Pitchfork Music Festival 2008 Feature by Guest Contributor
The annual Pitchfork Music Festival has been a summer highlight for me since its inception, and this third incarnation of the festival proved equally enjoyable. After excitedly scrutinizing this year's lineup, I decided that Saturday and Sunday were the days to be there. The festival planners followed up last year's “Don't Look Back” Friday with All Tomorrow's Parties by having three more bands perform their “classic” albums in their entirety. This year's choices? MISSION OF BURMA peforming Vs., SEBADOH rocking through Bubble and Scrap, and PUBLIC ENEMY cutting through It Takes a Nation of Million to Hold Us Back. While I do enjoy Mission of Burma's work, I chose to save my energy for Saturday's killer lineup.
Saturday, July 19th, 2008
I arrived just as doors were opening, and already I could tell this year's crowd was going to be worse (read: bigger) than last year's. This seems to be a trend with Pitchfork Music Festival, much to my chagrin. Part of what I adored about the previous two festivals was the small crowd size, but this year was so crowded that it was actually uncomfortable at times. Perhaps there were more tickets sold, or maybe more festivalgoers brought lawn chairs this year. Veteran attendees were all in agreement that something was different, and not in a good way.
Weaving through this crowd took quite a while, especially in the on-and-off rain. The strains of TITUS ANDRONICUS's music filtered over the crowd as I made my way over to the Rock for Kids auction booth to see what was up for grabs this year. Rock for Kids works to bring educational opportunities to underprivileged children via free music lessons, and every year I am impressed by the work they do at the festival. Along with the mix CDs made by the performers, there was a dreadlock belonging to a member of one of the bands (I was too floored that this was being auctioned off to note whose head it was cut from). In the end, this unusual item brought in over $100 for the organization. I bid on a signed VAMPIRE WEEKEND poster, and headed toward the smallest stage.
The Balance stage is notorious for being late, and is the reason why my friends and I usually have to choose between bands we thought we could originally see back to back. However, A HAWK AND A HACKSAW went on in a timely manner. Their mostly instrumental set was perfect for easing into the day's festivities. The violinist was highly skilled, as was the percussionist/accordion player. While these two individuals are clearly the group's stars, I was mesmerized by the young instrumentalist who, in the span of 15 minutes, played a mandolin, a clarinet, some small percussion instruments, guitar, and sang without breaking a sweat.
While listening to JAY REATARD's set swell in the background, I grabbed some lunch from a local restaurant's booth and examined the offerings at Flatstock, an annual poster-artist festival that was a highlight of previous Pitchfork Music Festival. I was disappointed, as it seemed that Flatstock was slightly downsized, and was not as viewer-friendly. There was one concrete walkway lined on either side with poster booths instead of the two or three rows that had been put in a grassy area last year. Some wonderful artists were featured, but upon finding that the artist whom I had purchased from previously was not to be found, I headed to one of the mainstages.
FLEET FOXES came onstage, and began very quietly. The vocal harmonies were prominent, so much so that the guitars were not even necessary. After a while, they kicked it up a little bit. The soaring melodies were so sweet that I felt myself falling into a sleepy trance. The songs were saccharine, structured in a meandering way. Choruses and hooks were few and far between, but I hardly missed them.
The Balance stage had inevitably fallen behind. As a result, my boyfriend and I were forced to choose between the FUCK BUTTONS and DIZZEE RASCAL. Unwilling to chance missing both of them, we headed to Dizzee Rascal.
I knew Dizzee Rascal from his collaborations with RATATAT, but I did not know any of his solo work. I was absolutely floored by his stage presence and his rapping ability. The reason why I do not care for most rap music is because the content always seems to deal with getting high, drunk, killing someone, or screwing someone. Dizzee, however, rapped about none of those topics. His work dealt with the underprivileged lifestyle, growing up to be successful, looking out for others, and living in broken homes. And the kicker? He managed to do this without sounding like an awful after-school special. It was his set that finally brought the best part of previous Pitchfork festivals to this year's event: community. I would see him again in a heartbeat.
An hour later, recent media darlings Vampire Weekend took the stage. I had heard a lot of good things about this New York group and they more than delivered. Musically, they were not hugely innovative, but they were what I needed at that point in the festival: good, straight-up four-piece indie-pop. For the first time all day, I was able to dance. The choruses were perfectly catchy, and I found myself singing along even though I had never heard their work before.
Just then, legendary dance-punk outfit !!! (pronounced “chk-chk-chk”) started up on the other mainstage. As soon as the first chord was struck, there was a palpable increase in the crowd's energy. Singer Nic Offer's flamboyant dance moves were mirrored by festivalgoers (although many ran into difficulty when trying to do the windmill in a croweded park). Every single person in the fairground started to dance, whether they wanted to or not. Musically, their fusion of funk, electronica, and punk was perfect--just the right amount of each influence came through in the songs. Add to this set the first real sing-a-long of the day (led by singer Shannon Fuchess), and there was no stopping !!!.
