Though most of the tracks were originals, the Fellows made an unremarkable pass at R.E.M.'s rocker "Circus Envy" on the LP. Considered a minor release by both fans and critics, A Tribute To Music left many wondering if McCaughey was saving his best tunes for his other band. "There's a tossed-off feeling to the record," Bart Bealmear wrote for AllMusic. "[Most of the songs] are missing the group's unique mix of humor, energy, spirit, and melody." In Rock On January 9, 2000 The Minus 5 played a secret show at Lounge Ax in Chicago, opening for Wilco (billed as "Summer Teeth") for 300 lucky fans. This was a farewell gig as the beloved Lincoln Park venue would shut its doors just one week later. For this gig the Minus 5 was just McCaughey fronting Wilco, with frontman Jeff Tweedy playing bass. The group raced through a handful of brand-new, unrehearsed songs alongside covers of influences as diverse as Mott The Hoople, Johnny Cash and Neutral Milk Hotel. A few weeks later (January 20) a more conventional Minus 5 lineup (McCaughey, Buck, Ramberg, Chris Ballew and R.E.M. session drummer Bill Rieflin) premiered eight of these new songs at the Crocodile Cafe back in Seattle. John Wesley Harding and Kurt Bloch sat in on a few numbers. On March 13, 2000, McCaughey assembled a skeleton crew of himself, Buck, Ramberg and R.E.M. session drummer Bill Rieflin at Jupiter Studios in Seattle and recorded ten of his latest compositions in one day. The session included spirited takes on the Nightcrawlers' power-pop anthem "The Little Black Egg", an ode to the demise of the Lounge Ax ("The Night Chicago Died (The Death of The Minus 5)") and even a tribute to Dr. Evil, the villain in the Austin Powers film series. On April 25, 2000, The Minus 5 played another Croc show with a lineup of McCaughey, Buck, Stringfellow, Ramberg and Barrett Martin. John Wesley Harding, Sean Nelson and The Long Winters' John Roderick sat in on the set, which included Bee Gees, Wings and Rolling Stones covers. The Minus 5 returned to the Croc on June 8 with McCaughey, Buck, Ramberg, Rieflin and John Wesley Harding playing a set which included some improvised one-off songs, Faces and Paul McCartney covers. Despite a rigorous recording schedule for R.E.M. with sessions in Georgia and Dublin, Ireland, Buck was nonetheless available for Minus 5 gigs on