Wilco — 8/15/15, Sandpoint, ID (Memorial Field) [The Festival at Sandpoint]

[bböp]

We saw a T-shirt for sale in a local pub where we went for lunch that proclaimed, "Stay classy, Sandpoint," in an homage to the movie Anchorman. Well, after Wilco's first show there, I don't know if I can say that Sandpoint totally lived up to the spirit of Ron Burgundy.

 

It was kind of a weird day all around. To put it politely, the Festival at Sandpoint has its own way of doing things and has seemingly been doing things that way for a long time (this year was the 33rd annual). It's a diverse concert series (everything from Vince Gill to Ziggy Marley to the Spokane Symphony Orchestra) held over a 10-day period on a field that, I think, normally serves as the home of the local high school football team. When you buy tickets for one of the concerts, you also get a detailed set of instructions outlining the procedure by which 300 numbers are handed out to people who line up early in the morning and then come back shortly before the gates open. The people with these numbers are then admitted first, in numerical order, so they can go and put down blankets and chairs and mark their spots. (Don't get me started about the young kids who are apparently allowed to get low numbers and then openly walk around trying to sell them to people; apparently there's a sliding scale — we heard that No. 1 might go for around $100, while we saw someone buy No. 12 for about $40).

 

Anyway, my colleagues and I got to the morning line about 75 minutes before numbers were supposed to be distributed and got numbers 103-105. That was fine with us, and we actually managed to get a nice spot at the front at far stage left. Once Wilco took the stage, though, it quickly became apparent that nobody in the front section had any intention of standing up (or even really paying attention to the show) and any attempt to do so would be met with intolerance and/or hostility. Hence the people who threw strawberries at my friend who attempted to stand on a couple of occasions. Stay classy, indeed.

 

I have so much more I could say, but basically the FaS has the feel of a small-town event (have you ever been to a concert where they present colors and sing the national anthem at the outset?) where everybody knows everybody and things typically go a certain way. Whether Wilco's music simply wasn't as well received or the audience just treats every act as glorified background music while they eat, drink and socialize, I don't know. But that's essentially what happened to the band tonight.

 

Jeff was very polite, calling the area "the nicest place I've ever been," but even he couldn't completely ignore the indifference of much of the crowd. "I think this the first time a lot of you have heard of us," he said after Hummingbird. When someone protested, Jeff replied, "No, I'd bet money on it. ... That's OK. We're here to entertain you; we're here to serve. You look comfortable, I'll tell you that."

 

That was mostly it for Banter Corner, which was a bit of a shame because I was wondering what Jeff might have had to say to the couple of stoned-looking young guys who were (not kidding) laying flat on their backs front row center for at least part of the show.

 

Then again, we probably shouldn't have really been surprised at the mediocre reception the band received given that this is seemingly an event where most people just come out with their chairs and coolers no matter who the featured performer is. At least the band's audible to a more rocking encore might have caused a few folks to become more engaged with the music.

 

Here was the complete setlist as played (At Least That's What You Said was on the printed list in the main set but got cut, and the planned encores of electric Spiders, followed by a four-song presumptive hootenanny set of Shot+New Madrid+Cali Stars+Misunderstood were scrapped in favor of the rock ending):

 

More...

Random Name Generator

The Joke Explained

You Satellite

Taste The Ceiling

Pickled Ginger

Where Do I Begin

Cold Slope>

King Of You

Magnetized

Handshake Drugs

I Am Trying To Break Your Heart>

Art Of Almost

Hummingbird

Secret Of The Sea

Heavy Metal Drummer>

I'm The Man Who Loves You

Dawned On Me

Via Chicago

Jesus, etc.

Born Alone

Box Full Of Letters

Impossible Germany

Theologians

The Late Greats

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Red-Eyed and Blue>

I Got You (At The End of the Century)>

Outtasite (Outta Mind)

[Magnetized]

Well, that certainly sounds. . . interesting. Your report sent me off to Google to see if any local media had anything to say yet, and I read some enthusiastic coverage of the lawnmower races happening downtown. Maybe they were just tuckered out after all that excitement.

[smells like flowers]

I'm glad to see the return of the rock encore, even if it's mixed in sporadically with the hootenanny-style encore. I think the acoustic stuff works best in indoor venues where you can hear and appreciate it to its fullest. Personally, I like to leave a Wilco show feeling "rode hard and put away wet." Bring the rock!

[The Inside of Outside]

That seating procedure is a solid attempt at replacing the vagaries of general admission seating with a number system that sets up a secondary market. Ah, capitalism!

[mondrarytomic]

Terrible setup for a show unless you were going to do an all-acoustic set like at Solid Sound. I didn't arrive in town until about 3 pm after the drive from Missoula so getting a "number" was out of the question.

