For the third year straight, I attended Pitchfork's music festival in Union Park, Chicago. For three days, I battled through hot heat and hangovers to see some great--and not so great--bands selected by the indie kingmakers themselves.
Here's a list of my five favourite performances, in no particular order...
This blog has a pretty lengthy track record for being pro James Blake, so it shouldn't surprise regular readers that I loved the fuck out of this performance. Going into the show, I was skeptical; I wasn't sure how well Blake's sparse vocals and moody electronics would translate to a daytime festival audience, but as soon as the sun started to fall, his crooning and keyboards sounded pitch perfect. For 3/4's of the show, his backing band--a drummer and guitarist--did next to nothing, but by the time Blake got into "CMYK," all three of them let loose and the manic vibes continued for the last two songs, "Limit to Your Love" and "The Wilhelm Scream."
James Blake - CMYK
2. Fleet Foxes
Man, I don't have much else to say other than, "perfection." Robin Pecknold and co.'s layered harmonies and acoustic guitars floated above the audience and struck all the right chords. I didn't get too close for this one, but laying on a blanket and letting the sounds wash over me ended up being the right choice for a closing band that relied more on subtlety than panache.
Fleet Foxes - Mykonos
3. Cut Copy
One of the major problems that plagues the festival is a lack of volume; because of the public park's regulations--like all music ceasing by 10 PM-- many times bands sound too damn quiet. Thankfully, this is the best P4K has sounded yet, which meant acts like Cut Copy got the volume turned up to 11. I managed to get criminally close for these guys, expecting an over-heated dance party way up front, but I don't think it would have mattered. The entire crowd was the most pumped I'd seen them and that was on the third day in 98°+ weather. It seemed like everyone was dancing, which made things that much better.
Cut Copy - Hearts on Fire
4. Odd Future
Ah, Odd Future. I wasn't sure what to expect here. Of course, I'd read all the hype surrounding their SXSW performances, but I also had multiple friends attend that recent-ish disappointing Detroit show, so I held my breath for Tyler, The Creator and crew. While OFWGKTA weren't going 100 mph the entire set, they showed a surprising amount of joie de vivre in the excruciating heat. And anyone who thought Tyler would be limited by his broken leg/cast were sorely mistaken we he stage dived. Twice. I know there's a huge range of opinions on the collective, but their vular lyrics sound a hell of a lot less offensive when they're being sung by thousands of men and women. Plus, there's something special about a entire mass of people throwing both middle fingers in the air on command.
Odd Future - Orange Juice
5. No Age
Far and away my favourite performance of the weekend based on energy alone. Randy Randall and Dean Spunt brought all the punk ethos they're known for and it hit the fucking spot in the middle of a sweating crowd at 3:30 on Saturday. In less than 30 minutes, I managed to get all the way to the front, lose, then find, both of my shoes, throw out my shoulder, get punched in the head and heard covers of The Misfits' "Hybrid Moments" and Black Flag's "Six Pack." It was the kind of small venue experience you're not supposed to have at a giant festival. No Age: sheer awesomeness.
No Age - Everybody's Down
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