Tweedy Rocks!! Live Mandel Hall, Chicago 2006

I have seen Jeff Tweedy or Wilco about a dozen times. Each performance has gotten better then the next. The problem is, after the show you wish there was more or that he did a different or a really obscure tune. Another problem is that there really is no solo Jeff Tweedy albums out there. The only one that is official is the Jeff Tweedy Sunken Treasure: Live in the Northwest. That official is a DVD, but if you put it in the computer you can get the audio files. It's actually really good, but it leaves you wanting more and you don't get his in between song chatter or his after song jokes and quirky Jeff Tweedy like chatter with the crowd. The DVD shows some of it, but not his whole night performance.

One day I went on line to look for some of these heavily circulated bootlegs. I found one that did not fit the normal of Jeff Tweedy shows. These were not the Lounge Ax shows. Those Ax shows there are so many and I have about three that are just interesting. They sound like they were recorded at a small club with lots of restless Wilco fans. They are good because they do get Tweedy in a rare moment just goofing and having fun. I wanted a show that had a very wide range of Wilco and his covers. Then I stumbled upon a show recorded in his home city of Chicago. Upon looking this album up on the internet I found out that this was a solo show for Illinois Public Radio. The quality was so much better then all the others I had. What was even better was the stuff with Nels Cline. The added bonus was the Neil Young Cover. I decided to download it.



After finishing downloading the show I grabbed my headsets to see what I uncovered. I thought I get an incomplete show and get the sound quality that resembles a show I would hear on the car stereo. The opening of the first song proved me wrong. Sunken Treasure is still one of my favorite Wilco songs and Jeff doing it acoustic made it sound totally fresh and so much different and fun. He has a different spin when he plays these songs solo. The arrangements are different and the songs that he chooses are really great. That's what make his solo shows a must to see and hear. I have seen Tweedy solo about four times and each time his banter with the crowd and his musical set list is really impressive.



The show I chose to mentioned was recorded by NPR for some web-cast. As I mentioned above it was a great show to get new people involved in his music or people like myself who love Wilco. The music here is wonderful and fresh. His voice is so stronger then ever. The set list is pretty good. He gets Nels Cline involved which always makes it fun. What is great about these Tweedy shows is his picks of covers. From the Neil Young cover on this one to a cover of Bill Fay on another live show I have. Once in a while Wilco will do one as well, but not as exciting as the what Tweedy picks for his solo shows. The link below gives a place where you can download the show I am talking about. Enjoy! This more then ever and is likely one of the best of his solo recordings. Rock out!!!

http://wpnob.blogspot.com/2006/04/jeff-tweedy-live-in-mandel-hall.html