Wilco Casts Its Spell at Thompson’s Point
By Savanna Pettengill
It was a magical night for the Solstice to listen to Jeff Tweedy, Nels Cline, Glen Koche, Pat Sansone, Mikael Jorgensen and Maine’s own Jonathan Stirrat, play their incredible music for a packed Thompson’s point, a stunning outdoor venue in Maine’s largest “city”. Fans were spread out– spotted across the river on banks below the highway and on boats to catch the vibe over the rooftops of food trucks, bathrooms and the VIP section. Even Maine Democratic Governor candidate Hannah Pingree was there in the general admission crowd with her family to see her “favorite band” play a double set of music.
Assured and joyous, Wilco was literally on point that evening. They even paused the first set to help a fallen crowd member get the help they needed, and the music picked up again as if it hadn’t missed a beat. Tweedy reminded audience members to “bend your knees” throughout the night to avoid more incidents of collapse.
Bending the knees was easy to do if you were one to dance to new and familiar songs by the beloved American band. The set list did not disappoint fans with hits like “You and I", "California Stars", " I am Trying to Break Your Heart”, “Impossible Germany”, “Jesus Etc.”, “Walken”, “Heavy Metal Drummer”, and “I’m the Man Who Loves You”. The setlist also featured many new and older deep cuts such as “Cruel Country”, “Forget the Flowers”, “Bird without a Tail/Base of my Skull”, and “Kingpin”. After two long sets, they even completed the night with an encore for one of their most dedicated fan-bases, featuring “The Late Greats” and “I Got You (at the End of the Century)”. The night ended on magical vibes as friends and family of the venue and band got together for an after-party on site, and fans walked back home or to their vehicles humming their recently heard Wilco earworms aloud. Many in the crowd walked back thinking it was their best Father’s Day yet.
The band played their 18th show from their “An Evening with Wilco” tour that night, with many more to come this year, including their renowned Solid Sound Festival in North Adams, Massachusetts on June 27th. During the festival each member has a solo project set of some kind, and the band will be playing with Billy Bragg, around sets including The Breeders, A Slyvan Esso DJ Set and Hannah Cohen among many many more on the beautiful campus of Mass MOCA.
