Pitch Fork

Review

Okay, this is a little late, as everything else, but as This weekend is Lollapalooza Time up here, I’ll post my review of the Pitchfork Festival. I don’t actually follow the site for my music reviews and I’m told that their opinions are controversial at best. I am not jumping in that minefield. For just $41 it is a way cheaper festival than Lollapalooza and a lot of others plus, it does have a wide spectrum of bands.I chose to hit up the Sunday ticket as it seemed the most interesting.

The Venue

Okay there were some pretty strict sounding rules for the event. They wouldn’t even allow reentry into the park. I found out that was actually a pretty good call. Let’s just say a bunch of pasty-white hipsters are way out of place around Union Park. It really is something when one sees the ladies in their Sunday hats and a white-suited pimp with his lucite cane all lower their heads passing by muttering, “damn this neighborhood is going to hell.” And, you know, they’re right.

The food was probably the best festival food I’ve seen. It was all reasonably priced too, which is amazing for outdoor concerts. I’ll get into all the vendors in a later blog, but here’s a note I’m not running around on a dusty hot day with an armload of vinyl folks. Y’all need a holding area.

Also Threadless, the ironic hipster online t-shirt people, their booth was packed from minute 5 until close. I believe they have indeed conquered teh interwebz.

The only real drawback the whole day was the sound engineering. The B and C stages were just horrible. there were some bands that I had to spend half the set trying to find a sweet spot to listen. Oh and one other thing, Two headliners playing at the same time? that was kinda douchey. You really should just have one capping act Pitchfork. Now on to the bands…

The Mae Shi

Okay, I wasn’t in the mood to start of with Michael Columbia, the other opener, on Sunday. Great guy, Michael, but I wanted to hear something new. I chose poorly. It seems like this LA band wasn’t ready to start either. They really didn’t get going until their second to last song, a rap BTW. Maybe it’s just me but a drummer, a bad guitarist and a pre-programmed iMac do not a band make. I’m sorry folks.

Call me an old spinster but I like to hear a band actually play something. Even if it is a DJ mixing live, I’m paying to hear something organic happen at a concert. If i wanted to listen to my iPod, I’d stay home.

Call me an old spinster but I like to hear a band actually play something. Even if it is a DJ mixing live, I’m paying to hear something organic happen at a concert. If i wanted to listen to my iPod, I’d stay home. Verdict – The Mae Shi are a no.

Frightened Rabbit

There were three bands that I went to see at this festival and this band was one of them. These Glasgow boys are on the top of my dreamy rocker list. Seriously, besides The Decemberist’s haunting new album “The Hazards of Love” and the new St. Vincent CD, “Midnight Organ Fight” has to be one of my top three albums this year.

That said, They were a little raspy from the night before which, when I found a proper spot to listen from (the audio issues again), aided in their shaggy lyrics. Verdict: I wish I went to the after show. Yes.

The Killer Whales

These shirtless boys are a local Chicago band still in the need of some spit and polish. They are non-the-less very cool and very-punk.

(And, I mean The Clash not Green Day. Seriously kids, Punk started in 1970’s London not a 1990’s California garage. Does that make me old and bitchy? Well, yes but I’m right.)

They have a pretty good grasp of poly-rhythms they need to learn to play more to the audience though.

best song: Limbo Verdict: give ‘em two years and they’ll be shiny – look out for them.

The Thermals/DJ Rupture

Okay, by this time I was a little bored with my itinerary. That and I was getting a hankerin’ for the stacked brisket sandwiches at the food stand. I found the thermals to be a solid indie-rock band and an all around good listen. DJ Rupture had kind of a world music mix that he was performing. What was interesting was that while it included your usual world dance cliches it built on that through out the set incorporating more avantgarde Iranian and middle eastern music into the world beat set.

I spent most of the time checking out the Flatstock sales tables.

The poster artists’ displays were all quite impressive, and I’m glad to see so many doing their own offset printing. They were all very cool and I had a tough time deciding what I wanted to take home. In the end it was an “Antony and the Johnsons” poster by The Small Stakes Press.

To be continued…

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