Pitchfork Music Festival – Union Park, Chicago, IL – July 14th-15th, 2007

I traveled to Chicago this past weekend for the Pitchfork Music Festival. I flew in to town after work on Friday and wasn’t able to make it to the first day of the event, which was the Don’t Look Back day. It featured Slint, GZA, and Sonic Youth each performing one of their albums in its entirety.

Saturday and Sunday were filled with great bands from early afternoon into the evening. The lineup was a diverse set of indie musicians, from De La Soul to Grizzly Bear, from Yoko Ono to Of Montreal. Here’s a list of some of my personal favorite performances.

We walked into the Union Park grounds as the first band, The Twilight Sad, began playing. The Glasgow band mostly played songs from their LP, Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters. The four-piece had a tom-and-guitar-heavy set that sounded great in the open environment of this festival.

Austin’s Voxtrot also played a great set. I liked their first two EPs, but I was unenthused by their full-length release. This set won me back.

One of the acts I was most excited to see was Iron & Wine. Sam Beam and company created a very relaxing mood. The shaggy singer songwriter, accompanied by a band that featured slide guitar, violin, light drums, and a mixture of backing vocals, layered unique polyrhythms and understated harmonies. They capped off their set with a Radiohead cover.

Stephen Malkmus played a rare solo show on Sunday. He walked on stage with an acoustic guitar and started his set with “Heaven Is A Truck.” He mixed his set with Pavement and solo songs, including a few new ones. About a half hour through his set, Bob Nastanovich joined his former Pavement and Silver Jews bandmate for two songs. After the two songs with drum accompaniment, Malkmus announced that he burned through his set and realized he had more time to fill. While people yelled out Pavement requests, he played a few newer songs.

The New Pornographers played an impressive set of powerpop. This was my favorite performance of the festival. Those luscious harmonies, the driving guitar riffs, and the endlessly catchy melodies made the festival’s audience bob their heads and wiggle their bodies. The band debuted a number of new songs. Finishing their set with a few minutes to spare, the band returned to the stage to play “The Slow Decent Into Alcoholism.”

The festival seemed to go off without a problem. From the low cost of tickets to the uninflated price of water and merchandise, it was completely fan oriented. Nearly every set started and ended on time. My only complaint was the policy of no re-entry. I understand the need for this policy, but it is tough to stay locked in one place for 9 hours. Even if the grounds were continually full of great music, sometimes you need a break. This was slightly relieved by the addition of the merchandising areas. Without purchasing much, the Flatstock poster fair, the record tent, and the craft exposition were interesting ways to bide the time between the varying music styles. Overall, it was a great, inexpensive way to see a wide range of independent musicians.

For official pictures and interviews:
www.pitchforkmedia.com's feature on Friday
www.pitchforkmedia.com's feature on Saturday
www.pitchforkmedia.com's feature on Sunday

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