Wilco’s 12th Studio Album News & The Return Of Golden Smog

A few crucial happenings for Wilco fans to gnaw on these days involve the current recording of the Chicago-based band’s 12th studio album, and the reunion of the alternative country-rock supergroup (that’s how they’re most often described by rock scribes online I’ve found), Golden Smog.

We’ll begin with the yet-to-be-titled album, which Wilco front man, Jeff Tweedy, has shared some session snippets of on his paid newsletter, Starship Casual, published on Substack. The material, which comes from two weeks of sessions in the middle of March, “might not make it on the next record,” as Tweedy wrote of one sketch of a song. “But I love the way it sounds and wanted to share. OxO”

The photo at the top of this post (taken by Chicago freelance photographer Jamie Davis) from the March sessions at the Wilco loft shows Tweedy, John Stirratt, and Pan Sansone working on some tunage. It’s one of a number of other fine pics capturing Wilco’s work-in-progress by Davis (Instagram: jaymiey) featured in Tweedy’s prolific newsletter, as well as other exclusive content, all of which makes Starship Casual well worth the subscription price. Subscribe here.

This weekend, April 2 and 3, Golden Smog, will reunite for two shows at First Avenue in Minneapolis. This will be the first public show by the band in 11 years, and the first with Tweedy since 2008. The great return of Golden Smog was originally set for 2020, for First Avenue’s 50th Anniversary celebration, but the pandemic caused the event to be postponed.

For those not in the know, the side-project galore of Golden Smog is made up of Tweedy, Soul Asylum’s Dan Murphy, former Big Star member Jody Stephens, who like Tweedy, was absent from the last few reunions; and the Jayhawks’ Gary Louris, Marc Perlman, and Kraig Johnson (also of Run Westy Run).

Golden Smog, who date back to the late ‘80s, and have a self-titled debut covers EP, and four fine albums in their discography - On Golden Smog (1992), Down by the Old Mainstream (1995), Weird Tales (1998), Another Fine Day (2006), and Blood on the Slacks (2007) - will have their Sunday night performance broadcast on Nugs.net (9:45 PM ET | LIVE HD VIDEO).

Whether you’re going in person to see them at First Avenue one or both nights, or watching, and listening to them live on Nugs on Sunday, I hope you enjoy the mighty return of Golden Smog. I have a pretty certain feeling that I, listening from my home base, will – a lot.

More later…

What’s Up With Wilco: March 2022

Seeing as it’s now mid-March, and I haven’t posted in a bit, it’s a good time to bring us up-to-date with all the happening Wilco whatnot. 

Since my last post, the big news is still Wilco’s upcoming celebration of the 20th Anniversary of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, beginning with a five show run at Union Palace in NYC from April 15-17, and then three shows at Auditorium Theatre in Chicago from April 22nd to the 24th.

The first few Union Palace shows (4/15, 4/16) are sold out, but tickets are still available for the remaining dates. Go to Wilco’s official website, wilcoworld.net, for more information.

I had also previously reported the rumor that a 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of YHF is being prepped for release later this year, but there’s been no news on that front that I can find. 

But on the murmurings of Wilco being at work on a new album, Jeff Tweedy wrote in his Casual Starship Newsletter that he and his bandmates were “chipping away at some new music,” and shared a work-in-progress snippet entitled “Eye Glue (Amazing Grace),” which he said “is fairly representative of roughly a third of the material” that they’ve sorted through. Listen to the excerpt here.

 

Next week, it will be the two-year anniversary of The Tweedy Show, the live Instagram program that came about because of the pandemic lockdown in March 2020. For over 212 episodes, the Tweedy family has well served their fans (or clients as they’ve been called) with hundreds of performances of Wilco songs, Tweedy originals, and an encyclopedic range of iconic rock covers, interspersed with zany verbal shenanigans between Jeff, Susie, Spencer, and Sammy, as well as cameos from famous friends, and other family.

