Play our songs, and nothing's wrong

Monday night, Jeff Tweedy at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee, opening set by the Autumn Defense, front row center seats, fantastic setlist and performance.

That was the newspaper version, if you only have time to read a blurb. So, yes, Monday night I headed to Milwaukee with Anya after work to see Jeff Tweedy. In my short period of reacquaintance with the Pabst it has already become one of my favorite places to see a show, so I was pumped. We got in about ten minutes before the Autumn Defense's opening set and went straight to our seats (after buying drinks) which is probably why I failed to notice the special autographed posters that were for sale. Ah well. I'm the last person who needs more concert posters at this point, but I still feel a little bit like I fell down on the job.

The Autumn Defense sounded very nice playing acoustically. They commented on how nice the Pabst is, like everyone I've seen play there thus far. Their set was relatively brief. One particular line of one of their new songs still makes me cringe a little, but the harmonies were lovely, and there was a giant Steinway piano onstage. Pat was definitely happy to be playing that on a few songs, including one of my favorites, "Written in the Snow".

There was a break just long enough for Anya to make a "whiskey and soda" trip to the bar, and then Jeff took the stage. Since this was the second night of a sort of two-night ultra-mini solo tour ... after a weekend off ... I had no idea what to expect. But whatever I expected, Jeff surpassed those expectations. First of all, he was in fine banter form, joking with the crowd. The well-meaning inquiry of a fan led to the coining of a new catchphrase to replace "How ya doin?" ("How's your foot?") Jeff joked about his crouching tiger-like defense skills, put a particularly loud "WOOOHOOOO"er in his place ("that makes me feel really good in a lot of ways? But it also makes me want to hurt you"), had fun with a couple of particularly vocal women up front, and discussed Halloween costumes (Jeff and Susan decided against being Amish this year).

And oh yeah. He played some songs. Some songs I'd never heard before ("Lullaby for Rafters and Beams," a new song), some songs I will never get tired of hearing ("Someday Soon", "Laminated Cat"), some delightfully rare tunes ("Box Full of Letters," "Screen Door," "We've Been Had,") and at least one song that, had I been standing up, may have caused me to fall over in shock. I honestly thought Jeff was gearing up to play "The Thanks I Get." And then he opened his mouth and began, "There's a dreamer in my dreams..." and I probably made some sort of high-pitched squeaking noise. Wow.

Other highlights included an incredibly moving rendition of "Sunken Treasure", a relatively unusual solo "Jesus, Etc.", and some unexpected piano accompaniment to "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart". The Steinway was wheeled offstage after the Autumn Defense's set, but if obviously didn't go far. At some point in the song Jeff stopped playing his guitar, and a few notes of piano rang out from behind the curtain before they stopped as well. Jeff joked about the place being haunted, but the ghost, appearing at the side of the stage a few moments later, looked a whole lot like Pat.

So. A really fun show. Very glad I went. And I may start a petition to bring every musician and band I like to the Pabst.