Wilco’s Cruel Country Tour Conquers The West

Official show poster by Zoca

Last Wednesday, Wilco’s Cruel Country tour hit Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado, for their tenth show since 1997 at the historic venue. After that rapturously received performance that featured a guest appearance by opener Margo Price, Jeff Tweedy and company were joined by Texas country artist, Terry Allen, in Santa Fe, for a few versions of a few of his tunes; and the Grateful Dead’s “U.S. Blues” continues to pop up in encores, a welcome addition since the Philco show at the inaugural Sacred Rose Festival at the SeatGeek Stadium outside Chicago on August 26th.

Here’s what when down with Wilco’s shows out west:

Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO 9/14/22 

“Handshake Drugs” / “I Am My Mother” / “Cruel Country” / “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” / “Hints” / “War on War” / “If I Ever Was a Child” / “Via Chicago” (with “Many Worlds” coda) / “At Least That’s What You Said” / “Story to Tell” / “Hummingbird” / “All Across the World” / “Bird Without a Tail/Base of My Skull” / “Jesus, Etc.” / “Impossible Germany” / “Love Is Everywhere (Beware)” / “California Stars” / “A Lifetime to Find” / “Heavy Metal Drummer” / “I’m the Man Who Loves You” / “Spiders (Kidsmoke)”

Encore: “Falling Apart (Right Now)” / “U.S. Blues” / “I Got You (At the End of the Century)”

The Santa Fe Opera, Santa Fe, NM 9/15/22

Official show poster by Matthew Decker

“Handshake Drugs” / “I Am My Mother” / “Cruel Country” / “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” / “Hints” / “War on War” / “If I Ever Was a Child” / “Via Chicago” (with “Many Worlds” coda) / “Company in My Back” / “Story to Tell” / “Hummingbird” / “Tired of Taking It Out on You” / “Bird Without a Tail/Base of My Skull” / “Jesus, Etc.” / “Impossible Germany” / “Love Is Everywhere (Beware)” / “California Stars” / “A Lifetime to Find” / “I’m Always in Love” / “Spiders (Kidsmoke)”

Encore: “Amarillo Highway” / “The Death of the Last Stripper” / “Falling Apart (Right Now)” / “I Got You (At the End of the Century)”

Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre, San Diego, CA 9/17/21

Official poster by Justin Froning/The Housebear

“Handshake Drugs” / “I Am My Mother” / “Cruel Country” / “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” / “Hints” / “War on War” / “If I Ever Was a Child” / “Via Chicago” (with “Many Worlds” coda) / “Muzzle of Bees” / “Story to Tell” / “Hummingbird” / “All Across the World” / “Bird Without a Tail/Base of My Skull” / “Jesus, Etc.” / “Impossible Germany” / “Mystery Binds” / “California Stars” / “A Lifetime to Find” / “I’m Always in Love” / “Heavy Metal Drummer” / “Spiders (Kidsmoke)”

Encore: “Falling Apart (Right Now)” / “U.S. Blues” / “I Got You (At the End of the Century)”

Seaside Lagoon, Redondo Beach, CA 9/18/22

“Handshake Drugs” / “I Am My Mother” / “Cruel Country” / “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” / “War on War” / “Via Chicago” / “Hummingbird” / “Bird Without a Tail/Base of My Skull” / “Jesus, Etc.” / “Impossible Germany” / “California Stars” / “Falling Apart (Right Now)” / “Heavy Metal Drummer” / “U.S. Blues”

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Wednesday Wilco Song Spotlight: “Hold Me Anyway”

Most of the previous entries have been excerpts from Wilcopedia, but since the band has released two records, Ode to Joy and Cruel Country, since my book’s release in 2019, songs from those albums are now being included in this series. This will give folks a bit of a preview of the second edition of Wilcopedia (btw the first edition is at a cool discount price on Amazon!).

