It was a sold out show for Jeff Tweedy at The Fillmore on Wednesday, March 25th. More than 1,000 people came out, with a mixed Gen X crowd of about seventy percent men to thirty women. Macie Stewart, the band’s violinist/guitarist, opened the evening with songs from her album Mouthful of Glass (2021). For the last song she had Sima Cunningham, the bass player, join her, as they make up a duo called Finom.
Jeff Tweedy and company took the stage and played the first four songs from Twilight Override (2025) in order. The fourth song, “Forever Never Ends”, let Jeff show off his guitar skills, while Sammy, his youngest son, steps to his mic to sing the chorus. The whole band had a chill vibe and as it turns out they are all neighbors and grew up together. Even his two sons are in the band; Sammy on vocals and keyboard and Spencer on drums. Macie, Sima and her brother, Liam, on guitar complete the band. Jeff is the oldest member by twenty years, quite a contrast to Willco, which is made up of all dudes around the same age.
The music feels fresh and Jeff seems proud and fatherly. The songs were mainly from the new triple album, but they sprinkled in songs from Sukierae (2014). He switched guitars from acoustic to electric frequently and songs were more rocking and then quiet. Midway through, he brought out a black, crescent shaped guitar, called Moon Sault, an ‘80s Japanese guitar from his collection.The other instruments complimented nicely with the violin, grounding bass and Spencer’s unique style of drumming. Jeff activated the crowd to clap to the beat when he played “Flowering” with that crazy ‘80s guitar. Token dad jokes were sprinkled in; he was feeling the crowd and doing a funny psychic bit, guessing names and issues they might be having along with advice. At one point an older gentleman with a walker, split the standing room only crowd to get to the other side of the venue, Jeff waited to start playing “Feel Free”. Ending the set with one of my favorites, “Lou Reed Was My Babysitter”, with a nod to The Velvet Underground and Lou Reed “the dead don’t die” was repeated for the chorus and the crowd was chiming in with Jeff making some guttural howls, it was awesome!
When everyone came back on stage for the encore, Jeff went around to introduce the band members. They rolled into “Family Ghost” off of the Warmer (2019). Every night they play a new song for the audience during the encore, and tonight it was “Everyday People” by Sly and the Family Stone, a San Francisco classic from the 60s. The crowd loved it and sang along! The night ended with “Enough”, which is the last song on the triple album. The crowd left satisfied and got a free poster on the way out, per sold out protocol at The Fillmore.
I really love the new triple album and highly recommend it. The show was heartfelt, and the songs kept swimming in my brain the next day. These songs are a lullaby for these troubling times. Jeff Tweedy’s influences of the Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Velvet Underground, and Led Zeppelin really showed through in the songs on these albums, so many nostalgic riffs with thoughtful lyrics. I love that the lyrics are printed on the sleeve of the record, a nice move that now feels old school. At the merch table, Tweedy had four books that he wrote about growing up, music and writing songs, plus two poetry books. He is now an influential Generation X hero, telling it how it is, being vulnerable and reflective.
Review and photos by Kristie Tacey
