Solid Sound 2013

[tinnitus photography]

I talked briefly with the singer in Joes Field between Neko and Wilco. Noticea cut on his forehead but had no idea what happened as I was waiting for Low at the other stage.

 

This festival has a LOT more people this year.

[-seven]

Too many more, in my opinion. It's not as enjoyable for me. It got crazy late Sat afternoon and into the night. I'm hoping it returns to a cooler vibe today.

[mariana neri]

How was the midnight dinner yesterday?

[tinnitus photography]

It was alright but being billed as "dinner with the band" was a big stretch. Tweedy went around the enormously long single table and high fived everyone. There was probably 100 ppl or so. At least.

[-seven]

It was alright but being billed as "dinner with the band" was a big stretch. Tweedy went around the enormously long single table and high fived everyone. There was probably 100 ppl or so. At least.

 

Agree. I was told we were 160.

I only saw Nels, John & Jeff. They weren't exactly dining with us. More like stopping in. But I enjoyed it nonetheless and got a pic of my high five w Tweedy. The company was great though.

[themattjones88]

I talked briefly with the singer in Joes Field between Neko and Wilco. Noticea cut on his forehead but had no idea what happened as I was waiting for Low at the other stage.

 

This festival has a LOT more people this year.

 

He was running around up front during Wilco's set on Friday. I didn't know who he was then, he was wearing a paisley shirt wide open and pants that had little pot leaves all over them, thought he was obnoxious during the set, and I guess he was after his set as well. 

[enocaster]

I left early today - too hot and tired and too much to do at home. How was MMW? Who were the special guests?

[paulcalypse]

I left early today - too hot and tired and too much to do at home. How was MMW? Who were the special guests?

Ribot, Hidalgo, and then Nels. Jeff Tweedy sang hate it here with Nels and MMW backing. Then for an encore I believe Nels played with them.

 

Also I want to say it was a pleasure accidentally meeting Tinnitus Photography on the hill. We had a very good chat over the course of the afternoon, and I am looking forward to the pictures.

[rhino4evr]

Left around 6:30 out of pure exhaustion. Nothing really excited me much on Sunday. I think they should do a better job of expanding the acts to Sunday. It was the least crowded of all 3 days, so I kinda get why.

 

And how amazing was the Phoenix exhibit?!

[knotgreen]

Can anyone describe the Radiolab set? I was sad to miss it. I listen to that podcast about as often as I listen to Wilco. 

[enocaster]

Ribot, Hidalgo, and then Nels. Jeff Tweedy sang hate it here with Nels and MMW backing. Then for an encore I believe Nels played with them.

 

Thanks!

 

Left around 6:30 out of pure exhaustion. Nothing really excited me much on Sunday. I think they should do a better job of expanding the acts to Sunday. It was the least crowded of all 3 days, so I kinda get why.

 

And how amazing was the Phoenix exhibit?!

+1 on everything above, today felt like an afterthought. I thought the same thing in '11. It's interesting that they had Levon Helm and MMW respectively close the last 2 SSFs - they both draw a similar (hippie-ish) crowd. While there is surely a ton of crossover with Wilco fans, the vast majority of festivals already serve the "hippy market", if you will. I'd prefer something different. Someone like Beck would be great, but probably too expensive.

 

Also, +1 on the overcrowding. It felt like the secret of this easygoing festival was out! Drastically longer lines, more litter, and more aggro behavior that I witnessed.

[rhino4evr]

Well dispute being over crowded, I thought mass Moca handled things really well

[kwhitehead]

I don't know. This was my first solid sound. Took the family and thought things were pretty great. Didn't feel like it was crowded/oversold in the least. Things ran really smoothly and the MassMoca staff was super great. And I didn't see any of the aggressive behavior that has been alluded to here. On the contrary, it seemed like there was a certain swatch of the crowd was a bit too uptight. I actually got shushed by some old guy during Wilco 's (lackluster) Saturday night set. Who does that? My kids, 8 and 11 had am amazing experience due mainly to the good vibes of the fellow festival goers. They are ready to go back.

