Jeff Tweedy — 29 April 2017, Winnetka, IL (Private Residence) [Letters To Santa Living Room Show]

[bböp]

Though it's always a privilege to get to attend the living room shows that Jeff performs to benefit Letters To Santa, I didn't want to step on any toes and rush to post right away as is my habit because I know how much work and advance preparation go into these things and I wanted to give the folks who put in that effort the first chance to share some details and experiences — or not. But since I've been charged with posting the setlist for last night's performance, I suppose it's all right to at least attempt a short recap...so here goes.

 

No matter how many of these events one gets to experience, they always end up being pretty unique evenings unto themselves depending on the group of attendees, Jeff's personal state of mind and mood, what's going on in the world, what's going on with Jeff's music, the room where the show takes place and more. So no two are really ever completely alike. That said, this particular show — which I was also fortunate enough to attend last year — takes place in a home and a basement room that seems pretty comfortable by now for both Jeff and many of the attendees. It's a nice space for a performance such as this, intimate but never too overcrowded and with pretty nice acoustics.

 

As far as the performance itself, Jeff played sans chapeau for the first time in a while that I can remember and he played well for the most part. He apologized once again for his shaky start to the previous Saturday's solo show on at the Vic, and talked about how when he's writing new music, those are the songs that are in his head and his older songs — even ones that seem easy or that he's played many times — become like strangers again. Fortunately for us, Jeff decided to play a couple of new songs that he's written for a project that he's keeping mum about for now. They were both really enjoyable, even on first listen, with some of his most direct lyrics in some time (maybe more along the lines of Tweedy/Sukierae material than Star Wars/Schmilco, to offer one comparison — not that the music was reminiscent of the former necessarily). I don't know if the titles he gave are working titles or actual ones, but I jotted the new songs as being called Ain't No Doubt About It and All In It Together so I'm going to go with that for now.

 

Of course those were unexpected twin highlights of the show, but other notable ones for me included the Mermaid Avenue Vol. 3 deep cut Listening To That Wind That Blows; a cover of the John Prine classic Sam Stone; and a heartrending a cappella rendition of Another Man's Done Gone to close the show. We also were treated to a few songs on which the song requesters  — attendees each submit a few requests in advance of the show — perform their requests along with Jeff, and I must say that a nice highlight among these efforts was Arlene's rhythm guitar playing on How To Fight Loneliness that was solid enough to allow Jeff to take a couple of "solos" (or perhaps more accurately, lead parts?) that he rarely has done on that song. I'm not really doing it justice but it was a very cool rendition of the song, so kudos to Arlene!

 

As far as Banter Corner, I wouldn't say this was a particular bountiful show in that regard (at least not necessarily with stuff that would make much sense to non-attendees) but there was one running theme through much of the show that involved whether Jeff should run for mayor of Chicago. Apparently a somewhat prominent figure in the local music community — cough, Steve Albini, cough — has suggested to Jeff that he should run. Jeff bandied the idea both with the audience and his wife a couple of times during the course of the show before deciding that he wasn't "cruel enough" and/or cared too much about people versus corporate interests and that type of thing to ever do that job.

 

A couple of other tidbits that I jotted down included Jeff's answer to a question about what he was planning on doing to celebrate his 50th birthday later this year. I can't really remember if he answered, but Susan mentioned at one point that she will be celebrating an even more momentous birthday this year and gave Jeff some grief about his being away on tour until the day of her birthday (Jeff retorted by saying he would be home before she woke up on that day).

 

There was also a question about Uncle Tupelo and whether the (recent?) rumor of an impending release of other material from the archives was true. Jeff said as far as he knew, everything that was in the vault has come out — perhaps with the exception of some live material. By extension, Jeff also addressed the topic of recent communication with Jay Farrar that Jay had mentioned in some recent interviews. Jeff said he and Jay had always worked together on Uncle Tupelo archival releases — they even have the same lawyer, Jeff said — and that Jay had contacted him by e-mail a couple of years ago about possibly releasing UT material he had found on some tapes. Jeff said he'd be OK with that, but hadn't been in touch with Jay since then.

 

Other noteworthy bits included Jeff also mentioning after playing The Ruling Class that he had originally written the melody to be the theme for the TV show King of the Hill and also that he no longer subscribed to the notion of "turning your frown upside down." And before Everlasting Everything, Jeff also talked a bit about how it was an extremely sad song and one that he was aware had received a fair amount of criticism among the fanbase but how he could live with that since he also received a note from no less than Bill Fay saying that it was his favorite song of Jeff's.

 

So all in all, it was once again a fun and memorable evening. I'm sure I'm missing a few things that hopefully others will chime in on. But a big thank you from me to all of those who made this happen, who opened their home to a bunch of random people and to those who contributed to a grass-roots effort that makes a big difference to many families in this community and of course as always to Jeff and Susie for their unbelievable generosity of time and spirit. Here's to the next time!

