Via Chicago

Searching for a home with Wilco

Jeff Tweedy isn’t sure why they cheer at the line.

“The wind blew me back, via Chicago, in the middle of the night”—from “Via Chicago”

He’s said as much in interviews, but the hometown crowd always cheers. They also cheered for the following line from “Far, Far Away”:

“I long to hold you in my arms and sway. Kiss & Ride, on the CTA”

No one has ever cheered for the CTA. Unless it’s with a profound level of sarcasm. But there it was on Saturday the 25th, show two of three at the old Riviera Theatre in Uptown. Better known by the cool kids as, “The Riv”, my common review of the venue is usually something along the lines of, “It’s fine”. Predating both the shuttered Uptown Theatre (will it ever be remodled?) and the famed Aragon Ballroom (it of Jazz Era and Al Capone lore), it’s a rock club. There are areas where too many layers of paint have been reapplied. Of course there are the requisite scary downstairs bathrooms. It’s slightly dingy and creepy on the whole, but isn’t that sort of what you want out of a midsize rock venue? It’s good enough.

Back to the line from Via Chicago.

What confounds Tweedy, at least allegedly, is why we clap when it’s “via” a place, and not actually the place. Via means you’re passing through and so by that logic, the song isn’t even really about Chicago.

Personally I interpret it as about Chicago and not about Chicago. The last lines of the song go as follows,

“Searchin’ for a home, searchin’ for a home, searchin’ for a home, via Chicago. I’m coming home”

Tweedy lives in Chicago, though! How can you search for a home, while at home?

If you interpret “home” as not just a place, but a state of being where you feel profound comfort and contentment, one can search literally anywhere, including in one’s physical home.

But even a physical home, especially one as large as a city isn’t one thing to one person. It’s millions of things to millions of people. And if you’re willing to be open to the perspective of others, you can certainly search for what your home is while actually living there.

It’s complicated. The song may not be about either of these things even. Tweedy may have written something so abstract that even he doesn’t know what it actually means, if it means anything at all. I’m not comparing my own abilities to Jeff Tweedy, but often when I write a song, I have no idea what it means. I have little doubt he’s had that experience too.

But I think Jeff Tweedy knows that cities are dynamic. And nowhere is the dynamic, complicated nature of a place and its history more apparent than Uptown. Uptown is Carol’s Pub (honky tonk now solidly in Wilco lore with their October ‘22 surprise shows there), it’s Le Nocturne, it’s Asia on Argyle, it’s the Target on Broadway. It’s seen glamour and glitz and was the center of the film industry for awhile in the early 20th Century. And it’s seen slum lords taking advantage of poor and marginalized communities. It’s seen grassroots political movements arise in response. It’s seen affluent people trying to make the poor disappear. It’s all of these things and none of these things. It’s becoming something always, while unbecoming others. It’s what places do.

But then it’s not always just about being open. The former social studies teacher in me reminds you that searching for your home means participating in the process of making it the place you want it to be. There’s a mayoral election here in Chicago this coming Tuesday and the two candidates, though both democrats, have far different versions of Chicago envisioned. Jeff’s son Spencer sums up the difference between the two Chicago mayoral candidates, Paul Valles and Brandon Johnson very well in his own Substack, so I’ll link it for your consideration—but in short, one believes in tax breaks for corporations and one believes in livable, affordable, and equitable neighborhoods. For the record, Wilco (and I, in case you’re wondering) am firmly in favor of the version of Chicago that Brandon Johnson espouses (spoiler alert: it’s the one that prioritizes the neighborhoods). His campaign had a table at the show, and that should tell you something about Wilco and about their own views on civic participation. I love this band so much.

So on the one hand you have the search for home that is introspective. A feeling. A desire. This search for home is at the root of great art. And sometimes we find moments of home in the concerts we attend. I know reuniting with my Wilco friends always feels like a bit of a homecoming. And sometimes a lyric catches me in the moment at a Wilco show that makes me smile or tear up and everything feels RIGHT. That’s home. Contentment and happiness.

But on the other hand home is shaped by our collective aspirations, attitudes, and actions. Jeff Tweedy doesn’t write overtly political songs, but listen close enough, you get what he’s about. Read enough about him and his family and you know what they are about. Elections determine a lot, including a lot that sets the course for musicians, independent venues, and music fans alike. And of course who and what we wish to prioritize in our home. I’m not going to tell you what to prioritize, or if you should vote or not. I’m a progressive and former social studies teacher who believes in things like civic participation and empowering people over corporate interests, but you may think completely differently. But the search matters. Complicated as it is, home is home and it’s worth fighting for the version of home you wish to arrive at.

For all of us at the show Saturday night, and for those voting in the April 4th election, that search was and is via Chicago. Maybe that’s why the version of “Via Chicago” they played that night felt that much more energized and electric.

Here are some other tidbits related to the 3/25 show:

• Horsegirl, the opener, is a great up and coming young band from Chicago that made some fantastic noise to start the evening! Their mix seemed a little muddy, so it’s a shame the vocals weren’t a little clearer, but even so, there’s a richness and pleasing familiar, yet new sounding indie vibe to them. It’s better if you just listen than try to decode my vague, largely unsuccessful attempts to use language to describe them

• Lots of early stuff featured at the show. It was largely a high energy set that featured gems like “War on War”, “Can’t Stand It”, “Outtasite (Outtamind)” and “I’m a Wheel”

• “Hints”, “All Across the World”, “Falling Apart (Right Now)”…a personal favorite, and the soaring coda from the song “Many Worlds” were all representatives from the latest Wilco masterpiece (I said it!), Cruel Country.

• SNL alum Chris Kattan was in the audience and proposed to his girlfriend, who is an Illinois native, and whose favorite band is Wilco. The band followed the proposal (she said yes, just so you know) with “I’m the Man Who Loves You”. Probably the best choice for the moment. “Hate It Here” would have been appropriate if she said no, but luckily all was good! I ran into Chris after the show and awkwardly congratulated him. He sort of half smiled. I think we’re now friends?

• “Random Name Generator” is an underrated gem of the Wilco catalog and is one that everyone was singing and dancing to. Great moment!

• “Bull Black Nova” and the aforementioned “Via Chicago” are great on their respective albums, but absolutely mind-blowing live! These are ensemble efforts and there’s so much artistry and energy flying off the stage every show I’ve seen them play these songs, but they seemed even more locked in than usual somehow.