 

Highlights of Solid Sound: Dream Syndicate's set, the pulled pork tacos I bought from a street vendor, the crucial placement of the Goodwill on Rte. 8, halfway between the museum and Solid Ground. It was perfect for cooling down with a purpose. There was quite alot of vinyl there to sift through in the air conditioning. Actually found a copy of David Crosby's "If I Could Only Remember My Name" lp for 59 cents! Quite enjoyed Wilco's Friday night set although I wish they didn't seem so stand off-ish towards the fans who were lucky enough to get to the stage. The museum itself was gorgeous and I concur about the Phoenix room. it was stunning. Also liked e Foxygen set. They brought some great energy that I think was lacking in many parts of the festival. And finally, loved the chilled atmosphere at Solid Ground. It was hot but everyone stayed cool.

[sumodie]

MMW & guests crushed the final set today! Best performance I saw all weekend, hands down

 

One of the best sets I've seen from MMW in a while, these guys are masters of live improv, all in just 1h15m. Smallest crowd all weekend at the main stage but we cheered so much we got MMW & Nels to return for an unexpected encore (the PA music had already been turned on)

 

David Hildago, Marc Ribot, and especially Nels all shined tremendously as guests. Tweedy's appearance was sweet, plus we got an 'encore' performance of a train running by the stage during the show

 

Amazing ending to a terrific weekend at Solid Sound, bookended by my fav sets (White Denim being the other)

 

Cannot wait to get an AUD for the MMW set, saw one taper in attendance

 

[sumodie]

Foxygen would be my third pick for fav set, and the lead singer certainly gets the Jim Morrison award! Fantastic performance if very unsustainable in the long run (bummer about their hassles afterwards. Heard one of 'em ended up wasted and tried to punch a state cop. Ouch!)

 

Blogger from Times Union had a good write up about Foxygen's set & after troubles

[tinnitus photography]

white denim was really disappointing to me...*way* too much jam action, which i hadn't really picked up on via the recordings I'd heard.

 

 

Ribot and Hidalgo were excellent today. i love Marc's playing so much, and he was having a lot of fun today.

Can anyone describe the Radiolab set? I was sad to miss it. I listen to that podcast about as often as I listen to Wilco. 

it sucked.

 

first off, the old fart demanded that everyone sit down. what the hell is that all about?

 

then they played recordings of themselves talking, ruining the chance for Glenn and Darin to really cut loose. boring and pointless, sadly.

Ribot, Hidalgo, and then Nels. Jeff Tweedy sang hate it here with Nels and MMW backing. Then for an encore I believe Nels played with them.

Also I want to say it was a pleasure accidentally meeting Tinnitus Photography on the hill. We had a very good chat over the course of the afternoon, and I am looking forward to the pictures.

 

thanks, and likewise! safe travels back home.

[tinnitus photography]

while i'm sitting here waiting for my files to download (yeah, i brought everything i needed except for my card reader...), i gotta do a bit of quick dump of random thoughts on SSFIII

 

- Euclid Records had an awesome selection, and very clean copies too. between my friend and me, we dropped almost $600 today. yowza.

 

- the festival was *way* more crowded than the previous two editions. Wilco's marketing team really nailed it, but there are some growing pains that need to be worked out...some of the food vendors ran out of stuff (rice at Veggie Oasis; samosas at Samosa Man; chicken tikka at the Indian Root place)...Courtyard C (and sometimes D) were always way too jammed and uncomfortable to watch a whole show. the placing of chairs/blankets on the field is a bit annoying too.

- the sound and lights were uniformly awesome. kudos to the production team.

 

- they may need to start having some overlapping performances if they keep attendance at this scale. tons of people missed the Cline/Lage show (including me...even w/ a media pass and telling the woman I'd be in and out in less than five minutes, she let others in line go in the room...i am not begrudging the people who paid $ the chance to see the show over me, but really, i couldn't figure out that logic).

- i didn't notice any problems w/ the restrooms. the porta-potties out near the boiler plant were fine.

- the weather kicked major ass, esp for the night performances. perfect.

- friendly folks all around. i didn't see any aggressive jerks the entire weekend.

 

- much better beer selection! Smuttynose >>>> Magic Hat

- seeing The Loft was really awesome. I can't believe some total jerkwad tried to play one of the hanging guitars. does a security guard really need to tell you not to do that?

- i definitely saw less of the musicians walking around this year, but maybe that was due to the overall larger number of people there.

