Steve Wildsmith

In browsing the website of Americana band Wilco — which recently performed at The Tennessee Theatre, a show reviewed here by yours truly — for information on the band’s new album, I discovered a free download of “The Jolly Banker” by Woody Guthrie. You can download that by going here. As a caveat — the band kindly asks for donations to support the Woody Guthrie Foundation and Archives; there’s a button to offer a few bucks for that worthy cause while you’re getting a free tune.

The new album, by the way, is simply titled “Wilco (the album),” and will be released June 30 on Nonesuch Records. Here’s the track listing:

Wilco (the song)
Deeper Down
One Wing
Bull Black Nova
You And I
You Never Know
Country Disappeared
Solitaire
I’ll Fight
Sonny Feeling
Everlasting Everything

For more information on the record, go here.

It was a full nine songs before Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy said hello.

No doubt, some in Saturday night’s audience at The Tennessee Theatre zeroed in on that as further proof that Tweedy, to be quite vulgar, is a dick.

After all, the bumps in Wilco’s career have included some disagreements between Tweedy and various members (ex-drummer Ken Coomer and multi-instrumentalist Jay Bennett) that ended in the latter’s ouster. The documentary “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” captured some of that tension, and Tweedy’s well-documented battle with pain pill addiction and split with former Uncle Tupelo bandmate Jay Farrar have cultivated an image of a guy who, when viewed the wrong way, comes across sometimes as petulant or self-centered or, on the far end of that spectrum, an egomaniac.

I contend that he’s none of the above. To be sure, a certain amount of dickishness is a factor in what he does. But it’s not because he’s a jerk, per se. I think it’s because he believes he follows a higher calling, and that friendships, business arrangements, what-have-you … they all come second to the music.

Granted, I have no personal insight into what transpired between Tweedy and Coomer or Tweedy and Bennett. Maybe he woke up one day and decided he’d rather not share his toys anymore. But I think it had more to do with how Jeff Tweedy feels about the music — how he, to be a little cliche about it, is one of the few genuine tortured artists who toil in the public eye; or at least has a high enough profile that his struggles are documented on a national level.

I say that because there was a moment at Saturday night’s concert when I noticed Tweedy standing in the center of the sonic maelstrom of a particular song — “At Least That’s What You Said,” the opening track from “A Ghost Is Born.” It’s a lovely song, one that simmers to a boil before exploding, blowing the lid off the pot as everyone in the band froths and foams and churns into a crescendo.

As the heat began to rise, Tweedy stepped back, and guitarist Nels Cline started to do his thing. Cline, known in jazz circles for some phenomenal guitar work, was on fire all night, rolling with whatever changes were thrown at him and anchoring the Wilco machine with some dazzling fret work. As he bent and swayed into the song’s guitar cascade, Tweedy was staring toward the back of the room.

His fingers did their thing; no telling how many times he’s played this particular song, so he might have been on autopilot. But the look on his face … I interpreted it as satisfaction. In that moment — like so many others that probably occur to him with this particular lineup of the band — everything felt right. Everyone was in place. All present for one purpose — to play the songs Tweedy hears in his head; playing them the way they’re supposed to be played, the way they demand to be played. He may never be 100 percent satisfied with what he hears in the studio or on stage in comparison to how it sounds in his head, but in that moment, it was as good as it gets.

It was one of several moments in a show that ran for more than two hours and featured two encores. No new material was played, despite the fact the band has a new album coming out in June on Nonesuch Records; instead, Tweedy and co. seemed determined to give the old songs the full treatment before the new one drops and they have a whole other addition to their canon that they must promote. During the second encore, when they morphed from the gentled “Red Eyed and Blue” to “End of the Century” (both off of “Being There”), the crowd — which had been on its feet all night — was goo in Tweedy’s hand. They swayed and clapped and shouted and screamed as the jubilant chords bounced off the theater’s pristine decor, and with Cline to his right and bassist John Stirratt and multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone to his left, Tweedy smiled. Behind him, drummer Glenn Kotche and keyboardist Mikael Jorgensen plowed through the slurry of feedback, Americana grit and anthemic melodies that anchor the song.

