Jeff Tweedy

Jeff Tweedy
@ The Bijou, Knoxville, January 31
By Andrew Clayman
Published in The Metro Pulse, January 2007



During the opening sequence of his new solo/acoustic DVD Sunken Treasure: Live In the Pacific Northwest, Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy tells a Seattle crowd about his all-time favorite verbal exchange with an audience member.

“How did you get so insightful?” the random fan had shouted toward the stage, to which Tweedy humbly replied, “Well, insight is overrated.” Without skipping a beat, the fan responded, “That’s very insightful!”

And so goes the sort of unconditional hero worship that’s been following Tweedy around since Wilco cracked the mainstream with 1999’s pop classic Summerteeth. Up to that point, he had already earned some cobblestone street cred as a seminal figure in the alt-country scene— first as co-founder of Uncle Tupelo, then as the earnest, world weary voice behind Wilco’s early work. But it wasn’t really until the turn of the century that his beloved Everyman mystique really started to take hold with a broader audience.

Touring almost constantly behind Wilco’s acclaimed, experimental albums Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born—not to mention some brilliant side projects (Loose Fur, Minus 5, Golden Smog)—Tweedy hit the proverbial wall in 2004, entering himself into rehab for an addiction to painkillers. Having emerged from that experience happy and revitalized, he has since returned to the road, first with Wilco and now for another leg of intimate solo shows like the ones featured on Sunken Treasure.

Tweedy’s solo performances pull from every era of his career, often shedding new light on some lost gems by simplifying the sound down to a guy and his guitar—an insightful guy, mind you. Plus, you can expect more than a few fan favorites and a cheer or tear inducing cover or two.