Wilco Solid Sound Festival

[worldrecordplayer]

Yes, the intrepid taper Brennan had the seat next to me back by the mixing desk pretty much dead-center in the auditorium. The crowd around his mikes were pretty respectful, so I have hopes that the recording came out well. Imagine it might take him some time to get to his other recordings as he put the Tweedy one first.

 

The A.D. set was the best I've seen in the 7 years I've seen them live.

 

That was the first time I'd seen A.D., and I was blown away by how great they sounded (as was my wife and friends who were all seeing them for the first time). Sounds like we caught a good first show!

[mayfly]

i was begging the woman behind the table for one of these posters. but she said there are going to be contests later to give them away.

 

Sunday morning I checked the Solid Sound website and saw a link about a scavenger hunt and I later saw bar code-type things hanging up at various spots around the galleries. I wonder if the posters were prizes for that?

[bjorn_skurj]

Man, this sounded a hell of a lot more awesome than my class reunion.

[Sparky speaks]

Man, this sounded a hell of a lot more awesome than my class reunion.

 

It was. I just cut my wristband off. Only kidding, but a week later I still feel the glow.

[renic]

there isn't much for me to add since everyone has said it all. it was great to see everyone i've met over the years & meet some new folks. i will never forget the group sing a long during someday soon that surprised the surrounding crowd or how our group sang loudly the first verse of via chicago to scare the dude in front of us (the look on his face was PRICELESS!!!). oh, and the saturday night dance party? hells yes!

 

i'm ready to do it again! see you next year for sure.

[H.Stone]

It's hard to believe Solid Sound was a week ago since we just arrived back home after turning it into a 10 day family vacation. As others have already stated clearly, it was a fantastic weekend. I was especially impressed with how polite the folks at Mass MoCA were. Instead of the standard, "Move it, people! Get moving, the show's over!" barks from security, I had Mass MoCA volunteers saying things like, "I'm glad you're having such a nice time. I'd like to encourage you to head to the exit as the grounds are closing now." Ha. How can you help but respond politely to that? Perhaps the only thing better would have been for them to break into "Closing Time" with choreography, a la Glee. Or not. Maybe that should be reserved for singalongs.

 

I also had a great time catching up with old friends, getting to know new friends, and doing a lot of laughing and singing. I do hope it happens again next year, but I don't want to think too much about it as there was a "Let's do this again next year!" theme at the end of the Residency, too. Regardless, Solid Sound '10 was an overwhelming success. If it happens next year, I'm there.

[holyshit]

Cracked & hooked probably said it best, but how wonderful to read so many positive posts. I mean, how often does that happen?

 

Our gratitude is genuine, and I hope the musicians, the museum, and the people of North Adams are heartened by it.

 

I can't add much, except a (very) little haiku...

 

Weathered walls embrace

the giddy celebration---

Wilco are we all.

 

Hugs to Diane, Donna, and Brennan!

[kidsmoke]

Cracked & hooked probably said it best, but how wonderful to read so many positive posts. I mean, how often does that happen?

 

Our gratitude is genuine, and I hope the musicians, the museum, and the people of North Adams are heartened by it.

 

I can't add much, except a (very) little haiku...

 

Weathered walls embrace

the giddy celebration---

Wilco are we all.

 

Hugs to Diane, Donna, and Brennan!

 

Hugs back, darlin'! That's a wonderful haiku, may I use it to begin a haiku thread just for Solid Sound? I think all of us attendees are bursting with words we'd love to spill about the experience, and haiku might be just the right format! Whether good or bad, the luster of our experiences would surely glow through the words.

[Pockets]

You've got good taste, you can't really go wrong with either band, next year we hope to bring our kids, my oldest is 12, he's into Wilco, maybe I'll start sneaking some Radiohead onto his IPod for you.

 

Haha, thanks. It's very cool to see other people my age that are into good bands. Also, kind of how I got into Radiohead, I accidently put their songs on my iPod!