Many, not all, of The Tweedy Show episodes are available on YouTube, so there’s lots there to keep fans busy. But don’t go looking for the famous first episode that caught Jeff in the bathtub taking a bubble bath, because apparently that’s one that’s missing. The one that inspired this promo art by Jumble® cartoonist/Wilco fan Jeff Knurek, that is:

Finally, those who like to Netflix and chill may have heard Wilco pop up in a recent episode of Space Force. The silly workplace satire, which stars Steve Carrell as the head of a new military division devoted to conquering the heavens, featured the band contributing a demo for the Space Force Anthem.

We get to hear a bit of Wilco’s entry in a boardroom scene in episode six, “The Doctor’s Appointment” (February 18, 2022), of the newly released second season. Space Force social media director, F. Tony Scarapiducci (Ben Schwartz) informs his coworkers that he’s found the winner in the “Space Force Anthem” sweepstakes: “Indie rock darlings, Wilco.”

The familiar acoustic sound of Jeff Tweedy and company then fills the conference room, with the lead singer softly singing, “If you’re looking for a beautiful space, with a place for everything you love - closets and pantries and cabinets and shelves…”

 

Upon hearing this, Carrell’s character, General Mark R. Naird, asks “Why are they singing about cabinets and shelves?” F. Tony explains that, “Wilco thought that Space Force was a group of people that come to your house, and offer storage solutions, make everything cleaner, and I did not correct them.”

 

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Wilco Set To Celebrate Yankee Hotel Foxtrot’s 20th Live

Wilco announced earlier today that they will celebrate the 20th Anniversary of their breakthrough masterpiece, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, with a series of shows in New York and Chicago. At Union Palace in NYC from April 15-17, and Auditorium Theatre in Chicago on April 22nd and 23nd, Wilco will perform the album in its entirety (no word whether they’ll mix up the song order), and then they are promising to play rarities and fan favorites to fill the shows out.

It’s hard to believe that on April 23rd, Wilco’s fantastic fourth album will be 20 years old. But wait a second, many fans, like me, consider YHF to be a 2001 album. That’s because it was streamed online on Wilco’s official website on September 18, 2001. Many fans, like me, had heard it before that as it had been leaked over the summer of that year. The album’s set release on Reprise Records was originally September 11 (that’s right, 9/11), but Jeff Tweedy and Company were dropped by their label and…well, you know the rest (if not there’s several books, and a documentary you should see).

Wilco's new promotional picture taken by Charles Harris

So April 23 has been retconned as the official retail release date of YHF. This is why some critics voted for it as the best album of both 2001 and 2002. There are also rumors that there will be a deluxe box set, which will compile many of the demos, and outtakes from the album’s sessions. Much of this material has already been in fan’s hands as they’ve circulated as bootlegs in the years since YHF’s release. It’s great stuff, so I’m happy that it may be more accessible soon.

 

Tickets for the YHF 20th Anniversary shows are available through Wilco’s official website on February 11th (there are presales starting on February 9).

Post note: Hardcore Wilco fans, like me, will remember that they played YHF in its entirety before at their Solid Sound Festival in North Adams, MA, on June 23, 2017 (this great show is available in the Roadcase section of Wilco’s website.

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Wilco’s Sky Blue Sky Festival Is Back!

Despite COVID concerns, Wilco’s Sky Blue Sky festival returned this last week with its second installment. The headlining band was joined by sets by Spoon, Kurt Vile & The Violators, Waxahatchee, Thundercat, Mountain Man and Stephen Malkmus plus two shows featuring Jeff Tweedy solo, albeit with a band. Wilco lead guitarist Nels Cline performed with Julian Lage, and Wilco's Pan Sansone and John Stirratt’s The Autumn Defense also appeared. The Wilco shows were notable for the absence of longtime keyboardist, and pianist Mikael Jorgensen, who tested positive for COVID shortly before the Mexico event.

Liam Kazar, his sister Sima Cunningham and her Ohmme bandmate Macie Stewart, were recruited to fill in for Jorgensen. Tweedy dubbed them “Young Jorgensen.” According to many reports, these amply able contributors were up to the grand task.

