So you may know a lot more about Jeff now than you did before Monday's Springfield, MO show; specifically, he does not like stage-crashers. This clip is from that concert where, a few songs into the show, a super-fan exploited the venue's lax security and triumphantly hopped on stage. From what we know, Jeff seems like an affable dude, but he didn't take kindly to the unexpected come-from-behind, fan-to-Tweedy contact. Let it roll to 1:10 to see Jeff's roughhousing retaliation.
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Of course, Tweedy felt like shit about the altercation; you can watch his onstage apology here, where he says:
I feel terrible! I don't like to fucking punch somebody in the face! Why would I? Sucks, man ... Now I feel like going and sitting down somewhere ... but we're not gonna let the bastards win!
Awesome applause line. And then this, from an official response and explanation of the incident, affectionately dubbed "The Springfield Massacre," on Wilco's website:
During the first encore a young man jumped onto the stage and did the requisite salute to his pals. While we certainly do not encourage that kind of behavior, we were prepared to let it go, as he was, it seemed, heading back into the crowd. Just when it appeared he was walking off the stage he turned around and moved towards Tweedy from behind. Jeff did not see him approaching, but felt the guy?s hands on his head. To this, Jeff reacted. As Jeff put it... "I really regret what happened last night. I wish it had gone another way... and i suspect had i felt safer on that stage, had security been doing a better job all night long, well things would have gone differently. He approached me from behind... and I reacted in defense to get him away. I didn't know what his intentions were... and I had to get him off of me. I'm sad that it happened at all."
If this week is teaching us anything, it's that you don't fuck with Wilco, just like you don't fuck with Juan Maclean. Still, the band rolls on, with Wilco playing the 9:30 Club in D.C. tonight. You can listen to the live webcast on NPR, thus reducing the likelihood you'll get punched in the face.