In that moment, whatever demons might still plague him seem banished. He looked like he was having fun, and even if it didn’t sound like what he hears in his head, it didn’t seem to matter. Because the rest of us heard it, and more than that, we felt it — and that’s all a good musician can ask for.

SETLIST

1) “Outta Mind (Outta Sight)” (from “Being There,” disc 2)
2) “Misunderstood” (“Being There,” disc 1)
3) “Hummingbird” (“A Ghost Is Born”)
4) “You Are My Face” (“Sky Blue Sky”)
5) “Company In My Back” (“A Ghost Is Born”)
6) “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” (“Yankee Hotel Foxtrot”)
7) “Kamera” (“Yankee Hotel Foxtrot”)
8 ) “At Least That’s What You Said” (“A Ghost Is Born”)
9) “Ashes of American Flags” (“Yankee Hotel Foxtrot”)
10) “Shouldn’t Be Ashamed” (“A.M.”)
11) “Jesus, Etc.” (“Yankee Hotel Foxtrot”)
12) “Impossible Germany” (“Sky Blue Sky”)
13) “Forget the Flowers” (“Being There,” disc 1)
14) “Box Full of Letters” (“A.M.”)
15) “Heavy Metal Drummer” (“Yankee Hotel Foxtrot”)
16) “A Shot in the Arm” (“Summerteeth”)

ENCORE 1
17) “The Late Greats” (“A Ghost Is Born”)
18) “Hate It Here” (“Sky Blue Sky”)
19) “Walken” (“Sky Blue Sky”)
20) “I’m the Man Who Loves You” (“Yankee Hotel Foxtrot”)

ENCORE 2

21) “California Stars” (“Mermaid Ave., vol. 1″)
22) “Red Eyed and Blue” (“Being There,” disc 1)
23) “I Got You (End of the Century)” (“Being There,” disc 1)
24) “Casino Queen” (“A.M.”)
25) “Outtasite (Outta Mind)” (“Being There,” disc 1)
26) “Hoodoo Voodoo” (“Mermaid Ave., vol. 1″)

Wilco online

YouTube: Wilco performs “Misunderstood” in Texas, May 2008

EDIT: Somebody taped the show! You can download it as a torrent by going here.

I was already planning on hitting up the Wilco show at The Tennessee Theatre on Saturday night. Got kind of nervous at first because of the sell-out, but PR girl Deb Bernardini came through with a couple of tickets.

For those of you without the luxury of such hook-ups, there’s good news — Wilco won’t be performing there, but according to Pitchfork, the guys will put in an appearance at The Disc Exchange, Knoxville’s most excellent music store, located on Chapman Highway. It’s part of National Record Store Day (which you can read about here), which will feature live music and appearances by all sorts of local and regional acts, all day long. Here’s the lineup:

Van Eaton and Friends at noon (read a recent interview here)

Greg Koons at 1 p.m

The Rockwells at 3:30 p.m.

Wild Sweet Orange at 4:30 p.m.

Tenderhooks at 5:30 p.m. (read last fall’s story on the band here)

John Paul Keith and the One Four Fives at 6:30 p.m. (read today’s interview with JPK here)

Cutthroat Shamrock at 7:30 p.m. (read a recent story here)

For more information about Wilco — including a new album due in late June and featuring guest vocals by Feist — click here.

Read the new Weekend interview with A Hawk and a Hacksaw, opening for Wilco on Saturday night at The Tennessee Theatre, by clicking here.

Lots of good stuff coming up on the East Tennessee live music horizon. Thought I would pick some of the shows on the calendars of various venues and show promoters and highlight them. Obviously, this isn’t a complete list; I would suggest you go to the touring website Pollstar for a comprehensive roundup of national and regional acts coming our way.

April 13: David Sedaris at The Tennessee Theatre. Amazing writer of “Me Talk Pretty One Day” and “Barrel Fever” offers a night of social commentary. Tickets are $36.50, $46.50 and $56.50.

