Playing Kiss Covers, Beautiful and Stoned

Wow. So last night I went to see Jeff Tweedy at the Henry Fonda Theater on Hollywood Blvd., and it was just an amazing show. I'd never been to a show like that before; there were maybe 1,000 people there, tops. It was very intimate, and even more so considering the fact that I got in right when the doors opened and was about 3 feet from the stage. Most of my pictures didn't really come out. They weren't allowing flash photography, and like a good momma's boy, I followed the rules.



I was a little nervous that I might not have a car when the show ended, b/c where I parked it was a tad sketchy, but hey, it was free street parking, so what are you gonna do? (It was there when I got back.) When I got to the theater, I called the guy I was supposed to buy the ticket from, who seemed like a nice enough dude. He's from Alabama, so we had an immediate common ground, which was a good thing b/c we had about an hour and a half to stand around and make small talk, between waiting in line and then waiting inside for the show. Luckily, this dude is a bit more obsessive than I am about this kind of thing, and got in line (it was a general admission show) around 3:00 (doors opened at 7:00, show started at 8:00) and was about 10th in line, so I just chilled with him. There was a bit of confusion among the event staff about getting in, but somehow we managed to get in about 5 minutes early, so we just walked right up to the front of the floor and set up shop.

Before it really filled up I decided I wanted a beer, and on my way to the bar I decided I should probably get two, since it might be awhile before I went back. When I got to the bar, I thought better of that and ordered three, immediately chugged one of them and took the other two back up with me. There was no way I was leaving that spot again, and I'm glad I recognized that, b/c I would have been supremely disappointed had I tried and not been able to get back up there.

Wilco's drummer Glenn Kotche was the opening act, which was interesting. I mean, he's a drummer. A percussionist, really, but still. 47 minutes of drums. I don't know that I'd buy a cd of it, but it was interesting to watch live. He uses all of these weird household looking items that are somehow all hooked up to make different sounds, and at one point, he opened a bunch of little boxes that were filled with crickets and put a microphone over them. Like I said, it was interesting. The funniest part of his set was when he annouced that his next song was a cover of Brazilian composer Szwa Shumberto, and a bunch of people started cheering. Really? Big fans of Szwa Shumberto??

Tweedy took the stage sometime between 9:00 and 9:15, and played an entirely acoustic show. He played his first six songs without saying a word to the audience, but then he started telling stories and opening up a bit. He played for just under two hours, including both encores, the second of which he was accompanied by Glenn on drums. For the last song of his first set, he was accompanied on the drums as well, this time by his son Spencer. They dedicated the song to "Mommy." The show was really, really great. Probably not the best concert I've ever been to, but one of them. The highlight of the show, for me, was when he unplugged for his very last song and stood on the front of the stage and played one of his great Uncle Tupelo songs, Acuff Rose. Also, his acoustic version of A Shot in the Arm was just amazing. Here's his set list, in case the two of you out there who know who Jeff Tweedy is are interested.

Main Set:
Sunken Treasure
Someday Some Morning Sometime
Remember the Mountain Bed
Was I in Your Dreams
Please Tell My Brother
Bob Dylan's Beard
Theologians
Muzzle of Bees
The Ruling Class (new Loose Fur song)
We Can Make It Better
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
Radio King
I'm the Man Who Loves You (with Spencer on drums)

First Encore:
Airline to Heaven
Shot in the Arm
When the Roses Bloom Again
California Stars

Second Encore:
Not For the Season (with Glenn on drums)
Far Far Away (with Glenn on drums)
War on War (with Glenn on drums)
Heavy Metal Drummer (with Glenn on drums)
Acuff-Rose (unplugged, solo)