jeff tweedy

[acuff-rose]

last night, despite the impending doom of icepocalypse that our devotedly reliable weathermen had foretold, i braved the frozen turnpike alone, in search of a musical adventure. i journeyed to my native tulsa to stand in the presence of one jeff tweedy [wilco, uncle tupelo]. he was playing a solo show at Cain's Ballroom, one of tulsa's oldest music venues, hailing back to the late1920's. It was originally a garage for a wealthy founding father of tulsa [brady], then a country music dance hall, now one of tulsa's best known music venues; with a rotten old hardwood floor so rickety that in many places there was bright green tape to keep folks from tripping over the dips & rises.

i was greeted, almost immediately upon entering, by winner, johanna, kyle, & cody. this was a happy accident, as none of us knew beforehand that the others would be there. i tried to call cody in advance, but his phone was "all jacked up again", meaning he didn't pay his bill, again... along with those mentioned above, i was surprised to see one of my old flames, transporting me all the way back to 4th grade. there were many beards present, as well as quite a few skinny young men wearing t-shirts with scarves, a phenomenon that is relatively new to me.

i was somewhat disappointed that they had set up chairs [reserved seating] covering nearly all of the dance-floor area. those of us who didn't up the extra few dollars were forced to stand beside & behind. i was still able to take everything in from several vantage points, sometimes front-extreme-stage-left, sometimes in back of all those who were seated, & sometimes stage-right-halfway back. the sound was good pretty much everywhere, & i hope john's recording comes out well.

the show began right on time, & we were only forced to suffer the opening act for about 4 songs. i didn't even catch their name, as i was busy talking with friends. jeff tweedy took the stage @ 9:00 & played for an hour, then countinuing through 3 encores [totaling about another 45 minutes]. he commented early on that the crowd was rowdy, chatted between songs, & seemed to be in good spirits. before the show, john said he hoped someone would say something dumb to get jeff to react like on his dvd. he was chatty, telling stories about his kids, asking [rhetorically] what it is about what he [& other musicians in general] do that causes people to scream "whoo!", something i've wondered myself. the songs he played ranged from uncle tupelo, wilco, woody guthrie, & even a couple new ones. it was very laid back & enjoyable, with occasional sing-alongs, some laughs, & an overall feelgood atmosphere. between reading the book about wilco, watching the sunken treasure dvd, listening a lot to a solo bootleg i had, & being pretty familiar with the two bands, i knew most of the songs, but i would guess that some might have felt a little disappointed in the setlist [in terms of familiarity] because he leaned pretty heavily on some of his lesser-known material. i especially enjoyed airline to heaven, remember the mountain bed, heavy metal drummer, & shot in the arm. he capped off the final encore with acuff-rose, played without any amplification ["the way music was performed here for decades"] standing on the edge of the stage as everyone crammed forward to hear. he delivered some great music, & definitely left us wanting more.

p.s. neither snow, nor ice impeded my journey in the slightest... sorry jenn, i sold your ticket for $20.

deerhoof=deerpoop?

[satomi matsuzaki, of deerhoof, doing God knows what]

can someone please tell me what the hell is going on with deerhoof?! i feel like i'm in the twilight zone on this issue. ever since the flaming lips show, where deerhoof were openers, i have been hearing about them everywhere, largely when artists that i listen to are asked who they are listening to. the problem is: i thought they were ridiculously bad [in the forced to witness a trainwreck sort] . i can't wrap my head around what it is that everyone is into. is it one of those so bad/weird its good kind of things? is it pity? a fad?

most recently i was reading an interview of david bazan [pedro the lion], who listed them as a band he has been listening to. before that, the flaming lips, as well as 2 or 3 others in between [that i have since repressed for my own psychological well being] & i think i even read about them in rolling stone.... the lead singer & sometimes bass & occasional onedrumstick player [a tiny asian girl] mainly seemed to just bounce around, making noises or repeating odd words/ phrases ["bunny bunny bunny beep beep honk...."]. i grant that the instrumentals were decent & when satomi was not distracting me, it was ok [mostly because i knew the lips would more than redeem the evening]. i don't think she speaks english or at least does so infrequently, as the drummer kept coming up to introduce the next song, etc., & that was strangely bothersome to me. "but jöe, what about sigur rós & other bands you like that have odd, non-english, & even otherworldly vocals & noises?" listen, don't even try to compare the two, that is foolish & i will stab you.

the point is: beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but if you like deerhoof, then you either have a 6th, bad-music-enjoying sense, or someone has paid you. i will now cleanse my musical palette by listening to a track from explosions in the sky's imminent release, all of a sudden i miss everyone [won't you join me?].

{postscript}
since drafting my scathing review of deerhoof above, i found an e.p. on their website & have listened to some of it. i won't say that it has changed my tune, but it might not be quite as terrible my live experience. the music still sounds good, & maybe she does speak english after all... listen for yourself & tell me what you think. who knows, maybe i'll come around?