 

I tried to find a place to stand and watch. The "dancing areas" provided a great view of the tent and equipment so that was out of the question. I eventually ended up in the middle towards the back near the handicap area. Unfortunately this was like every other spot there, full of incessant talkers.

 

At least being near the front makes it loud enough to drown out most of the chatter but being towards the back didn't help. Finally about halfway through the set things loosened up and some folks started to stand in the aisle. I moved up and got pretty close for the last 10 songs or so.

 

Not surprised at the lack of an acoustic encore, that was probably the right way to end the show. All in all, a little disappointing but I think the venue had everything to do with that. Hopefully tonight will be a little better.

[bböp]

Terrible setup for a show unless you were going to do an all-acoustic set like at Solid Sound. I didn't arrive in town until about 3 pm after the drive from Missoula so getting a "number" was out of the question.

 

I tried to find a place to stand and watch. The "dancing areas" provided a great view of the tent and equipment so that was out of the question. I eventually ended up in the middle towards the back near the handicap area. Unfortunately this was like every other spot there, full of incessant talkers.

Glad you mentioned the "dancing areas," which were pretty pointless unless you just wanted to sort of twirl around in your own world and basically not even see the band. I'm sure that FaS folks would point to those areas as places to go if you wanted to stand during the show (and rationale of why standing is frowned upon in front of the stage) but it's not really realistic if you're a fan of an act and want to be engaged with it at all.

 

Yeah, I think what made things so disappointing for me was the mostly insipid and disengaged crowd. Not saying you have to be the biggest Wilco fan, but at least be respectful and listen and try to show some interest instead of just socializing. Apparently they modified the setup a bit for the Ziggy Marley concert earlier in the series, opening up more of a general admission standing area in front of the stage and I think that might have helped significantly in the case of the Wilco show.

 

It's too bad, too, because the site is quite pretty, sitting in a park right on the shores of Lake Pend Oreille. (I think some of the band and/or crew went on a boat ride earlier in the day.) And the festival itself seems reasonably well run — except for the scalper kids — and had a surprisingly good variety of local food options (huckleberry ice cream, ftw!) and reasonable drink prices, etc.

[nalafej]

I think (hope) that this will go down as the most unfortunate setup for a Wilco show I see. I had a feeling it would look something like it did given ticket buying process and then walking in the gates. Fortunately, I waited until show time to arrive and had an awesome day in the surrounding area + Coeur D'Alene which true to Jeff's words, were beautiful.

 

The band walked into this situation. I would guess there 150 Wilco fans in attendance. The other 2000 people were there to fest it up. Vetiver went over well tonight.

 

Wilco took the stage and alienated most with Star Wars and then after that, Jeff started sweet talking the crowd and people slowly, and I mean slowly, got into it. I was finally allowed to stand around the time they played heavy metal drummer. By the end, the portion of the crowd that was willing to give it a shot was having a great time. I saw the most old people danicnjng to wilco that I've ever seen and it brought a smile to my face.

[Albert Tatlock]

Nice reportage. Ta.

[Doug C]

Sandpoint such a beautiful place, especially the lake. I had a nice time there a few years back. Too bad it was so weird for the show.

[Sandy in SFCA]

It must've been a demoralizing experience to perform for this kind of audience...and to be a member of this kind of audience. It must've been difficult for the band and the fans to keep their heads in the game in this setting.

[tinnitus photography]

Well, that certainly sounds. . . interesting. Your report sent me off to Google to see if any local media had anything to say yet, and I read some enthusiastic coverage of the lawnmower races happening downtown. Maybe they were just tuckered out after all that excitement.

[Magnetized]

It must've been a demoralizing experience to perform for this kind of audience...and to be a member of this kind of audience. It must've been difficult for the band and the fans to keep their heads in the game in this setting.

Absolutely. They must be professional and road tested enough to take an occasional show like this in stride, but it's too bad for the band and the audience, especially for people who rarely get to see them.

[Normal American]

The whole summer season is challenging!  After two outdoor shows (Edgefield & Marymoor) this year, I think I'll save my money and travel to a couple of indoor shows in the future.  After hearing some tapes of shows in and around Chicago, I think I'd rather go to a concert with a saavy crowd who appreciates every moment and makes sure the band knows it!

[smells like flowers]

The whole summer season is challenging! After two outdoor shows (Edgefield & Marymoor) this year, I think I'll save my money and travel to a couple of indoor shows in the future. After hearing some tapes of shows in and around Chicago, I think I'd rather go to a concert with a saavy crowd who appreciates every moment and makes sure the band knows it!

It seems difficult to catch them indoors in the summer. But preferable for the reasons you stated, and the sound is usually better.

[rhino4evr]

I saw Wilco at Langerado festival a while back, and while it wasn't that bad, it's definitely not the same as seeing the band with an audience that actually wants to listen to them.