Now let’s get to the setlists:

 

Hard Rock Hotel, Riviera Maya, Mexico 1/17/22

“Monday” / “You Never Know” / “Shouldn’t Be Ashamed” / “Side with the Seeds” / “She’s a Jar” / “Either Way” / “Company in My Back” / “Cry All Day” / “Via Chicago” / “Laminated Cat” (Aka “Not For the Season”) / “One and a Half Stars” / “Whole Love” / “Box Full of Letters” / “At My Window Sad and Lonely” / “Someone to Lose” / “You And I” / “Love is Everywhere (Beware)” / “War on War” / “Everyone Hides” / “Spiders (Kidsmoke)” / “The Lonely 1” / “The Late Greats” / “I’m A Wheel”

 

Hard Rock Hotel, Riviera Maya, Mexico 1/18/22

 

“Red Eyed and Blue” / “I Got You (At the End of the Century)” / “Wishful Thinking” / “Say You Miss Me” / “At Least That’s What You Said” / “If I Ever Was a Child” / “I Must Be High” / “Cold Slope” / “King of You” / “Country Disappeared” / “Too Far Apart” / “Pot Kettle Black” /  “Hummingbird” / “How to Fight Loneliness” / “Impossible Germany” / “Kingpin” / “Passenger Side” / “Dawned on Me” / “Airline to Heaven” / “California Stars” * / “You Are Not Alone” ** / “Freedom Highway” **

 

Special Guests:

  * Chris Funk (The Decemberists)

** Mavis Staples

 

Hard Rock Hotel, Riviera Maya, Mexico 1/20/22

 

“A Shot in the Arm” / “Random Name Generator” / “Sunloathe” / “Handshake Drugs” / “Can’t Stand it” / “In a Future Age” / “Misunderstood” / “Far, Far Away” / “Bull Black Nova” / “Forget the Flowers” / “Kamera” / “Theologians” / “Born Alone” / “Jesus, Etc.” / “Hate it Here” / “Heavy Metal Drummer” / “I’m the Man Who Loves You” / “Candyfloss” / “Casino Queen” / “Outtasite (Outta Mind)” / “Cut Your Hair”

 

Encore: “I’ll Take You There” (live debut for Wilco) / “The Weight”

 

Special Guests:

 

      * Britt Daniel (Spoon)

    ** Neal Francis

  *** Stephen Malkmus

**** Mavis Staples

 

As this blog is focused on Wilco, the setlists for Tweedy’s shows aren’t included here but you can find them on setlist.fm, and Wilco’s official website, wilcoworld.net.

 

Wilco’s isn’t scheduled until May 22nd this year when they’ll headline another big event, the Solid Sound festival in North Adams, MA, but with the rarities and all, fans should be plenty satisfied by these sets – especially if they release Roadcase editions. If so, I’ll definitely download those as I wasn’t there for the actual shows. Here’s hoping that someday I’ll be able to attend.

 

More later…

The Year In Wilco: 2021

So it’s halfway through January 2022, and I’m only now getting around to looking back at last year’s Wilco activity. As expected, Jeff Tweedy and company’s musical pursuits were scaled down due to the seemingly never-ending pandemic. They still managed to do a 40-show tour, which included several festivals; and Tweedy and family, along with help from visiting bandmates produced over 70 episodes of their Instagram program, The Tweedy Show.  

That’s where we’ll begin. Nobody expected it to last this long, but to the delight of many fans (who are dubbed “clients”) The Tweedy Show is still going strong. By this point, the tuneful family has played just about every Wilco and solo Tweedy song more than once (not that there’s anything wrong with that), but a continuing deep dive into a sea of classic covers keeps the show from ever being unengaging.

 

 Last summer, on July 29, the Tweedy family hit their 200th episode, commemorated by Jumble cartoonist, Jeff Knurek, with the glorious image below. which Many thought that this might be the last episode of The Tweedy Show as Wilco were going on tour soon after.  