This installment of the Wednesday Wilco Song Spotlight shines on the next to last song on Wilco’s eleventh studio album, Ode to Joy (2019):

 

“Hold Me Anyway” (Jeff Tweedy)

 

The delicious hook in the form of an infectious chorus helps to make this the album’s most friendly and personable song. Like many of the tracks on Ode to Joy, “Hold Me Anyway” commences with Tweedy’s lone guitar which goes on to accompany the singer’s ponderings. In a couplet reminiscent of “Theologians, Tweedy soberly states “I’m like a hologram / Light is all I am.”

 

While I wrote that this track is a warm one, it does have dark lines about “freaking the fuck out,” and equating oneself with a plastic bag ‘high in an old dead tree.” Such thoughts clear away when the chorus comes around to answer the question, “Are we all in love just because’ with the joyous refrain: “No! I think it’s poetry and magic / Something too big to have a name.”

 

The seemingly bleak lines that follow about how love is still tragic, and wondering who’s to blame when you die, are sung in the same uplifting manner as the “poetry and magic” moment, with Nels Cline’s fuzzy guitar riffing coming in to punctuate the proceedings. The chorus is repeated three times, with no further verses added, but it’s still a winning song structure that results in one of the album’s most memorable moments.

 

“Hold Me Anyway” made its live debut at USF Verftet in Bergen, Norway on September 7, 2019 and, like most of the songs on the album, it has been performed over 60 times through the Ode to Joy tour of 2019-2021. 

Watch the third live performance of “Hold Me Anyway” at Den Grå Hal in Copenhagen, Denmark on Sept. 10, 2019:

“Hold Me Anyway” has also popped up three times on The Tweedy Show, the popular Instagram program featuring the songs and shenanigans of the Tweedy family. Tweedy responded to the many requests for the song from viewers, who the family refer to as “clients,” with a sweet solo version of the song on Episode 20 (April 9, 2020), then it was performed (again solo) as the opening number for Episode 92 (September 3, 2020), dedicated to a client named Kathy; and was lastly strummed on Episode 183 (June 10, 2021).

But since the song concluded Wilco’s set before the encore at the KettleHouse Amphitheater, in Bonner, Montana on August 7, 2021, it has gone into hiding.

 

During the tour for Ode to Joy, a large sign held up by a fan, or a client, quoting the song’s key line, “Thanks for the poetry and magic,” appeared at a few shows. Certainly it’s a sentiment that all Wilco fans can agree with.

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Wilco’s Cruel Country Tour Continues In The Midwest & We've Got Set-lists & Posters To Prove It!

Official poster by Matt Pfahlert/TheSilentP.com.

After a brief break, Wilco’s Cruel Country summer tour continues with stops in Madison, Wisconsin; Grand Rapids, Minnesota; Fargo, North Dakota; and Sioux Falls, South Dakota, so let’s catch up with what they played and some of the fine art that accompanied the shows. Yeah, there’s a lot of same-ness here, but some cool tunes revolve in and out, and there’s the highlight of the cover of the Grateful Dead’s “U.S. Blues.” 

Wilco founder/front man Jeff Tweedy first performed the Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter-written song when he and his band’s lead guitarist, Nels Cline, performed with Phil Lesh & Friends at the inaugural Sacred Rose Festival at the SeatGeek Stadium outside Chicago on August 26th. There’s a video of the performance by the band dubbed Philco of the song, which theme and vibe-wise fits well with the Cruel Country material, included below in the setlist entries.

So have at ‘em:

The Sylvee, Madison, WI 9/9/22

“Handshake Drugs” / “I Am My Mother” / “Cruel Country” / “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” / “Hints” / “War on War” / “ If I Ever Was a Child” / “Via Chicago” (w/ “Many Worlds” outro) / “At Least That's What You Said” / “Story to Tell” / “Hummingbird” / “Bird Without a Tail/Base of My Skull” / “Hearts Hard to Find” / “Jesus, Etc.” / “Impossible Germany” / “Love is Everywhere” (Beware)” / “California Stars” / “A Lifetime to Find” / “I’m Always in Love” / “Spiders (Kidsmoke)”

Encore: “Falling Apart (Right Now)” / “I Got You (At the End of the Century)” / “Kicking Television”

