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Photo of The Flaming Lips by Jim Kopeny
Day 3 of the 2009 Pitchfork Music Fest featured a full slate of bands we planned on catching and we managed to catch most of it with all roads leading to the big headlining set by The Flaming Lips, whose lighting rig was already set up on stage. We were welcomed into a warm, sunny Union Park by the spazzy, buzzy electro-rock of The Mae Shi who set the energy level to 11 and didn't relent for the duration of their set which included a brief switch to hip-hop courtesy of Yea Big + Kid Static. The highlight of the band's performance didn't come from the band itself but rather those guests who called on Pitchfork to review their new record, saying, "Give it a 4, I don't give a shit."
Scotland's Frightened Rabbit had a big task ahead of them to keep the energy level up. While they eased into their set - and Scott Hutchison eased into his creaking vocals after some early struggles with the high notes - the band found its rhythm and had fans up and bobbing their heads with songs like "The Twist." As Blitzen Trapper took to the "A" stage next, it became clear that while Day 2 was marked by constant shifting in sound, Day 3 was marked by more consistency between acts. The roots/mountain rock of Blitzen Trapper fared well with the crowd on the warm afternoon and was, like the weather, pleasant.
As the main field grew congested with beach blankets, strollers, and lawn furniture, the other end of the park, by the B stage, was populated by a younger crowd just looking to move around and have a good time. The "shirtsare for work" boys in the The Killer Whales provided a frenzied approach to R&N topped by vocals that -- to us -- sounded like Yeasayer thrown through a blender. We kinda loved them. They were followed by Women, a group we'd had high hopes for, but offered us nothing but bland and generic indie rock.
After that was Pharoahe Monch, who's hip hop set was everything Doom's Saturday set wasn't: intense, ferocious, and with a level of personality the masked wonder couldn't summon on Saturday. Drawing from the crowd, Monch gave props to those such as Rakim, Mos Def, and Michael Jackson. He was the act we knew least about going into the weekend and coming out he's left us only wanting to hear more. Despite the different musical styles, the follow-up set by The Thermals didn't skip a beat maintaining the energy level immediately by opening their set with a cover of Sonic Youth's "100%." Also covering Nirvana, the Breeders, and Green Day's "Basket Case" - with their own songs in between - the propulsive, fuzzy power-pop/rock trio bounced around the stage and had the crowd likewise partying.
Aided by horns, The Walkmen offered up a solid set but while some of the songs left us in awe, others had us sitting down and losing some energy. Maybe it was the come-and-go sun, maybe it was the end of the long weekend, but we felt the energy from earlier in the day drain from the group at our blanket. Again, though, that's not necessarily the band's fault as The Walkmen were tight and the supplemental horn section added a nice layer on a late afternoon. By the end of their set, the sun was out and the skies had cleared, setting M83 up for a fantastic performance of their electro synth pop that's at once both kinetic and woozy. Beginning the set with a subdued version of "Graveyard Girl," the band had the crowd whipped into a frenzy soon enough with "Couleurs" and earned the "Most Surprising In A Good Way" set.
The good tidings from that performance were quickly lost with Grizzly Bear, who may have well dubbed themselves Grizzly Boring as far as I'm concerned. That said, I whole-heartedly admit that I have never "gotten" the band and that I was in the extreme minority; as evening descended, plenty in the crowd were into the bands cavernous echoed harmonies even though they weren't my cup of tea. But at least Wayne Coyne and the Lips' crew provided some distraction as they set up for that band's festival closing performance.
And what a closer it was from the Flaming Lips. With the band descending from a the video projection of a woman's vagina (you kind of had to be there?), Mr. Coyne appeared from below in his hamster ball/bubble and took out into the crowd but returned for the a stirring version of "Race for the Prize." Admitting that they were eschewing the Write The Night event a bit, the band even played a pair of new songs from their forthcoming EP, but the requested songs like a slowed-down "Fight Test" and even oldie "Mountainside" kept the performance moving along. It was a surreal, bombastic scene with a set of dancers on one side of the stage dressed as frogs (or lizards) and a set of ladies dressed as...kittens? sheep? on the other, dancing all the while as a constant flow of confetti was shot into the air and the half-circle video screen projected images and psychedelic color patterns behind the band. In other words, a Flaming Lips show of the grandest order.
