WILCO : SOLID SOUND FESTIVAL 2024 SECOND NIGHT

 

Disc One (62:04)

  1. Via Chicago
  2. Infinite Surprise
  3. I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
  4. Meant To Be
  5. Annihilation
  6. Whole Love
  7. Say You Love Me
  8. Evicted
  9. Bird Without A Tail / Base Of My Skull
  10. Random Name Generator
  11. At Least That's What You Said
  12. Hell Is Chrome
  13. Spiders (Kidsmoke)

Disc Two (61:39)

  1. Muzzle Of Bees
  2. Hummingbird
  3. Handshake Drugs
  4. Wishful Thinking
  5. Company In My Back
  6. I'm A Wheel
  7. Theologians
  8. Less Than You Think
  9. The Late Greats
  10. Jesus, Etc.
  11. Impossible Germany
  12. Falling Apart (Right Now)
  13. A Shot In The Arm

Label : no label

Venue : Solid Sound Festival 2024, MASS MoCA, North Adams, Massachusetts, USA

Recording Date : June 29, 2024

Quality : Soundboard Recording (A+)

Concert Review (The Arts Fuse) : Saturday evening sprinkles caught up with the intriguing English post-punk group Dry Cleaning, which suffered from a poor sound mix that gave a hefty edge to bassist Lewis Maynard and lost Florence Shaw’s spoken-word vocals. But radar-signaled storms bypassed MASS MoCA when Wilco took the main stage with “Via Chicago.” Tweedy sang “I’m coming home” (a seeming nod to Solid Sound as well) and he and co-founding bassist John Stirratt held a calm center opposite cacophonous bursts from guitarist Nels Cline and drummer Kotche. “Infinite Surprise,” from 2023’s Cousin, followed, with Tweedy singing “It’s good to be alive, it’s good to know we die.” Half of the set’s first 10 songs were both new and touched similar themes, including “Annihilation” and the Beatlesque “Say You Love Me” from the just-released EP Hot Sun, Cool Shroud. Wilco sounded especially sharp and inspired through that opening stretch and climbed even higher in a 10-minute flight through “Bird Without a Tail / Base of My Skull.” Cline and Pat Sansone dazzled with guitar interplay that spiraled to a peak beyond where that usual highlight leads, then shifted into the tight, playfully irresistible rock groove of “Random Name Generator.” Jason Isbell at Solid Sound. Photo: Paul Robicheau “At Least That’s What You Said” went from a whisper to a wallop as Tweedy cranked up his own electric guitar fit and Kotche locked into machine-gun fills complete with cymbal hits to cue first steps of A Ghost Is Born. Fans grasped that revelation with each song that followed — and likely gasped when Tweedy even jogged in place for “Hummingbird.” Wilco’s current sextet came together after the album’s 2004 release, and it was satisfying to hear that skilled, now-seasoned unit tackle the full album, from common guitar-led buildups like the Krautrock-spun “Spiders (Kidsmoke)” and mesmeric “Muzzle of Bees” to somber rarities “Wishful Thinking” and “Less Than You Think.” The latter dissolved into feedback as the musicians left the stage, returning to pick it up for album finale “The Late Greats,” starting an encore with the question of how far Wilco would exceed its expected two-hour slot (answer: 25 minutes). First came the lovely hit “Jesus, Etc.,” with violin by Chicago’s Macie Stewart. You knew something bolder would close. Just not an “Impossible Germany” where Cline changed his tour-de-force showcase by soloing mostly without picking, fingering banjo-like tones before the song’s stinging signature lines. Oddly placed country bop “Falling Apart (Right Now)” set up the final fan favorite “Shot in the Arm,” the crowd roaring back its chorus in affirmation. Of course, beyond Wilco playing one of its most impressive sets in eight Solid Sounds (and “Deep Cuts” was right up there as well), plenty of other glorious music went down in the field and courtyards at the festival’s 2024 edition.