Grand Rapids Area Library, Grand Rapids, MN 9/10/22

“Handshake Drugs” / “I Am My Mother” / “Cruel Country” / “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” / “Hints” / “War on War” / “ If I Ever Was a Child” / “Via Chicago” (with “Many Worlds” coda) / “At Least That's What You Said” / “Story to Tell” / “Hummingbird” / “All Across the World” / “Bird Without a Tail/Base of My Skull” / “Jesus, Etc.” / “Impossible Germany” / “Love is Everywhere” (Beware) / “California Stars” / “A Lifetime to Find” / “I’m Always in Love” / “Heavy Metal Drummer” / “I’m the Man Who Loves You”

Encore: “Falling Apart (Right Now)” / “U.S. Blues” / “I Got You (At the End of the Century)” / “Outta Mind (Outta Sight)”

Fargo Brewing Company, Fargo, ND 9/11/22

Official show poster by Zach Pape.

“The Plains” / “Handshake Drugs” / “I Am My Mother” / “Cruel Country” / “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” / “Hints” / “War on War” / “If I Ever Was a Child” / “Via Chicago” (with “Many Worlds” coda) / “Shouldn’t Be Ashamed” / “Story to Tell” / “Hummingbird” / “All Across the World” / “Bird Without a Tail/Base of My Skull” / “Jesus, Etc.” / “Impossible Germany” / “Love is Everywhere (Beware)” / “California Stars” / “A Lifetime to Find” / “I’m Always in Love” / “Spiders (Kidsmoke)”

Encore: “Falling Apart (Right Now)” / “U.S. Blues” / “I Got You (At the End of the Century)”

Washington Pavilion, Sioux Falls, SD 9/12/22

Official show poster by A. Micah Smith.

“Handshake Drugs” / “I Am My Mother” / “Cruel Country” / “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” / “Hints” / “War on War” / “How to Fight Loneliness” / “ Via Chicago” (with “Many Worlds” coda) / “At Least That’s What You Said” / “Story to Tell” / “Hummingbird” / “Tired of Taking It Out on You” / “Bird Without a Tail/Base of My Skull” / “Jesus, Etc.” / “Impossible Germany” / “Love is Everywhere (Beware)” / “California Stars” / “A Lifetime to Find” / “Box Full of Letters” / “Heavy Metal Drummer” / “I’m the Man Who Loves You”

Encore: “Falling Apart (Right Now)” / “Monday” / “Outtasite (Outta Mind)”

Next up, Wilco brings Cruel Country to Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colarado. I believe it'll be their 10th time performing at the historic venue so it ought to be a blast.

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Wilco Setlists: New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, & Massachusetts

Wilco’s Cruel Country tour continues with dates in New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. Here's what they played and a few of the cool poster prints that accompanied the shows:

Brewery Ommegang, Cooperstown, NY 8/21/22

 

“Handshake Drugs” / “I Am My Mother” / “Cruel Country” / “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” / “Hints” / “War on War” / “If I Ever Was a Child” / “Via Chicago” (with “Many Worlds” coda) / “At Least That’s What You Said” / “Story to Tell” / “Hummingbird” / “Bird Without a Tail/Base of My Skull” / “Tired of Taking It Out on You” / “Jesus, Etc.” / “Impossible Germany” / “Love Is Everywhere (Beware)” / “California Stars” / “Love is Everywhere (Beware)” / “Box Full of Letters” / “Spiders (Kidsmoke)”

 

Encore: “Falling Apart (Right Now)” / “I Got You (At the End of the Century)”

 

Beak & Skiff Apple Orchard, LaFayette, NY 8/23/22

Official show poster by Rene Clairin.