 

Please do post your review. It's so nice to hear the point of view of younger people who are into Wilco, since so many of us came along at earlier points in their career. It would be really interesting if you could tell us a little about what first made you notice them and why you became such a fan. I distinctly remember being completely nuts about certain bands when I was your age, but I was going along more with pop culture expectations. You, on the other hand, seem to have innate good taste!

 

Sounds like you had a great time--I was there in the front row right along with you!

 

Thank you, I will post it very soon, probably on Monday at the latest. I'll have to include a little introduction in the beginning, explaining the long chain of bands I had to listen to to finally end up listening to Wilco.

 

Yay people of the front row! I feel lucky that I got so close, it was certianly worth waiting hours in advance.

[cracked & hooked]

No, words have not failed you. That is such a perfect post. It's as if you reached right into my head and heart and pulled out all the random memories and feelings I've been trying to put together in some cohesive way, to tell my friends what this festival really felt like. You couldn't have captured the feeling of the weekend any better. Or so I thought. And then I saw your pictures and videos.

 

I don't know how to thank you for capturing those gorgeous images and putting them together. Blew me away!

 

Aw, thanks so much. That really means a lot to me. It's so comforting to know that others were affected in the same kind of inexplicable way. My husband keeps asking me "do other people feel the same way?" Yes, honey, there are others like us. We're still so totally blissed out. Maybe somebody really did spike the Kool-Aid...ooooooh yeah.

 

sometimes good times

are stuck inside of you

[kidsmoke]

Aw, thanks so much. That really means a lot to me. It's so comforting to know that others were affected in the same kind of inexplicable way. My husband keeps asking me "do other people feel the same way?" Yes, honey, there are others like us. We're still so totally blissed out. Maybe somebody really did spike the Kool-Aid...ooooooh yeah.

 

sometimes good times

are stuck inside of you

 

I wanted to add my thanks for your lovely photos, cracked & hooked! They brought so much back. God, what a weekend! Brennan & I are still floating. One of these years I may post some of my photos as well, but right now, alas, real life beckons with its ugly little crooked finger..."Do the laundry", it hisses.

[H.Stone]

One other highlight from the fest: The Story Pirates. My kids are still talking about the skits and singing the songs. What a great choice!

[Dude]

Perhaps the only thing better would have been for them to break into "Closing Time" with choreography, a la Glee. Or not. Maybe that should be reserved for singalongs.

 

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's....... end.

[Magnetized]

From a "how did the festival do financially" perspective, here's an encouraging article from the Berkshire Eagle, http://www.berkshire...com/ci_15846411

 

 

Economic impact significant

By Jennifer Huberdeau, New England NewspapersUpdated: 08/21/2010 10:24:14 AM EDT

Saturday August 21, 2010 NORTH ADAMS -- The three-day Wilco Solid Sound Festival pumped about $1 million to $1.5 million into the local economy last weekend, according to early estimates from the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art.

 

"We ran our preliminary numbers through the Center for Creative Community Development's formula for measuring the economic impact of the arts," Joseph Thompson, museum director, said Friday. "C3D's statistical formula, which was based on national averages, says that the average person spends $40 when attending a single event at a museum or performing arts venue. Of the visitors from that weekend, only 10 percent were from our region, with 90 percent from the outside -- traveling, spending the night and eating locally. We know the spent much well over $40 a day."

 

He said the museum estimates that at $40 a day, the local economic impact was about $1 million, but figuring that at least half of the visitors spent at least $80 to $90 a day on lodging and food, the impact shoots up to about $1.5 million. The festival sold "just north of 5,000 tickets," with pre-sale prices of $78 and regular prices of $91 for the three-day event.

 

"That's still a very conservative estimate, knowing that many of these visitors were staying in very nice hotels, driving Volvos and eating out for every meal, which would make the impact significantly higher," Thompson said. "We know that we had 2,000 ticket-holders arrive on Friday; over 5,000 at the museum on Saturday and that 4,000 remained for Sunday's shows.

