I'm Just a Fan

And apparently, just one of 2,000 fans willing to pay $100-200 to see Jeff Tweedy. I guess the show was open to the general public, so it wasn't the intimate show I was expecting. It was fun, though, with a raucous crowd. Jeff kept it low-key and casual, and his entire set was made up of songs requested by the first 30 people in line at the door. Damn. I should have shown up earlier. Then he would've played Via Chicago.

The setlist was quite varied, actually, from Uncle Tupelo (including one of my faves--New Madrid) to the Mermaid Ave Project to Wilco to some favorite covers (including Love and Mercy by Brian Wilson, another one of my faves) to songs I've never heard of from his Golden Smog and Loose Fur projects. Oh, he even did a song from the Chelsea Walls soundtrack. He only played one song off each of the first 3 Wilco albums (Passenger Side from A.M., The Lonely 1 from Being There, and A Shot in the Arm from Summerteeth). Yankee Hotel Foxtrot dominated the setlist, and Jeff played a handful of songs off the upcoming Sky Blue Sky album. My favorite that he played from the new one is called What Light, and you can download a copy from their website here. It's a lovely, lovely song, and I thought quite appropriate for a fundraiser for a school.

Jeff spent almost as much time talking as he did playing music, something he'd never do with a full band, so it was cool hearing all his funny stories. My friend Alana and I had a great time together, and we are so totally thankful to our friend Alex who made it all possible!