Wilco The Band plays for Obama the Candidate in Madison the City

(Guest post from Jeff Bentoff, Milwaukeean about town, recovered newsman, consultant, flack, sometimes musician, music aficionado and Wilco enthusiast.  For today, we'll just call him Jeff the Blogger.)

Jeff Tweedy, leader of the revered rock band Wilco, and two colleagues from the group, kicked off a vote-early drive Saturday aimed at getting UW-Madison students to the polls before Election Day.

Playing a free, nine-song set at the UW Memorial Union Theater in Madison Saturday afternoon, the mini, mainly acoustic version of Wilco turned in a riveting performance under a large “Obama-Biden” banner, wowing the capacity, mostly student audience of about 1,300.

Following the “Concert for Change,” attendees were planning to march to Madison’s City County Building, to encourage early balloting there. Speaking to the crowd, U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold and U. S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin emphasized the importance of getting out the vote for Barack Obama. They noted that while Democrats John Kerry and Al Gore carried the state in recent presidential elections, they did so by very small percentages.

Thanks to the writing and singing of Tweedy and the equally strong musicianship of his band colleagues, Wilco (Wilco World link) has amassed a loyal, almost cult-like following. (Note: this writer is a member of said alleged cult.) Tweedy, who grew up in southern Illinois and now lives in Chicago, has long been an Obama supporter.

In an amusing interview Thursday on The Colbert Report, Tweedy said he first met Obama in 2005 when the future presidential candidate introduced the band at a Farm Aid concert. Obama has said he’s a fan of the band, telling a crowd at a benefit concert in Chicago this summer, "I love Wilco."

Wilco debuted a new song on the Colbert show whose title, “Wilco The Song,” plays off the nickname of McCain supporter “Joe The Plumber.”

Colbert teased Tweedy for offering a free download of a song online, asking if he’s a socialist. “No, we’re just really, really lousy capitalists,” Tweedy replied.

The free Wilco download is available here to anyone who pledges to vote. The free song, Bob Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released,” features Wilco and indie rock sensation Fleet Foxes.

Saturday’s set featured three of the six band members: Tweedy on acoustic guitar, John Stiratt on electric bass and Pat Sansone on electric keys and acoustic guitar. Their voices blended perfectly during the show, which featured classic Wilco songs. Two of the tunes were based on unpublished Woody Guthrie lyrics that Tweedy has put to music, including the stunning “California Stars.” Introducing another of the Guthrie-Tweedy songs, “Christ for President,” Tweedy said the words were written before “Christian ideals were appropriated by right-wing politics.”

Tweedy said that he tried to pick songs to play Saturday that would fit the themes of the rally but suggested that wasn’t too easy – his songs are beautiful but more a reflection of troubled times than of optimistic ones.

“We don’t have very many songs that are appropriate for hope-filled auditoriums,” Tweedy said. “There’s a hope gap.”

The setlist:

 What Light

 Christ For President

 Passenger Side

 Jesus, Etc.

 The Late Greats

 California Stars

 I Shall Be Released

 Wilco The Song

 I’m The Man Who Loves You