Profusely thanking the city for it's long support of the band, Wayne Coyne played ringmaster to the circus, his warm warble echoing over the grounds under a clear, cool mid-summer night's sky. The band was gracious in digging out its biggest hit - "She Don't Use Jelly" - and appropriately brought the festival to a close with the life-affirming "Do You Realize." With the sky full of large balloons and confetti, the crowd around us singing along and reaching for the scraps of paper floating down from the sky, and the surreal stage set-up, in spite of the exhaustion of a full weekend, it was hard not to smile at the spectacle as Coyne crooned, "It's hard to make the good things last/You realize the sun doesn't go down/It's just an illusion caused by the world spinning round." And just as the sun has set on this year's fest (and on a high note at that), we know the folks at the 'Fork will round up an equally impressive line-up next year and we'll do it all again.
Additional reporting by Jim Kopeny / Tankboy
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the only thing hotter than The Very Best's (which completely out-performed the Lips) set was seeing Kristen Stewart walking around pulling the Julia Stiles card from '08.
Maybe the Lips looked good from the press section, but from where I was standing, it looked like self indulgent crap, and the sound bleed-through from the The Very Best was terrible. People around us were leaving in droves, mostly to go and watch The Very Best who where putting on a hell of a show; The Flaming Lips may have had a party on the stage, but The Very Best had a party in the audience. Easily one of the best parts of the weekend for me and for everyone else I spoke with who had the sense to abort the Flaming Lips suckfest.
actually, Tankboy and I weren't in the press section. we were a little back and to the left of the sound booth amongst the masses. sounded good to us, but to each their own.
The sound there was probably better than on the left then, because the bleed-through was really bad, worse than I noticed it during any other show.
Pitchfork really needs to work that sh*t out. Either do a better job of staggering the timing, or actually have people in the crowds who can do something about getting sound levels turned up or turned down while the show is going on.
"The Flaming Lips may have had a party on the stage, but The Very Best had a party in the audience."
This is the absolute truth. I didn't need to hear Wayne Coyne ramble for 3 minutes in between every song.
Someone had to explain the entrance by the Flaming Lips to me...the video of the woman's vagina? Bright and glowing? Flaming, one might say? Flaming Lips?
But overall it was an OK day for me, an "oldster" who probably won't be going back. M83 echoed Kraftwerk a bit (in a good way), the Walkmen were solid and entertaining, the Flaming Lips were over-the-top entertaining, which I needed after too many we're-just-like-you bands who tried hard to be lowkey. I wanted somebody to give me some showmanship, to say "OK, we'll give you something musically AND visually stunning for your three-day-bucks." No, i didn't like all of the music (I know, nobody would, right?) but thought it was an OK day. I probably won't be going back for a number of reasons, but, hey, it was something.
i am with you, stealth. friday i had my reservations about attending all three days of the event, but i arrived open-minded. i was very glad i wasn't in the very long will call line and if i was, i probably would have turned around and went home. once i became a captive audience, more lines awaited! tickets for beer lines, then beer lines. ohh, this isn't fun. the organizers of north center's mayfest wouldn't let that happen. was that yo la tengo? couldn't really hear them. jesus lizard. yes! what? the sound was very poor coupled with all the back-talking complaints of how poor the sound was. we went to the merchants tent instead. day two--got stuck in the throngs of stage migrations. hmmmm, that band is a direct derivative of arcade fire. doom? this is the big deal--as a young fellow in the beer line told me. people were just hanging out and chatting. left before the national to the cobra lounge where they were playing headbanging music and pouring strong drinks--best part of the day! didn't even go on sunday.
thanks for listening. i needed to get that off my chest.
why should energy be the measuring stick for a good show? sure, the thermals have that, but they're otherwise uncreative and are so-so skill-wise. anyone can do a g-c-d chord progression over and over. in their case, energy doesn't equal good music and good music is what i think should be the measuring stick.
walkmen was heaven for me. it's not for everyone though but thanks for acknowledging that their set was played tight.
women did dissapoint somewhat. but their sound mixing also SUCKED. actually all the mixing on stage B absolutely sucked. that girl at the mixing board had no idea what she was doing. everything was way too bass-heavy and the vocals were always drowned out.
I pity the clean-up crews that have to pick all that confetti up from the Lips show.