 

"What interesting to us is the museum draws those types of crowds during busy weekends, but usually over a three to four week period. So, Mass MoCA is churning out an economic impact similar to that weekend on a regular basis, only its far more invisible spread out over several weeks, as opposed to having all those people here over a three-day weekend." He also noted that both the local communities and the state would see a boon from the hotel/motel tax, which was not part of tax-free weekend.

 

"We actually encountered a problem with potential visitors having trouble finding a place to stay," Thompson said. "I know that most of the campgrounds had waiting lists that were 300 to 350 people long and that the hotels were booked. There were a few rooms left at some venues, but those were really expensive rooms around $400 a night."

However, there's still a question if the festival was profitable for its three partners -- the museum, Wilco and Higher Ground, the promotion company out of Burlington, Vt., which was in charge of booking the acts and other festival related details.

 

"It's fair to say that this being the first year, we all had extraordinarily high first time expenses and that we've just squeaked by," he said. "Certainly for Mass MoCA were with hailing distance of breaking even. If we treat many of our first-time expenses as capital improvements and amortize those expense over a period of time, we've kept our head above water. It's very expensive to host these types of events."

 

In preparation for the festival, the museum had to improve fencing along its new field for public safety purposes, build several elaborate ramps for improved accessibility and had its building and grounds crews spend numerous hours grooming the field -- cutting bushes and trees, planting grass and cleaning up junk that had accumulated there since 1962, when it was owned by the Sprague Electric Co.

 

"We also had a lot of other preparatory expenses like the shuttle buses and public safety expenses," Thompson said. "The museum also paid for the overtime and extra shifts for the police and emergency medical technicians. The taxpayers not only paid for nothing, but with out a doubt, the local communities and state made out just fine from an increase in hotel/motel room tax revenues."

 

He added, "I know the band put a lot of time and energy into their installations and gathering their future musicians. The promoter also spent a lot of money advertising with radio campaigns all over the Northeast and had a banner, saying with the message Wilco and North Adams, flying all up and down the Cape."

 

The museum also was able to save money on staffing through a team of some 200 local volunteers.

 

"It takes a lot of people to take care of a lot of people," Thompson said. "If it had not been for the amazingly generous volunteers who helped us out, we would be deeply underwater. I thank them heartily."

 

About the only thing the museum wasn't prepared for last weekend was the large number of baby strollers.

 

"We had stroller gridlock in the galleries," he joked. "We had about 400 wide-body baby strollers. It really was a family event. At one point during the Wilco concert, Jeff Tweedy joked the band could play another song, since the parents didn't have to worry about their baby-sitters."

 

The festival may be seen as profitable by the standards of long-standing summer venues, such as the Gathering of the Vibes or Bonaroo, because the ticket prices were kept low, but the museum director believes it was also successful because of the value.

 

"There are huge benefits for the town, the region and for Mass MoCA too," he said. "We received an avalanche of national publicity because of this festival. We're still doing the final accounting, but we're thinking we'll be within hailing distance because of our ancillary incomes. We receive a small percentage of the vendor sales, sales in our gift shop and from the sales of lemonade-type drinks, soft drinks and beer, which we sold a lot of. We intentionally kept the prices down by festival standards, so that it was not only affordable but people didn't feel like they got soaked when the got here. We didn't want to nickel and dime them, so they'd come back."

 

While Thompson is hesitant to say if there's another Solid Sound Festival in the city's future, he did say call the weekend "a learning experience for the museum."

 

"This was the first rain or shine event we've had," he said. "In the past, we've scheduled all of our venues so they can be brought inside the Hunter Center, which limits us to about 1,200 people. We've learned that concert-goers are willing to buy tickets for rain or shine events. They're willing to be rained on. It definitely opens a new venue for us [in the field] and changes the economics of things for us. We can bring in larger acts and jump from 1,200 tickets to 5,000 or 6,000 tickets."

 

He added, "Wilco's audience is a very special breed of cat. It's crowd was the most polite, engaged and interested crowd you could ask for at an indie-rock festival. When the trash cans got full, they very carefully stacked their cups next to the bin. They're immaculate recyclers. When they left here at night, there was none of this crush of horn honking that usually goes on. They're very respectful and interested in the art.

