Pitchfork

Several weeks ago, Wilco's not-so-unofficial fan message board, Via Chicago, was a flurry of sad and rhar(!) emoticons, as various aliases announced the supposed cancellation of their favorite band's scheduled live DVD. Because we love love LOVE fact-checking over here, Internet gossip, though sometimes accurate, doesn't quite make the reliability cut. The Chicago Reader, however, passes the test, especially when its words are within quotation marks and attributed to Mr. Wilco himself, Jeff Tweedy.

We previously reported that the Wilco DVD, filmed by I Am Trying To Break Your Heart director Sam Jones over a series of May shows at Chicago's Vic Theatre and originally slated for a November 1 release with the companion live album Kicking Television, had been put on the backburner. Since then, however, the gas lines have been cut and all that remains is some uncooked noodlin'.

First Kicking Television was pushed back to November 15. Then the DVD was shit-canned. Tweedy explained the DVD's fate in the Reader, stating, "Some of the reasons were technical, some of it had to do with the way it was shot. The footage ended up being really claustrophobic. Basically, it gets down to my feeling that the audience should be a part of any live document. You should get a sense of the audience, a sense of the time and place. And the footage didn't do that."

On a more positive note, the Reader reported that Wilco tracked thirteen new songs last month for a projected 2006 release. Some of the tunes will be debuted on their upcoming tour, while two ("I'm Talking to Myself About You" and "On and On and On and On") have already filled slots on recent setlists. Tweedy did not have much to offer about the sound of the new stuff, other than the fact that his speakers have been blasting old psychedelic Brazilian albums, and that Wilco's new recordings sound "a lot different" than past releases. Gee, that helps. The band plans to finish up the album once Tweedy returns from a solo tour in late November.

As if he wasn't busy enough already, Tweedy is resurrecting his Loose Fur side project with producer/experimentalist extraordinaire Jim O'Rourke and Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche, according to Billboard.com. The second Loose Fur album, scheduled for a spring release on Drag City, is being completed this week. Says Tweedy, "It's maybe a little bit heavier. There's definitely a lot of harmonized guitar parts. I think it's a similar mix of folk-ish elements, but the rock elements are a little less stridently abrasive, and maybe a little bit more prog-rock or something." Sounds shaggy.

Tweedy also plans to bring back Golden Smog, his roots-rock supergroup with the Jayhawks' Gary Louris and Soul Asylum's Dan Murphy, for their first album since 1998. We hope it sounds a lot like "Until You Came Along".

As previously announced, Wilco will play a Katrina benefit show tonight at Chicago's Auditorium Theatre, with proceeds going to the New Orleans Musician's Relief Fund and the Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans. The New Orleans Musicians Relief Fund All Stars (what a mouthful!), a band composed of eight Big Easy musicians (George French, Leroy Jones, Craig Klein, Cranston Clements, Joe Krown, James Andrews, Alonzo Bowens, and Brian Barberot), will support Wilco at this sold-out event.

And for the last time, keep the obnoxious "California Stars" requests to a minimum!

11-01 Chicago, IL - Auditorium Theatre *
11-05 Madison, WI - Orpheum Theatre (Jeff Tweedy solo) &
11-06 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue (Jeff Tweedy solo) &
11-08 Ann Arbor, MI - Michigan Theater (Jeff Tweedy solo) &
11-09 Columbus, OH - Southern Theatre (Jeff Tweedy solo) &
11-10 Grand Rapids, MI - Calvin College Fine Arts Center (Jeff Tweedy solo) &
11-12 Grantham, PA - Brubaker Auditorium (Jeff Tweedy solo) &
11-13 Northampton, MA - Calvin Theatre (Jeff Tweedy solo) &
11-14 Albany, NY - Empire State Plaza Performing Arts Center (Jeff Tweedy solo) &
11-16 New York, NY - Tribeca Performing Arts Center (Jeff Tweedy solo) ^
11-17 New York, NY - Tribeca Performing Arts Center (Jeff Tweedy solo) &
11-18 Kingston, NY - Ulster Peforming Arts Center (Jeff Tweedy solo) &
11-22 London, England - Shepherd's Bush Empire (Jeff Tweedy solo) %

* with New Orleans Musicians Relief Fund All Stars
& with Glenn Kotche
^ with Nels Cline
% with Red Locust Frenzy featuring Robyn Hitchcock and Scott McCaughey