That is, until THE HOLD STEADY started to set up on the Aluminum stage. The popularity of their new release, Stay Positive, was reflected in the number of people who had waited for hours by the stage to get a glimpse of Craig Finn. One fan I spoke to was so excited that the only thing I could understand was “I've waited since five this afternoon in this spot for the Hold Steady.” From the first song of the set through the end, Finn's fast-paced vocals came out in a relentless stream, as did his larger-than-life dance moves. The band had sounded tighter during last year's Lollapalooza performance, but they appeared to be having more fun this time around. This may have something to do with Franz Nicolay swigging wine straight from the bottle between songs…
Sunday, July 20th, 2008
Wiped out from dancing, I was grateful to begin my second festival day with the mellow indie-pop of THE DIRTY PROJECTORS. Instrumentally, the Projector's don't really bring anything new to the table. Vocally, however, is where they get you. The predictable vocal stylings of lead singer Dave Longstreth are given the one-two thanks to female vocalists Amber Coffman and Angel Deradoorian, whose impeccable harmonies made the set. The set was merely enjoyable, but not terribly memorable.
After bumming around for a bit, I caught THE APPLES IN STEREO, a group that counts Elijah Wood among its many fans (the band's latest album, New Magnetic Wonder, was the first release on Wood's Simian Records label). They've gotten a decent amount of press recently, especially with the appearance of lead singer Robert Schneider on The Colbert Report, but I was still wary of the hype. The band blasted through my low expectations, sending me running to find their album. The lyrics were catchy, and spontaneous sing-a-longs occurred during almost every song. The band's sound hearkens back to the 1960s pop-rock sound, with Beach Boy-like group vocals cropping up periodically. A fun set from a good band.
LES SAVY FAV strutted onto the Connector stage. Singer Tim Harrington's antics were almost as incredible as those of !!!'s Nic Offer. He threw several objects (including several Goose Island beach balls) into the crowd, and then followed up by hurling himself over the barrier. He then made his was back onto the stage, ran all over the speakers like sugar-high child, and then ran over to the side of the stage to sing to some children with VIP parents. Clothes were then removed to reveal a spandex bodysuit. Tim followed this by jumping off the stage (again), running to an area still muddy from the previous night's rain, and rolled in it. As he told a Native American coming-of-age story, he smeared mud on the faces of audience members… I don't remember anything about the music itself.
Exhausted from the intense heat and humidity, I decided to end my day with M. WARD's bluesy-folk set. Ward started out singing and playing guitar alone, and then, as the set progressed, additional band members came on, the most memorable being the person whose sole job it was to whistle. Good old-fashioned singer-songwriter music pieces elevated thanks to Ward's guitar chops.
Overall, the festival was enjoyable, if over-crowded. I felt the increase in bodies most in the press and photographer areas, which was disappointing. But the water was cheap, the food good, and the entertainment beyond what I expected. I can't wait for next year.
- This review and the photos included were submitted by Allie Greenberg. The first photo is of Vampire Weekend. The second is of The Hold Steady, and the third is of Les Savy Fav.
The annual Pitchfork Music Festival has been a summer highlight for me since its inception, and this third incarnation of the festival proved equally enjoyable. After excitedly scrutinizing this year's lineup, I decided that Saturday and Sunday were the days to be there. The festival planners followed up last year's “Don't Look Back” Friday with All Tomorrow's Parties by having three more bands perform their “classic” albums in their entirety. This year's choices? MISSION OF BURMA peforming Vs., SEBADOH rocking through Bubble and Scrap, and PUBLIC ENEMY cutting through It Takes a Nation of Million to Hold Us Back. While I do enjoy Mission of Burma's work, I chose to save my energy for Saturday's killer lineup. 
That is, until THE HOLD STEADY started to set up on the Aluminum stage. The popularity of their new release, Stay Positive, was reflected in the number of people who had waited for hours by the stage to get a glimpse of Craig Finn. One fan I spoke to was so excited that the only thing I could understand was “I've waited since five this afternoon in this spot for the Hold Steady.” From the first song of the set through the end, Finn's fast-paced vocals came out in a relentless stream, as did his larger-than-life dance moves. The band had sounded tighter during last year's Lollapalooza performance, but they appeared to be having more fun this time around. This may have something to do with Franz Nicolay swigging wine straight from the bottle between songs… 
VIP parents. Clothes were then removed to reveal a spandex bodysuit. Tim followed this by jumping off the stage (again), running to an area still muddy from the previous night's rain, and rolled in it. As he told a Native American coming-of-age story, he smeared mud on the faces of audience members… I don't remember anything about the music itself. 
