Rock Band Hijacks Small Town

Six thousand people flocked to North Adams, Massachusetts Friday, August 13th, for the Solid Sound Music and Arts Festival. The three day, Wilco-curated event at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (Mass MoCA) promised a weekend of music, arts, comedy, film and interactivity. Most go to these events with the music first in their mind, but we realized once we arrived that the artists and the venue provided so much more. Wilco’s music is the kind that really challenges the limits of genre titles. It was only natural that the other performers reflect the same diversity.

Throughout the weekend, the musical acts included everything from pop, jazz, and rock to electronica and country. This amount of variety would be no surprise at Bonnaroo, but to achieve it with barely 20 performers on the bill is an impressive task. Almost all of these acts were well beneath our radar which allowed the whole festival to be one of exploration. I thoroughly enjoyed every act but a few bands stuck out that I plan to keep up with.

The first was hometown heroes, The Books. The folktronica group appeared as a trio on Friday night but it would be fair to say they had a fourth band member in the form of the videos projected behind them. Their music is made up of tracks, mostly speech and vocal manipulations, off of cassettes that they purchase in thrift stores used to provide a unique sound that accompanies their soft compositions and unusual visuals.

Also great was three-piece Avi Buffalo. The indie rock group from Long Beach, CA, is on the rise after the release of their self-titled debut in April. The single ‘€œWhat’s It In For’€ has been described as Shins-like, but lead singer Avigdor Zahner-Isenberg’s vocals harken back to the nasally sound of MGMT. The various side projects of Wilco band members performed at the festival as well, all of which were excellent. My personal favorite was The Autumn Defense featuring John Stiratt and Pat Sansone. I was not prepared for how enjoyable they could make country sound.

Warming up the freshly christened Joe’s Field was gospel singer Mavis Staples. Formerly of the famed Staples Singers, she is currently working with Jeff Tweedy to release a new album called ‘€œYou Are Not Alone’€, which Tweedy is producing, as well as performing on some tracks. She played a varied set, from her well-known hit ‘€œI’ll Take You There’€ to R&B standard ‘€œThe Weight’€, all the while thanking the audience and joking about working with Tweedy.

After a short stage change, Wilco’s set began promptly with ‘€œWilco (The Song)’€ as a fitting introduction. There were many memorable moments, such as a train passing behind the field. The noise fit well with their sound and Tweedy was quick to take credit for arranging it. The band performed a sing-along version of ‘€œJesus, etc.’€ and then said next year maybe they’ll post a list of songs to practice. So there will be a next year, Jeff? They played a solid two and a half hours of material from each album, which is a somewhat conservative set for how long they have been playing on their most recent tour. Perhaps they were being considerate of everything else people had experienced through out the day in addition to the music.

Other experiences included a side splitting cast of comedians lead by Todd Barry, a circus performance from Bread and Puppet, and all the art Mass MoCA could hold, including exhibits by Sol LeWitt, Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle, Petah Coyne and even Leonard Nemoy. Sol LeWitt’s installation consisted of rooms upon rooms of large-scale wall drawings ranging from penciled outlines of bark to full-color paintings. The maze of paintings was stimulating by itself, but was enhanced by
sharing its space with an installation called ‘€œInteractive Drumheads’€, created by Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche. This installation invited people to play drums modified with springs, sandpaper, Velcro, and more. The drumheads, attached to miniature amps, filled the exhibit with a sort of chaotic noise of exploration that contradicted the smooth, flowing lines and colors of LeWitt’s vision.

Guitarist Nels Cline’s ‘€œSolid Sound Stompbox Station’€ was cacophony incarnate as participants sat on the ground manipulating daisy-chained effects pedals. In the case of both exhibits, creating the sounds was fun but the best part was stepping back and experiencing the sound scape created by your fellow festival goers. The noises and the setting made you feel like you were in a horror movie walking toward your peril. I can’t wait to see what next year brings.

Equally amazing as the performances was the choice of venue. Throughout the weekend the twitter hashtag #solidsound contained plenty of shout-outs thanking @Mass_MoCA for hosting the festival. Most pleasing were the comforts usually given up at these types of festivals. Comforts such as clean, indoor restrooms and good beer at a reasonable price. The town of North Adams was equally appreciative as signs outside restaurants welcomed Wilco and their fans. I was glad to be able to contribute to the town’s economy, but I’m not sure how prepared they were for us considering it took 40 minutes to get a bagel on Sunday morning. Don’t get me wrong, downtown North Adams had a lot to offer and I’m sure the restaurants’ staffs will be more prepared come next year.

Sunday was by far the most laid-back day of the festival. It began with Yoga, moved into the Wilco-curated film series, and threats of rain chased most of the acts into the Hunter Center, an indoor, seated theater. Jeff Tweedy’s ‘€œSolo Plus’€ set closed out the festival before the end of the day. We were all unsure of what was meant by Solo Plus, but assumed he would be joined by guests. We were correct, as Sir Richard Bishop, Nick Zammuto of The Books, Avi Buffalo and a few others joined him toward the end of his set. He played a 25-song set of Wilco and Uncle Tupelo material, some tracks from his solo project, and ended the set with a few covers as it began to rain, signaling the end of a truly magical weekend.