Jeff Tweedy — 6 August 2016, Happy Valley, OR (Pendarvis Farm) [Pickathon]

[bböp]

Don't have time to write much of a recap and anyone who's that interested probably watched the live stream anyway, but since no one's started a thread yet...

 

On Day 3 of this year's Pickathon Music Festival, Jeff closed out the "main stage" (called the Mt. Hood Stage) lineup with a pretty intimate-feeling 70-minute solo set in which he performed several songs from Wilco's forthcoming Schmilco album publicly for the first time as well as a selection of songs from throughout his career.

 

Playing on his 21st wedding anniversary, he was in a joking mood for most of the set with various snarky comments mocking Trump (basically variations on how "I have the best songs," "I'm the best guitarist," etc.), revealing his dislike for the new singer — or "pope" — of the Swedish heavy metal band Ghost whose T-shirt he was wearing, commenting on the weird "robot camera" that would slide back and forth somewhat distractingly above the crowd and even finding ways to poke a little fun at Pickathon itself (checking in with the crowd a couple of times to make sure the sound was OK because he thought the PA might "be made of twigs and berries," and commenting on the strong pot stench). He also had some fun with various children who made their way to the front of the crowd, like telling a little boy to hold onto a balloon that had drifted on stage, so it wouldn't distract him.

 

Anyway, like I said, I don't have time to rehash everything in detail right now, but it was a fun set. Obviously the highlights (for me) were the new songs. The one song title I'm not sure of is the one he led off the encore with, which seemed to me on first listen like one of the most overtly Dylan-inspired tunes Jeff's ever done. It had lyrics that  started with something like "Mental wages engaged/I'm blessed" and also included "Jesus mows my lawn" and "Snake shine/overrate my crime," as well as ending with "Ha ha ha." [EDIT: I've been informed by a reliable source that song is Nope, so I'm updating the setlist below accordingly.]

 

Here was the complete setlist, as played (Jeff had something at his feet that looked like lyrics more than a setlist, so I'm not sure if there even was a physical setlist):

 

Misunderstood

If I Ever Was A Child

I Am Trying To Break Your Heart

New Madrid

Lost Love

Hummingbird

Shrug and Destroy (live debut)

The Ruling Class

Ashes of American Flags ($6.43)

Love Like A Wire [Diane Izzo]

Passenger Side

I'm Always In Love

Bob Dylan's 49th Beard

Jesus, etc.

Just Say Goodbye (live debut)

I'm The Man Who Loves You

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

Nope (live debut)

A Shot in the Arm

[Sandoz]

My dream has finally come true: Jeff playing at Pickathon. Such a fun set last night on the main stage!  Can't wait for tonight's set on the magical Woods Stage. 

[aricandover]

 revealing his dislike for the new singer — or "pope" — of the Swedish heavy metal band Ghost whose T-shirt he was wearing, 

 

The joke being, that Ghost has changed their lead singer three times now, Papa Emeritus, Papa Emeritus II, and Papa Emeritus III. In reality, they're all the same guy wearing variations on the makeup. 

[bböp]

The joke being, that Ghost has changed their lead singer three times now, Papa Emeritus, Papa Emeritus II, and Papa Emeritus III. In reality, they're all the same guy wearing variations on the makeup. 

 

Oh, thanks for the info! Jeff's comment makes much more sense knowing that (though his clarification of said comment last night then might be a bit more confusing in light of that ).

[downisthenewup]

Here's the full stream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTCo9aBdTk0

[lost highway]

Thanks for sharing. Good to hear those new ones lo-fi and solo. I can only imagine what the Wilcos will do with them.