#i’m soft for another nerdy lead guitarist yet again

[confusionmeisss]

stalking geoff’s twitter account is not a good idea bc seeing this man reply to literally everything with “❤️” can make even the toughest person soft

[musicoccurred]

Jeff Tweedy

Who: Jeff Tweedy (Wilco) Where: The Lyric When: March 8, 2019

I came to Jeff Tweedy in a very roundabout way. Seven or eight years ago, some friends of mine were zipping down to Montgomery to see Tweedy's band Wilco perform. We were new friends and music lovers so even though I didn't know much of Wilco's work I tagged along. When you're going to see a band, you're not familiar with you have two choices: 1. You can binge listen to their music and watch YouTube performances, so you know what to expect. 2. You can do nothing and just be surprised. I don't subscribe to any one philosophy and in this case, I chose the latter. To be brutally honest, I was a little bored. Because I didn't know many/any of the songs and Tweedy's voice is pretty straight down the middle in terms of range, they all sounded the same to me. Now I could tell that everyone there was having the time of their life, it just wasn't my thing. I remember thinking that the LEDs they used for lighting were really cool and their guitarist (Nels Cline) is a wizard.

Fast forward a couple years and I keep seeing Tweedy's name pop up with cool stories about what he's doing in his studios in Chicago known as "The Loft." What really jumped out at me was the work he did with Ms. Mavis Staples. Pausing here... Mavis Staples of the Staples Singers is a national treasure and anyone that does right by her, does right by me. She had some recordings her father, the late Pops Staples, had worked on up to his death. Another studio had essentially butchered the project and she was reluctant to trust anyone. Tweedy sat with her and listened to what she needed and put together an album she was proud of. They would later collaborate on several projects for her.

Fast forward again to early this year and I read Tweedy's autobiography. He comes across so normal as in he's an "everyman" but also so weird, nerdy and all the other things I hold dear to my heart. Now it's time to revisit his music. I started with Uncle Tupelo, oddly enough I knew them prior to that Wilco show I just didn't realize that was him. Then I listened to his latest solo project Warm and some of his other solo work. I pinged my friend for the Wilco albums he liked and went through them. Now I get it. Not a superfan yet but definitely ready to spend a couple hours watching him perform.

When Tweedy's solo show at the Lyric was announced I was still on the fence, I ended up missing out on the sale. However, the ticket gods smiled on me and music occurred homie and co-founder Bryan had a spare, 2nd row center no less! I do want to pause again to talk about the Lyric. Built in 1914 and living several lives until lying dormant until the incredibly hard work leading to its rebirth in 2014. It is special in that most theaters are significantly larger than the 700 seats of the lyric, I've heard mention that from the edge of the stage to the back wall is only 65 feet. Adding in that it was built prior to general availability of amplification and the acoustics are incredible. In just a couple years it has become my favorite concert venue in Birmingham, perhaps anywhere.

The beauty of live music is that you don't know what's going to happen. In this case Tweedy's opener, Buck Meek, someone I had never heard of until this particular evening was a pleasant surprise of the highest degree. His voice was so soft and angelic, and his songs matched perfectly. You don't get that experience sitting on the couch at home. The show moved at a brisk clip, being solo acoustic there wasn't much setup to be done, a microphone swap and we were ready to go. Striding out with no introduction Tweedy was already playing his guitar before he even got to the microphone. He didn't say much to start with until he was a couple songs in.

I'm no musician but I can imagine the joy in performing acoustically in a room with a great sound, you could notice during certain songs Tweedy would ease back from the microphone a bit to hear how the room sounded. Once he loosened up a bit the show became really fun. He started chatting, interacting with the crowd. At one point he said that when someone, usually a gentleman, gave a "woo" during a song it was generally due to a quick note progression on the guitar. He said, "I could show you how to do it in half a minute, really it's condescending." Another time, in between songs someone yelled out a song title and he said ok and changed his tuning, later he remarked "maybe that wasn't such a good idea, don't all start yelling at me." Introducing "I am trying to break your heart" he noted that it was the most requested song for that night, and he was a little disturbed by it. Before "Jesus etc." he acknowledged that he was deep in the bible belt and yelled side stage if the bus was running. There were so many other quips and utterances like this that matched exactly how he was in the book. Just a regular guy with a unique skill set that happens to be nerdy, weird and really famous.

Needless to say, I'm a fan now. I can’t wait to see him perform again.

Setlist:

- Via Chicago - One Sunday Morning - Bombs Above - Some Birds - I Am Trying To Break Your Heart - She's a Jar - Family Ghost - Having Been Is No Way To Be - New Madrid - Guaranteed - Hummingbird - I Know What It's Like - Jesus Etc. - Evergreen - Heavy Metal Drummer - Let's Go Rain - Passenger Side - I'm the Man Who Loves You

-encore-

- Don't Forget - Misunderstood - The Late Greats - Anodyne

-JS