This weekend's two Golden Smog shows at the Fine Line (Friday and Saturday) seemed to arrive completely out of the blue when they were announced two months ago, and we finally got an explanation for what brought them on from co-founder Dan Murphy: "I saw Kraig [Johnson] in New York recently," the Soul Asylum guitarist said. "We started playing a few Smog songs as the evening digressed, and it made me realize how much I missed the easy camaraderie."
It hasn't been easy getting the all-star band together since its Run Westy Run alum moved to New York. Smog co-founders Gary Louris and Marc Perlman are getting ready for a full tour behind the new Jayhawks albums. Soul Asylum has dates lined up all over the map this summer (including South America). The local gang did manage to recruit back Jody Stephens of Big Star in the Smog rotating drummer slot, but they won't have Jeff Tweedy. Wilco's busybody frontman played their last gig in 2008, a pre-election rally at Target Center for his fellow Chicagoan Barack Obama. "The then-presidential hopeful referred to the band as 'Jeff Tweedy and the Golden Smog,' " Murphy laughingly recalled. "That will live long in Smog-dom."
Look for a pretty different set list between the two nights and (as always) a few surprises. They also have a pair of excellent openers, with Gospel Gossip on Friday and Red Pens on Saturday (9 p.m. both nights, $25).
