Wilco — 25 August 2022, Gilford, NH (Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion)

[silsurf]

After missing four years in a row of shows, it was such a pleasure to see the band last night. The venue was one of the oddest places I have ever been, middle of nowhere New Hampshire, had a food court where there was a Kubota Tracktor sales kiosk as well as many other odd and slightly off putting displays of NE culture (no offense, I live in Maine, just kind of a bizarre place IMHO)

 

But, with a luck of a front row seat, it all drifted away instantly upon the opening bars of Handshake Drugs.

 

It was JT's birthday last night and the banter went from singing HB to Jeff, then Jeff in his amicable manner thanking every person who shouted out "Happy Birthday!" to Jeff saying he would appreciate it if everyone at the venue says happy birthday individually and to take turns and work it our amongst ourselves, to Jeff saying "I think everyone has said it now" to a wonderful coda when during the audience acca pellla portion of KIdsmoke and Jeff feeling we were not giving it our all, he shouts out "ITS MY BIRTHDAY!!" and in return got some serious audience participation.

 

Lovely show by a lovely group of talented musicians highlighted by Box Full of Letters

 

It was Dora the lighting board director/operator's birthday as well!

 

 

[sinko25]

I like Meadowbrook based primarily on its proximity to me (easy hour drive) and the fact that it's not in Boston or Mansfield. The sound is also usually quite good if you're in the original part of the shed, but suffers in the addition and the lawn.

 

Other than the 3 up front sections there were seas of empty seats. Worked out well for me as I was in section 2A surrounded by empty rows and had clear sightlines sitting or standing - plus the seats were a steal when I bought them ($30, all in - went back up to $80-100 + fees in the days leading up to the show) but I don't think they'll be back there anytime soon.

 

That said, they certainly put on an energetic performance for the energetic audience that showed up. Cruel Country, like Ode To Joy, and to a lesser extent Schmilco haven't been standouts for me but there are always some songs that really come alive when performed. The "Many Worlds" coda was the star in that respect. I was also thrilled to get to see Spiders again after a long hiatus. That's the one song that still evolves in subtle ways every time I see it live.

 

Got a kick out of Jeff jokingly saying he'd like a 'happy birthday' from each member of the audience individually and regretting that as the night went on. You made your bed, buddy

 

One note about the sound - while the instruments all cut across pretty well, did Jeff's mic sound odd to anyone else? My friend described it as sounding like a low bitrate MP3. Muffled and lifeless with no high-end, very strange. Once my ears adjusted I didn't notice it too much but it really threw me off for the first few songs.

 

 

[u2roolz]

Do you like pictures of people tailgating? If so, I have the post for you! All kidding aside, here are over 200 pictures of this day, per the venue’s FB page. I’d say 95% of the pics are people tailgating. Maybe you might see yourself. I promise you that there are nice pics of Mt. Joy and Wilco. Just hang in there till the end. 🥸😉
 

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0345Ec1ZFvAAte2gQZBjcMBY3N8bzBdx6bpKP8LwaX2VcGS4tbvkW6uYmSf8sqauZ4l&id=102791396298