Tweedy 'n Spreckels
Forget for a moment that the headline of this article sounds like a mischevious duo of Dennis The Menace types from a 1960s TV show. This is arguably the biggest San Diego concert of the weekend. Sure, the Stars concert at the Casbah is just as Sold Out, but lets wait until Stars has a critically acclaimed documentary featuring shots of them nervously vomiting outside the recording studio and nervously interacting with their fans backstage before we make any real judgments comparing the two. (Note: tickets seem to be fairly easily on craigslist, mostly for face value.)
If given the chance to see one show this weekend, I would probably pick the Stars concert. I prefer to listen to Wilco's CDs, but it just seems like the odds of being blown away, or at least hearing some divergence from the way the CD sounds could be higher at the Stars concert. Also, when in doubt between two shows, choose the louder. This review of Tweedy's performance in San Francisco on Wednesday, 2/8, casts no doubt on which show that will be:
Just a few nights earlier he had told off a chatty Portland audience, "Can you shut up for once in your f -- life?" And it seemed like the news had spread to San Francisco. No one said a word as the singer strummed through nearly a half-dozen hushed tunes before finally looking up: "I have a question for the bartenders." Uh-oh. "When we're getting rid of the beer bottles can we cradle them into the trash?" he said. "Ease them in as if they were your children and you were putting them to bed?"
For more on Tweedy, click below...
The North County times prints an AP interview with Tweedy to herald his arrival. It mentions his unique views on filesharing and copyright, but I think you will find that this interview in Wired explains his views in far more depth.
It is admirable that Tweedy is so outspoken on this subject, even appearing on panels with forward thinking Stanford Law Professor Lawrence Lessig, but it is hard for me to listen to his views without at some acknowledgment of how unique his perspective is. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot's buzz generating release on the internet after being shelved by Wilco's label is arguably the biggest success story of the filesharing era. It is a one in a million scenario whose only comparable scenario I can think of is Family Guy being resurrected from cancellation because of its DVD sales. Both of them came back from a major setbackeven stronger, with a slight grudge and a heck of a David vs Goliath story for the media. Thus, it seems that Tweedy advocating filesharing is similar to a lottery winner advocating the benefits of the lottery system. Not that I disagree with his points, or his advocacy that the system has to change to accomodate these new wrinkles in distribution. I just feel like Tweedy and Wilco have just the right level of fame where things like file sharing and rabid internet hype will help them more than most of the other artists out there.
Jeff Tweedy plays with Glenn Kotche (Wilco's drummer) at the Spreckels Theatre, Saturday February 11th at 8 PM.
Tweedy/Wilco Official Site: www.wilcoworld.net/
