Wilco Adds December Jeff Tweedy Show To 'Roadcase'

Jeff Tweedy @ Outside Lands 2008, from the HAD Archive

Wilco devotees that we are, we're always keeping an eye on the Wilco "Roadcase". The feature allows fans of the band to stream various live rarities, usually in the form of soundboard feeds from live shows. Awesome, right?

Well, in this case, particularly awesome: If you're one of the many folk who wanted to catch Jeff Tweedy on his December concert tour and weren't able to get tickets, this is your lucky day. The Roadcase is currently streaming Tweedy's show from the Lincoln Theater in DC (including a killer opening with "Spiders"), and it's a doozy. What's more, they have a full band show from Berlin up as well - you really can't lose!

Stream: Jeff Tweedy Live 12-07-2010 @ Lincoln Theater, Washington DC

Jeff Tweedy Plots Mini Solo Tour, Bowery Ballroom 12/4

Jeff Tweedy with Wilco at Lupo's, from the HAD Archive

You know we love us some Wilco, so it makes sense that we were totally stoked to learn that Jeff Tweedy will be hitting the road in December. As has become somewhat customary, Tweedy is taking a little time up from recording with the band and getting in a little alone time on the road.

The tour consists of a mere three dates, and if you're New York City, Tarrytown, NY or Charlottesville, VA, then you're in luck! As you might guess, we'll be hitting up the New York show, which takes place at Bowery Ballroom on December 4th. A presale for the event goes on next Wednesday - check out all the details here.

mp3: Jeff Tweedy - Panthers (live, solo)

Tweedy And Staples Played Letterman, Covered CCR - Video

Passing up the opportunity to deliver a track from Mavis Staples' latest (Jeff-Tweedy-produced) record You Are Not Alone, the pair opted instead to deliver a totally solid Creedence Clearwater Revival tune. On last night's Letterman appearance, they each take a verse on "Wrote A Song For You", and the end result is a solid run through the classic jam. Check the vid above.

Pitchfork Previews The Jeff Tweedy Produced Mavis Staples Record

We mentioned a little while back that Mavis Staples had a new record, titled You Are Not Alone (cover above), on tap for September. The record was produced (and partially written) by Jeff Tweedy, and had us (needless to say) very excited.

Well now Pitchfork has obtained the title track to the record (which Tweedy wrote), and is streaming it online. It sounds, quite frankly, amazing. The guitar tones are fantastic, the sound gently toes the line between gospel and country, and Staples' voice sounds fantastic.

If this track is any indication of the record as a whole, we have a whole lot to look forward to this fall.

Stream: Mavis Staples - You Are Not Alone

Jeff Tweedy Produces New Record From Mavis Staples

Picture by Spencer Tweedy, hoisted from his excellent blog

Leave it to Jeff Tweedy to take all of his rock and roll cred and retroactively apply it to a fantastic vocalist that trumps him in experience by more than a few decades. Put differently: Tweedy has just produced a record, entitled You Are Not Alone, for R&B legend Mavis Staples.

After reading this fantastic interview over at Pitchfork, we're more than a little excited about the record. Not only was it recorded in Wilco's loft with the Wilco gang present and accounted for, but it contains new compositions from Tweedy as well. In short, it should be a very, very, fun record - and sound great to boot!

While we have yet to hear any material from the album, we will say this: we're waiting with bated breath. Tweedy and Co. have been producing some great material as of late, but in some ways have drifted a bit from Wilco's country roots. It'll be great to hear Tweedy at work with an artist who's truly a part of the foundation of American music.

Jeff Tweedy: "Millionaire"

Jeff Tweedy in Bend, OR, from the HAD Archive

This tidbit was played only six times at a handful of dates in 2002 and 2003 (including Loose Fur's two night stand at St. Ann's Warehouse), and makes us smile every time we hear it. It's a classic example of Tweedy's acerbic wit, drenched simultaneously in melancholy, skepticism, and condecension. It also manages to layer a sparse melody on top of an almost classic country chord progression, while the lyrical content is unquestionably modern.

Given Tweedy's recent turn towards more affable songwriting, we wouldn't recommend getting up your hopes of seeing "Millionaire" on record any time soon. That being said, it's always nice to have gems like this in the archive - it's one of the things that makes live music so fantastic!

mp3: Jeff Tweedy - Millionaire

Jeff Tweedy - "I'm Always In Love"

Picture from the HAD Archive

This version of the Wilco classic "I'm Always In Love" is the B-Side from the single for "Can't Stand It" - released 10 years ago last week. It's a decidedly different take from the rock and roll album version, and we've even heard some argue that it's a notch better. Either way, it's unquestionably awesome. Tweedy nails the tune, and the acoustic instrumentation gives it a vibe that is decidedly more introspective and emotive. If you love yourself some Wilco, you won't be disappointed.

mp3: Jeff Tweedy - I'm Always In Love

New Jeff Tweedy Interview In GQ

Photo from the HAD Archive

Wilco has gotten very big over the past few years - and we might be inclined to assume that Jeff Tweedy's popping up in GQ is an indicator of that. But there's a catch: see, we remember way back in 1999 when GQ featured Summerteeth as their record of the month. So, suffice it to say, the magazine may have some street cred and legitimate love for the band.

