Pitchfork Music Festival 2013 Preview: Sunday
By Tankboy in Arts & Entertainment on Jul 18, 2013 7:00PM
By Sunday many of you may be weary, but the line-up is so solid that we reckon you'll rally in no time. Here are our picks for the acts that will inspire our own second (and third, and fourth) wind.
Best Reason to Rep Chicago:
Tree on the Green Stage at 1 p.m.
Hustle to Union Park early on Sunday and you can open as well as close the last day of Pitchfork with soulful Chicago performances. Raised in Cabrini-Green, rapper and producer Tree has steadily attracted attention over a series of several mixtapes especially the past year's Sunday School and Sunday School II series. Combining Chicago's R&B legacy and current drill aggression to form a style he calls "soul trap," Tree invites us into his congregation spitting fire and brimstone with a backbone of soul. Tree's signature growl provokes a consciousness missing from Chicago music for years and a personal, unapologetic rawness we'll take as gospel. - Jessica Mlinaric
Most likely to benefit from a do-over:
Foxygen on the Red Stage at 1:45 p.m.
We loved their last album, We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic, but were disappointed when we finally saw Foxygen open for Unknown Mortal Orchestra at Lincoln Hall this spring. The intriguing 60’s psych rock sound on record didn’t translate to the stage, as a cocky attitude took priority over music. We weren’t the only ones who witnessed a messy set from the crew, after an onstage meltdown at SXSW, the band issued an apology and canceled a portion of their tour citing the “creative health of the band.” We’ll applaud them for taking a needed step back, and here’s hoping the young duo has recovered from the ails of sudden popularity. A lot of bands don’t get a second chance from fans after a poor showing, but we say their sound is strong enough that we’ll go out of our way to see them on Sunday.
- Michelle Meywes
Best Chances to Be One of the First Chicago Folks to See Run the Jewels Live:
Killer MIke on the Green Stage at 2:30 p.m. and El-P on the Red Stage at 3:20 p.m.
With the recent formation of their duo Run the Jewels and free release of an album by the same name, we’re actually surprised that Killer Mike and El-P’s sets at Pitchfork this year are separate. However, their sets are on the same day of the fest, less than an hour apart, so who’s to stop one of them from joining the other on stage for a song or two? This could actually be the best of both worlds as the two rappers from different regions of the U.S. are just as worthy of your time apart as they are together.
Killer Mike is as much an ATLien as his buddies Big Boi and Andre 3000. In fact, he made his hip hop debut on Stankonia (“Snappin’ and Trappin’”). His 2012 smash R.A.P. Music upped his underground cred and starting gaining him mainstream attention.
El-P hails from the north - NYC to be exact. He’s produced albums for Killer Mike in the past, including R.A.P. Music, and experienced success similar to Mike’s last year with his critically acclaimed Cancer 4 Cure. If you’re going to see just one rapper this weekend at Pitchfork, don’t. Change your plans and see both Killer Mike and El-P on Sunday. - Katie Karpowicz
Biggest scheduling head scratcher
Yo La Tengo on the Green Stage at 4:15 p.m.
Yo La Tengo headlined the Pitchfork Music Festival in 2009, so this early time slot for them is really confusing. Maybe they had it written into their contract they wanted to wrap things up early and catch the other bands? I have no idea. What I do know is that after a couple albums that I found to be overly long and sleepy, their most recent record Fade is a keeper that has us truly excited for the band’s appearance since we’re hoping the reinvigorated sound will lead to a livelier set. And even if that new blood doesn’t run hot on the stage, the band’s been around for almost thirty years so their stage show tends to be good no matter what. - Tankboy / Jim Kopeny
Hey kid you’re gonna be a star.
Sky Ferreira on the Blue Stage at 4:45 p.m.
