Golden Smog Vic Theatre 20251209

[KevinG]

There was a palpable energy at the Vic Theatre last night for Golden Smog. It started with a bit of a shock: seeing how much the band has aged. Of course, the mirror tells me the same story; it feels like only yesterday I was watching them at the 400 Bar, but that was back in 2003.

 

Whatever vocal range they’ve lost to time, they made up for in spirit. They started promptly at 7:30 and tore through 19 songs in just over an hour. The highlight, undoubtedly, was the encore. The first four songs featured just Gary and Jeff. Watching two legends—who joked about having a 'Simon and Garfunkel' rivalry—trade songs and eventually share an embrace was genuinely moving.

 

Walking out, I couldn't shake a feeling of finality. Having seen Jeff in Madison recently, he seems to be in a phase of 'winding down,' playing only what he wants to play. If he is riding into the sunset, it was an honor to watch. Now, if we could just get that Uncle Tupelo reunion before he goes...

 

Here is the set list.    

 

Looking Forward to Seeing You

Lost Love

To Call My Own

V

Glad and Sorry

All the Same to Me

Love and Mercy

Ill Fated

Starman

Walk Where He Walked

He's a Dick

She Don't Have to See You (To See Through You)

Won't Be Coming Home

I Can't Keep From Talking

Yesterday Cried

Pecan Pie

Strangers

Red Headed Stepchild

If I Only Had a Car

Encore:

Radio King (Acoustic Duo of Gary Louris and Jeff Tweedy)

Listen Joe (Acoustic Duo of Gary Louris and Jeff Tweedy)

Long Time Ago (Acoustic Duo of Gary Louris and Jeff Tweedy)

Please Tell My Brother (Acoustic Duo of Gary Louris and Jeff Tweedy)

Revolution Blues

Do Anything You Wanna Do

Until You Came Along

[calvino]

I felt the complete opposite regarding Jeff in Madison. Thought he seemed totally engaged - I haven't seen him perform in a while and thought his voice sounded better than ever. No signs of winding down for me. 

 

 

[DiamondClaw]

Yeah, I don't get the "winding down" vibe either. He's always been a road warrior, and that's never really slowed down. If anything, he seems more invigorated now. This year alone, he did a smattering of solo acoustic dates, a cross-continental Wilco tour that hit North America, South America and Europe, a full-fledged Tweedy band tour and a few Golden Smog shows to boot. All he needed was to rouse up Jim O'Rourke for some Loose Fur!

[sonicshoulder]

What I feel like I witnessed was Jeff in a band he's not the undeniable leader of. I thought Jeff was super engaged when I saw him on the Twilight Override show. I think the Smog show was a cordial, delicate dance between Jeff and Gary. You essentially have two lead men here sharing some not so well rehearsed duties. It looked like everyone was genuinely having fun and its maybe just an informal reunion to give the people what they want. It was a very raw performance imo. You could see a lot of eye contact and motioning to each others as if to say "how and when does this song end!" and "who's grabbing lead here?". Gary seemed to be way turned up also and was grabbing most of the leads. I think Jeff was happy to take a half step back for a few nights. It was a fun somewhat clunky show....exactly what I expected it to be. Well worth the drive. 

[Albert Tatlock]

On 12/10/2025 at 4:55 PM, KevinG said:

Do Anything You Wanna Do

The Eddie and the Hot Rods song? That was one of the very early punk/New Wave songs on the radio that was as influential (to us listeners) as the Sex Pistols at the time. Good choice if so.

Also, ta.

[theashtraysays]

21 hours ago, sonicshoulder said:

It was a fun somewhat clunky show....

Clunky is a good description, but very much in a good way.  I've not seen Jeff this loose in a very long time.  I think he enjoyed not being the boss for a few evenings, slipping into the back line to play bass for a few songs and giving a "sure whatever" shrug or two during the set.  "BASS SOLO" (not sure who hollered that) was started halfheartedly and quickly abandoned.  "A few more warmup shows" was mentioned by Jeff as a possible cure for the clunk.  Guitar techs were bumping into each other.  Notes were missed / funny looks were cast in response.  It wasn't open mic night by any stretch, but it wasn't the well oiled machine we've all come to expect from Wilco either.  

I for one had a blast.  Great crowd too.