Jeff Tweedy — 29 September 2018, Vancouver, BC, Canada (Vogue Theatre)

[bböp]

All things considered, I suppose it was appropriate that the 'P' word — as in, professional — came up fairly early on in Jeff's set tonight. An audience member was trying to pay Jeff a compliment, I think, during his first significant remarks of the evening when after playing Having Been Is No Way To Be off the forthcoming WARM, he told the crowd that he had spent the summer playing somewhat depressing songs like that at outdoor festivals where he often was scheduled to follow upbeat sets by bands that would tell the crowd that everything was going to be all right.

 

"Some things are gonna be OK. Everything? Come on," Jeff quipped. "You wouldn't like it if everything was gonna be OK. Anyway, I got through the summer and didn't cancel any shows, even when the sun was shining and I was tempted."

 

In response to that anecdote, someone called Jeff a professional — and of course, immediately paid the price when Jeff turned the compliment around by (sarcastically) saying something to the effect that a true professional would certainly acknowledge and respond to the comment of an individual audience member. He then went on to say that he truly could not see a single person in the audience and for all he knew "you could be totally gaslighting me. This could be an empty auditorium and it could be a laugh track (playing)."

 

In some ways, though, that almost certainly would have made for a more interesting show in terms of audience dynamics. Simply put, there wasn't much in that department at the Vogue Theatre and that resulted in a show that was perfectly fine but, in my opinion, will not go down as particularly memorable compared with others on this solo tour. Hence, the applicability of the dreaded 'P' word — as in a professional show.

 

As with most reserved-seat shows in darkened theaters, it can be a challenge for a performer to connect with an audience that is completely invisible. And said audience, more often than not, seems to end up remaining cloaked in the anonymous darkness, preferring to simply observe a performance rather than participate in it. Of course, there is always a certain portion of an audience that prefers it this way but in my experience, Jeff's best solo performances come when an audience is respectful but engaged, giving off positive energy but not going overboard. It's a tricky balance to achieve, but personally I would always rather be at a show that was a little too rowdy than overly subdued.

 

For anyone who attended the previous night's show in Victoria, that was certainly an easy comparison to make. In fact, Jeff himself brought up the Victoria show on more than one occasion at the Vogue, noting how that show and this one couldn't have been much more different and joking that the Victoria show had been "in a bar and everybody wanted to have a good time — but not me." He also closed the main set tonight by saying that the Vancouver audience had been "great, not like those assholes in Victoria," though he eventually apologized and admitted that it was a standard showbiz schtick to bash the previous night's crowd. (In any case, I suspect that if you were somehow able to get Jeff to come clean, he would say he probably had a more enjoyable show in Victoria.)

 

One song that maybe epitomized the difference between the two shows in British Columbia was Passenger Side, which was treated as the loose barroom singalong I think it's meant to be in Victoria but not so in Vancouver — despite being, as Jeff noted, the No. 1 song requested for the show. And Jeff didn't even make an attempt to try and get the Vancouver crowd to sing along on California Stars as he has done everywhere else on this tour when he mentions on the second pass through the song that he will try and sing the high harmony if the audience sings the melody. In Vancouver, the crowd seemingly preferred to try and clap along, which usually doesn't go well but actually drew a compliment from Jeff afterward. (The clapping didn't remain a positive element of the show, however, despite brief attempts during I'm The Man Who Loves You and Acuff-Rose, which Jeff quickly shot down with a shake of the head and/or a mocking stomp of his leg.)

 

By the encore, Jeff seemed like he was starting to lose focus just a tad as he struggled with some of the opening verses to Misunderstood. It wasn't long after that he called it a night, having delivered just enough to give those at the Vogue their money's worth but not really pushing the envelope too much beyond that. From my perspective, it was perfectly understandable: Every opportunity to see Jeff perform solo is a gift in some way, but not every performance can be a diamond.

 

Here was the complete setlist, as played (new songs indicated, with proper titles as known):

 

new song-Warm (When The Sun Has Died) (w/harmonica)

I Am Trying To Break Your Heart

Ashes Of American Flags

New Madrid

new song-Having Been Is No Way To Be

Hummingbird

You And I

Remember The Mountain Bed

new song-Some Birds

Bull Black Nova (started and restarted)

Laminated Cat (aka Not For The Season)

Passenger Side

new song-Let's Go Rain

Impossible Germany

Jesus, etc.

California Stars

I'm The Man Who Loves You

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

Misunderstood

A Shot in the Arm

Acuff-Rose

[TCP]

Too tired to write! Jeff was in great form, banter was good, and song selection had Ashes plus Mountain bed so I was happy.

All I'm gonna say is I'm 2/2 for song requests. Seattle is my last show. Will I go 3/3?! Tune in tomorrow to find out!!

[radiatortunes]

 

 

As with most reserved-seat shows in darkened theaters, it can be a challenge for a performer to connect with an audience that is completely invisible. And said audience, more often than not, seems to end up remaining cloaked in the anonymous darkness, preferring to simply observe a performance rather than participate in it. Of course, there is always a certain portion of an audience that prefers it this way but in my experience, Jeff's best solo performances come when an audience is respectful but engaged, giving off positive energy but not going overboard. It's a tricky balance to achieve, but personally I would always rather be at a show that was a little too rowdy than overly subdued.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've seen some incredible, high-energy shows at The Vogue (The War On Drugs and The Drive-By Truckers come to mind) and I'm convinced a GA pit is the best configuration for a show at this venue.