Golden Smog Reunion- First Avenue, Minneapolis
By Tyler Asay
The supergroup Golden Smog was first formed in Minneapolis in 1989. The band was always seen as a rotating cast of musical characters from the Midwest dedicated to alternative country and superior songwriting and has included members of all your favorite bands: Big Star, The Replacements, Soul Asylum, The Jayhawks, Wilco, and more. They have put out four records as Golden Smog since 1995 and hadn’t performed live since 2019.
These Golden Smog reunion shows were originally scheduled for April of 2020 but were obviously postponed due to the pandemic. Over the weekend, Golden Smog got back together for two nights to perform at Minneapolis’s legendary First Avenue with Jeff Tweedy from Wilco, Gary Louris & Marc Perlman from The Jayhawks, Dan Murphy from Soul Asylum, Kraig Johnson, and Jody Stephens from Big Star.
Night one, Saturday, April 2nd, had the band take the stage in great spirits to open with “Looking Forward To Seeing You” from 1998’s Weird Tales. The band sounded great together; a bunch of old pals getting back together like they were high schoolers in a garage (except with probably combined 50+ years of touring experience under their belts).
The charm of Golden Smog comes down to everyone taking turns at the mic. Like a Gen X Traveling Wilburys, it’s exciting to hear Louris sing a cover of David Bowie’s “Starman” before Tweedy goes right into “Walk Where He Walked.” The encore on night one started with Tweedy & Louris as a duo singing “Radio King” from Down By The Old Mainstream.
Night two featured similar setlists with some important differences: Different covers were performed each night (night one had the Brian Wilson classic “Love And Mercy” and night two includes a take on The Kinks’ “Strangers”). Both nights featured Jeff Tweedy’s son, Sammy, joining for a cover of Neil Young’s “Helpless”. To have these old friends back together, playing this music that is absolutely timeless, has got to be one of life’s most special gifts. To quote “Radio King”:
“Your music fills my car
And your voice breaks every time
I’m still wonderin’
If I know who you are
I hang on every line”
Setlist (Night 1):
Looking Forward to Seeing You
Lost Love
To Call My Own
V
Yesterday Cried
Glad & Sorry (Faces cover)
Red Headed Stepchild
Starman (David Bowie cover)
Walk Where He Walked
He’s a Dick
Pecan Pie
Ill Fated
Long Time Ago
Signed D.C. (Love cover)
I Can’t Keep From Talking
Won’t Be Coming Home
You Make It Easy
Love and Mercy (Brian Wilson cover)
If I Only Had a Car
Corvette
Encore:
Radio King
Listen Joe
Helpless (Neil Young cover) (Sammy Tweedy on lead vocals)
Until You Came Along
Setlist (Night 2):
Looking Forward to Seeing You
Lost Love
To Call My Own
V
Making Waves
Glad & Sorry (Faces cover)
Red Headed Stepchild
All the Same to Me
Easy to Be Hard (Galt MacDermot cover)
Frying Pan Eyes
Listen Joe
Long Time Ago
Pecan Pie
You Make It Easy
Ill Fated
Strangers (The Kinks cover)
Scotch on Ice
She Don’t Have to See You
Won’t Be Coming Home
I Can’t Keep From Talking
If I Only Had a Car
Encore:
Please Tell My Brother
Radio King
Helpless (Neil Young cover) (with Sammy Tweedy)
Until You Came Along (with Sammy Tweedy)
Encore 2:
Revolution Blues (Neil Young cover)