I have been a Wilco fan for many years now, going back to when I first saw the band at New York City’s The Town Hall pre-Nels Cline, and when “Summerteeth” was my favorite album of theirs for a period of time. I have seen Wilco many times, and just this past summer caught Tweedy with band at the Newport Folk Festival where I briefly met the great Glen Hansard standing behind my son and I as he watched Tweedy following his own set at on the main stage. Jeff Tweedy has released a three album solo set recently and the bulk of the songs on this tour come from that latest collection; the show was phenomenal; I was not familiar with the new material prior to this night and it did not matter. The tight knit group, with two of Tweedy’s sons in the band, was great, the sound was impeccable , the “older” crowd was appreciative, and Tweedy’s responses to occasional audience shout outs in the otherwise respectfully quiet room were sarcastic and humorous. Near the end of the show proper, Jeff said the plan for each concert was to play one tune unique for that evening connected to the venue or area where they were playing each night. While a Billy Joel tune seemed to be an obvious choice, the band instead performed Blue Oyster Cult’s “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” which he said they had just learned that afternoon.

The Patchogue Theatre, nestled in the heart of a vibrant Long Island business area, is a nice older venue, like a smaller Beacon Theatre without the architectural updates. Jeff Tweedy looks and sounds healthy and, with the latest compilation, is clearly still a creative force.

Twilight Override

Rock on!

GQ