What’s Up With Wilco: Solid Sound Setlists & Cruel Country Reviews

2022 is shaping up to be a very good year to be a Wilco fan. Friday, May 27, brought the release of Jeff Tweedy and company’s critically acclaimed (see below) 12th studio album, Cruel Country, which gave us 21 new songs. On that same day, Wilco performed the double album in full at their Solid Sound at MASS Moca (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art) in North Adams, Massachusetts. For the first time, Solid Sound was live streamed so that folks unable to attend (like yours truly) could view it at home on Flymachine.

 

Here’s Friday night’s setlist, which contained a very interesting encore:

 

“I Am My Mother” / “Cruel Country” / “Hints” / “Ambulance”/ “The Empty Condor” / “Tonight’s the Day” / “All Across the World” / “Darkness Is Cheap” / “Bird Without a Tail / Base of My Skull” / “Tired of Taking It Out on You” / “The Universe” / “Many Worlds” / “Hearts Hard to Find” / “Falling Apart (Right Now)” / “Please Be Wrong” / “Story to Tell” / “A Lifetime to Find” / “Country Song Upside-Down” / “Mystery Binds” / “Sad Kind of Way” / “The Plains”

 

Encore: “It’s Just That Simple” / “New Madrid” / “Climbing” (Meat Puppets) “Wild Mountain Thyme” (The Byrds)/ “Once a Day” (Connie Smith) (with Neko Case) / “She's My Rock” (Stoney Edwards) / “Reincarnation” (Roger Miller)

 

Unlike Wilco’s ninth studio album, Star Wars, which they premiered in full in the summer of 2015, and then preceded to play in its entirety for much that year, it looks like the performance of Cruel Country may be a one-off deal as the next night at Solid Sound they incorporated the new material into a more diverse setlist:

 

“You Are My Face” / “War on War” / “Muzzle of Bees” / “I Am My Mother”/ “Cruel Country” / “Side With the Seeds” / “If I Ever Was a Child” / “Bird Without a Tail / Base of My Skull” / “Tired of Taking It Out on You” / “Hotel Arizona” / “At Least That’s What You Said” / “Either Way” / “Impossible Germany” / “She’s a Jar” / “What Light” / “Story to Tell” / “Love is Everywhere (Beware)” / “Falling Apart (Right Now)” / “Walken”

 

Encore: “The Good Part” / “Jesus, Etc.” (with Japanese Breakfast) / “Heavy Metal Drummer” / “Dawned on Me” / “A Lifetime to Find” / “Red-Eyed and Blue” / “I Got You (At the End of the Century)” / “Outtasite (Outta Mind)”

On Sunday, May 30, Tweedy played a solo show at the festival, which you can see the setlist for here. The set’s obvious highlight came when David Byrne of Talking Heads fame joined the Wilco front man, his sons, and a bunch of other Solid Sound cohorts for a rousing rendition of “California Stars”:

Over the last week, Wilco’s latest release, Cruel Country, has been garnering a lot of rave reviews. Many of their headlines share common themes, i.e. the band’s so-called return to their roots, and the album’s so-called statement. Here are some of the most notable notices (click on the titles to read the reviews):

 

On Its Timely New Album, Wilco Reclaims “Alt-Country” (Carl Wilson, Slate)

Jeff Tweedy’s State of the Nation Address (Kitty Empire, The Guardian)

Wilco Get Back to the Roots They Never Had on ‘Cruel Country’ (Jon Dolan, Rolling Stone)

Wilco's 'Cruel Country' Is a Murky Reflection of American Identity (Matthew Ritchie, Exclaim!)

Wilco’s New Album Looks For Patriotic Songs for a Cruel Country (Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic)

Wilco Get Back to Basics on Cruel Country (Ben Salmon, Paste)

After a well-earned break after their busy Solid Sound weekend, Wilco returns to the road on June 11 for a European tour which will take them through Norway, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, Spain, and the Netherlands, before they come back to the States, to kick off a US tour in August in Iowa. Check out their official website for their complete schedule, ticket info, etc.

Postnote: In case you missed Wilco’s previous activity this year, just over a month ago, Wilco celebrated the 20th Anniversary of their fourth album masterpiece, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, with full performances of the album at shows in Chicago and New York, and the announcement of deluxe YHF box sets to be released in September. Check out the Wilcopedia post from April about the expanded releases.

More later...