Jeff Tweedy

Sunken Treasure: Jeff Tweedy Live in the Pacific Northwest (DVD)

About this Album

“Tweedy delighted in transforming song after song from his band's wildly experimental back catalog into a stripped-down folk ballad, baring every ironic twist and barbed emotion.” – San Francisco Chronicle

Nonesuch Records released Sunken Treasure: Live in the Pacific Northwest, a performance DVD by Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, in October 2006. The disc includes performances and conversations gathered over five nights on Tweedy’s February 2006 solo acoustic tour, with footage from concerts at Seattle’s Moore Theater, Portland’s Crystal Ballroom, Eugene’s McDonald Theater, Arcata’s Humboldt State University, and The Fillmore in San Francisco. The film was directed by Christoph Green and Fugazi’s Brendan Canty, the creators of the documentary series Burn to Shine.

“I wanted this to feel how the tour felt to me,” said filmmaker Christoph Green, “…a chaptered flow down the West Coast, showing the isolated bleakness you encounter when you travel quickly from one place to another, and then contrasting that with the experience at the shows—the gathering of people and the sense of community that is created night after night. As Jeff says in film, it’s ‘what church should be like.’”

“I felt as if Jeff hand-delivered a great film to us,” adds co-director Brendan Canty. “Every night was different and brilliant in its own respect. What quickly became evident to me, during our interviews and at the shows, is that Jeff is in a very good place right now, that this was going to be a very special week of shows, and ultimately, we were very lucky to be there.”

The audio tracks of all the songs featured on the DVD also will be available to download for free to anyone who purchases Sunken Treasure. This continues Wilco’s own tradition of regularly giving music to its fans via the Internet. For instance, in 2003 Wilco and Nonesuch made the More Like the Moon EP available for free download to anyone who had purchased Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, and in 2005, they again made an EP of rare and live recordings available for free to anyone who had purchased A ghost is born, the band’s 2004 release.

During live solo performances, Tweedy draws from 200-plus songs, choosing what to perform as he goes, with no particular set list in mind. The songs featured on the DVD are culled from his expansive discography, and feature music from Tweedy’s three bands: Wilco, Uncle Tupelo and Loose Fur. There is also one previously unreleased track, “The Thanks I Get.” Wilco percussionist Glenn Kotche and guitarist Nels Cline, who opened for him on the February tour, also make guest appearances in Sunken Treasure, accompanying Tweedy on several songs.

Full track listing follows:

Sunken Treasure, Theologians, The Ruling Class, How to Fight Loneliness, Summerteeth, The Thanks I Get, I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, ELT, Shot in the Arm, Black Eye, In a Future Age, Laminated Cat, (Was I) In Your Dreams, Airline to Heaven, Heavy Metal Drummer, War on War, Acuff-Rose.

Wilco are currently in their studio in Chicago recording the follow up to their 2004 album, the Grammy-award winning A ghost is born. This is the first studio album featuring the line-up of Jeff Tweedy, John Stirratt, Glenn Kotche, Mikael Jorgensen, Nels Cline and Pat Sansone. The album is due for release on Nonesuch Records in Spring 2007.