 

"In the future, we'll need to be cautious about hosting multi-venue festivals that include the galleries being open at the same time. Not every crowd will be like this one, so we'll really have to pick our partners very carefully. We really want to pick partners like Wilco, who will engage in the art and the music. The fantastic beauty about these partnerships, for us, is exposing our art and educational programs to a new audience."

[thejokeexplained]

From a "how did the festival do financially" perspective, here's an encouraging article from the Berkshire Eagle, http://www.berkshire...com/ci_15846411

 

 

Economic impact significant

\

He added, "Wilco's audience is a very special breed of cat. It's crowd was the most polite, engaged and interested crowd you could ask for at an indie-rock festival. When the trash cans got full, they very carefully stacked their cups next to the bin. They're immaculate recyclers. When they left here at night, there was none of this crush of horn honking that usually goes on. They're very respectful and interested in the art.

 

 

 

we also have the nicest emoticons for a board on the web!

 

I feel if i had died or the end of the earth as we know it would have happened last weekend. I would have gone in the perfect environment with the most compassionate people on earth. I love how everyone, including the media. Had the same feelings towards each other at Solid Sound. That is rare in this day and age!

[hazel]

From a "how did the festival do financially" perspective, here's an encouraging article from the Berkshire Eagle, http://www.berkshire...com/ci_15846411

 

 

Economic impact significant

By Jennifer Huberdeau, New England NewspapersUpdated: 08/21/2010 10:24:14 AM EDT

Saturday August 21, 2010 NORTH ADAMS -- The three-day Wilco Solid Sound Festival pumped about $1 million to $1.5 million into the local economy last weekend, according to early estimates from the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art.

 

"We ran our preliminary numbers through the Center for Creative Community Development's formula for measuring the economic impact of the arts," Joseph Thompson, museum director, said Friday. "C3D's statistical formula, which was based on national averages, says that the average person spends $40 when attending a single event at a museum or performing arts venue. Of the visitors from that weekend, only 10 percent were from our region, with 90 percent from the outside -- traveling, spending the night and eating locally. We know the spent much well over $40 a day."

 

He said the museum estimates that at $40 a day, the local economic impact was about $1 million, but figuring that at least half of the visitors spent at least $80 to $90 a day on lodging and food, the impact shoots up to about $1.5 million. The festival sold "just north of 5,000 tickets," with pre-sale prices of $78 and regular prices of $91 for the three-day event.

 

"That's still a very conservative estimate, knowing that many of these visitors were staying in very nice hotels, driving Volvos and eating out for every meal, which would make the impact significantly higher," Thompson said. "We know that we had 2,000 ticket-holders arrive on Friday; over 5,000 at the museum on Saturday and that 4,000 remained for Sunday's shows.

 

"What interesting to us is the museum draws those types of crowds during busy weekends, but usually over a three to four week period. So, Mass MoCA is churning out an economic impact similar to that weekend on a regular basis, only its far more invisible spread out over several weeks, as opposed to having all those people here over a three-day weekend." He also noted that both the local communities and the state would see a boon from the hotel/motel tax, which was not part of tax-free weekend.

 

"We actually encountered a problem with potential visitors having trouble finding a place to stay," Thompson said. "I know that most of the campgrounds had waiting lists that were 300 to 350 people long and that the hotels were booked. There were a few rooms left at some venues, but those were really expensive rooms around $400 a night."

However, there's still a question if the festival was profitable for its three partners -- the museum, Wilco and Higher Ground, the promotion company out of Burlington, Vt., which was in charge of booking the acts and other festival related details.

 

"It's fair to say that this being the first year, we all had extraordinarily high first time expenses and that we've just squeaked by," he said. "Certainly for Mass MoCA were with hailing distance of breaking even. If we treat many of our first-time expenses as capital improvements and amortize those expense over a period of time, we've kept our head above water. It's very expensive to host these types of events."

