Jay Bennett, RIP

Jay Bennett was not a founding member of Wilco, but he played an important role in moving them from a band with a cult following, to a band respected for it's rock and roll poetry, and complexity. He died Sunday.

He had a famously difficult relationship with Wilco founder Jeff Tweedy as they recorded what many feel is their breakthrough album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, and this alienation, and his eventual dismissal from the band are played out in the great Wilco documentary, I Am Trying to Break Your Heart.

I saw him play with the band several times in the early days, and it seemed that his ultimate commitment to musicality and the song often kept a performance from unraveling because of the seething onstage rage displayed by Tweedy.

I once bumped into Tweedy and Bennett in the used CD section of the fine basement record store Turn It Up in Northampton MA. I had my head bent to the stacks, heading alphabetically towards "M" and the person to my right, also flipping his way alphabetically backwards toward "L" and we were about to perform the patented record-store pass when I looked up and noticed it was Bennett. I smiled and nodded and looked across the bins to see Tweedy checking out the "D's." My only surprise was that they were so short. They didn't stay long when they began to notice that I wasn't the only one looking up from the stacks to see what CDs they were checking out. Later that evening they performed a ragged glorious set with Gary Olsen of the Jayhawks in the great side-project band Golden Smog.

Bennett died in the hospital, in his sleep after hip surgery to repair damage he suffered early in his career in a stage dive while performing with his band Titanic Love Affair.

Roger, wilco, will vote

(Chicago Sun Times photo - Tweedy and Obama)

Obama's on the Wilco bandwagon, and vice versa.

You can get a free download of Wilco and Fleet Foxes doing Dylan's I Shall Be Released for pledging to vote, here.

And Wilco rocked for Obama.

Wilco rocks Tanglewood

Wilco proved again, last night, why they are the best band in America. Jeff Tweedy and company offered superb musicianship, complex songs, and a reason to shout. Gone are the days of an angry Tweedy spitting bile at an adoring audience. The adoring audience is still there, but Tweedy seems to like us. Dressed in illustrated and bejeweled Nudie suits, the band seemed to be enjoying shaking the dust from the rafters at the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra where the hardest rock prior to Wilco has been James Taylor's band.

ADDENDUM: Some thoughts about Tanglewood. For those who have attended Boston Symphony Orchestra concerts there, or pop concerts with the likes of Garrison Keillor, James Taylor or Bonnie Raitt, you understand the gentrified, laid back vibe of the place. It was a music shed before any of these new outdoor sheds, with failing automotive company names, was ever dreamed of. Tanglewoods grounds are lovely, nestled into the Bershires, with lots of pleasant views, and acres of lawns. The site lines from the lawn to the stage are non-existent. There are two video-mag screen for the picnickers and lawn chair crowd. Inside the shed, the unpaved floor is gently sloped so that even inside, sight lines are not great, but the sound is terrific. For veterans of folk and rock festivals it probably came as some surprise that there were no bag or cooler searches, and you could bring in whatever you wanted to eat or drink. Compare this to the cavity searches done at some festivals, and you begin to relax the minute you walk through the gate. I saw blankets laden with every kind of comestible and beverage, and though smoking is strictly discouraged on the grounds, there was lots of weed being consumed. There didn't seem to be the philosophy of, "Keep your beer and wine out so we can sell more of ours." And yet, they had a nice selection of Sam Adams and Magic Hat beers, some on tap, some in bottles. The ticket-takers and ushers are mostly seniors, and this may have been the rockingest show ever for the venerable venue, but they never seemed to get flustered. The mid-set journey from the back rows to the stage were largely unchallenged, with local police keeping the final aisle to the stage clear, and doing it with a sense of humor. I'd go to Tanglewood for another show like this in a second.

Tweedy line of the evening, after being heckled with dozens of requests - "Do you shout out requests when the BSO is here?" And then after a pause for effect, he turned his voice into a shouting heckler, "Mahler. Mahler. Mahler."

Woody on the wire

Thanks to Susan Forbes Hansen for cluing me into this.

I had read a bit about the discovery of the live Woody Guthrie recordings, but I hadn't heard about the Huntington's Disease benefit concert featuring Billy Bragg, Wilco, Steve Earle, Bright Eyes and others.

Jesus, etc., VH1?

The Wilco show at the Pines Theater in Northampton's Look Park was recorded by VH-1 for broadcast.

It was an unbelievably lovely evening (the predicted thunderstorms never arrived), and aside from the fact that coolers and bottled beverages, including water, were banned (beer, and good beer at that, was $6 a cup inside), there wasn't a thing to be crabby about. If you don't include the performance of opening band Low, that is. (Let me digress. Low belongs to the school of "play it slow" dirges that are supposedly influenced by Nick Drake. Not quite. It's more a case of, "I can't play it any faster." Hence the absence of any mid or up-tempo songs. I much preferred the punk ethic of "I can't play it well, but I can play it loud and fast." And punk songs rarely breeched the 3 minute mark. Low's went on and on and on.)

Wilco sounded comfortable, accomplished and superb. This is the first time that I've seen the band when Jeff Tweedy actually seemed to be enjoying himself. There were broad smiles instead of the snarls of the past, and Tweedy kept up an active conversation with the crowd at the foot of the stage. To Tweedy's mock consternation, one fan kept shouting out the title of the next song on the setlist before Tweedy could strike a note. When asked by Tweedy how he was doing it, the fan claimed to know which song was coming based on the guitar the roady handed to the singer. Tweedy said, "Got to buy some new guitars." Another fan tossed some hand-crocheted sweat bands inscribed with the band members names. The band dutifully wore the headbands for the next song, and some kept them on until the encore. Tweety acrobatically caught red licorice bites thrown from the audience in his mouth. And between two of the songs, the lights went up on the audience and Tweedy waved to a little girl sitting on her dad's shoulder, "Hello, Sweetie," he said. "Oh she's not paying attention. Hello, hello, I'm the creepy rock guy up on stage."

Danton at the Courant was there too.

It's a big week at Look Park, with Dylan there on Tuesday, and Morrissey on Wednesday. What will the neighbors think?

Concerts of the Week

Wilco
Sunday, June 24, Pines Theater
Northampton Mass

America's band. Wilco's Jeff Tweedy helped invent "Americana" music (sorry to disappoint Jim Vicevich who thinks he invented it). And Tweedy has carried this band from careening rock, through insurgent country music, immersing in experimental sounds and all the way back to melodic, insistent, important rock.









Old Crow Medicine Show
Monday, June 25, East Hartford Cultural Center
East Hartford, CT

Imagine what country music sounded like just before Elvis Presley corrupted it forever. You'll have some sense of what this band is all about. Energy, creativity, edginess and excellent musicianship. No one has departed an Old Crow show disappointed. Proteges of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, this band plays to sold-out screaming audiences all over the map.

Considered Briefly

Bob Dylan and Morrissey on consecutive evenings at the Pines Theater, June 26 and June 27. Pick your poison.