One of the first shows your humble blogger emceed at the Narrows was a performance by Jay Bennett and Edward Burch, who were promoting their new CD "The Palace at 4 a.m. (Part I)." This was back in 2002, if memory serves.Jay Bennett, in the photo, had been recently fired from media darlings Wilco, the most famous band you may never have heard of. I certainly hadn't at the time.
I remember Bennett and Burch huddling in the Narrows office to see something on the Internet about a movie that had just come out about Wilco.
Over the weekend, your humble blogger finally saw the film, which is called "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart." It chronicles the band's recording of what was hailed as a classic after its release, "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot." The movie also portrays the split between Jeff Tweedy, the band's lead guy, and Jay Bennett, often Tweedy's co-writer, and Wilco keyboardest, guitarist and--from what I saw in the movie--consulting engineer. He also was interesting--Tweedy and his cohorts struck this writer as boring and distant.
Almost from the beginning, the chain-smoking Bennett and the sullen Tweedy engaged in a low level battle--with Bennett repeatedly explaining a recording issue and Tweedy responding with mumbles and a blank look. After one argument, Tweedy goes into the bathroom and vomits, saying he often regurgitates due to migraine headaches.
About halfway through the film, Bennett gets the boot (it's Tweedy's band), to his apparent disbelief, though he says leaving Wilco had been in the back of his mind. The film notes that Bennett would have to start over, playing small venues--which is why he was at the Narrows talking to your humble blogger and staring at a computer screen for info about the movie.
The film continues with the band's dispute with Reprise records, which didn't want to release "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot." After shopping the recording to several companies, the album was released through Nonesuch.
I found the movie as bland as I find Wilco's music. Somebody--critics particularly--thinks Jeff Tweedy and Wilco are phenoms. They hear something I don't.
Jay Bennett is another matter. "The Palace at 4 a.m. (Part I)," released in 2002, is an exciting record that--for you Wilco fans--features two Bennett/Tweedy songs: "Shakin' Sugar" and "Venus Stopped the Train."
His first stop at the Narrows with Edward Burch was magical; however, a follow up visit was a disgrace, as Bennett and Burch seemed too inebriated to perform. If memory serves, your humble blogger left the show early as he was bored to tears--and insulted--as Bennett and Burch noodled around the stage, emitting yelps of drunken joy. Yuck.
Apparently, Bennett went on a self-imposed hiatus not long after.
Since then, Bennett has reportedly dropped a lot of weight (in "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart" he looks like a heart attack waiting to happen; and I remember seeing him remove his t-shirt in the Narrows' office, revealing a sizeable beer belly), and has recorded several CDs.
And there are rumbles he may return to the Narrows. If he does, don't miss him. He's an excellent musician, singer and songwriter.
To learn more about Bennett and Wilco, check out these resources:
www.jay-bennett.com
www.bennett-burch.com
www.uncletupelo.com
www.wilcoworld.net
www.imdb.com/title/tt0327920/
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