 

In preparation for the festival, the museum had to improve fencing along its new field for public safety purposes, build several elaborate ramps for improved accessibility and had its building and grounds crews spend numerous hours grooming the field -- cutting bushes and trees, planting grass and cleaning up junk that had accumulated there since 1962, when it was owned by the Sprague Electric Co.

 

"We also had a lot of other preparatory expenses like the shuttle buses and public safety expenses," Thompson said. "The museum also paid for the overtime and extra shifts for the police and emergency medical technicians. The taxpayers not only paid for nothing, but with out a doubt, the local communities and state made out just fine from an increase in hotel/motel room tax revenues."

 

He added, "I know the band put a lot of time and energy into their installations and gathering their future musicians. The promoter also spent a lot of money advertising with radio campaigns all over the Northeast and had a banner, saying with the message Wilco and North Adams, flying all up and down the Cape."

 

The museum also was able to save money on staffing through a team of some 200 local volunteers.

 

"It takes a lot of people to take care of a lot of people," Thompson said. "If it had not been for the amazingly generous volunteers who helped us out, we would be deeply underwater. I thank them heartily."

 

About the only thing the museum wasn't prepared for last weekend was the large number of baby strollers.

 

"We had stroller gridlock in the galleries," he joked. "We had about 400 wide-body baby strollers. It really was a family event. At one point during the Wilco concert, Jeff Tweedy joked the band could play another song, since the parents didn't have to worry about their baby-sitters."

 

The festival may be seen as profitable by the standards of long-standing summer venues, such as the Gathering of the Vibes or Bonaroo, because the ticket prices were kept low, but the museum director believes it was also successful because of the value.

 

"There are huge benefits for the town, the region and for Mass MoCA too," he said. "We received an avalanche of national publicity because of this festival. We're still doing the final accounting, but we're thinking we'll be within hailing distance because of our ancillary incomes. We receive a small percentage of the vendor sales, sales in our gift shop and from the sales of lemonade-type drinks, soft drinks and beer, which we sold a lot of. We intentionally kept the prices down by festival standards, so that it was not only affordable but people didn't feel like they got soaked when the got here. We didn't want to nickel and dime them, so they'd come back."

 

While Thompson is hesitant to say if there's another Solid Sound Festival in the city's future, he did say call the weekend "a learning experience for the museum."

 

"This was the first rain or shine event we've had," he said. "In the past, we've scheduled all of our venues so they can be brought inside the Hunter Center, which limits us to about 1,200 people. We've learned that concert-goers are willing to buy tickets for rain or shine events. They're willing to be rained on. It definitely opens a new venue for us [in the field] and changes the economics of things for us. We can bring in larger acts and jump from 1,200 tickets to 5,000 or 6,000 tickets."

 

He added, "Wilco's audience is a very special breed of cat. It's crowd was the most polite, engaged and interested crowd you could ask for at an indie-rock festival. When the trash cans got full, they very carefully stacked their cups next to the bin. They're immaculate recyclers. When they left here at night, there was none of this crush of horn honking that usually goes on. They're very respectful and interested in the art.

 

"In the future, we'll need to be cautious about hosting multi-venue festivals that include the galleries being open at the same time. Not every crowd will be like this one, so we'll really have to pick our partners very carefully. We really want to pick partners like Wilco, who will engage in the art and the music. The fantastic beauty about these partnerships, for us, is exposing our art and educational programs to a new audience."

 

 

reading this made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside and so proud to be a wilco fan

[kidsmoke]

Wilco rocks. Wilco fans rock! Yay for us! (We'll stack these beer mugs when we're finished)

[bböp]

From a "how did the festival do financially" perspective, here's an encouraging article from the Berkshire Eagle, http://www.berkshire...com/ci_15846411

 

"That's still a very conservative estimate, knowing that many of these visitors were staying in very nice hotels, driving Volvos and eating out for every meal, which would make the impact significantly higher," Thompson said. "We know that we had 2,000 ticket-holders arrive on Friday; over 5,000 at the museum on Saturday and that 4,000 remained for Sunday's shows. ...