April 17: WUTK fund-raiser at Barley’s Taproom. Here’s more from my buddy Benny Smith, the GM of WUTK-FM
WUTK is having another fund raiser, and I would love to see if you may want to provide it some coverage. Here are the details:

WUTK RadioActive Benefit Concert Series
Fri., April 17 *  9 p.m.  *  Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria
$5 minimum donation at the door
All door proceeds will be divided between WUTK and EarthFest.
Performing live will be TODD STEED AND THE SUNS OF PHERE (w/ JULIA NUNES)
MIC HARRISON AND THE HIGH SCORE
and BOBBY BARE JR’s YOUNG CRIMINALS STARVATION LEAGUE

Bobby is a UT alum.  I went to school with him here in the late 80’s and early 90’s. This is going to be an amazing show.

April 18: Wilco at The Tennessee Theatre. The show is sold out, but I’m crossing my fingers so hard my knuckles are bleeding in hopes of some press passes! The band’s website reports that Wilco’s new album will be released in June on Nonesuch Records; it’s still untitled, but one song includes accompanying vocals from Feist!

Also April 18: “A Blue Shirt in Paris,” featuring R.B. Morris and Hector Qirko at Candoro Cafe, 4450 Candora Ave. in Knoxville’s Vestal community. Here’s more from R.B. himself: “This special show we’re putting together at Candoro is directly connected to an event I’ll be participating in this summer in Paris (June 30-July 3): an homage and symposium to William Burroughs, to be held at the London Institute at Paris. The four-day symposium will also be the book launch for the anthology ‘Naked Lunch at 50: Anniversay Essays’ to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Burroughs’ controversial and unparalleled novel ‘Naked Lunch,’ first published in Paris in ‘59 and banned in the U.S. until ‘66. I was asked to contribute an essay as well as be a featured performer on the evening of July 2. As a warmup to Paris, we decided to create a cafe-like atmosphere — Candoro Cafe — and a musical performance (myself and my euro minstral compadre Hector Qirko) performing material that will be featured in Paris. There will be food and libations and cafe conversation (whatever that is) and a slide show themed around those beaten but beatific Beat writers, and I’ll probably read the essay, a few poems, talk some more, sing another song. I hope you’ll join us and be a part of this Knoxville-Paris performance.” Tickets are $20; it starts at 7:30 p.m.

April 19: Against Me! at The Cider House, 940 Blackstock Ave. in Knoxville’s Warehouse District (adjacent to The Valarium). I don’t know why this group has flown under my radar until now; I love “New Wave,” the band’s most recent album, and am enamored by “Heart Burns,” frontman Tom Gabel’s solo record, and I had a fantastic conversation with him the other day. What a great show for a new venue; plus it’s only $10.

April 23: Jason Isbell and 400 Unit at Barley’s Taproom. Can you believe it’s only going to be $3 to see the former Drive-By Trucker celebrating the release of a new album? Amazing.

April 25: Scott Miller and the Commonwealth at “The Shed” at Smoky Mountain Harley-Davidson. Tickets are $15, or $10 if you ride your bike. And wait until you get a load of the photos we took for Scott on our April 24 Weekend cover. Here’s a hint: It involves toddlers.

May 1: The Felice Brothers at Barley’s Taproom. Yeah, yeah, yeah; Barley’s is getting a ton of plugs. We can’t help it they have good shows. The Felice Bros. are a trip to see live — like five hobos who robbed a bluegrass band and play this rough, raw and heartfelt Americana. Only $5, I think.

May 16: Elvis Perkins in Dearland at The Catalyst. The son of “Psycho” star Anthony Perkins is a great singer-songwriter. His last album, “Ash Wednesday,” was heart-achingly gorgeous. His new self-titled one is still growing on me. Still, this’ll be a great show.

May 26: Bonnie “Prince” Billy at The Bijou Theatre. I’m a late-comer to this guy’s music; all I knew about him before a few years ago was that he took the iconic cover art for the Slint album “Spiderland.” I regret not finding him sooner. Tickets are $16, I think …

And that takes us just through the end of May. It appears like it’s going to be a kick-ass spring and summer concert season around these parts.