Wilco Solid Sound Festival

[JonDick]

Sorry to burst everyone's bubble, but I was not the least bit impressed with the first night of this festival.

 

First off...the Hunter Auditorium is quoted as being a "10,000-square-foot black box theater with a clear-span 30-foot ceiling, which can accommodate up to 850 seats."

 

Sure struck me as being WAY to small. Did they only expect 850 people for tonight? Pronto and The Books set were both uncomfortably crowded.

 

Secondly...this venue isn't really conducive to being a non-camping festival. This is a festival put on by wealthy white people for wealthy white people who want to peruse an art gallery between sets then go back to their hotel rooms.

 

A small investment in some proper signage would have been helpful inside of and outside of the venue.

 

I will say that the staff is very well trained at spitting out the company line regarding "This is the first time holding a festival at this venue and we apologize for any inconvenience." One of them was nice enough to tell me Wilco was going to play there in the fall. I hope not.

[willywoody]

While the Hunter was too small, I thought night 1 was good.

[paulcalypse]

Well JonDick you didn't really burst my bubble.

 

Both shows in the auditorium were pretty full, but I had no problem getting a good seat by arriving 20 minutes early to each. There were 850 seats but lots of standing room too. Halfway through the Books set people started leaving, so I think there was some pretty good room. I do agree though, it felt a bit small. Bright side is that there won't be any more music shows in there according to the schedule.

 

Not sure what a non-camping festival is...I think a ton of people are camping at this festival as well as all the local hotels/motels being booked up.

 

I agree that signage was a bit lacking. If I was lost, I'd ask someone with a staff shirt on, because those people have been everywhere I look. I also think they need more drinking fountains. The only one I saw was by the bathrooms.

 

I'm having a good time so far and I'm stoked for Wilco tonight.

[senor rightious]

I also must disagree with Jondick while the Hunter Center was a little small it was no more crowded than alot of venues we have been to. We watched most of both Pronto and the Books sets from the floor in front of the stage. We thought the place was pretty cool quite different then other festivals. We are white but certainly not wealthy and yes after the show we went back to our hotel room, we do not enjoy camping and would not attend if we had to camp. We will go watch the bands today and will check out some art between sets and yes return to our Hotel Room at the end of the night all the while enjoying Mass Moca and all it has to offer

 

Also there were volunteers everywhere that were very happy to tell us where to go

[allgodsmoney]

Yeah...

I've been in this town less than 24 hours and have already fallen in love with it. The people working the fest are extremely nice. When they were kicking us out, instead of just yelling and pushing, this woman walked up to the group I was with and said "May I please encourage you to move to the exit?"

Nice.

The evening was wonderful. The facility was beautifuly decorated and lighted, and I had never seen Pronto live before (the far exceeded my expectations). I had a great time and plan on an even better one today.

By the way, anyone want to get together to play a little guitar while we are here? I have a guitar along (920)627 3748 Text the ole boy.

[billydee]

Sorry to burst everyone's bubble, but I was not the least bit impressed with the first night of this festival.

 

First off...the Hunter Auditorium is quoted as being a "10,000-square-foot black box theater with a clear-span 30-foot ceiling, which can accommodate up to 850 seats."

 

Sure struck me as being WAY to small. Did they only expect 850 people for tonight? Pronto and The Books set were both uncomfortably crowded.

 

Secondly...this venue isn't really conducive to being a non-camping festival. This is a festival put on by wealthy white people for wealthy white people who want to peruse an art gallery between sets then go back to their hotel rooms.

 

A small investment in some proper signage would have been helpful inside of and outside of the venue.

 

I will say that the staff is very well trained at spitting out the company line regarding "This is the first time holding a festival at this venue and we apologize for any inconvenience." One of them was nice enough to tell me Wilco was going to play there in the fall. I hope not.

 

I agree with much of this and worry about how todays's crowds just might overwhelm the entire site. I hope I'm wrong but I envision terrible "pinchpoints' at certain times getting to certain places. Especially at the entrance and leaving to get to the courtyards from the museum store area.

 

I also imagine it'll be pretty damn hot inside Hunter for the rest of the weekend because it sure was hot in there on the floor during the Books set.

 

I liked the Books and have a nickname for them now, with no disrespect intended. Sons of Laurie...................Anderson that is.

 

The staff were all very nice but some not yet aware themselves where certain exhibits or stages were.

 

We ran into Pat briefly and got to say hi.

[paulcalypse]

I'm not really worried about the Hunter Center, because unlike yesterday, there are multiple acts happening at the same time, thus I think the crowd can be split...not just in one place.

 

I think bottleneck could turn into a big problem. That space inside the store was incredibly packed. And seriously, only two or three doorways leading to outside? PLUS people were lingering just outside those doors, making traveling difficult. I plan on getting outside and hanging around outside for most of the day because of this.

 

The merch tents were cool. Picked up a near mint copy of Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde 2LP yesterday. The T-shirt tent was well stocked. If you spend over $10 or $20 (not hard to do, haha) you get this free Numero Group compilation that Wilco compiled. Its really good, mostly soul stuff and some folky music; I've been spinning it this morning.

[senor rightious]

Secondly...this venue isn't really conducive to being a non-camping festival. This is a festival put on by wealthy white people for wealthy white people who want to peruse an art gallery between sets then go back to their hotel rooms

 

 

 

I keep going back to this statement in my head. Isn't this festival put on by Wilco? I would not really classify Wilco as wealthy white people, although they are white and may be wealthy(I guess it depends on your definition of wealthy).I also do not see this venue as being conducive to camping it is in a downtown area. Do you mean that the venue is not conducive to camping? I thank Wilco for putting this together and will have a great time even if I have to wait in line a little or deal with some people who for the most part I have found to be very cool.

