(Built To Spill)
(all photos by David Evans)
Weather can play a big role when it comes to how much you enjoy a music festival. Just ask the concert goers who attended the Pitchfork Music Festival a couple years ago, when temperatures in the Chicago area rose above 95 degrees for most of the weekend. So, as someone who prefers NOT to have to deal with that much heat, I was pretty happy to see that the forecast for this year’s festival, was much more welcoming. They had been calling for temps topping out in the mid 70s, but when I arrived in Union Park off of the L train, a light rain and cold breeze made me feel like I needed a sweatshirt rather than sunscreen.
(The Jesus Lizard)
This is my first Pitchfork Fest, and after attending Bonnarooo, Lollapalooza and SXSW, I can appreciate the smaller feel that P4K resonates. Union Park after all is really a sports park, with baseball fields and basketball courts and tennis courts that get covered with hipsters one weekend a year. The first evening of the festival also allows you to ease into things, since there are just 4 bands playing and none of them are competing with another stage. Tortoise kicked off the festival and was just a few songs into their set when I arrived. Plenty of new tunes from Beacons of Ancestorship were present, but I felt that at times these guys had very little to offer visually and strode off before the set ended to check out the remainder of the festival grounds.
(Yo La Tengo)
One of the best things about the festival is the merchandise area, which is an independent aritist’s dream. Covering what is usually the tennis courts is a full-on art fair, complete with t-shirts, jewelry, clothing and tons of vinyl records. Indie stalwarths like Sub Pop Records are represented, as well as plenty of local indie labels pushing their artists as well. This is the anti-mall. This is the anti-corporate paradise, where there are just as many handmade items as shoppers. After perusing the area and finding some cheap sunglasses that fit me better than anything at a gas station could, but not costing any more, I moved back to the music and got a nice spot in front to the stage for Yo La Tengo.
The New York trio are really some of the more unassuming musicians I have seen despite their indie rock god status. They, like many of the other bands playing Friday night, had put out a ballot of sorts allowing fans to vote on their setlist for this performance and so it was obvious we would be getting some of their most well known tunes. Among the hits was “Autumn Sweater”, “Tom Courtenay”, “Cherry Chapstick” and “Let’s Save Tony Orlando’s House.” But I really got a kick out of a new song, “Periodically Double Or Triple”, which Ira dedicated to former Chicago Cub legend and broadcaster Ron Santo “wherever he is.” It made me even more excited for the brand new album, due out this fall. YLT are able to not only perform a delicate ballad as easy as a guitar shredding 8 minute jam, as evidenced by fan favorite and set closer “Sugarcube”, which left me reeling.
(The Jesus Lizard)
After YLT, it was time for The Jesus Lizard, a band that I have to say, I have never really been a huge fan of. That being said, I can totally respect and appreciate the fact that they are indie legends and this set would be important. After all, this was the first performance from the band in nearly 10 years! As soon as frontman David Yow hit the stage, the energy within a a wide portion of his epicenter turned from a cool summer evening into a drunken sloppy mess, complete with indistiguishable lyrics, thick pulsating guitars and a stage dive during set opener “Puss” that lasted for the entire song and at times had folks wondering if and when Yow would emerge from the pit to finish the show. It was hard to deny the energy the Lizard was dishing out, and I would say that for fans of the band, this set would be a highlight difficult to top for the whole weekend.
(Built To Spill)
Built To Spill were the final act of the night, and I was more than ready to hear yet another indie rock legend dish out their hits. Doug and company have just about the opposite energy level that the Jesus Lizard employ however and opened up things with “Liar” to the biggest group of people all night long. Here is the thing about Built To Spill, they are an amazing band on record, some of their songs, as evidenced by the setlist for the night, belong in the canon of indie fame forever. My only complaint is that the guys just don’t make me want to stick around and watch anything. They sound great, but there is something about a live performance that makes me yearn for stage banter, energetic band members pushing the energy out and letting the crowd push it right back, and sorry to say this, but Built To Spill do not do that.
That being said, I am really happy I got the opportunity to see them do their thing live this weekend, and despite my objections, “Goin’ Against Your Mind” was brilliant live, as were many of the other tunes in the set. I left the festival on day 1 and jumped back on the L headed toward my hotel. The waterside view from the pink line is hard to top, and so was the fun that I encountered on the first day of the 2009 Pitchfork Music Festival.
(Yo La Tengo)
Lots more photos after the jump of Tortoise, The Jesus Lizard, Yo La Tengo and Built To Spill.
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