I'm still waiting for a flikr photo of the aftermath.
It did seem like a short set, right? Presumably because Wayne Coyne lika da ramble.
word that. i didnt write down the entire setlist, but pretty sure they played around 9 or 10 songs, each at about 4-5 minutes? In an 80 minute set, that's...a lot of talking.
Yeah it was a lot of talking. We could have done without his lengthy explanation of what "Write the Night" is.
i was excited for the flaming lips. it would've been my first time seeing them. i left really disappointed. should've either went to stage B or left early like my friend kept suggesting. if they were so grateful of the chicago support, how bout playing more music and less talk. damn. the jesus lizard was my highlight.
This is the most oversimplified review I've ever read. Did you take note of ANYTHING besides each band's "energy level?" Like, say, the actual music? You know, sound, lyrics, meaning, emotion evoked?
The Flaming Lips had a ton of energy, but they were a joke. Their performance came across like it was thought up by a 13 year old boy on too much Koolaid and possibly some shrooms. And the "distraction" they provided from Grizzly Bear's performance (by making a giant scene setting up while Grizzly Bear was playing) was downright rude to that band and all the people who came to see them.
well, sarah, if you don't like it, i invite you to send tankboy some clips and apply to be a music writer for the site. we could always use more contributors.
To clarify, Marcus isn't being snarky, I am always on the lookout for good music writers. So please do feel free to send clips in if you're interested.
Well, now don't I feel like a sap for enjoying myself during the Flaming Lips. While there was a whole lotta yappin' going on, it was my first time seeing them live and you couldn't have wiped the smile off of my face if you tried. I wasn't particularly close to the stage (to the left of the sound booth. Prolly really close to where you and Tankboy were, Marcus) but I could hear everything quite well. The new songs were great and the songs I voted for got played, so I was happy about that.
There was some sound bleed through from the B stage, but that happens for every act, every year. that's kinda what happens when you're outside and the stages are that close to one another. All I was mad about was being stuck between girl on tall guy's shoulders right in front of me (Great. Now NONE OF US CAN SEE!), Cigar Dude, and the drunken hipster limb flailing that came out of nowhere. I'm glad The Very Best had a good time with their people, but we had a good time with our band, too.
Long Live The Flaming Lips!
I second this. I've never been a huge fan of the Lips musically (though they have had their moments), but you can't argue with the fact that they are brilliant showmen--well, obviously you can, but anyone who would is just a big old grumpy face. A fine end to a fine weekend.
I don't know why everyone here is hatin on the Lips, they put on a spectacular show. Wayne is a great, great frontman, a true entertainer, I thought the show was a huge blast... enjoyed every moment of the Lips set, as did all my friends who went.
I've always considered myself Switzerland with respect to hipsters. But after this weekend, can they go to Iowa for the next two weekends so that I can recover?
I've been to pfork for four or five years now. This year the Lolla-Bro contingency took a noticeable foothold in the crowd. It was great to see the contorted looks of hipster horror as their subculture becomes even more diluted by popular culture.
Also, nice that they added 300 tickets to each day, and apparently not many more portopotties--I had to wait 20 minutes in line to pee every damn time.
I've seen the Lips 4 or 5 times. They are MADE for festivals of this sort. While it was a short set and the crowd sing-a-longs were weird with their slowed down renditions, it was still a freakin awesome time. The Lips never disappoint.
Part of the reason I go see them live is the energy. Shows are part band on stage but the other half is how much feedback they get from the audience. The crowd was ok, weaker than previous times I've seen them. You could tell the audience was casual Lips fans and not hardcore fans who would appreciate stuff off something before Soft Bulletin.
Side note, as much as I love love love Frightened Rabbit, they were off their game. Wonder how good their after show was.
The Frightened Rabbit show at Bottom Lounge afterward was INCREDIBLE. Scott Hutchison even said he was feeling under the weather earlier in the day but after some medicine (holding up what appeared to be a bottle of whiskey) he was feeling much better. I put some pictures of the show up here.
I saw them in Detroit last night and they were still off. Scott's voice was rough. I've seen them in far better shape.
I danced with Lizz to the Walkmen, it was a ton of fun. . I LOVE that band and they were wonderful.
Great leading photo Jim.
Thanks Laura!