 

He added, "Wilco's audience is a very special breed of cat. It's crowd was the most polite, engaged and interested crowd you could ask for at an indie-rock festival. When the trash cans got full, they very carefully stacked their cups next to the bin. They're immaculate recyclers. When they left here at night, there was none of this crush of horn honking that usually goes on. They're very respectful and interested in the art.

 

I don't know about anybody else, but I sure leaned heavily on the horn of my Volvo as I was leaving. I really wanted to get back to my room at the Ritz-Carlton and, er, get my recycling together.

 

 

(Sorry, someone had to say it. )

[Magnetized]

I don't know about anybody else, but I sure leaned heavily on the horn of my Volvo as I was leaving. I really wanted to get back to my room at the Ritz-Carlton and, er, get my recycling together.

 

 

(Sorry, someone had to say it. )

 

I know! We were laughing on the way home about some of the praise for what wonderful citizens we Wilco fans are. I feel mildly insulted! What are we, the most boring old geezers in the world? I think next time we need to be the assholes we know we can be!

 

 

Umm, by the way, I do hope it's clear that I'm joking, right?

Edited August 22, 2010 by Wilco Me

[smells like flowers]

Is anyone else out there having a hard time "letting go" of this experience? I spent all summer looking forward to it, absolutely revelled in the experience during, felt immensely sad when it was over, and haven't stopped hearing Wilco songs in my head during every waking moment since. I'd sort of hoped this would get some of the Wilco out of my system, as I'm a bit obsessive about this band. But, even a week later, there's "something in my veins, bloodier than blood." It's Wilco.

[cracked & hooked]

Is anyone else out there having a hard time "letting go" of this experience?

 

In a word, yes. Every night I dream in Solid Sound motifs and situations, intense dreams, and wake up a little shaken. Even my husband, not prone to my obsessive tendencies, is still walking around in a Solid Sound Stupor (SSS). And while I've had an awesome summer in real life, the past few months at work have been very difficult. However, this past week I found myself practically whistling around the office and the week just flew by with little to no work-related angst. But still, I feel hungry for some follow-up, some closure or something. I keep hoping they'll throw us a bone of some sort - give those beautiful posters away, hold a haiku contest, host support groups, confirm SS2!

 

Is it possible that we were all brainwashed? I mean, my god, I haven't built a shrine like this since my Billy Idol days...

 

[Blue and Green]

My linkHere is a cool piece on the festival. I was quoted about halfway down.

[smells like flowers]

"Is it possible that we were all brainwashed? I mean, my god, I haven't built a shrine like this since my Billy Idol days..."

 

 

I heart your shrine! And since you mentioned Billy Idol, I have to admit feeling a bit like a heartsick teenager about the depth of my feelings for Wilco's music. Self-analysis here: maybe it's safer and easier than navigating the highs and lows of real-life love and loss? Whatever it means, it's nice to know I'm not alone in this haze. And yes, news of a SS2 would be so gratifying right now!

[Pockets]

In a word, yes. Every night I dream in Solid Sound motifs and situations, intense dreams, and wake up a little shaken. Even my husband, not prone to my obsessive tendencies, is still walking around in a Solid Sound Stupor (SSS). And while I've had an awesome summer in real life, the past few months at work have been very difficult. However, this past week I found myself practically whistling around the office and the week just flew by with little to no work-related angst. But still, I feel hungry for some follow-up, some closure or something. I keep hoping they'll throw us a bone of some sort - give those beautiful posters away, hold a haiku contest, host support groups, confirm SS2!

 

Is it possible that we were all brainwashed? I mean, my god, I haven't built a shrine like this since my Billy Idol days...

 

haha, nice shrine you have there!

 

Reminds me of how I have to very carefully cut off my Solid Sound bracelet. :l

[Chinese Apple]

 

Economic impact significant

By Jennifer Huberdeau, New England NewspapersUpdated: 08/21/2010 10:24:14 AM EDT

Saturday August 21, 2010 NORTH ADAMS -- The three-day Wilco Solid Sound Festival pumped about $1 million to $1.5 million into the local economy last weekend, according to early estimates from the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art.

 

Wish Wilconomics would come to my town...