was because it's a new song. He added something about how he's still trying to figure it out (as a solo version, I presume).

[Smokestack Joe]

Another hilarious quote Tweedy made in reference to Sheboygan was "Sheboygan is the kinda town where if you can make it here.....you can make it anywhere!"