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"Alex Chilton" (which I still think would have been excellent, of course).  

 

 

 

Oh, sorry I was not clear.  It was Sean Rowe, not Mulcahy, and he finished with "1952 Vincent Black Lightning".  

 .  That is a gorgeous bit of guitar work in that song, especially at the end there.  Looking forward to hearing Richard Thompson perform it at Americanarama.

 

I was introduced to early Fleetwood Mac by an old friend and particularly love "Do You Give a Damn For Me".  I will look for Bare Trees!  Thanks for the kind tip.

That Richard Thompson cover by Sean Rowe was incredible. I used to see him 'back in the day' at Gaffney's in Saratoga Springs, NY where I live...

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What are people thinking for attendance? I've been to all three and I'm a bad guesser for crowd sizes... More crowded, yes, but I didn't find it too bad even with two young kids under 6... We took them back to hotel with mother-in-law well before the Wilco sets started but had them with us during day, which was fun! I'm thinking 5,000???

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I think the first year was between 5000-6000. This year, I bet it was 8000 on Saturday. Way too crowded feeling for me. A lot of what is great about this festival wasn't there for me on Sat starting mid afternoon. Sunday was back to normal though.

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Home again, exhausted and Berkshires-mosquito-bitten, but still haven't managed to wipe the enormous grin off my face! I'm so glad I got to see so many old friends, and put faces to several here on the board who I'd only known by their posts. You're all pretty wonderful! :yes

 

Brennan (my son) has Saturday's Wilco set and was hard at work on it every chance he had on Sunday and Monday, even on our flight home. We kept blocking people heading back to the restroom with headphones being passed across the aisle to our friend Julie, so she could hear choice bits. Remember when the train came through, blasting its horn, during "I Might"? It sounds wonderful, and right in the beat of the song! So funny. I know Brennan wants to get his recording up soon, so you shouldn't have long to wait. He got Autumn Defense and Dream Syndicate too, I think, but we haven't even had time to listen to those.

 

Saturday's recording sounded great, from what I heard. Brennan thought it sounded as good as, or even better, than his Friday night recording. Believe! :)

 

I heard someone say there were around 9000 on Saturday, but I have no idea if that's accurate. It did feel crowded on Saturday, although still much better than most festivals.

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It would take a top notch guitarist for sure to cover 1952 Vincent Black Lightning.  I've heard it covered a few times.  Never interestingly.  A top 5 song on my list.

I can't imagine anyone but Richard Thompson playing that song.  Whenever I see him or listen to a show, it's always "does he have to do that song again" and then he does it and my jaw always drops.  Much like Impossible Germany.  I'll have to check this out.

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Saturday's recording sounded great, from what I heard. Brennan thought it sounded as good as, or even better, than his Friday night recording. Believe! :)

 

That is great news, Brennan's Friday recording is excellent!  Can't wait to wrap my ears around Saturday night again at full volume.

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Solid Solid attendance estimates from the North Adams Transcript:

 

"While official totals for the weekend were not available, estimates put the number of fans attending over the three-day event at 7,500 to 8,000.

 

"The numbers are notably up this year," Thompson said. "We had over 7,000 people including vendors, volunteers and security on the field Saturday night [when Neko Case and Wilco played] and we had no capacity issues. There was still room to move and it still felt civilized.""

 

http://www.thetranscript.com/news/ci_23525366/solid-sound-delivers-solid-crowd-solid-activities-all

 

 

Saturday did not feel overcrowded to me. Crowded, yes, but not oversold. There was more than enough roomy breathing space during Wilco's set if one only looked around. I will say, however, that food lines were ridiculously long. 

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Solid Solid attendance estimates from the North Adams Transcript:

 

"While official totals for the weekend were not available, estimates put the number of fans attending over the three-day event at 7,500 to 8,000.

 

"The numbers are notably up this year," Thompson said. "We had over 7,000 people including vendors, volunteers and security on the field Saturday night [when Neko Case and Wilco played] and we had no capacity issues. There was still room to move and it still felt civilized.""

 

 

Well there were some capacity issues. The bathrooms in the basement were shut down Sat due to flooding. The lines were super long at all of the food and drink vendors. It didn't feel good to me on Saturday and I kept hearing the same thing from other people throughout the later part of the day, particularly people who had attended SSF before and were missing the relaxed feeling of previous years. Mass Moca did a fine job, for sure, but the overcrowding took away of bit of the special feel of the festival that day, imo.

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We ate at public eat and drink for lunch on Saturday which was a much more relaxing (and A/C!) time. The food was also really good. We did Have to miss lucious though. How was their set?

 

I'll admit upfront that I'm a big fan - but Lucius was awesome. They really took advantage of the opportunity they were given. On stage with Wilco on Friday, main set on Saturday then perhaps the largest crowd for a "pop up" show I've seen in three years of Solid Sound Fests.

 

 

(My Morning Jacket Cover)

 

(Acoustic Pop Up)

 

(Paul McCartney Cover / Acoustic Pop Up)

 

 

luciusphoenix.jpg

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I'll admit upfront that I'm a big fan - but Lucius was awesome. They really took advantage of the opportunity they were given. On stage with Wilco on Friday, main set on Saturday then perhaps the largest crowd for a "pop up" show I've seen in three years of Solid Sound Fests.

 

 

(My Morning Jacket Cover)

 

(Acoustic Pop Up)

 

(Paul McCartney Cover / Acoustic Pop Up)

 

 

luciusphoenix.jpg

That is a amazing photograph! What kind of lens was that?

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More crowded does not equal overcrowded.

 

This is a festival that bills itself as being the antidote to big, awful festivals. I just think they need to be careful where they tread. A lot of fans were annoyed by Saturday. 

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It was crowded, but not horribly so. The staff and volunteers did a great job of keeping the bathrooms clean and the trash emptied. There also seemed to be a lot more porta-potties, which was especially good for Saturday night when the main bathrooms were flooded. 

 

If the festival continues to grow, they're definitely going to need more food vendors. I missed over half of Neko Case's set waiting in line to get dinner on Saturday. I had planned to eat earlier, but I spent most of Foxygen and Low's sets checking out the galleries. It would also be great if the local grocery stores extend their hours on the weekend of the festival a bit. We wanted to restock on Saturday night, but the Price Chopper closed at midnight. 

 

I also think they should consider having the Wilco side projects play multiple sets on Sunday so everybody can see them. I missed the Blisters and Mikael's set because I was in line to see Nels (and I was probably a dozen people back when I got in line at 11:30). A lot of people didn't get in for that performance and were disappointed, but it wouldn't have worked outside because of how quiet it was. 

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This is a festival that bills itself as being the antidote to big, awful festivals. I just think they need to be careful where they tread. A lot of fans were annoyed by Saturday. 

 

That's exactly it. I've been a huge proponent of SS for that very reason, but this year lost some elements that made it the "festival for people who don't like festivals". I still had a great time, though.

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Guest Jules

This is a festival that bills itself as being the antidote to big, awful festivals.

 

Oh, I didn't notice they actually billed it as such.  Is that true?

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