That level of interest is pretty apparent in a new interview that surfaced yesterday. In it, the author asks Tweedy some pretty insightful questions, and gets a decent amount of information on the Seven Worlds Collide project ("a lot of cross pollination"), the upcoming Wilco album ("precise wilderness"), and the Ashes Of American Flags DVD ("the ways this band does and doesn’t fit into certain landscapes"). In a year that is looking to be pretty Wilco-heavy come summertime, we're psyched to get the ball rolling. Head over to GQ and check it out now.

Tweedy Adds East Coast Solo Dates, Presale Wednesday Morning

Picture from the HAD Archive

Last week we mentioned that Wilco had lined up some dates in Spain and Portugal, while Jeff Tweedy was doing some solo time in the midwest. Well, Tweedy's commitments appear to have expanded, and he's added three dates on the East Coast to his solo jaunt. March 26th, 27th, and 28th, Tweedy will be in Burlington, VT, Northampton, MA, and Beacon, NY, respectively.

The first two dates have a pre-sale tomorrow morning at 10, while the final date is a charity show which will apparently also have a presale tomorrow morning via Wilco's web site. While that does effectively leave the West coast in a bit of a Wilco-lurch, it does still have the noted value of adding more nights in which to debut material, which is something we always endorse.

Outside Lands: Some Musical Moments

While we weren't exactly able to get super-close for most of the Outside Lands shows, we did manage to get a few shots that we thought you might enjoy. Check out some shots below, and keep an eye out: we were lucky enough to get up close for one of the gigs, and we got some great shots! You'll have to check back though, we're not going to ruin the surprise...

Manu Chao

Charlie Walker

Cold War Kids

Jeff Tweedy

Radiohead

Jeff Tweedy Blogs About Migraines

We debated the merit of mentioning this, given its borderline fan-obessive content. But, being that it's written by the man himself, and that it gives sizeable insight into some of the issues that have driven his songwriting, we figured it's worth checking out. Click here to read Jeff Tweedy's insight to a lifetime of migrains over at the New York Times opinion blog. Suffice it to say, we're glad we aren't suffering from the same.

Hardly Strictly to feature Jeff Tweedy, Nick Lowe, Bela Fleck, Boz Scaggs, and more

San Francisco's favorite free fall festival (how's that for alliteration!) got its lineup announced today, and it's a doozy! The Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival has amassed an amazing group of artists for the weekend of October 5th in Golden Gate Park. Jeff Tweedy plays on Friday afternoon, Saturday seems to be crossover artists day with Boz Scaggs, Nick Lowe, and Bela Fleck all making appearances, and Sunday is going to throw some serious picking your way, with both Dave Grisman and Earl Scruggs appearing. The show is always mobbed, and it's always crazy, but it's also always free! So get out your blankets and sunglasses - we'll see you there!

Full Lineup:

The Abrams Brothers
Alison Brown Quartet with special guest Joe Craven
Allison Moorer
Austin Lounge Lizards
Bela Fleck & the Flecktones featuring Victor Lemonte Wooten, Future Man & Jeff Coffin
Belle Monroe & Her Brewglass Boys
Bill Callahan
Bill Kirchen & the Hammer of the Honky-Tonk Gods
Blanche
Boz Scaggs & the Blue Velvet Band
Buddy Miller
Charlie Louvin
Chris Smither
Dale Ann Bradley & Coon Creek
Dan Reeder
Dave Alvin & the Guilty Men
David Grisman Bluegrass Experience with special guest Curly Seckler
The Del McCoury Band
Doc Watson with David Holt & Richard Watson
Dry Branch Fire Squad
Earl Scruggs
Emmylou Harris
Fionn Regan
The Flatlanders featuring Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore & Butch Hancock
Gandalf Murphy & the Slambovian Circus of Dreams
Gillian Welch
Guy Clark & Verlon Thompson
The Hacienda Brothers
Hazel Dickens
Heartless Bastards
Hot Buttered Rum
James McMurtry
Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit
Jeff Tweedy
Jim Lauderdale
Jimmy LaFave
Jody Stecher & Bill Evans / The Secret Life of Banjos
John Prine
Jorma Kaukonen
Julay Brooks & Richard Brandenburg & the Cash Magnets
Keller Williams
Kevin Welch & Kieran Kane & Fats Kaplin
The Knitters
Laurie Lewis & the Right Hands
Los Lobos
Marley's Ghost
Mekons
Michelle Shocked
Moonalice
The Mother Hips
Ned Sublette
New Lost City Ramblers
Nick Lowe
Pete Wernick & Flexigrass
Poor Man's Whiskey
Railroad Earth
Red Wine
Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby with Kentucky Thunder
The Roan Mountain Hilltoppers
Robert Earl Keen
The Sadies
Shana Morrison & Caledonia
Songwriter Circle with Chris Smither, David Olney, Ray Wylie Hubbard & Steve Young
Steep Canyon Rangers
Steve Earle
the subdudes
Symphony Bluegrass Ramblers
T Bone Burnett
Teddy Thompson
The Whoreshoes
The Wronglers