Summer break is an evil concept. Throughout the last month of school, we students constantly look forward to it. We mark our calendars, start internet countdowns, and tell anyone who will listen “I only have 5 days left!” Then, once it finally comes, it feels like it ends faster than that whole month we were endlessly looking forward to it. We get home from school, sleep in our own beds, see family and friends, and then get yanked right back into the grind that is collegiate learning. Because it always feels like the months between the end of spring semester and the beginning of fall semester go by in a heartbeat, I feel that it is extremely important to fill those months with as many fun things as possible.

For me, the most fun I had this summer, were the three glorious days I spent at Pitchfork Music Festival. Seeing countless bands I was really excited about, discovering plenty of new ones, and finally hearing a few that had been in my radar, the festival is really, as Rolling Stone once put it, “an indie music fan’s Mecca.” The only way to talk about this truly one of a kind festival is to go day by day and cover all the bands I saw upclose, and the numerous others I saw from afar. So, without further ado: my breakdown of Pitchfork Music Festival.

Friday

This year Friday at Pitchfork was very different from past festivals in that there was no real special event. Past years have seen bands like Sonic Youth and Public Enemy respectively performing “Daydream Nation” and “It Takes a Nation of Millions” to Hold Us Back in their entirety, or fans picking the songs they wanted bands like Yo La Tengo, The Jesus Lizard, and Built To Spill perform. The “special events” Friday held this year included an earlier start time, and a separate comedy stage, and while I wholeheartedly welcomed the former, I was sort of indifferent to the latter. I arrived at around 3:30 this year and planted myself at the C stage to see the wonderful lineup set to play the stage that evening. (For those who have never been, Pitchfork has three stages slated for performances. The A and C stages are in the main are of union park, and alternate acts throughout the day, while the B stage is far enough away from the other two that its lineup can play without any distractions from the two main stages.) I caught the end of Sharon Van Etten as she wrapped up her acoustic set over at the A stage, and then settled in to see The Tallest Man on Earth play a short, but thoroughly enjoyable acoustic set. I had not heard his music before (and as such could not recount the setlist,) but being a fan of the singer songwriter tradition I was instantly pleased by it. The lyrics fit well with his vocal style and the guitar served as a relaxed and pleasant backing. I could see him touring with artists like Iron and Wine within the next few years, but for now I was happy to see this up and comer in a setting like Pitchfork.

After The Tallest Man on Earth took his final bow, I took a seat on the grass (not wanting to loose my spot for Liars) and heard the bass heavy blast of El-P coming from the A Stage. I have never really taken the time to get into his music, so I just sat back and let the music drift over me as chatted with people around about the the last set, saw people I recognized from high school and college, and watched Liars set up for their quickly approaching set.

When Liars made their way on stage, they successfully brought the intensity of their albums to their live set. Opening with “Scissor” from their latest album “Sisterworld”, the band quickly built up the intensity to the point at which the song explodes into chaos, somehow being even more effective live than on record. They continued to keep that intensity up throughout the entire show, playing many of the songs from the terrific “Sisterworld” (see my review for more information), but also bringing back favorites from their previous four albums as well as at least one cover. The band played flawlessly, plowing through their complex songs without a hitch, all while lead singer Angus Andrews strutted and danced around in his Men At Work t-shirt and short shorts. The band instantly became one of the highlights of Friday, and left the crowd readyand waiting for the C-Stage’s final act, Broken Social Scene.

As I could not sit and relax at this point, I turned to face the A stage to watch the Swedish pop star Robyn’s performance. I cannot say I am a fan of her style of pop music, but I will admit that Robyn put on a great show. She exerted all the energy that attracts people to pop shows, but nixed all the over the top stage theatrics that would keep someone like me away. This meant none of the back up dancers, costume changes, transforming sets, or other techniques that Lady Gaga would employ weeks later at Lollapalooza. In reality, Robyn’s performance was more like a rock show, with her acting as a frontman, effortlessly leading her tight, well rehearsed band.

As the sun started to disappear behind the buildings of Chicago’s west loop, Robyn and her band closed their energy packed set, and 9 of the members Broken Social Scene took the stage and went right into “World Sick”. While focusing on songs from their recently released “Forgiveness Rock Record”, the band also played songs from all four of their terrific albums, showcasing the strong musicianship of the members of this massive collective. The band’s lineup constantly switched throughout the set, brining on additional singers, string players, and even a horn section to supplement the core players, and allowing Kevin Drew to officially announce the collective’s newest member John McEntire, who also serves as a percussionist for The Sea and Cake, and Tortoise. The band kept the energy up enough to keep the crowd engaged through the dwindling daylight, eventually closing their strong set with “Meet Me In The Basement”, a song described by Pitchfork as “the guitar instrumental to end all guitar instrumentals.”

After BSS finished their set, I wandered over to food vendors to grab some more water and something to eat and then ventured over to catch the beginning of Modest Mouse. I am a huge fan of the band on record, and as such was pretty disappointed by their lackluster set. It wasn’t that they were playing poorly, or that the band has just lost it’s way, but after seeing Broken Social Scene’s powerful and ernest performance, it kind of felt like Isaac Brock and Co. were just going through the motions of their songs, not putting any real substance behind them. I quickly lost interest and wandered over to the Flatstock Poster show to visit one of my favorite graphic designers, hoping by the time I got back Modest Mouse would have ramped up the intensity. Alas, after the 15 minutes I spent perusing the posters for sale and chatting with their creators, I wandered back to the A stage to find Modest Mouse delivering the same unenthusiastic performance I had left earlier. I stayed for about a while longer, singing along with the band in an effort to be more engaged, but ended up leaving a half hour early, saddened that the band had not delivered the performance I had expected from them.

-Dylan Samson

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