 

For now, here was the complete setlist as played:

 

Where Do I Begin

Nope

Bull Black Nova

Hummingbird

Please Be Patient With Me

Listening To That Wind That Blows

One Wing

New Madrid

Sam Stone [John Prine]

Radio King

Muzzle Of Bees

If I Ever Was A Child

Love And Mercy [brian Wilson]

Common Sense

The Ruling Class

How To Fight Loneliness (with Arlene K. on acoustic guitar)

Summer Teeth (with Kevin H. on acoustic guitar and backing vocals)

Someone To Lose (with Kevin M. on electric guitar)

new song-Ain't No Doubt About It

Chinese Apple

Everlasting Everything

Laminated Cat (aka Not For The Season)

new song-All In It Together

I Must Be High

You Are Not Alone

What Light

A Magazine Called Sunset

Monday

Another Man's Done Gone (performed a cappella)

[The Inside of Outside]

That was a lovely read.

[Preferred B]

Love And Mercy [brian Wilson]

 

Vibes, T.

[Gewee]

Thanks Paul. Great summary. While taking a picture with Jeff he did tell me he'd be doing "Sam Stone" again for an upcoming project.

 

[Magnetized]

Great recap, Paul. I can't believe you guys got two new songs. Wow! Were either of them subject to being interpreted as timely political statements? And Sam Stone? And Arlene? It sounds like an especially magical night.

[Mr. Heartbreak]

 

As far as the performance itself, Jeff played sans chapeau for the first time in a while that I can remember and he played well for the most part. He apologized once again for his shaky start to the previous Saturday's solo show on at the Vic, and talked about how when he's writing new music, those are the songs that are in his head and his older songs — even ones that seem easy or that he's played many times — become like strangers again. 

Thanks for the recap, as always. This comment about Jeff "apologizing" for having a difficult time remembering some songs just goes to show how hard the guy works, and what an amazing memory he has!

 

One of my favorite musicians is a Canadian singer/songwriter named Bruce Cockburn, who also happens to be an incredible guitar player; in fact, most all his songs feature finger-picking that would be difficult for most guitarists, so it's probably not easy to remember many of them. Still, I once read where Bruce commented that he could only keep about 18-20 of his own songs in his head at any time. Consequently, he plays pretty much the same setlist each night on any given tour.

 

Contrast that with Wilco, and, especially, with Jeff solo. Seems like Jeff has at least 50-60, maybe more, in his head at all times, not to mention cover songs. Even with somewhat simpler guitar parts than Cockburn, that is pretty damn amazing.

[TCP]

The wife and I were present for this, our first Living Room Show and our first time in Chicago. I don't have much to add, bböp (who I finally got to meet!) summed it up pretty great. The host family are really kind people, the Tweedys and their crew were all great, as were the 30 or so attendees. Everyone was very kind and gracious, it was just a joy to meet everyone. 

[H.Stone]

Vibes, T.

*cries melodramatically*

[Dusty]

My first LR show❤️...absolutely one of the most beautiful experiences I have ever witnessed.

I. Was. Euphoric.

The experience changed my life. I am so thankful and grateful to Jeff and Sue, as well as everyone else involved to make this experience such a beautiful part of our lives.

[theashtraysays]

chiming in.... bbop certainly hit the highlights, but a couple other thoughts -

Someone asked Jeff how he formed his affinity for certain guitars, such as the Waterloo models he had, or the Kel models he plays a lot.  He said he really didn't know, but that the Waterloo's "sound like an old guitar", and that they held up better than the Kel's, which he said would have some issues while out on the road (bridge falls off?).  He also said that he "almost" brought the one guitar that he writes most of his songs on, and then awkwardly tried to explain to Sue why he has so many guitars but only uses one to write songs on....

Bull Black Nova was, of course, fantastic.  The solo version, in a small room like that where you can hear a pin drop, is chilling.  Jeff said that it's a hard song to convey with only an acoustic guitar, but I assured him it was all right. 

[Beltmann]

Thanks, Paul! Sounds like a fantastic night with fantastic people.

[radiatortunes]

Thanks for the great recap, bbop. I don't really have much to add except that the a cappella version of AMDG was stunning. Sometimes (but not often) I forget about how emotive and powerful Jeff's voice is. 

 

Also, thank you for the very kind words, bbop. 

[Albert Tatlock]

A few days late with the thanks. Good news re new songs. Also jealous re Wind That Blows. Ta.

[kidsmoke]

I've really enjoyed reading all this commentary. It sounds like an incredible show! I love that Jeff uses his talents to improve his community, that he and Sue give so much of themselves, and then in the end, a whole roomful of people get to have a beautiful, overjoyed party. It's all win! Love producing more love.