“Is it too late to do more warm-up shows?”
Directed at his mates, Jeff Tweedy’s question captured the easygoing spirit and convivial mood on Tuesday at a sold-out Vic Theatre, where the “supergroup” Golden Smog performed its first area concert in nearly two decades.
The casual, 110-minute affair capped a remarkable year for Tweedy. The Chicago-based Wilco leader joined with fellow vocalist-guitarist mates Gary Louris (Jayhawks), Kraig Johnson (Run Westy Run and former Jayhawks) and Dan Murphy (ex-Soul Asylum), along with bassist-mandolinist Marc Perlman (Jayhawks) and drummer Steve Gorman (ex-Black Crowes). They served as a reminder of what live music can feel like when it’s played by a loose, simpatico band — and for no other reasons than having a blast with friends, honoring a few influences and expressing sincerity through well-crafted ballads.
With nothing at stake, not even new songs, Golden Smog put on the equivalent of a D.I.Y.-style basement show for 1,400 neighbors. The plain stage, absence of an opening act and paucity of merchandise — the group didn’t bother with T-shirts, just $10 CDs and a basic poster — underlined the low-key vibe. Ditto the members’ jovial barbs and banter.
Personal egos got checked at the door. Tweedy getting called out for his limited skills on bass (not his normal instrument) and facetiously compared to late jazz great Jaco Pastorius? Shrugged apologies for an uneven end to a song or three? Humorous asides that suggested no one took himself too seriously and that, more than anything, these guys came out because they enjoy each other’s company and the sounds they make together? All part of the fun.
Originally formed in the late ‘80s as a freewheeling side project comprised of rotating personnel moonlighting from their Minneapolis-based country-rock groups, Golden Smog evolved from a covers band into a going entity by the mid-’90s.
Jeff Tweedy, left, and Kraig Johnson, right, of Golden Smog, perform at the Vic Theatre in Chicago on Dec. 9, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
With Tweedy joining the mix and participants using aliases, the ensemble released a 1995 debut (“Down by the Mainstream”) stocked with original material. A well-received sophomore record followed three years later, with the members’ pseudonyms replaced by their actual names. Golden Smog then faded from the scene with the same informality with which it appeared.
Save for a creative spurt in the mid-2000s marked by additional lineup shifts and two albums (including its most recent, the EP-length “Blood on the Slacks”), the collective took a back seat to its principals’ main endeavors. A one-off gig in 2019 started a brief trend where the group booked an annual concert in its Minnesota hometown. Whether its three-date “tour” that concluded Tuesday leads to further activity remains to be seen.
At a minimum, it should prompt a longer trek. Even if Louris’ crack about not rehearsing held a kernel of truth, the sextet’s organic chemistry and shared Americana language transcended the minor hiccups and handful of tossed-off songs. Besides, the lack of polish served Golden Smog’s aesthetic. Rather than demanding perfection or smoothness, songs relished scuffed-up arrangements and acoustic-electric structures built on raw emotions, casual attitudes and crunchy tones.
Rollicking selections such as “V” and the distortion-laden “Walk Where He Walked” crackled with crisp energy and engaged with static hooks. Rough-and-ready interpretations of the Faces’ “Glad and Sorry” and Brian Wilson’s “Love and Mercy” laid bare Golden Smog’s down-to-earth Midwestern origins. Anchored by Johnson, a jagged rendition of Neil Young’s “Revolution Blues” witnessed the group harnessing a rare mean streak, with the vocal phrasing and overdriven amplification surging with call-to-arms urgency and threatening menace.
Gary Louris, center, of Golden Smog, performs at the Vic Theatre in Chicago on Dec. 9, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
By and large, Golden Smog opted for cozy approaches even when turning melancholy. A wobbly read of Bobby Patterson’s cautionary “She Don’t Have to See You (To See Through You)” filtered R&B through a weary, sorrowful lens. The achy “All the Same to Me” slow-danced to a fractured melody and Tweedy’s matter-of-fact delivery.
Joyous material enjoyed similar homespun treatments that left plenty of space between notes. “I Can’t Keep from Talking” bounded to elastic grooves and enthusiastic vocals. While unable to transcend its novelty status, “Pecan Pie” kicked up its proverbial heels to a pick-and-grin bluegrass arrangement. The appreciative “Until You Came Along” prompted an a capella sing-along that brought the concert to a satisfying close.
Golden Smog’s ability to swap instrumental and lead vocal roles underscored a one-for-all, all-for-one mentality. With Gorman and Perlman providing steady rhythmic foundations, Louris and the perpetually grinning Tweedy filled in gaps with twangy fills and wiry solos. Key bricks in the wall of strummed guitars, Johnson and Murphy adapted their techniques to fit each song’s needs.
Listeners of a certain vintage doubtlessly recognized strong hints of early Wilco in the rustic albeit rambunctious “Radio King.” Louris and Tweedy sang the sympathetic “Long Time Ago” at the top end of their ranges. Their mystical rise-and-fall patterns on “Listen Joe” alternated between light and dark. And the clip-clopping “Please Tell My Brother” resonated with touching tenderness and timeliness. Not a holiday tune, per se. But given its lovely sentiments, wintry folksiness and bittersweet references to separation, it belongs in that canon.
Drummer Steve Gorman performs with “supergroup” Golden Smog at the Vic Theatre in Chicago on Dec. 9, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
The song’s mellow, reflective tenor and unadorned elegance also evoked the kind of fare Andrew Bird is presenting through Friday across town. Worth noting: On Monday, the Lake Bluff native launched the 15th iteration of his beloved Gezelligheid run in typically understated fashion amid the gorgeous confines of the Fourth Presbyterian Church, where it continues through Friday. It’s a delight.
And perhaps one that would welcome an additional surprise. Tweedy is presumably home for the season until he hits the road again in January. Gezelligheid traditionally involves collaboration — especially with local artists.
So, how about it, Andrew?
Bob Gendron is a freelance critic.
Setlist from the Vic Theatre on Dec. 9:
“Looking Forward to Seeing You”
“Lost Love”
“To Call My Own”
“V”
“Glad and Sorry” (Faces cover)
“All the Same to Me”
“Love and Mercy” (Brian Wilson cover)
“Ill Fated”
“Starman” (David Bowie cover)
“Walk Where He Walked”
“He’s a Dick”
“She Don’t Have to See You (To See Through You)” (Bobby Patterson cover)
“Won’t Be Coming Home”
“I Can’t Keep from Talking”
“Yesterday Cried”
“Pecan Pie”
“Strangers” (Kinks cover)
“Red Headed Stepchild”
“If I Only Had a Car”
Encore
“Radio King”
“Listen Joe”
“Long Time Ago”
“Please Tell My Brother”
“Revolution Blues” (Neil Young cover)
“Do Anything You Wanna Do” (Eddie and the Hot Rods cover)
“Until You Came Along”
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/10/review-golden-smog-vic-theatre/