 

I also am happy with the pricing on food and drink, $5 for a cold Magic Hat is good for me.

 

did anyone else see duck a Wilco member tank? 3 for $10 open today and tommorow

[Brennan]

Pronto from last night here:

 

http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=537780

[billydee]

Pronto from last night here:

 

http://bt.etree.org/...s.php?id=537780

 

Hey, thanks for doing this and getting it up. Look forward to hearing the whole set at some point.

I hope somebody records Sir Richard Bishop.....

[Brennan]

I'm recording at as we speak.

 

Torrent is working now, had to restart.

[roadhse ma]

Chiming in from SSF

Ist off great sense of community from the police officers to the staff of volunteers (wrk a shift get a free tkt)

 

To of course the Wilco fans it is really a cool spot yes itv is a little tight but we Move to the Big stage tonite under Mass Stars

As an aside we are staying 30 mins north in VT in a 17 room motel (reccd from here)

12/17. Rooms are filled w/ Wilco Fans!

Have a good show folks!

[u2roolz]

Some sad/bad news from Wilco's tweet: Someone apparently has deliberately destroyed one of Glenn Kotche's snares at Solid Sound. Anyone have pics?

 

Not sure how this could have happened? Security next to them at all?

 

Wishing I was there....

[Analogman]

Tweedy in dunk tank

 

It's like the county fair.

[u2roolz]

Hey VCers,

 

Here are a few sites to keep checking out this weekend to keep up with the action.

 

1. A collection of all Tweeted pictures in real time. Right now you can take a look at Joe's Field (most recent pic - "waiting for Mavis Staples") which is massive and filled to the brim with people. Solid Sound Festival Twitter Pictures

 

2. A collection of all Tweets in real time with the keyword #Solid Sound (you can change it Wilco if you want, but most people are using the # sign for a reason).

Solid Sound Festival Tweets

 

Obviously, there may be a few folks who will be tweeting the setlist as it happens ( )and link 2 is probably the best place to click through when it gets closer to show time.

 

Have Fun Everyone

 

Edit: Another great link. Different photos too.

State Of Mind Music blog Solid Sound Festival Pictures Day 2

[blackwilco]

Mavis Staples was the highlight of the festival so far.

[willywoody]

Fun day till we got lost trying to drive back to the hotel. Made it back on an alternate route. Downtown at night leaving south was sure difficult.

[Brennan]

Anyone else at On Filmore's set that saw Glenn accidentally cream that woman?

[Shakespeare In The Alley]

I'll believe it. The On Fillmore show I saw in July had a bunch of near misses when Glenn was swinging shit around.

 

The only person that got hit was Darin though. And he was hit by the row of chairs he fell on while climbing through the crowd.

[H.Stone]

This has been a GREAT festival. Aside from the woman at the Holiday Inn bar tonight, people have been nothing but completely awesome. Well, and the guy who almost peed in our elevator, but otherwise great people all around.

[worldrecordplayer]

Waking up Sunday morning after what was a FANTASTIC day at Solid Sound. So much fun, and a great vibe all around all day and night long. Hats off to everyone involved in running this festival-everything worked out great. And capped off by a great 2 1/2 hour Wilco set under the clear skies of the Berkshires. Really, couldn't have had a better day. Thank you Wilco and MassMoCA.

[Chinese Apple]

 

This is a festival put on by wealthy white people for wealthy white people who want to peruse an art gallery between sets then go back to their hotel rooms.

 

 

JD- as a non-white person with working class roots, I agree with you on the general race and class demographic of the fans who were able to attend.

 

I agree with this observation in a non judgmental way though. I like Wilco for my own reasons but I find this fan subculture, and indeed the type of crowd who summer in the Berkshires, interesting the same way others might find my culture exotic. (I love that book "Stuff White People Like.")

 

I have to say, while on the issue of race at the festival, that there were some (white) boys in their late teen standing near me about 10 rows back, center, who were shouting obnoxious, disrespectful and borderline racist remarks when Mavis Staples was on, and I really wanted to deck them.

 

There was no affordable housing for us at this festival, but really the food and drinks were very reasonably priced and delicious. We could only go for the day yesterday, but had a great time. Putting my pennies in a jar for next year! It was well worth it.

[worldrecordplayer]

can someone point me to the setlist???

[senor rightious]

Look in after the show the setlist is there. Yesterday was really a perfect day. Great weather, $5 Magic Hats, Great Music and then Wilco once again showed me why they are the best Band in America today. Thanks guys. Also enjoyed Nels describing his Stompbox Station and fielding questions from the crowd. Oh and how could I forget Jeff in a nudie getting dunked too funny

[RubenRemus]

can someone point me to the setlist???

 

1. Wilco (the Song)

2. Ashes of American Flags

3. Bull Black Nova

4. You Are My Face

5. Hell is Chrome

6. I Am Trying to Break Your Heart

7. One Wing

8. A Shot in the Arm

9. Deeper Down

10. Handshake Drugs

11. Impossible Germany

12. Someday, Some Morning, Sometime

13. Not For the Season (aka Laminated Cat)

14. Cars Can't Escape

15. Wishful Thinking

16. I'll Fight

17. I Must Be High

18. Nothing'severgonnastandinmyway (Again)

19. Jesus, etc.

20. You Never Know

21. A Magazine Called Sunset

22. Hate It Here

23. Theologians

24. I'm the Man Who Loves You

25. Hummingbird

26. On and On and On

Encore

27. California Stars

28. Walken

29. Heavy Metal Drummer

30. Hoodoo Voodoo