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Jeff Tweedy — 22 December 2021, Chicago, IL (Metro) [Night 1 of 2]


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I forgot how to do this, haha, but I'm parking this thread for now whilst some eyes are shut for a few hours...

 

Just a few words for now, though. What to say about this sold-out show that happened despite an eerie feeling of Covid déja vu as more than a few people who had tickets decided not to attend out of an abundance of caution amid this recent Omicron variant surge and a number of venues in town decided to close through the end of the year and postpone scheduled events on their calendars? It was certainly an interesting one, as always, coming on Sammy Tweedy's 22nd birthday — which was celebrated pre-show with a brief impromptu Tweedy Show episode from backstage — and with a slightly reconfigured band lineup due to the absence of regular bass player Liam Kazar.

 

As Jeff explained when he introduced the band, Liam's sister Sima Cunningham (who was already scheduled to be part of the band as a backing vocalist) had to fill in on bass with 48 hours' notice. No further explanation for Liam's absence was given, so I won't speculate here, but that cannot have been super easy for Sima to just step in like that. It's a testament to her talent as a musician that she pulled it off without seemingly breaking much of a sweat, and without a major adjustment to the setlist.

 

Even without Liam — whose presence was definitely missed, though the remaining band members were able to cover for him — it's a rare treat to get to hear Jeff's solo catalog with a full band and in a club setting (as opposed to a drive-in concert or even in the Tweedys' living room). Part of that is because of the impact of Jim Elkington's work on electric guitar, which really adds a dynamic sonic element to many of the songs that doesn't necessarily come across as strongly on the recorded versions. Add to that Macie Stewart's violin playing throughout, and the added instrumentation helps flesh out the arrangement of many of the songs.

 

More to come but, for now, here was the complete setlist as played (all songs with full band, including Sammy Tweedy, except where noted):

 

Bad Day Lately*

Love Is The King*

A Robin Or A Wren

Opaline

High As Hello

Having Been Is No Way To Be*

Gwendolyn*

Evergreen

Half-Asleep

Don't Forget

I Know What It's Like

Save It For Me

New Moon

Low Key

Some Birds

The Red Brick>

Warm (When The Sun Has Died)

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Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You [Bob Dylan]

Guess Again

Family Ghost

Even I Can See**

You Are Not Alone

Let's Go Rain

California Stars

 

* — denotes no Sammy Tweedy on backing vocals

** — denotes Jeff Tweedy, Jim Elkington and Sima Cunningham only

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