Wilco — 12 September 2021, Chattanooga, TN (Coolidge Park) [Moon River Music Festival-Day 2 of 2]

[bböp]

I guess no one on here made it down to Chattanooga for this one, so we'll just note it for posterity with setlist lifted from Wilcoworld. Would have been nice to get a report from an attendee, though. Heard it was a pretty cool little fest and I saw some photos with drummer Eric Slick and possibly various other Dr. Dogs on stage with Wilco, I'm assuming during the show-closing California Stars.

 

Here was the Wilco setlist, as played, according to Wilcoworld:

 

A Shot In The Arm

Random Name Generator

At Least That's What You Said

Love Is Everywhere (Beware)

I Am Trying To Break Your Heart

Art Of Almost

If I Ever Was A Child

Impossible Germany

Hummingbird

Everyone Hides

Box Full Of Letters

I'm Always In Love

Jesus, etc.

Theologians

I'm The Man Who Loves You

Heavy Metal Drummer

Outtasite (Outta Mind)

Passenger Side

The Late Greats

California Stars

[sonnyfeeling]

Thanks, Paul. Judy and I made it to Chattanooga for this festival and I have been meaning to post something about it here.

 

This is a lovely festival in a perfect location, in a large park on the Tennessee River. The festival organizers are Drew and Ellie Holcomb, who are fixtures in the Nashville music scene. Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors played the set just before Wilco, on the main stage, with Dr. Dog closing out the day's activities on the smaller stage across the park. During his (well received) set, Drew exhorted the audience to stick around for Wilco, who he called "the best band in the country right now, and I will fight you over that!" It was a sentiment he repeated toward the end of his set.

 

Wilco did a good job of living up to Mr. Holcomb's billing with a thoroughly professional (and I mean that in the best possible way) set. It was a perfect, clear evening under the stars, and the band managed to pack a surprising amount of music into their 90 minutes, including a three-song encore that ended with most of Dr. Dog wandering onto the stage to play various percussion instruments for the closing California Stars. When Jeff waved goodnight to the audience, he said, "I have no idea who those guys were." (He was, of course, just kidding, as Wilco and Dr. Dog know each other quite well.)

 

Squeezing that much music into their allotted time slot meant that Jeff wasn't particularly chatty. Only a few Banter Corner moments stood out for me. At one point, Jeff looked up at a crowd that was lining a pedestrian bridge over the park and commented that they hadn't paid and would have to move along. ("Just kidding. We welcome everyone.")

 

He also offered a brief note about this being the resumption of the tour that was interrupted by the pandemic. "We released an album called 'Ode to Joy,'" he said, noting that in retrospect it wasn't the most prescient title.

 

The well behaved audience clearly loved the set, and it was a delightful ending to a fun two days on the river. We look forward to going back next year.

[SarahC]

Was there. 
felt guilty the entire time being at a show during these times we’re in with the Great Unpleasantness that is COVID.

The show was exactly what I expected for a festival set from them. No surprises. 
sound on the rail was absolutely garbage though. Totally unbalanced and I guess that’s also to be expected for an outdoor stage in a park with no dedicated set up for music — or maybe I just forgot how loud live music is. Glad we brought earplugs for Sunday after I got sick from the loudness and bass Saturday… 

 

anyway I was stoked for Wilco to come even though I doubt they’ll ever return and I’m sure I’m hindsight in several years i’ll be glad to have been there, but right now I’m not sure how I feel having a show I’ve dreamed of happening for 20 freakin’ years being in the rear view. 

[sonnyfeeling]

>> sound on the rail was absolutely garbage though.

 

Yes, we were on the rail as well (in the section on the right). The bass was so oppressive and overpowering that it literally hurt. It was like being inside a subwoofer that was turned up too loud. The bass drum completely overwhelmed every other low frequency and felt like it was shaking my internal organs. I think they had a blown speaker (or maybe had the crossover frequency set horribly wrong), because the sound at the other stage was not at all like that.