Chicago.com
The humid air was stifling when I entered the Near West Side’s Union Park for the sixth annual Pitchfork Music Festival on Saturday. The blistering mid-July heat, combined with the crowd of 18,000 within a few city blocks, led festival organizers to take the stage before 2:30 p.m. act Delorean and urge attendees to stay hydrated and watch out for each other.
Though sirens did blare within the festival gates a few times, coming to aid those who had fallen victim to the unfortunate weather circumstances, on the whole festival-goers’ behavior was a reflection of the festival’s vibe itself: smart, forward-thinking, and humane, as bottles of water passed out in the front row reached the very middle of crowds where scorching sun and body heat reached their apex.
Many could forget, as unassuming indie music fans, that the heat notoriously takes its toll most not on attendees, but on performers. Moving rapidly, rocking to the beat furiously, elevated ten feet up under the sun’s rays and stage lights, and often times in garb far more conservative than bikini-clad attendees, several performers made note of the weather, but in some way or another acknowledged that “the show must go on.”
And oh, did it go on! Delorean, a Spanish quartet of summery alternative dance music, opened my day with energetic Animal Collective-esque samples and breezy melodies. I particularly enjoyed the classic drum and bass foghorn sample used in their opening bit, which was layered and textured with several diferent musical pieces. I discovered quite soon that this intricate layering is the trademark of the group, who broke through only this year with album Subiza after nine years in the underground. My eyes stayed on the keyboardist, Unai Lazcano, who threw his whole body into each track–take note, all you veteran bands lacking stage presence and enthusiasm. One thing that was left to be desired, however, was vocal quality; bassist and lead singer Ekhi Lopetegi nailed the cheery lyrics well, but at times his pitch and volume distracted me from the impeccable instrumentals in the background. Nonetheless, I heard other attendees raving about the early afternoon show well into the evening, and I bet that Pitchfork goers who hadn’t heard of Delorean before yesterday consider themselves fans now.
Following Delorean, I headed toward the Balance Stage for a good spot for L.A. modern funk extraordinare Dam-Funk. Signed to Stones Throw Records, he brought the progressive back to funk with his double-album, Toeachizown, released in 2009. Though I was a fan of that work, I was disappointed by his live show–though he made sure to layer each element of his show with long delays and spaced-out sound, his performance still felt more like cheesy karaoke rather than forward-thinking grooves. Perhaps it was the vocals, which seemed far too loud and crooning for fans, or maybe it was the dumbed-down instrumentation that sounded significantly lower and simplified than on record. No matter the cause, I was disappointed by what I expected to be my top show of the day, and left after four tracks to catch Raekwon back at the Aluminum Stage.
I arrived to the biggest crowd I had seen thus far, apparently transfixed by the large Wu-Tang Clan symbol adorning the DJ’s laptop. My first trip to Pitchfork two years ago also led me to see Raekwon, but that time he was accompanid by fellow Clan member Ghostface Killah. Apparently it didn’t mean much to Raekwon, who felt no need to hog the spotlight and brought a large entourage of supporting rappers and friends on stage with him, for a set of what he promised to be old favorites and throwback tracks. What he wasn’t anticipating, however, were recurring technical difficulties that left his DJ’s instrumental backing sputtering and skipping partway through every song he started. Visually agitated, Raekwon assured fans that he would freestyle acapella if it came down to it, and did his best to make it through fan favorites “C.R.E.A.M.” and “Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nothin’ to F*** With”. Still, the crowd full of hip-hop fans in a festival with only a few such names was left hanging after the error left them with empty silences for minutes on end, and it was a disappointing problem for the veteran MC’s numerous supporters.
The heat began to get to me after a solid four hours of bouncing from set to set, so I took the next few to peruse the unexpectedly varied and large selection of food, craft and art vendors lining several central areas of the park. I discovered hidden gems like Chicago dance vinyl warehouse Groove Distribution, exquisite porcelain jewelry from independent designer Sofia Masri, and vintage-inspired brass and gold pieces from Austin-based Ornamental Things. Also offered were dozens of music posters in various creative permutations, and several food vendors ranging from soy ice cream by Temptation to deep dish pizza by Chicago favorite Connie’s. Also present was a water fountain station that I witnessed tally up a line of nearly 150–could have used a few more spigots, to say the least.
