Jeff Tweedy — 3 September 2018, Utrecht, The Netherlands (Tivoli Vredenburg [Grote Zaal])

[bböp]

Only have about 15 minutes right now to post something, so this certainly isn't all I could say on the subject of this show but perhaps other attendees will chime in (I know at least one Dutch journalist type who sometimes frequents these parts was in attendance)...

 

The setting for this show — Jeff's first non-festival, non-living room show performance in just over four months — was a somewhat familiar one. As he noted on at least a couple of occasions over the course of his set, the last time he had been in Utrecht was in November of 2016 and, specifically, on the very day when a certain election result had come in. It was a surreal and disconcerting time, to be sure, and Jeff even said that some of the new songs he played tonight had been written in the wake of that jarring news.

 

The wood-paneled Grote Zaal, one of several performance spaces within the sprawling Tivoli Vredenburg complex, isn't necessarily the right place for a rock show (though Wilco did play there). I'm not even sure it's the right place for a somewhat rock-oriented acoustic guitar show, though it did sound really nice. I guess I just mean that the setting, combined with the reserved seating as well as it being a Monday night combined for an odd vibe. I sort of pictured a lot of older Dutch men sitting in the dark with their arms folded, some of them periodically yawning, and then of course there were the intermittent yells and whoops by random Americans scattered amongst the locals, including one lady near the front who was pretty insufferable with her constant interjections and attempts to engage Jeff in conversation. Often I've seen Jeff shut down that sort of person relatively quickly, but he seemed to be in a tolerant mood and more or less endured her on this night.

 

Ultimately, I felt like this show tended more toward the recital end of things than a concert. And I suppose that's understandable given the setting, and heck, that's probably what most people want out of a Jeff solo show anyway. Not me, though. But we'll save that for another discussion for another time.

 

Jeff played quite well, from a performance standpoint, with a minimum of flubs. Being back indoors in an acoustic room, he went back to his usual "unplugged" solo setup where his guitar is miked only but not amplified and I still miss that crispness of the guitar that I guess I had gotten used to seeing some recent festival sets. I also sort of felt that in that acoustically pristine setting, he missed an opportunity to play Acuff-Rose at the edge of the stage without PA. But overall, it was still nice to hear some songs he doesn't play every night, like Acuff and Born Alone.

 

More on banter later if no one else chimes in (and if I can decipher any of my chicken scratch), but for now here was the complete setlist as played:

 

new song-Bombs Above

I Am Trying To Break Your Heart

New Madrid

Via Chicago (w/harmonica)

new song-New Wave Theater

Lost Love

Hummingbird

new song-Don't Forget

Bull Black Nova

Laminated Cat (aka Not For The Season)

new song-Let's Go Rain

Impossible Germany

Jesus, etc.

Born Alone

new song-Some Birds

We've Been Had

Passenger Side

California Stars

Locator

I'm The Man Who Loves You

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

Misunderstood

Acuff-Rose

A Shot in the Arm

[Lotti]

... that's probably what most people want out of a Jeff solo show anyway. Not me, though.

I also would like to see combination with more of the striptease element.

Welfare!

[Magnetized]

Thanks, Paul. I'm not yet familiar with I'd to Take You Down (and leave you there). Can you recall any of the lyrics? General tone of the song? I guess we'll hear it soon enough but I'm eternally curious. [Edit: Weird how that Love emoji got in there!]

[theashtraysays]

Bull Black Nova

whew!  Was worried it didn't make it out of the garage again...

[Marijn]

*Journalist-type Dutchman signing in*

 

Not too long ago, we Europeans could only dream of seeing Jeff solo. Sure, there was the incidental show in England or Germany, but I never made it to one of them. Fortunately things have changed, so after Edinburgh in January, the Utrecht show was my second Tweedy solo show in 2018 - a luxury even in years of extensive Wilco-touring. Since bböp was taking notes next to me, there's not much else to say about the show except for some personal views.

 

First of all, contrary to the new Ronda hall in Tivoli Vredenburg, the Grote Zaal was part of the old Vredenburg venue (built in the late 70s), which was mainly used for classical concerts. It's a great setting for an intimate acoustic show, but it also mainly attracts elderly visitors (another reason could be that Wilco only gains media attention from a few Dutch "quality" newspapers instead of magazines and radio stations who target younger people).

 

I love the new songs, they're quite retrospective and philosophical and they fit right into the theme of what I expect to be the content of Tweedy's autobiography. Other personal highlights included Impossible Germany (with some additional "If this is what love is for..." lines at the end, absolutely beautiful), Born Alone (my favorite Wilco song of recent years) and New Madrid. Bull Black Nova, however, is one of a few songs that in my humble opinion just doesn't work in an acoustic setting. Finally, I'm still wondering why the fuck Dutch audiences _always_ contain at least one drunkenly yelling American woman. One could feel the waves of awkwardness rolling through the venue when she opened her mouth.

 

Near the end of the show, JT invited all of us to meet again in Utrecht on Election Night 2020. I can only hope he returns sooner than that (preferably with band; solo shows are great but as 2018 moves forward, I'm really starting to miss the band). And if that's the case, you're all invited for Belgian beers and burgers. Bböp knows the address.

[bböp]

*Journalist-type Dutchman signing in*

 

Not too long ago, we Europeans could only dream of seeing Jeff solo. Sure, there was the incidental show in England or Germany, but I never made it to one of them. Fortunately things have changed, so after Edinburgh in January, the Utrecht show was my second Tweedy solo show in 2018 - a luxury even in years of extensive Wilco-touring. Since bböp was taking notes next to me, there's not much else to say about the show except for some personal views.

 

First of all, contrary to the new Ronda hall in Tivoli Vredenburg, the Grote Zaal was part of the old Vredenburg venue (built in the late 70s), which was mainly used for classical concerts. It's a great setting for an intimate acoustic show, but it also mainly attracts elderly visitors (another reason could be that Wilco only gains media attention from a few Dutch "quality" newspapers instead of magazines and radio stations who target younger people).

 

I love the new songs, they're quite retrospective and philosophical and they fit right into the theme of what I expect to be the content of Tweedy's autobiography. Other personal highlights included Impossible Germany (with some additional "If this is what love is for..." lines at the end, absolutely beautiful), Born Alone (my favorite Wilco song of recent years) and New Madrid. Bull Black Nova, however, is one of a few songs that in my humble opinion just doesn't work in an acoustic setting. Finally, I'm still wondering why the fuck Dutch audiences _always_ contain at least one drunkenly yelling American woman. One could feel the waves of awkwardness rolling through the venue when she opened her mouth.

 

Near the end of the show, JT invited all of us to meet again in Utrecht on Election Night 2020. I can only hope he returns sooner than that (preferably with band; solo shows are great but as 2018 moves forward, I'm really starting to miss the band). And if that's the case, you're all invited for Belgian beers and burgers. Bböp knows the address.

 

Thanks for chiming in, man! I'll try to chip in with a few more comments when I have a chance, but I echo your hopes that Jeff and/or Wilco return sooner than the 2020 elections. Don't the Dutch make anything beside Belgian burgers, beers (and vlaamse frites), though?