Before performing his set Tweedy made light of the fact he felt like a wedding singer, due to the wedding reception type layout of the venue, "these will all be songs about the fragile nature of humanity - perfect songs for a first dance." And while many of his songs are about mortality and sadness, they can also be like a friend telling you things will be all right.
Tweedy's solo work is more stripped down than the Wilco records, lyrically direct and introspective. Early songs on the set included "Bombs Above", "Some Birds", and "I Know What It's Like" - all from his 2018 album Warm. These songs are deeply tied to his recent bestselling memoir Let's Go (So We Can Get Back). Three tracks were also performed from his 2019 Record Store Day release Warmer: "Evergreen," "Family Ghost," and "Guaranteed."
Songs from the Wilco catalog allowed Tweedy to showcase his guitar skills. "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart" gets whittled down into a folky demo. "You and I" ,the song he performed with Feist on Wilco: The Album from 2009, got the McCartney treatment. Crowd favorites from the 2001 album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot "Jesus Ect"; "I'm the Man Who Loves You"; and "Heavy Metal Drummer" allowed the audience to sing along.
My personal favorites were some of the deep cuts. "Radio King" from the Golden Smog album Down by the Mainstream and "The Ruling Class from the Loose Fur album Born Again in the USA (both side projects from past decades). The big surprise of the night was "Plateau," a Meat Puppets cover made famous by Nirvana. He closed out the show with the surreal "A Shot in the Arm" from the 1999 Wilco album Summerteeth.
Tweedy appeared to enjoy the back and forth with the audience, and I suspect enjoyed even more the chance to remix his familiar tunes outside of the Wilco context. By going outside the Wilco box, Tweedy has continued to evolve as songwriter and author, while maintaining the Wilco machine, conscience of the Midwest since 1994.
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