Tweedy have a full circle moment at The Fillmore

Photos by Pedro Paredes // Written by Mike Frash //

Tweedy //
The Fillmore – San Francisco
March 17th & 18th, 2015 //

Tweedy, the familial duo of Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy and his percussive son Spencer, only began touring last year in support of Sukierae, an under-appreciated 20-track LP. The two shows at The Fillmore in SF this week marked a charming, nostalgic occasion for the frontman and living legend.

Jeff Tweedy has long been known for his gifted ability for stage banter, and Tuesday evening was no exception.

He introduced many songs with the band by stating their time measure, perhaps to keep the band focused and on the same page — the patriarch introduced the band with a backhanded but likely truthful comment, saying he brings the handful of young musicians on the road to “keep Spencer company.” To me, the band sounded great most of the night — we can’t all be as good as Nels Cline.

When beginning to introduce his son Spencer on drums, Jeff brought up the documentary “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart,” a fascinating documentary that chronicles the chaotic process of creating and distributing Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Wilco’s seminal album. He recalled his 11-year-old running around The Fillmore in the early aughts as Wilco played some of their best songs before the album had even released. Then, he looked back at his son, now on stage behind the drum kit.

What a full circle moment.

Take a look at this section of the documentary here. Skip ahead to 1:17:30 to see Spencer on the tour bus playing drums on his lap and quizzing his dad on which Wilco song he was playing while Jeff guesses.

The film then goes into Wilco performing “Heavy Metal Drummer” at The Fillmore before Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was released.

The music of Tweedy is essentially Wilco Jr., just as catchy and memorable but simplified. The 30-song setlist was split into two sections, the first half with the full band and the rest solo-acoustic as Jeff played Wilco tunes and covers.

As always, the man has a Mona Lisa stage presence, making it feel like he’s always looking at you. Mr. Tweedy is a man in tune to his surroundings.

He also referenced a handful of children near the front of the stage throughout the night, noting that they only used their earplugs in between songs as a sort of “earmuffs” measure and that their presence made him feel “uncomfortable.”

Perhaps it was the thought of how much time has passed since Spencer was their age that made Mr. Tweedy feel a tad anxious.