Extra, Extra
Pedway, First Store Open At Block 37
Around Town
Red-Light Cameras Not So Special?
Ah, the rain. In previous years we've always half jokingly call the Pitchfork Music Festival "Sweatfork" due to the usually oppressive heat, but this year the afternoon storms brought about "Mudfork" and the attendant rise of the mud people. Saturday is usually the most crowded day of the festival and this year was no different, although we must admit we're seeing less and less of the ironic gym suited American Apparel crowd and more and more of, well, normal folks.
We also couldn't help but notice that just about every music critic in the city seems to spend oall of their time backstage. We admit to ducking back there from time to time ourselves, but we spent most of our time on the field in the midst of the crowd because isn't that the only was to really review a band? At least we thought that's what a music critic was supposed to do. You can't really get a good read on a band's performance -- or the crowd's reaction -- from a park bench behind the stage and out of sight of any of the action, can you? And what about that action? Yesterday there was plenty of it on the various stages around Union Park.
Indie folk poppers Fleet Foxes seemed to bask in the heat, their hazy tunes the perfect soundtrack to a subdued early-afternoon crowd dealing with the muggy, post-rain afternoon. Even if the skies weren't as sunny as the Foxes song, the crowd was willing to go along for the ride. We had some doubts about whether the Foxes' cavernous, etheral sound would translate to the live festival setting, but there didn't seem to be any issues as far as we could tell. The band was spot on as they tackled songs from their previous EPs and their new, self-titled LP.
At the start, it seemed like there would be trouble with Dizzee Rascal's set. The London MC was a bit miffed with some persistent sound problems at the beginning of his set and had a few choice words for the sound guys, but once he settled down, the rest of his set bore no hangover. He declared in his rough Cockney accent, "Ya'll might not understand a fuckin' word I'm sayin', but by the end of the day you'll know my name." If the crowd was subdued but the early humidity, Dizzee got them pumped. Blitzing through tracks from his recent record, Math + English, as well as older tracks like "Fix Up, Look Sharp," Dizzee spit rhymes at a rapid-fire pace and had the crowd jumping and waving their hands, even as the sun finally broke through the overcast skies, baking the sweat-drenched fans. At one point, when Dizzee shed his T-shirt, he flexed for the crowd and quipped, "I'm gettin' my Fifty Cent on." By the time he bounded off the stage, no one was thinking about the aforementioned American rapper and they certainly knew Dizzee's name.
We tried to listen to Vampire Weekend, but we just don't get it. They're well-mannered and polite -- and we certainly do enjoy a good grammar joke -- but overall they turned in a bland set. Luckily !!! was next and their explosive disco-punk transformed the crowd into a single-minded organic simulation of a pogo stick. Nic Offer broke out every ambisexual dance move in his repertoire and gave himself over fully to the music and his mission to draw each and every listener into the center of the universal beat.
The Hold Steady was up next to defend their title of "Best Party Band in the World," and they defended the title with a decisive win. The sheer power of the band's hooks and the evocative beauty of Craig Finn's lyrics would be enough to set them apart from most other rock bands, but the truly winning component of their live sets is the simple fact that band is obviously having the time of their lives up there.
Jarvis Cocker was next and the sense of anticipation for his set was thick throughout the crowd. We swear we even saw two girls crying because they couldn't contain their excitement, and once the tall, unbelievably lanky Brit took the stage we immediately saw that he was going to fully deliver on the hopes of the crowd.Cocker is obviously accustomed to playing much larger festivals, and his physical theatricality sold his darkly comic glam-pop with disarming ease. And only Cocker could get away with closing the set with a song that basically eviscerates the American government and elicit cheers from the adoring throng.
Animal Collective closed out the evening, and while we've never actually enjoyed any of their albums, now that we've seen them live we now finally understand why folks go ga-ga over the band. Mixing improvisational flourishes over dense rhythmic textures mined from both Krautrock and minimalist techno, the band is adept at building these grand sonic washes that sweep you away with their grandeur. It was a suitably epic ending to a day of great music.
Additional reporting by Marcus Gilmer
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
At least most of said critics arrived in time to see all the bands and didn't begin their reviews after 2+ hours of the festival had already elapsed!
And perhaps some critics arrived late because they had to attend a funeral earlier in the day...
damn tankboy. fuck the haters.
looks like it was fun though.
You know Tankboy, for whatever reason and possibly total coincidence I seem to regularly disagree with some things you write on Chicagoist. But any negative mention of the horrible, perhaps most "of-the-moment" band in recent memory, known as Vampire Weekend is something that I'll always cheer you for.
Because, I don't get it either. Those guys couldn't find their balls if someone gave them an instruction manual. I saw then on SNL a while back and it was just sad. I didn't think they let bands with that little muscle actually play live shows.