After resting up, I headed towards the Connector Stage to get a good spot for Panda Bear, the elusive founding member of Animal Collective who notoriously avoids performing solo due to his stage fright. Perhaps this stage fright is due to an apparent disconnect between the unusual, soundscape musical perspective of Panda and the outside universe; while at times textured spotlessly and fitting echoing guitar and synths seamlessly into the mood of the summer evening, his mumbles and occasional yelps with minimalist bell ringing and drum patterns still came off unapproachable. He gets extra points for the well-coordinated trippy visuals, but lost me before his set to get a good spot in the already massive crowd awaiting LCD Soundsystem.
And as the sun set on Union Park and all of the near 20,000 attendees gathered around the main stage, James Murphy led LCD Soundsystem under an enormous disco ball for their first Pitchfork appearance. A darling of the indie music scene since the self-titled album was released five years ago, it was surprising that he had never graced the stage until 2010–but the performance made up for lost time. The setlist covered both new releases from 2010’s This is Happening and older fan favorites like “Daft Punk Is Playing At My House” and “All My Friends”. In lieu of Murphy’s recent announcement that the group will retire after this tour–after three nearly universally acclaimed albums and attracting dance-happy fans across the globe–his spot-on vocals and energetic band backing were a bittersweet farewell as the group closed out Saturday night at Pitchfork.
Tags: 2010, Chicago, Dam-Funk, delorean, James Murphy, lcd soundsystem, music festival, Panda Bear, PitchFork, Pitchfork Music Festival, raekwon
Klondike says:
Kewl you should come up with that. Excellnet!
Marlie says:
Keep on wriintg and chugging away!
ifcfuxfz says:
G0mEgP klcyngrkhjno
Cinderella says:
Hey, you’re the goto epexrt. Thanks for hanging out here.
Cheap Nike Shoes says:
XIMO1:
Cheap Nike Shoes
ralph lauren outlet online says:
cheap timberland
Timberland pas cher Timberland Jiggle Top Boots is a good type of any effective make between found unpredicted sector segment.Timberland outlet These footwear is going to be false, mound – wander ice alpinism and rock, but luckily they are popular way.Timberland boots Boots cult harm American college campus, These are typically really performed out 1980 once they arrived at Madeira.Obtaining into factor to think about of low-earnings customers, Timberland business introduce Timberland sales all of the all year round. Regardless of that you are males,womens Timberland boots women or kids, the tariff of Timberland boots is quite reasonable, you are getting a large surprise with this particular activity.timberland chaussure Timberland 2011 were particularly made and manufactured previously to be able to resist harsh surroundings.Timberland shoes They can be particularly created for hiking in addition to working outdoors the home in lots of different climate.mens Timberland boots If you wish to get most likely probably the most use using your boots then its essential for you are taking fine proper care of which.
kids Timberland boots
womens timberland shoes
Leather Work Boots
Timberland rol-top Boots
Timberland Boat Shoes
timberland roll top boots for men
timberland 6 inch boots
timberland shoes for men
Real Madrid and Milan suspected spy jersey next season
Known as sTodo sobre Camisetass Your blog lately launched the 2012/13 season,ralph lauren polo
Real Madrid and AC Milan??s jersey spy.mens polo In the photos perspective Nike Mercurial, Real Madrid next season??s home jersey is going to be V-neck design. This design from 2002, when Real Madrid won the Champions League that shirt. Simultaneously there’s been cut back reminiscences of Zidane??s Fairy.womens polo However it was unclear to alter blog released spy photos of those two Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly holds true.
