I’m giddily anticipating the return of Wilco, a band  the New Yorker billed as standard bearer of American music for the past two decades (read it here). And judging by this short video, Wilco seems equally psyched about returning to Fuji Rock. Getting Wilco to perform is no simple task as the band is so popular + profitable they don’t need to do much international touring, though you would never know this based upon frontman Jeff Tweedy’s rumpled attire. So Wilco will be back, but where will they be playing? This question has been killing me because scheduling dictates how long of a set a band can play. And if you’re a mega fan like me, you want to savor every single minute of their set.

So I sat down and did me some research into set times imposed by both Fuji Rock and other international festivals. Most daytime and early evening acts get a brief 40-50 mins, while prime time sub-headliners get anywhere from 50-70 mins and headliners are afforded a grand 70-120 mins.Basically, headliners put on a full show which is very much what you would get on a typical US/European tour supporting a new album release. Everyone else  is just a brief showcase or an appetizer.

In 2011, the last time Wilco played Fuji Rock, they headlined the White Stage on Saturday night performing from 22:20-23:40 (80 wonderful mins) which allowed them to squeeze in around 20 plus songs which coincidentally is the same length as Wilco’s greatest hits album, the glorious 2-CD  release “What’s Your 20? “.Should Wilco play a sub-headlining slot on Saturday’s Green Stage and judging by past precedent (and Fuji Rock doesn’t change much) the time slot would be from 19:20-20:30 which is around 70mins.

That’s not a huge difference from their last Fuji performance, just 10 minutes total or the equivalent of 2-3 songs. To be honest, I’m willing to make that trade given g the improved traffic flow and better beer access provided by the Green Stage.Now that I’m content with this  possibility, I’ll just have to wait until the full schedule, including stages and band times, are finally announced to plan the rest of my festival.  Can’t hardly wait.

Sean S.

Photocredit: Fujirockexpress 古川喜隆