“I Am My Mother” / “Cruel Country” / “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” / “Hints” / “Handshake Drugs” / “Story to Tell” / “Either Way” / “War on War” / “If I Ever Was a Child” / “Via Chicago” (with “Many Worlds” coda) / “Hummingbird” / “At Least That’s What You Said” / “Bird Without a Tail/Base of My Skull” / “Jesus, Etc.” / “Impossible Germany” / “Hearts Hard to Find” / “Love is Everywhere (Beware)” / “California Stars” / “A Lifetime to Find” / “Heavy Metal Drummer” / “Spiders (Kidsmoke)” 

 

Encore: “Falling Apart (Right Now)” / “Box Full of Letters” / “The Late Greats” / “I Got You (At the End of the Century)”

 

The Green at Shelburne Museum, Shelburne, VT  8/24/22

Official show poster by The Housebear Design.

“Handshake Drugs” / “I Am My Mother” / “Cruel Country” / “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” / “Hints” / “War on War”/ “If I Ever Was a Child”/ “Via Chicago” (with “Many Worlds” coda) / “At Least That’s What You Said” / “Story to Tell” / “Hummingbird” / “Bird Without a Tail/Base of My Skull” / “Tired of Taking It Out on You” /” Jesus, Etc.” / “Impossible Germany” / “Love is Everywhere (Beware)” / “California Stars” / “A Lifetime to Find” / “Heavy Metal Drummer” / “Box Full of Letters” / “Spiders (Kidsmoke)” 

 

Encore: “Falling Apart (Right Now)” / “I Got You (At the End of the Century)”

 

Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion at Meadowbrook, Gilford, NH 8/25/22

Official show poster by A Micah Smith.

“Handshake Drugs” / “I Am My Mother” / “Cruel Country” / “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” / “Hints” / “War on War” / “If I Ever Was a Child” / “Via Chicago” (with “Many Worlds” coda)/ “At Least That’s What You Said” / “Story to Tell” / “Hummingbird” / “Bird Without a Tail/Base of My Skull” / “Hearts Hard to Find” / “Jesus, Etc.” / “Impossible Germany” / “Love is Everywhere (Beware)” / “California Stars” / “A Lifetime to Find” / “Box Full of Letters” / “Spiders (Kidsmoke)”

 

Encore: “Falling Apart (Right Now)” / “I Got You (At the End of the Century)”

 

Westville Music Bowl, New Haven, CT 8/27/22

Official show poster by Brian Methe.

“Handshake Drugs” / “I Am My Mother” / “Cruel Country” / “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” / “Hints” / “War on War” / “If I Ever Was a Child” / “Via Chicago” (with “Many Worlds” coda) / “Story to Tell” / “Hummingbird” / “Bird Without a Tail/Base of My Skull” / “Hearts Hard to Find” / “Jesus, Etc.” / “Impossible Germany” / “Love is Everywhere (Beware)” / “California Stars” / “A Lifetime to Find” / “Box Full of Letters” / “Spiders (Kidsmoke)”

 

Encore: “Falling Apart (Right Now)” / “I Got You (At the End of the Century)” / “Kicking Television”

Veterans Memorial Park, Vineyard Haven, MA 8/28/22

 

“Handshake Drugs” / “I Am My Mother” / “Cruel Country” / “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” / “Hints” / “War on War” / “If I Ever Was a Child” / “Via Chicago” (with “Many Worlds” coda) / “Story to Tell” / “Hummingbird” / “Bird Without a Tail/Base of My Skull” / “Jesus, Etc.” / “Impossible Germany” / “California Stars” / “Box Full of Letters” / “Falling Apart (Right Now)” / “Spiders (Kidsmoke)”

Wilco now takes a break, but the Cruel Country tour will return on September 9 (my Birthday!) when Jeff Tweedy and Company play at the Sylvee in Madison, Wisconsin.

