Wilco — 17 June 2017, Eau Claire, WI (Foster Farms [Eaux Claires Festival; Day 2 of 2])

[bböp]

Well, that was pretty darned fun! Maybe it was because those of us attending the Eaux Claires Festival felt like we dodged a weather bullet, or maybe it was the band simply feeding off the positive energy of the third annual event and its attendees but, for whatever reason, it was the closest to a properly rocking, old-school Wilco show that your humble show reporter has experienced in some time.

That a show like that could happen at a festival — on a typically elevated main stage with a fair bit of distance between band and audience, no less — is a testament to Eaux Claires and its aesthetic. Even Jeff took note, asking about midway through the show, "Has anybody been bummed out lately?" Then, gesturing to the large crowd gathered in front of him, Jeff continued, "This makes me feel so much better, that we're all here together, because there's way more of us than the other (side). ... Keep showing up for each other, because there's gonna be some bumpy shit."

Bumpy could also have described the conclusion of the festival, given a relatively dire weather forecast for the mid-to-late evening, but fortunately for Wilco the downpour(s) never came. Originally scheduled to perform from 10:15-11:45 p.m., the band (as well as a few other preceding acts) had its set time moved up by organizers to 8:45-10:15. As it turned out, a downpour came through and delayed things a bit. But Jeff and Co. eventually took the stage just before 9:15 and played without incident until a little after 11, even coming out for a two-song encore when they really didn't have to.

As far as the setlist, this was definitely a case of it not being what the band played but how they played it. The songs played, with the possible exception of I'm A Wheel, wouldn't be much of a surprise to anyone who's been following recent shows, but it felt like there was a little bit more oomph or something to many of them — especially in the second half of the set (including Glenn's relatively prompt ascent to his drum stool to kick off I'm The Man Who Loves You).

Not to say that Jeff didn't have a couple of lyric flubs. The biggest one came on Box Full Of Letters, during the second verse that he started correctly with "I've got a lot of your records...," but then subsequently sang the wrong words before realizing his mistake, chuckling and shrugging it off. Jeff also had a minor transposition during the third verse of Sunken Treasure, flipping the "For all the leaves will burn," and "For all the fires will burn," lines (and seemingly not even noticing). He also once again inserted the "It's not the same without rock 'n' roll" line into the song.

Banter Corner, other than the aforementioned comment, was relatively sparse — likely in the interest of trying to play as many songs as possible. Introducing Via Chicago, Jeff noted that when they play it outdoors it is usually sunny and the song "really bums people out, but," noting the dark and ominous conditions, "this is fucking perfect." And after Impossible Germany, when a guy in the crowd shouted, "That was really good," Jeff addressed him directly saying, "I'm glad you enjoyed that." Added Jeff: "I wasn't talking to (anyone else in the audience). Just the one guy who said that. It's not often that you get to thank a single audience member."

About the only disappointment one could point out was a lack of collaborations, given Eaux Claires' propensity for that sort of thing and the presence of previous collaborators such as Feist and Jenny Lewis (who each played sets at the festival today). But ultimately that's a fairly minor quibble, and the band sent us off into the muddy night with a excellent series of rockers so all was good.

We shall see what tomorrow night in Milwaukee has in store in the band's final tuneup before Solid Sound V, but at least in terms of positive vibrations — to borrow a favorite Mavis Staples term — I imagine it will be tough to top tonight's effort. To cite just one more example of said vibrations, there was a sweet moment toward the end of Hummingbird when Jeff went over to the side of the stage and gave his guitar tech Matrix a hug while Nels was soloing. I can't remember that happening before. (Shout out to the entire hard-working Wilcrew, who certainly earned their keep this weekend, making sure all the band side projects went off without a hitch yesterday and still managing to get the "fauxliage" stage design set up and bracing for the inclement weather today.)

At any rate here was the complete setlist, as played (didn't see a printed list, so can't say for sure whether there were any omissions or changes):

Ashes Of American Flags
Normal American Kids
If I Ever Was A Child
Cry All Day
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart>
Art Of Almost
Pickled Ginger
Sunken Treasure (acoustic arrangement — Jeff on acoustic guitar, Pat on keyboard)
Someone To Lose
Via Chicago
Impossible Germany
Jesus, etc.
Locator
Box Full Of Letters
Heavy Metal Drummer>
I'm The Man Who Loves You
Hummingbird
Random Name Generator
Spiders (Kidsmoke) (electric arrangement)
I'm A Wheel
--------------------------------
Monday>
Outtasite (Outta Mind)

[Albert Tatlock]

Ta

[bböp]

Ta

...tlock?

[Sandy in SFCA]

Thanks for a great recap! You really nailed the vibe of the show, and I agree with your sentiments. It's not what they played but how they played it. I think the torrential downpour during Danny Brown's set worked it our favor. It washed away all the curious onlookers leaving only the obsessed/clinically insane fans who were willing to risk personal safety to be there. It really made for a high energy crowd and set. I'm really glad I got to be a part of it.

[deceasedlavy]

I'm in complete agreement as well. After the relatively lackluster Winterlude shows and static setlists of this tour, my expectations were low (which probably helped). The energy coming off that stage was just massive, though. Credit goes at least partially to Eaux Claires' incredible sound system. I've been to a ton of festivals over the years and there's nothing that has come close. I was so impressed with Cry All Day, I felt like they finally found the perfect dynamic for it. All the noisy jammy tunes were off the charts. If the strategy of playing all the same songs all tour was solely to build up to this potency, what can I say, glad I caught this one. And, no Dawned On Me OR Late Greats! Huzzah.