Over two nights and six sets, The Big Wu performed their final two shows for the immediate future this past weekend. Both evenings took place in the band's hometown of Minneapolis, at the Cedar Cultural Center, the site of the group’s 3/13/98 live release. On the first evening the Wu performed as its classic quintet, with Jason Fladager and Chris Castino sharing guitar duties (Fladager had left the group a few years ago although he subbed for Castino on the Wu’s fall Japanese tour). The band performed an acoustic set and two electric ones on Friday the 29th, offering a nod to its early days with a number of Grateful Dead covers, including "Big Railroad Blues,” "Cassidy" (which contained a “Sex Machine Jam” ) "China Cat Sunflower" and "Althea." On Saturday, the band closed out its year with longtime friend Dean Magraw adding guitar to sets two and three (while Fladager performed at the Cabooze with his current group, God Johnson). The December 30 show, once again offered a mix of covers and original music, ending in a fitting manner with a version of “Not Fade Away” followed by an encore of Supertramp's “Take the Long Way Home.”
While the Wu will embark on a hiatus, the band has announced that it will host the Big Wu Family Reunion X later this year.
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