I primarily hate them because they do such injustice to such a badass band name. VAMPIRE WEEKEND - that's meant for a far cooler and darker band than those back-east nancy boys. No one will give a crap about them at the end of the year. If they make even the upper 20s of a best of list this year, it will be proof that the critics have lost their minds.
i agree! fuck vampire weekend!
Actually I'm not kidding. They remind me of the jonas brothers.
Fuck these idiots!
RIOT CHICAGO BRING BACK GOOD MUSIC
Vampire Weekend got popular because they made a lot of friends in Brooklyn and got these friends to come out to their shows. The nature of contemporary rock journalism as focused on independent bands is to try to seek out whatever seems to be catching and seems simultaneously different yet familiar. "Ooh, they're not muscley rock, but they're still playing conventional rock instruments. We haven't had anything cuddly in a while, and the kids are going, and besides, I know someone who knows them, so let's write about them. Whiteboy Afrobeat pop naievety FTW!" All else follows from the folks who follow the critical acclaim and the ones who follow them.
Don't look so shocked. You've seen this before.
Oooooh, matty, you DID NOT just diss the Jonas Brothers. IT IS ON, my friend.
I think Vampire Weekend's album is pretty good - I don't fall into the camp that things they're the chosen ones, but I also don't agree with a lot of the backlash. That said, Tankboy is spot on with his assessment that their set was lethargic and downright boring. I found myself checking my watch multiple times.
Luckily, the Hold Steady followed VW, woke everyone up, and slayed everything in their path. THAT is how you put on a show.
!!! were great.
Animal Collective are ridiculously overrated. I thought their set was crap (cool light show tho).
I saw Greg Kot hanging out on Friday evening.
I have no interest in Animal Collective because I don't need to be on someone else's acid trip.
I can't believe some poeple like some music while others don't. It blows my mind, right, because we're all supposed to like the same thing...
"insert band" sucks
"insert band" is awesome
::cuts self::
"mud people" should read "drunk people."
love the mud people photo. the expression on the girl in front of them says it all.
I have to stop posting drunk!
!!! rocked my balls off, but did anyone else think the lead singer looked (and acted) a lot like "Tug Tug Terry" (played by Nick Swardson) from Reno 911?
I half expected him to sell me oranges and offer me an HJ.
And now comes my favorite day of the year. . .the day after the Pitchfork fest, when all the lame "Missed Connections" pop up on craigslist.
I didn't go to the fest last year (nor this year), but I placed a fake missed connection last year about "a dude in the American Apparel, with the awesome moustace and red bandana that talked to me about how awesome 'The Hold Steady' is at Pitchfork, me, short girl in Summer Dress with dark hair in a summer dress." Can I just say, I got SEVERAL replies? Its the BEST.
Hmmm, it seemed like Vampire Weekend went over pretty well with the folks that cared to watch. I dig the CD and thought their show was fine. For sure they have some talent, let's just say that their style of preppy-rock is not for everyone.
The girl in the green tank top in front of the mud-people looks non-plussed, but rather hot.
maybe people shouldn't wear their "Sundays" best to an outdoor concert, especially if its raining.
It's too bad you missed Jay Reatard and Caribou who played before the Fleet Foxes. Jay Reatard had some excellent hooks and just the right pissed off energy to get me to forget I was standing out in the rain - and Caribou's tracks that employed dueling drummers really kept it all moving.
By comparison Fleet Foxes had me snoozing, Dizzee Rascal woke me up again and then Vampire Weekend was melodic, maybe not "hard" but enjoyable.
Actually I caught Jay Reatard at Bottom Lounge later that night ... there's two photos of that show at the end of out photo gallery.
!!! always reminds me why I love to dance like crazy at a show. They always put on such a good time. And I feel the same way about Animal Collective. I've never gone crazy about them, but I was pretty impressed by their show Saturday night.
And thanks for calling out the people staying in the back! Seriously, it was like pulling teeth dragging my friends out of that area. But I can't complain too much when I'm given free sparks. It's like candy beer!
!!! really kinda sucks live now. Seems like they've lost a couple of members over the years, and live show has gotten worse because of it.
Tankboy, I can't believe you didn't check out No Age. They rocked my face off. It was awesome.
Titus Andronicus gave the best performance. The crowd for Vampire Weekend was sickeningly large and merit-less. What an untalented band. Besides being musically overrated and having insipid, peter-gabriel-unnatural lyrics, they are AWFUL performers. NO PERFORMING VALUE AT ALL. The lead singer is a hybrid of Adam Levine and some member of O-Town. It's really a shame that there are so many better (musically and lyrically) bands that don't get the same recognition and audience.
Also, Hold Steady. Snore.