[Preferred B]

I disagree about the Radiolab set - I really enjoyed it. It was Radiolab with a live score by On Fillmore. It wasn't an On Fillmore show that some guys happened to crash. The story they told was fun, going into detail about one theory on how dinosaurs were wiped out.  Evaporated rock-turned-glass shards raining down all over the globe? Awesome.

[sumodie]

Torrent MMW's set here:

 

http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=564910

 

[Albert Tatlock]

Some sort of interview going on that may surface sometime ...

 

 

Aah the rug ... Always a problem to get it through customs to Europe it seems ...

 

 

 

 

If this is the 'Loft installation' thing, it doesn't quite put across the crowded/chaotic nature of the real place does it

 

[worldrecordplayer]

On the contrary, it seemed like there was a certain swatch of the crowd was a bit too uptight. I actually got shushed by some old guy during Wilco 's (lackluster) Saturday night set. Who does that? My kids, 8 and 11 had am amazing experience due mainly to the good vibes of the fellow festival goers. They are ready to go backl.

"Who does that"? Are you kidding me? I do that, and I in fact did just that on Saturday night when there were 2guys in front of me just chatting away song after song. Who does THAT? I frequently have to ask people to turn down the volume of their conversations during shows. I mean, if you want to chat with your buddy or on date night, go out to the lobby or here to an e Monty courtyard. I am there to hear and be transported by the music, and I really don't want to have to stand there and listen to some ongoing conversation..and whether the set is "lackluster" or not (which it wasn't), doesn't matter, not your call to make to interfere with my listening to the music.

 

So, kwhitehead, to answer your question, I'm The Man Who Does That. What I wish is that fewer "talkers" show up to the next concerts I attend.

[worldrecordplayer]

I agree with all of Tinnitus' random thoughts, except I did see lots of band members strolling around. We parked on the back streets on Saturday and walked to the museum with Ira of YLT, who was just out strolling by himself.

 

One thing I would add is I much preferred the earlier finish time on Sunday of the previous SS's. for those of us who were hours away with jobs and real world to return to, I liked a 4 or 5 finish on Sunday. We were there in 2 cars and I couldn't convince anyone to stay for MMW's closing set, so bummed to have missed that. I did catch all of Ribot and Hidalgo though! They were excellent.

[worldrecordplayer]

white denim was really disappointing to me...*way* too much jam action, which i hadn't really picked up on via the recordings I'd heard.

 

 

Ribot and Hidalgo were excellent today. i love Marc's playing so much, and he was having a lot of fun today..

White Denim's jamming is one of the things that made for a great set I thought. I had heard a lot about their show, and they did not disappoint me.

 

I'd never heard Marc Ribot before (I don't think), so that was great. I was there for Hidalgo, who never disappoints. The Border a music set was a highlight among many in another fantastic Solid Sound weekend.

[worldrecordplayer]

No mention of SS '14 at all over the weekend. Given the amount of effort that goes into it, with no announcement I'm expecting next SS in'15. Hope I'm wrong.

[mooney]

From twitter: Around 830pm saw slew of police outside fest talking to Foxygen lead singer, then someone else left in cop car @robertloerzel: @AndyHannon

 

Anyone else able to confirm what happened: So #foxygen apparently got loaded & brawled saw the tambourine dude escorted out of #solidsound2013 totally wasted couldn't even walk

 

I was next to the foxygen guy getting dragged out through the museum lobby by the frontman and security....he was wasted..ahh, rock and roll. So i tend to believe Tweedy.  I really enjoyed their set - i saw them a few months ago open for Unknown Mortal Orchestra in Boston, before i knew who they were, and was "whoa, these guys are a trip. Who the fuck are they?" 

 

Definitely wakes you up on a sleepy, hot, humid, lazy saturday...

 

i need to think more about my whole experience....missed friday night, so maybe i don't have the complete picture. Really good time though, as expected. The sat night Wilco set - not high on my favs out of the 15 or so times i've seen them. I was sort of finding myself needing to move around, and i even left what was a nice viewing spot in front of soundboard, to go to the back, which isn't like me!. Just couldn't get locked in. Started to feel like, "have i seen them enough now?"....but i know that's not the case.  Sometimes you just don't get moved, or your (or their?) energy isn't sort of quite all there. All the chairs annoy me, until i tell myself to "let it go..."