Were initially two seasons for something new, now’s a season for something new, misappropriating ah!ralph lauren shirts Just a little retro I am talking about Milan. How retro all day long lengthy, ah, Real Madrid or black gold more domineering.
ralph lauren sale
ralph lauren shirts
ralph lauren clothing
discount ralph lauren
ralph lauren polo sale
ralph lauren coupons
ralph lauren polo boots
ralph lauren dress
ralph lauren t shirts
ralph lauren polo shirts
cheap ralph lauren polo shirts
polo dress
ralph lauren outlet online
The Craziest Vegetable You??ve Seen
When my pal Yael turned up to the book club having a spiraling mind of broccoli romanesco in hands, Christin Louboutin I had been floored. shoes shop ??What’s this??this??factor? It appears enjoy it goes around the wall of my senior year calculus class,?? I internally babbled. It wasn??t lengthy before I required rapid walk to the local market, bought a number of this bizarre broccoli, and roasting up with a few essential olive oil, salt, and pepper. Christin Louboutin shoes Mmm, tasty. But what else might be completed with this crazy cauliflower cousin? I set to discover and discovered many a tasty recipe with this fractal of the food. Christin Louboutin pumps Below is really a small photo montage of the items I uncovered. Time for you to start seasoning this periodic delight to see what miracles it’s available!
Christian Louboutin Flats
Christian louboutin bridal
Christian Louboutin Evening
Christian Louboutin Mary Janes
Christian Louboutin Mens
christian louboutin platform
Christian Louboutin Sandals
Christian Louboutin Slingback
Christian Louboutin Wedges
christian louboutin wedding shoes
christian louboutin boots
Burberry??s history from family business to global business
Burberry??s items hasn’t only supported explorer to achieve world??s finish,burberry outlet store but additionally attend by aircraft pilots on the horizon.burberry outlet
In 1919,burberry outlet online
John Alcock and Brown Arthur used a converted plane with two piston engines and 2 wings, flied for 16 hrs uninterruptedly from Newfoundland to Ireland, effectively completed human??s first uninterruptedly over the Atlantic Sea,cheap burberry
as well as their costume were just Burbery.
At this,burberry us Burberry supported human to accomplish several explores within the unknown world that have been all human??s pioneering work, and it is Burberry??s splendor and glory.
cheap burberry bags
burberry flats
burberry boots
burberry coat
burberry mens
Hunting Lower An Ideal Affordable Search engine optimization Services
The important thing to finding fantastic affordable Seo services should be to search for a business that values the limits of the items Search engine optimization can and can’t do and is able to acknowledge that many from the methods utilized this past year simply no more complete the job.nike wholesale The most effective internet sites will often appear presents itself Google??s entries, as they possibly can,cheap nike sneakers being that they are generally experts in Search engine optimization. Search for companies instead of solo people.nike website Only one person are only able to undertake a lot work,best baketball sheos 2011 to ensure that they often times request for much more. This means that unless of course obviously they??re a new comer to the region and trying to advance their clientele,nike outlet store these folks won’t come under a listing of affordable Search engine optimization services.
nike free run shoes
nike shox
nike basketball
It??s tough to think of the world of fashion without Louboutin Footwear
It??s tough to think of the world of fashion without Louboutin Footwear.cheap christian louboutin Individuals red-colored-soled miracles would be the envy and accurate target dears of lots of fashionista,Christin Louboutin shoes discount buying the sausage sartorial creation and heavy superlative to shoe champions everywhere.Attending worldwide visitors:Louboutin foot platform pumps may constitute giving a hive away approach you.cheap christian louboutin Inwards a current interview using the HollywoodReporter, Loub discovered throughout how-do-you-dos latest intends to infiltrate Republic of India,cheap Louboutins Socialist Republic of Vietnam and regular Meleagris gallopavo!louboutin discount Evidently from it,christian louboutin sale he’s additionally to some huge fan of Bollywood (thus the India store openings among some other reasons).
Self employed Online!
In my opinion we’re huge nowadays when it comes to amounts.guess outlet online I wouldn’t speak personally alone as you will find also self employed online who work very hard to earn good amount of cash.guess outlet Either we’re doing the work by using for any operate in couple of of become a freelancer project sites or we all do it by way of blogging and marketing our very own page to generate money eventually.guess online Well i guess,guess sale I??m much like individuals new blogger who might not be new within this area but because of lots of goals in existence I would be among individuals who’ve no direction in blogging world.cheap guess Yeah, I actually do make money on the internet and actually it is not a component time job or sideline but,cheap bags rather it’s a profession for me personally since i have work a lot more than 8 hrs each day doing online stuff?Cwith which i??michael a complete time self employed.
#BREAK#