make something that no one else has

For various reasons, I've had to curtail my rock tourism. But when Jeff Tweedy's concert dates came out, I saw the perfect opportunity to get away for the weekend and to see friends. Northward ho to the Vogue Theatre in Vancouver, British Columbia!

Jeff Tweedy, Vogue Theatre, September 29, 2018

On my last trip to Vancouver, I somehow managed to miss the entirety of the Winter Olympics, all to see a couple of Wilco shows. I guess we caught a glimpse of the torch, and it was impossible to avoid the crowds, but I failed to witness a single athletic event. I'm a little embarrassed by that admission, but to be honest, I probably wouldn't do anything differently even now.

I'd also only vaguely recalled an earlier trip to Vancouver, but one draw remained the same: the opportunity to visit with Judy and her family. I'm happy to report that they are as lovely as ever, and I immediately remembered how much I enjoy my time with them. I wish we could do it more often, but that's the way it goes these days. Judy's a great tour guide around Vancouver, as well.

Clearly, it's been a while, and I had little expectations of the Vancouver audience, not to mention this was a Jeff show, not a Wilco performance. The Vogue itself was a classic older theater, though on the claustrophobic side. The seats were entirely too small and too cramped, and our feet stuck to the floor -- not great ambience. But it still qualified as intimate if you were on the ground level.

I've been far from deprived of Jeff's shows, but it's been a while since I've seen him play for a general audience. From my experience, this was a good albeit typical Jeff show. He went with a handful of new songs, including the mainstay in the making "Let's Go Rain," which some of us first heard at Largo last December. We got a couple more from the upcoming solo album, a handful from Together at Last (I guess he hasn't officially toured to promote it on the West Coast), and a number of old favorites from his vast catalog, including Uncle Tupelo and Woody Guthrie tracks.

One of the surprises in the set was "You and I," from the often overlooked Wilco (The Album), but when you think about it, you realize it qualifies as Canadian content. Me, I remember the time that we saw Feist sing it onstage with Wilco in -- where else? -- Los Angeles. I also like that he's doing "Impossible Germany" on his own. Jeff sometimes likes to remind the audience that we're missing Nels' contribution to that iconic track, but it's a gem in its stripped-down state too.

Overall, it was a fine reintroduction to rock tourism and Jeff's solo shows, but I was happy to know that I had several more shows on the docket.

See also:
» the park grows dark
» waiting for a postcard
» sorry charlie honey he's back from LA
» it's become so obvious