Sweet Talk's Top Ten Live Songs 2008

Page 7 of 12

5) Wilco "Remember the Mountain Bed" Jackson Hole Music Festival 8/16/2008

Set on the side of the Tetons with the Snake River and Sleeping Indian Mountain as a backdrop, the environs for the inaugural Jackson Hole Music Festival were simply awesome.

To accompany such an inspiring locale, we envisioned a one two programming punch of Brian Wilson into Wilco to close the first day. Bridging the gap between the original pusher of pop boundaries and the next generation with a mere 30 minute set break was truly a vision realized. While Tweedy dedicated a blissful "California Stars" to Wilson later in the set, the true highlight of the waking dream was Wilco opening with Woody Guthrie's "Remember the Mountain Bed", perfectly mirroring the spirit of the glowing revelers:

There in the shade and hid from the sun we freed our minds and learned/ Our greatest reason for being here‚ our bodies moved and burned/There on our mountain bed of leaves we learned life's reason why/The people laugh and love and dream‚ they fight‚ they hate to die

Drinking tequila at the local watering hole with Nels Cline before the show, while Tweedy ran up the side of the mountain and Stirratt fished a secret local spot, it was clear in talking about the beauty of playing in such remote and breath taking settings such as  Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, and Alaska, the boys were thoroughly enjoying these rugged "Frontier" gigs.  Seeing the band on the top of its game, frolic in the golden light of a late mountain afternoon was truly soul satisfying.