Headliners fall short on Day Three, and we discover the Very Best of the 2009 Pitchfork Music Festival
By Selena Fragassi & Leah Urbom
Published: July 20th, 2009 | 7:00am
The third and final day of the 2009 Pitchfork Music Festival really kicked off when Glasgow’s Frightened Rabbit hopped onto the Connector Stage. The Rabbits showed some Chicago love a few songs in as frontman Scott Hutchison said, “We’re trying to see how many times we can play this place in 12 months. I think we’ve played here more than we’ve played Glasgow,” before launching into the catchy “Good Arms vs. Bad Arms” from the group’s 2008 sleeper hit, Midnight Organ Fight (Fat Cat Records).
Looking a tad more relaxed in the open-air setting, Hutchison frenetically strummed his guitar along to the equally anxious songs, and then moved to keyboard for a pared-down version of “The Twist,” his voice cracking with the strain of festival singing. By the time the group hit “Heads Roll Off,” however, it seemed that the weary travelers might have fallen victim to the plethora of sound issues that faced the 2009 Pitchfork Festival, and it sounded more like the rhythm had rolled off. But the quartet pulled it back together near close with a tightened-up version of “The Greys,” from their 2007 debut, Sing the Greys (Fat Cat).
As foreigners hypnotized the fields, hometown band Dianogah treated the Balance Stage audience to hefty doses of its post-rock. Despite the lighthearted antics of an audience member clad in a banana suit, the group was more serious in light of the recent death of vocalist-guitarist-keyboardist Stephanie Morris — who joined the group slightly before the 2008 album, qhnnnl. The members of Dianogah considered their Pitchfork set to be a tribute to Morris, and invited a selection of their Chicago friends up on stage to join the performance. — Leah Urbom
Like the other bands taking over the Aluminum Stage on Sunday, Blitzen Trapper succumbed to playing in front of the Flaming Lips’ lavish stage get-up, which could have served as another reminder of the day’s most buzzed-about act. However, the Portland Sub Pop act cemented their own thrilling performance with fast-paced, beat-poetry lyrics and contagious rhythm that inspired both onstage guitar kicks and audience clap-a-longs. Singer Eric Earley was in prime form on the twangy track, “Big Black Bird” and later, “Lady On the Water,” for which he used hand gestures to tell his melodic stories. Blitzen Trapper’s ‘70s rock and Nashville country influences would be perfect for a road trip or a Cameron Crowe soundtrack, with rambling jams that could keep anyone moving.
Stopping by the Saucony record-breaking area, the board displayed a Pitchfork fan as breaking the record for wearing the most temporary tattoos at one time (216) and listing the most lunch foods in one minute while jumping on a pogo stick (21).
Over at the CHIRP record fair, hungry sound-mongers were rifling through boxes of discounted records thrown about in $5 and half-off bins. Make no mistake, these were no slim pickins — the booths read like a Who’s Who of indie rock labels and included Thrill Jockey, Touch & Go, Sub Pop, Dead Oceans, Secretly Canadian, Polyvinyl, Drag City, Golden Age, and Sick Room — who promoted their name by dressing up a half-wasted mannequin in bloody doctor scrubs.
Taking a walk through the craft fair, one look could tell that it was full of kids’ clothes and toys, including the twisted creations of I’m Smitten, which featured kid-animal hybrid prints and photographs of giraffe mascots passed out in a forest. One man asked his wife, “Do you want to send her to school in this shirt?” and pointed to a onesie of a little girl dressed with reindeer antlers. The woman nodded giddily. There were also the typical craft fair items, such as nature-inspired jewelry, homemade cards, and a bouquet of flowery headbands — all of which were amazing purchases due to the last day’s markdowns.
Walking over the Connector Stage was like a scavenger hunt of the most bizarre finds — clumps of straight, brown hair on the ground, colorful blankets and backpacks from the concertgoers who had turned the park into a campground, and one guy who may have been dressed as the Hulk or the Jolly Green Giant. It was really anybody’s guess.
Pharoahe Monch brought Chicago to its feet mid-day, proclaiming “Hip-hop is officially in the house!” and proceeded to perform a set filled with soul-infused grooves. Lush samples that blended with the slick scratching on the turntables were provided by one of the DJs of The X-Ecutioners. But it was the strong-voiced female backup singer, clad in an emblazoned graphic T-shirt and ripped jeans, who stole the show — and proved herself the lady of the hour while belting out lyrics on “My Life.”
“Busta Rhymes told me that if you don’t have a crowd responding the way you want them to, you have to give it more energy — so let’s do this!” Pharoahe Monch shouted. Energy they did provide, and their big-beat set was another prime example of the bold variety at this year’s Pitchfork Fest.
