After braving the chaos that was the bus from downtown and then the ticket line, we arrived just minutes before Jason Molina and friends were to hit the stage. It was early in the day so we were able to get up front and sit in the sun on the grass through the entirety of the set. Molina remarked it was far to early for this band to be on stage but it didn’t seem to phase them too much. With all of the lyrics about the dark and wolves and ghosts though, one does wonder whether Molina ever leaves the house before sunset.

The songs chosen were primarily from the latest two efforts by the Chicago band, and were decidedly toned down for the mid-day crowd. Some dancer’s came down for a few songs and then Molina commented that they weren’t really a “boogie band” and the set slowed down quite a bit after that.

Sadly, unlike previous tours they didn’t bring the lap steel player along so that element was sorely missed by yours truly. Also unlike previous visits the ROCK was only notched at a solid 4 instead of a blistering 8 or 9, but then again that might just be reflective of their latest material. More guitar solos were definitely in order. Nonetheless I really enjoyed the set, while others with me were a bit disappointed, mostly due to the aforementioned lack of rock. For my money though, a great if mellow start to the day.