Solid Sound 2015: The Spirit was There Despite the Rain

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Terry Adams is still the original high energy piano man, and his current crop of musicians carry the spirit of the Q quite nicely.
Terry Adams is still the original high energy piano man, and his current crop of musicians carry the spirit of the Q quite nicely.
You see a whole lot of hats at the Solid Sound Festival.
You see a whole lot of hats at the Solid Sound Festival.

Every two years Wilco gathers the faithful at a fantastic venue for a festival…instead of a mountain slope ski area or a farmer’s alfalfa fields, they choose the run-down small city of North Adams where the biggest museum in the US is improbably located.  Then they turn this former factory complex, now Mass MOCA, into a World of Wilco for three days of music, the arts, and thousands of out of town visitors.

Deadpan comedian John Hodgman can make me laugh very easily, and he was hilarious in the Hunter Auditorium for Solid Sound.
Deadpan comedian John Hodgman can make me laugh very easily, and he was hilarious in the Hunter Auditorium for Solid Sound.

Once again we got to enjoy the festival and the only disappointment was the rain, which we could have taken more preparations for. On Saturday we joined the throngs in the sold out venue to enjoy the high energy shows of NRBQ and Richard Thompson.  Q, as most older fans know, is now made up of just one former band member, Terry Adams. But he’s found some high octane band members who rock with the same exuberance and charisma as the original, I must say, after seeing them a few different occasions.

What I like about Solid Sound is that it’s held every two years, so you always are excited about it coming around. Many more events should adopt this bi-annual schedule, it makes you totally want to go see it. It gives the band the room they need to fit in tours and it’s just a better way to run a fest.

The volunteers are always super friendly, there are no authoritative jerks to bring down the vibe, even when they are checking bags it’s with a spirit of Wilco–relaxed, fun, and let’s all have a good time.  This year the food lines were shorter despite the sell-out, and it was a pleasure not to have to sweat as badly as we did in 2013, when it was about 90 degrees the whole time.

Had we brought umbrellas and full rain gear, (and had we been a few years younger), my pal Bill and I would have stayed for the whole Wilco show. But as the drops became more and more frequent, we packed up our stuff and headed out, we’ll have to enjoy some of the videos I found on Facebook. But till 2017, it was a fantastic show and I hope everyone had as much fun as we did!