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Wilco’s Cruel Country Tour Hits Michigan & Canada

We’re catching up with the set-lists from Wilco’s Cruel Country summer tour with their shows in Michigan, Toronto, and Montreal. The shows may be very similar in their song content, but there are some notable additions along the way like the tour debut of “Spiders (Kidsmoke)” in our first entry:

Interlochen Center for the Arts, Interlochen, MI 8/17/22

“Handshake Drugs” / “I Am My Mother” / “Cruel Country” / “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” / “Hints” / “War on War” / “If I Ever Was a Child” / “Via Chicago” (with “Many Worlds” coda) / “At Least That's What You Said” / “Story to Tell” / “Hummingbird” / “Bird Without a Tail/Base of My Skull” / “Hearts Hard to Find” / “Jesus, Etc.” / “Impossible Germany” / “Love is Everywhere (Beware)” / “California Stars” * / “A Lifetime to Find” / “Box Full of Letters” / “Spiders (Kidsmoke)” 

Encore: “Falling Apart (Right Now)” / “Red-Eyed and Blue” / “I Got You (At the End of the Century)”

* w/Courtney Marie Andrews

Budweiser Stage, Toronto, ON, Canada 8/18/22

“Handshake Drugs” / “I Am My Mother” / “Cruel Country” / “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” / “Hints” / “War on War” / “If I Ever Was a Child” / “Via Chicago” (with “Many Worlds” coda) / “At Least That’s What You Said” / “Story to Tell” / “Hummingbird” / “Bird Without a Tail/Base of My Skull” / “Hearts Hard to Find” / “Jesus, Etc.” / “Impossible Germany” / “Love Is Everywhere (Beware)” / “California Stars” / “A Lifetime to Find” / “Box Full of Letters” / “Spiders (Kidsmoke)”

Encore: “Falling Apart (Right Now)” / “Red-Eyed and Blue” / “I Got You (At the End of the Century)”

MTELUS, Montreal, QC, Canada 8/20/22

“Handshake Drugs” / “I Am My Mother” / “Cruel Country” / “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” / “Hints” / “War on War” / “If I Ever Was a Child” / “Via Chicago” (with “Many Worlds” coda) / “At Least That’s What You Said” / “Story to Tell” / “Hummingbird” / “All Across the World” / “Bird Without a Tail/Base of My Skull” / “Country Song Upside-Down” / “Impossible Germany” / “Jesus, Etc.” / “Love Is Everywhere (Beware)” / “California Stars” / “A Lifetime to Find” / “Spiders (Kidsmoke)”

Encore: “Box Full of Letters” / “Falling Apart (Right Now)” / “I Got You (At the End of the Century)”

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Wilco Makes The Cover Of Uncut & A Tale Of Correspondence

The September issue of the great British magazine, Uncut, has Wilco on its cover for the first time, and I’m elated to have gotten my copy. It contains a sweet 13-page spread that covers both the 20th anniversary of the band’s breakthrough masterpiece, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, and their new brilliant release, Cruel Country, and a cool disc entitled Crosseyed Strangers, which boasts “an alternate” version of YHF, made out of live tracks, and alternate takes. The only issue I have with this, ahem, issue, is that the cover (pictured above), features a picture of Jeff Tweedy extracted from a photo shoot for Saturday Night Live in 2007 – that’s right, 15 years ago.

So I guess Uncut thought an older, grayer Tweedy wouldn’t sell as many magazines, but did they have to cropout the rest of Wilco? I always hated when a picture of one member of a band is supposed to symbolize the whole like it’s The Best of The Doors or something, but whatever. The important thing is that Wilco made the cover of one of my favorite magazines, which is something that I actually wrote them about in 2019:

Thing is, they cut out my letter’s mention of my book, Wilcopedia, which had just been published and I was hoping to get reviewed by Uncut. I was hoping to get a plug in the pages of the magazine, and I was disappointed that it was omitted – maybe because Uncut had their own guide to the band that they were working on at the time (it came out the next summer):

Sigh. Well, at least Mojo reviewed Wilcopedia.

 

This isn’t the first time I had correspondence with Uncut. 20 years ago, I wrote them about putting the Replacements, another band I love on the cover. In 2002, my second favorite album was Mono which was by Paul Westerberg underthe name Grandpaboy. Apparently I was under the delusion that this album was a secret Replacements reunion album as that was the rumor in early '02 and the tracks certainly had that sound and spirit, but it was later revealed that Westerberg played all the instruments himself. Before I knew that, I wrote them this letter which they printed in May 2002:

Oh well, still a great album, and the Mats (the Replacements nickname, for those not in the know) still deserved a cover – something that they still haven’t gotten! C’mon Uncut, how about an Ultimate Music Guide on the Mats? That’d be super.

