Jeff Tweedy brought his guitars and wit to the Southern Theatre in Columbus Wednesday night. The venue was cozy, newly renovated and quite nice. The perfect setting for an evening with Jeff.

I cannot leave out the opener of the night which was Mr. Glenn Kotche though. Glenn has a solo album coming out early 06′ and I must say the amount of talent this man has is staggering. Working like a mad scientist in his lab Glenn managed to pull off a mesmorizing set of drums and various other noisemakers and sounds which if I attempted to describe would only make this more confusing. The extreme amount of concentration it must take to pull off the “one man band” effect Glenn did is something special.

Then came Jeff, looking like the average guy he is. Sporting his “neckard” of unshaven whiskers and jacket Mr. Tweedy donned his harmonica and lined up in front of the semi-circle of aucoustic guitars. Right away he pleased the inner Wilco geek in me and played not only 2 songs from Being There. (Sunken Treasure and Was I in your dreams), but also the AM gem, Blue Eyed Soul. Jeff is always able to connect quickly with his audience, and this night was no exception. One of the best things about Jeff and his stage presence is that he truly feels that the crowd interaction, no matter how ridiculous at times, is an intregal part of the set. In both Wilco shows and solo gigs like this, Jeff takes the time to listen and speak to many members of what he called, “the big black abyss.” “You know, when I came onstage one of you asked how I was doing and then said you felt like you knew me, and I think thats great because Ive always felt like I knew you as well out in that big black abyss.” He used this to describe how he sees an audience during the show, the light on him only allows him to see a dark surrounding. Jeff kept the witty banter rolling throughout, even filling in the lyrics at the end of Heavy Metal Drummer with some of Ohio’s favorite musicians. “Playing Bootsy Collins, beautiful and stoned.” (Jeff at first thought the audience suggested Phil Collins)

And of course, the setlist was remarkable. Jeff pulls from many backcatalogs for his solo set. Old Uncle Tupelo was represented with tunes like Black Eye, New Madrid and my personal favorite Gun, which was a lyrical stumbling block for Jeff. Loose Fur, one of Tweedys side projects gave us Chinese Apple and a new tune I did not recognize. And even Golden Smog sounds could be heard during the course of the night. Glenn came out and joined Jeff for the second encore and the kinship between the two was once again evident. “Glenn, I love you” Jeff said after Chinese Apple. These two guys just make great music together, and can be compared to a quarterback and his favorite wide receiver having that knowledge of what the other one will do before he does it.

When you have a back catalouge as extensive and rich as Jeff Tweedy does, there will always be a few great tracks left out, but I dont think many left the Southern Theatre dissapointed Wednesday night. Jeff and Glenn were able to achieve the connection many musicians are not capable of making with their audience, Jeff even asked that the house lights be turned up at the end so he could see the audience and say goodnight, rather than the abyss. To me, Jeff will always be the anti-rock star. An amazing performer and musician that in many ways is just a regular guy trying to make it through another day.

Check out some great photos of the evening, actually a lot of them, right here……

Also, to pre-order the Kicking Television Live 2CD, click the album cover….

And finally, the setlist….
Sunken Treasure
Blue Eyed Soul
(Was I) In Your Dreams
Summerteeth
Forget the Flowers
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
Remember the Mountain Bed
ELT
Wait Up
New Loose Fur song
Gun
Please Tell My Brothers
Bob Dylan’s Beard
Radio King
Heavy Metal Drummer
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Shot In the Arm
Can’t Keep From Talking
Black Eye
New Madrid
California Stars
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Chinese Apple*
Far Far Away*
War on War*
Pick Up the Change*
I’m the Man Who Loves You*
Late Greats*

*= with Glenn on drums