A quick story from last night…To close their set before the encore, Wilco played “Spiders (Kidsmoke)”, a ten-minute plus song. At the end of the song, Tweedy started clapping, motioning for the audience to join in. The band kept riffing near the end of the song for a few minutes. Tweedy calls into the microphone: “The beat is yours now. It’s yours to do whatever you want to do with it.”
I naturally think: double-clap. I started in, then the girl next to me immediately caught on. Soon, everyone around me is double-clapping. Then, I hear the whole audience double-clapping. After that, the drummer picks up on the double-clap and alters his beat. I’m feeling pretty cool at this point.
When Wilco returns to the stage for their encore, Tweedy informs the audience that Wilco has played “Spiders (Kidsmoke)” all over the world. Each time, he has encouraged the audience to take over the beat. Tweedy confirmed that last night was the first time an audience has ever started something new. He called us an audience of “free thinkers”.
At this point, I yell “double clap” as loud as possible. Pretty cool, Jeff Tweedy indirectly called me a free thinker.
10 months ago