Portland’s the Thermals were next on the Aluminum Stage and featured a trio of jiving garage rockers that were knee-deep in covers, from Sonic Youth to the Breeders and even Nirvana. Bassist Kathy Foster was a sweet surprise, her mop of curls bouncing around as she did jumping jacks while singer-guitarist Hutch Harris graced the floor with his axe. Their original material was just as impressive as the covers, and for the first time in the fest, Harris’ vocals were actually clear enough to hear enunciated words. — Selena Fragassi
As the bright evening sun sliced through the clouds, shoegaze darling M83 (Anthony Gonzalez) graced the Aluminum Stage with backup band in tow — in the same time slot that Spiritualized played just one year earlier. That was a high-set bar, but the French band lived up to the hype with its atmospheric synth music. Though shamelessly indie pop, the drummer kept an impeccable beat, and Morgan Kibby — who contributed vocals to M83’s much-loved 2008 album, Saturdays = Youth (Mute Records) — sang beautifully, draped in a blue sequined top. Though having only recently joined Gonzalez, she was excited to play “Sitting,” a track from the self-titled M83 debut. Unfortunately, much of the audience at that point consisted of older Flaming Lips’ fans, and had no idea what was going on.
Opening on a strong note over at the Balance Stage, Brooklyn trio Vivian Girls played their popular track, “All the Time,” from their 2008 self-titled debut on the In the Red imprint. Fiery-haired bassist Kickball Katy backed up vocalist-guitarist Cassie Ramone with her siren wails as Ramone plaintively strummed her white guitar in an acid-washed denim jacket. Despite the style of their skuzzy, lo-fi rock, Vivian Girls could be heard clearly, with spot-on vocals (as spot-on as garage rock vocals can be, that is) and tight instrumentals.
Back out on the fields, Grizzly Bear lumbered on stage and proceeded to hibernate the first part of the set away. The psych-folk favorites were gracing the Pitchfork stage for the second time (the first being in 2007), but this time behind the new album, Veckatimest (Warp Records), which is a ‘60s-influenced, (partially) sun-filled venture into the group’s nu–Beach Boys tone. However, the set proved a little dull — minus the confetti being test-launched into the audience from the Aluminum Stage, which was being geared up for the Flaming Lips’ set later that evening. Rude festival etiquette? We think so.
The Flaming Lips were undoubtedly one of the most anticipated sets of the 2009 Pitchfork Music Festival. The headlining set took all day to prepare, with props galore to be found backstage, including hundreds of balloons and a gorilla suit. As the sun went down, the crowd increased in size and murmured excitedly, and a silhouetted image of an open-legged female appeared on the onstage screen. As the cartoon woman’s vagina began to flash rapidly, the shot closed in tighter on the light and, birthed from the screen, the Flaming Lips emerged to wild applause.
Not wasting any time, frontman Wayne Coyne immediately leapt into the audience, rolling around inside his infamous inflatable ball. Confetti was vomited from all corners of the stage, balloons were released from God knows where, and lights flashed so rapidly that the entire audience should have had a seizure. Coyne bounced around in his protective gerbil ball for a bit longer and eventually retreated back to the stage to deflate and emerge from the plastic sack.
“We played here at least 16 times in 1994,” proclaimed Coyne, “we owe our whole lives to you, Chicago!” Though the crowd went wild for his antics and local love, it was less responsive to the actual musical performance that the Lips gave, which seemed to irk Coyne. For a band with such a high reputation, the Flaming Lips put on a lackluster concert, glossed over with sensational elements — like private frog dancers and a person in a gorilla suit whose shoulders Coyne climbed on during the new song, “When She’s High,” after encouraging the entire audience to “make some animal noises.”
Bored with the set several songs in and lured backward by infectious dancehall beats that were noticeably booming into the intermissions of the Flaming Lips’ songs, it was time to head back to the Balance Stage forest to discover the hidden gem of the evening: the Very Best. And that they were. Putting on a raucous performance consisting of reggae, hip-hop, house, and Malawian jams, the Very Best managed to merge these influences with popular samples from such varied artists as M.I.A. (“Tengazako”) and Architecture In Helsinki (“Kamphopo”). Esau Mwamwaya kept the vocals jumping while Radioclit monitored the mix, and two energetic women provided backup vocals, one of whom danced joyously throughout the set in a vibrant green halter top and turban. The crowd was so hungry for more that the Very Best gave one of the only encores of the weekend — and ended up being the savior of the night. — Leah Urbom
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For more photos from Pitchfork Day 3, visit Venus Zine’s Flickr page
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