They needn’t have worried as the show resumed in September, and while they were less frequent, the series aired throughout the next several months. As of this writing, their most recent program was Episode 210 (January 6, 2020).

In August, Wilco began their first tour since the covid crisis in Spokane, Washington. The tour was called “It’s Time – Summer 2021,” and was supported by Sleater-Kinney, and NNAMDÏ. I was in attendance at an odd venue that used to be a junkyard called Salvage Station in Asheville, N.C., which was superb. Please read my review here.

Wilco ended their tour by being inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame. Held at the Moody Theater in Austin, Texas, the ceremony also included inductees Alejandro Escovedo and Lucinda Williams. Jason Isbell, Margo Price, Rosanne Cash and Sheila E. helped out as guest performers at the event which was broadcast on PBS on January 8th, and is can be accessed on Wilco’s official website. Watch Wilco leading the all-star sing-a-long finale rendition of “California Stars”:

While hoping that Wilco has a more eventful 2022, it’s encouraging to see that they made the most of 2021. Right, now (January 17-20), they are kicking off the new year headlining the Sky Blue Sky festival at the Hard Rock Hotel in Riviera Maya, Mexico. Stay tuned for setlists from that event, and more up-to-date Wilco whatnot.

 

More later…

Gorman Bechard's Jay Bennett Documentary Premieres Tonight In Chicago

Tonight, the World Premiere of Gorman Bechard’s WHERE ARE YOU, JAY BENNETT? will go down in Chicago, Illinois, at the David Theater. As Wilco fans know, Bennett was involved with the band during a very crucial  era. The documentary will likely do deep on the stretch of albums that Bennett made with Wilco from 1996-2001. 

Filmmaker Bechard puts it like this, “If you love Being There, Mermaid Avenue, Summerteeth, and/or Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, this is a film that will captivate you, and fill in the blanks about a great musician who’s truly a part of your musical life.”

 

Bechard had help releasing his Bennett project via a Kickstarter campaign.140 backers stepped up to pitch in to reach the final funding goal and then some.

 

As a long-time fan that came in on the groundfloor, Bennett had always been seen as an essential member of the band, close to an equal partner as he was doing a lot of writing and engineering. As Bennett’s story was told in another documentary WILCO; I AM TRYING TO BREAK YOUR HEART, a few books, scores of blog posts and magazine articles, it will be extremely interesting to see what Bechard’s film brings to the table.

 

Watch the trailer for WHERE ARE YOU, JAY BENNETT? here.

 

I wish I could be in Chicago to see Bechard’s obvious love and on the big screen too. Like many, I’ll have to wait for the DVD or whatever streaming service may offer it. I’ll have to settle for seeing the doc another place/another time.

 

Oh, and while we’re on the subject, check out Bechard’s website, whatwerewethinkingfilms.com, for info for not only the Bennett film, buts his vast array of other works including docs on the Replacements, Sarah Shook, Archers of Loaf, Lydia Loveless, and Grant Hart. Bechard has also made many dramatized movies such as PSYCHOS IN LOVE, THE KISS, FRIENDS (WITH BENEFITS), and BROKEN SIDE OF TIME among them.

 

The site, also gives access to music videos, and short films produced by the fiercely independent filmmaker.

 

More later…

The Finish Line For Wilco's Fall Tour Approaches - Here's The Latest Setlist Stats

Designed by Justin Froning/Housebear Design

Hey folks, yet again I’ve got a slew of Wilco setlists as their Fall tour is coming to an end. As I’ve talked about repeatedly, many fans have bitched at the similarity of the setlists, and the fact that this is supposed to be the Ode to Joy tour, in which their last album gets the focus that it lost when the pandemic stole their 2020 jaunt’s thunder, but they are only playing a few songs from the record at every show.

 

That’s fine by me as I saw a concert in 2019 that featured a lot of Ode to Joy. Also, they have mixed it up more than they have been given credit for as older tunes have been popping up regularly. So, as I’ve got five setlists to sum up - let’s get right to the the last shows for Jeff Tweedy and Company of 2021.