Sky Ferreira is one of those rare pop princesses that can match her talent to a dizzying array of genres. Dance, pop, folk, rock; she can do them all and it always feels natural without a hint of her sounding like she’s merely copping a style. And her voice is full and powerful without being overpowering, lending her the air of someone far more practiced at her craft than you would suspect a 21-year-old of being. And she has recorded one of my absolute favorite pop songs of the last decade (I’m not exaggerating) so I’m super excited to see that performed live.- Tankboy / Jim Kopeny
Most Likely to Live Tweet His Performance:
Lil B on the Red Stage at 5:15 p.m.
Oftentimes more known for his internet personality than his music, Brandon McCartney, AKA Lil B, The BasedGod, has come a long way since his first tweet. Originally part of a Bay Area hip-hop group called The Pack, Lil B grew into his own and has independently released a lot of music through various outlets online. As for his music, it may not be the most intelligent rap music around, but if you listen to a few songs, it's pretty easy to see why he's so popular and likeable on the “rap internet.” Lil B has already established a loyal fan base on the internet, but we're curious to see how his online personality translates into a live performance. - Tiffany Kwak
Best Reason to Kiss Chillwave Goodbye:
Toro y Moi on the Green Stage at 6:15 p.m.
Roughly three years ago, a slow-tempoed, rhythmic, electronically influenced genre of music referred to as “chillwave” gained sudden popularity and SPIN, Pitchfork and other music publications had a collective cow over it. Chaz Bundick - who performs under the moniker Toro y Moi - welcomed increased attention and wound up as one of chillwave’s most popular names. Luckily when the genre went out of style as quickly as it became fashionable to begin with, Bundick made an album that left all of his past work in the dust. Anything In Return is creatively funky, danceable, poppy, soulful, sensual and - because it just came out in January - still fresh. - Katie Karpowicz
Best chance of hearing music a label doesn’t want you to hear.
M.I.A. on the Red Stage and 7:25 p.m.
M.I.A. has transformed herself from a wave of political acid into an enticing melange of dancer of honest to god dance pop. It’s not an easy trick to pull off which is probably why it’s taken her so long to release the follow up to 2010’s /\/\ /\ Y /\. M.I.A. has claimed to have finished her new album a number of times but the label keeps rejecting it, so we’re hoping that Sunday’s set gives us a taste of just what it is her label doesn’t like. Something tells me we won’t share the label’s concerns. - Tankboy / Jim Kopeny
Best Reason to Not Stay Trapped In the Closet:
R. Kelly on the Green Stage 8:30 p.m.
We never thought R. Kelly would perform at a festival like Pitchfork. (Come on! It's R. FREAKIN' KELLY. Stadium status.) But then we thought about it, and it kind of made sense. While we don't doubt that a handful of attendees will only want to see R. Kelly “ironically” for some long lost nostalgia street cred (lame), we're confident that the living legend's performance will silence the haters and get everyone dancing. You're lying if you say that you've never played “Ignition (Remix)” at a party or if you never cried while listening to “I Believe I Can Fly.” If this show is anything like his Light It Up Tour DVD, which some of us has seen more than once, then get ready to have your mind blown. R. Kelly needs no justification. This one speaks for itself. - Tiffany Kwak
Best Reason to Skip R. Kelly:
TNGHT on the Blue Stage at 8:45 p.m.
This is actually a pretty tough choice. R. Kelly is a music legend, but TNGHT is just getting started. If you're here to party (and we mean PARTY), then you're in the right place. TNGHT, comprised of Djs/Producers Hudson Mohawke and Lunice, is one of the hardest working duos out there. We're definitely not talking about two people standing around casually bobbing their heads playing polite electronic music. We are talking about an intensely vibrant and happy electronic duo that just wants you to have a good time. They are loud but not obnoxious - sure, they play electronic music influenced by rap/hip-hop, but it goes a bit beyond that. They come up with beats that just somehow move you. If you don't move to this music, then there might be something wrong with you. We can't think of a better way to close-out the festival. - Tiffany Kwak
RELATED: Pitchfork Music Festival 2013 Preview: Friday
Pitchfork Music Festival 2013 Preview: Saturday
Your 2013 Pitchfork Music Festival Survival Guide