Photos by Bill Adams
Last night, Snowblink and Jeff Tweedy utilized all the space of The Englert Theatre to glorious effect, filling it with warm, reverberating music.
Daniela Gesundheit of Snowblink crafts a lonesome, ringing sound with her haunting voice, rife with echoes of Gillian Welch, Emmylou Harris and a touch of Karen O. The band (currently a duo of Daniela with Dan Goldman) utilizes the sparse–yet elegant–instrumentation of two guitars to weave a steady compliment to Daniela’s ethereal, lilting vocals. One song, “Rut & Nuzzle” involved the audience participating by ringing many small bells.
I’ve heard you play live in cathedral-esque barns and intimate theaters. Do you tailor your set list to the acoustics of the space?
Daniela: Absolutely!
Dan: No. Well, we consider the crowd, too. We can play our more poppy songs…
Or the more experimental…
Dan: Right! It depends on the crowd.
The crowd at the Englert was subdued, as the assigned seating fostered a quiet and intimate show. It was a listener’s show, permitting the audience to sit back, open their ears and absorb the music.
Jeff Tweedy enchanted the crowd with solo renditions of Wilco favorites like “Via Chicago” and “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart.” He appeared on stage, not surrounded by backing musicians, but by several guitars on stands. Tweedy’s stage banter–or possibly the crowd’s reaction–was wooden at first, but it warmed up eventually. He started to take requests early, playing songs like “Wilco (the Song).” Even my incoherent demand for the A.M. classic “Passenger Side” was indulged in good humor. Tweedy joked, “We can keep at this all night; engaging in uncomfortable banter.”
His songs stole the night, as they always do. Tweedy played fan favorites like “Jesus, Etc.,” “Hummingbird” and “I’m the Man Who Loves You,” and also mixed in a Handsome Family cover (“So Much Wine”). He returned for an encore, rocking with “Late Greats” and winding down with “You’ve Changed” and “A Shot in the Arm.” When he returned for a second encore, the crowd asked why he hadn’t played his white guitar, which lay neglected until he used it to play an intimate, un-mic’ed version of “Walken.”
Jeff Tweedy is acknowledged as a great songwriter and his craft was on display last night. His fans were treated to stripped down, solo versions of Wilco songs as Tweedy, accompanied only by his acoustic guitar, filled the Englert with personality and sound.
?
“It was a listener’s show, permitting the audience to sit back, open their ears and absorb the music.”
This show was a bit chaotic and tense, to say the least. It WAS quite good as you point out but it was far more interesting than Jeff 'enchanting' the crowd with mellow guitar music. Personally, I've never seen an artist in a situation like this take on a heckler by telling her “I just feel bad for you,” and lecturing about how drinking and being at a show can make some people feel like they have something to offer when they don't. He then went on to play So Much Wine directly dedicated to the supposed Mayor's Daughter who was heckling him. He didn't just 'mix it in.' He veered from his setlist in response, not just to requests, but to the horrible behavior of some of the crowd. He sang this scathing song to an audience member and pretty much drove her from the hall.
I found it to be rather poignant. It was interesting to watch a favorite artist work under duress. It was interesting because it seemed like his own confrontational manner helped lead to the heckling coming to such a head. He sort of created and then destroyed his own heckler and he did it with a song.
Seems kind of a lot to ignore in a write up of this show.
RJ – Thanks for filling that in. I was interviewing Snowblink in the lobby at the time. I heard a “mayor's daughter” reference later that I didn't understand. I'm glad to hear your take on the show.