Santa Barbara Bowl, Santa Barbara, CA 10/20/21

 

“A Shot in the Arm” / “Random Name Generator” / “Side with the Seeds” / “One and a Half Stars” / “War on War” / “Art of Almost” / “If I Ever Was a Child” / “Impossible Germany” / “Sunken Treasure” / “Laminated Cat (aka “Not For The Season”) / “Love is Everywhere (Beware)” / “Hummingbird” / “One by One” / “Everyone Hides” / “Box Full of Letters” / “Dawned on Me” / “Jesus, Etc.” / “Theologians” / “Heavy Metal Drummer” / “I’m the Man Who Loves You” / “California Stars”

 

Encore: “Spiders (Kidsmoke) / “The Late Greats”

 

Brooklyn Bowl, Las Vegas, NV 10/22/21

Designed & Printed by Justin Helton

“Bright Leaves” / “A Shot in the Arm” / “Random Name Generator” / “Wishful Thinking” / “War on War” / “One and a Half Stars” / “At Least That’s What You Said” / “Bull Black Nova” / “Love is Everywhere (Beware)” / “Pot Kettle Black” / “Impossible Germany” / “Misunderstood” / “Forget the Flowers” / “Box Full of Letters” / ““Hummingbird” / “Everyone Hides” / “Born Alone / “Jesus, Etc.” / “Hate it Here” / “Theologians”

 

Encore: “The Late Greats” / “California Stars” / “Heavy Metal Drummer” / “I’m the Man Who Loves You” / “Outta Mind (Outta Sight)”

 

Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, CA 10/23/21

Designed by Matt Pfahlert/SilentP

“Bright Leaves” / “A Shot in the Arm” / “Random Name Generator” / “Side with the Seeds” / “One and a Half Stars” / “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” / “Art of Almost” / “How to Fight Loneliness” / “Sunken Treasure” / “Laminated Cat” / “Pot Kettle Black” / “Impossible Germany” / “Love is Everywhere (Beware)” / “Someone to Lose” / “Hummingbird” / “Everyone Hides” / “Dawned on Me” / “Jesus Etc.” / “Theologians” / “I’m the Man Who Loves You” 

Encore: “California Stars” / “Red-Eyed and Blue” / “I Got You (At the End of the Century” / “Outtasite (Outta Mind)” 

 

Orpheum Theatre, Los Angeles 10/25/21

 

“Bright Leaves” / “A Shot in the Arm” / “Random Name Generator” / “Wishful Thinking” / “War on War” / “One and a Half Stars” / “At Least That’s What You Said” / “Bull Black Nova” / “Love is Everywhere (Beware)” / “Pot Kettle Black” / “Impossible Germany” / “Misunderstood” / “Forget the Flowers” / “Box Full of Letters” / “Everyone Hides” / “Hummingbird” / “Born Alone” / “Jesus, Etc.” / “Theologians” / “I’m the Man Who Loves You” / “Poor Places” / “Reservations”

 

Encore: “Monday” / “Outtasite (Outta Mind)”

 

Orpheum, Los Angeles 10/26/21

Designed by Zoca Design

“A Shot in the Arm” / Random Name Generator” / “Muzzle of Bees” / “One and a Half Stars” / “Ashes of American Flags” / “Art of Almost” / “How to Fight Loneliness” / “Sunken Treasure” / “Laminated Cat” (Aka “Not For the Season)” / “If I Ever Was A Child” / “Impossible Germany” / “Love is Everywhere (Beware)” / “Hummingbird” / “Box Full of Letters” / “Everyone Hides” / “Either Way” / “Dawned on Me” / “Heavy Metal Drummer” / “I’m the Man Who Loves You” / “Poor Places” / “Reservations” / “California Stars” / “Jesus, Etc.” / “Red Eyed and Blue” / “I Got You (At the End of the Century)” / “I’m A Wheel”

Next up: ACL Hall of Fame, Moody Theater, Austin, TX 10/28/21: Wilco's final performance only consists of a few song, but I'll report about what I can when I can.

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