 

Anyway, so far I haven’t been able to get Wilcopedia in the pages of Uncut so far, but maybe with the expanded second Edition has a chance? Maybe an updated version of their Ultimate Music Guide can have a books section with a mention? Maybe I can at least get Uncut to follow me on Twitter, and get a shout-out there? 

 

Double sigh. Like something I said in my letter from two decades ago above, I guess I'll just keep dreaming.

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Wilco Is Back In The U.S.A. & Here’s What They Played in The Last Several Days

Official show poster by The Housebear Design.

Wilco’s Cruel Country tour continues with the band back in the states having just played four shows in the Midwest over the last several days. So with no furher ado, here’s what Jeff Tweedy and company treated their audiences in Iowa, Nebraska, Indiana, and Kentucky from August 12-16:

 

Paramount Theatre, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 8/12/22

 

“I Am My Mother” /  “Cruel Country” / “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” / “Hints” / “War On War” / “Handshake Drugs” / “If I Ever Was a Child” / “All Across the World” / “Via Chicago” / “Many Worlds” / “Everyone Hides” / “Story to Tell” / “Bird Without a Tail/Base of My Skull” / “Tired of Taking It Out On You” / “At Least That’s What You Said” / “Hearts Hard to Find” / “Impossible Germany” / “Mystery Binds” / “Jesus, Etc.” / “Heavy Metal Drummer” / “A Lifetime to Find” / “Box Full of Letters” / “The Late Greats”

Encore: “Falling Apart (Right Now)” / “Red-Eyed and Blue” / “I Got You (At the End of the Century)” / “Outtasite (Outta Mind)”

Outlandia Festival, Bellevue, Nebraska 8/13/22

 

“Handshake Drugs” / “Cruel Country” / “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” / “Story to Tell” / “War on War” / “Bird Without a Tail/Base of My Skull” / “Hummingbird” / “All Across The World” / “At Least That's What You Said” / “California Stars” / “A Lifetime to Find” / “Impossible Germany” / “Jesus, Etc.” / “Heavy Metal Drummer” / “Box Full of Letters” / “Falling Apart (Right Now)” / “A Shot in the Arm” / “I Got You (At the End of the Century)”

 

TCU Amphitheater at White River State Park, Indianapolis, Indiana 8/14/22

Official show poster by Convent Designs.

“I Am My Mother” / “Cruel Country” / “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” / “Hints” / “War on War” / “Handshake Drugs” / “If I Ever Was a Child” / “Via Chicago” / “Many Worlds” / “Story to Tell” / “At Least That’s What You Said” / “Hummingbird” / “Bird Without a Tail/Base of My Skull” / “Jesus, Etc.” / “Impossible Germany” / “Love Is Everywhere (Beware)” / “California Stars” / “A Lifetime to Find” / “Box Full of Letters” / “I’m Always in Love” / “The Late Greats”

Encore: “Falling Apart (Right Now)” / “I Got You (At the End of the Century)”

 

PromoWest Pavilion at OVATION, Newport, Kentucky 8/16/22

 

“Handshake Drugs” / “I Am My Mother” / “Cruel Country” / “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” / “Hints” / “War on War” / “If I Ever Was A Child” / “Via Chicago” / “Many Worlds” / “At Least That’s What You Said” / “Story to Tell” / “Hummingbird” / “Bird Without a Tail/Base of My Skull” / “Tired of Taking It Out On You” / “Jesus, Etc.” / “Impossible Germany” / “Love is Everywhere (Beware)” / “California Stars” / “A Lifetime to Find” / “Box Full of Letters” / “Heavy Metal Drummer”

Encore: “Falling Apart (Right Now)” / “The Late Greats” / “I Got You (At the End of the Century)”

 

Check back to this space for more setlists, news, and all kinds of Wilco whatnot.

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