Pitchfork Part II: Saturday

Saturday

Do to train delays I missed having to decide between Netherfriends and Free Energy, oh well.

Real Estate

Starting off an incredibly hot day, Real Estate’s ultra chill Galaxie 500 gone to the beach songs were just the ticket. All the pool, beach lyrics made me feel like I was actually getting cooler so props to them for that. One of the big issues with their set, and this happened the next day with Girls too, was that they were playing too many new songs. While it was my fault for not listening to the latest EP, they should have played some more songs from their only fucking album. Although all their songs sound pretty similar, playing recognizable songs at a festival is key especially during such a hot day when people were more than willing to skip sets to catch some shade or go to the water tent. These bros seemed really chill though and had an awesome guitar sound so it was still pretty good.

Grade: B

Some chill bros right there

Delorean

Ditching the bros that didn’t want to dance, and wanted a close spot for Titus, I wandered over to check out the Spanish Tough Alliance, Delorean. While with the heat the urge to dance wasn’t too great but these guys were having so much fun up on stage that it was hard not to get into it. What’s always the test for electronic bands is how they pull it off live and these guys managed to replicate everything off Subiza very well without having anyone standing their not playing anything while some prerecorded track plays. There were a few sound issues, and that guy is a pretty bad singer, but nothing that dampened the fun.

Grade: A-

Chill Spanish Bros

Titus Andronicus

The last time I saw Titus was at Reckless Records where I enjoyed myself but was mostly nonplussed. In particular, the set featured mainly songs from The Monitor, which I have mixed feelings about, and I was stuck behind a bunch of shelves. This time though they kicked some ass and took some names and all that business. The set was a good mix of songs from both albums and more importantly they played to the festival crowd. One of my issues is that on The Monitor there are just too many “boring” moments where Patrick is strumming his guitar and singing and all you really want him to do is rock out. Thankfully Titus kept such moments to a minimum throwing out banger after banger. And when the group did slow things down these moments were much more emotionally impactful amidst all the guitar chaos.

Grade: A

The Smith Westerns

Heard a little bit of Dam-Funk, didn’t sound too good, while I was waiting for Smith Westerns to start. On a whim I had picked up their debut at last year’s Pitchfork, loved it, and was quite excited to see them whip out some power pop jams. Too bad that they were one of the most disappointing acts of the festival. Part of that was their fault but the sound issues were all on Pitchfork. For the first half of their set the guitars were incredibly quite just leaving some mediocre singing and some drums. Thankfully the guitars were turned up just in time for the second half which featured quite a bit more guitar solos than the first half. What made everything much more disheartening was the lack of energy that guys displayed.

On record their power pop jams are so refreshing because of all the energy: the songs are speedy and there are plenty of gang vocals that pop up. It seemed like they must have seen Real Estate earlier in the day and decided to chill out during their set. They started off with Imagine, pt.3 and really fucked it up. During the “Love Will Never Die!” parts they didn’t crescendoe or do anything except for quickly rushing through the best parts to the song. Ugh. And the vocals were always too sleepy and laidback even during the chorus to “Be My Girl” which should be massive. I realize they’re a pretty new band but they’ve played a ton of shows and I expected more from that. Just because you’re playing at Pitchfork doesn’t mean you’ve made it.

Grade: C+

Wolf Parade

Not too much to say about these guys; they were a well oiled machine running through all the songs I wanted to hear and cranking out some new ones from Expo 86. Everything they played sounded good the only issue for me was just that they were too much like a machine. Having four guys take up a massive stage and not move around too much is kind of dull especially when I was not too close to the stage. I’m sure though that I would have enjoyed them much more in a club atmosphere but for a festival they need to do something that gives them a bigger presence.

Grade: A-

Panda Bear:

I had been excited to see Panda Bear but upon being informed that he had retired his old material I wisely skipped him to get a good spot for LCD Soundsystem. Panda Bear’s set was pretty sleepy, filled with a lot of droning songs that consisted mainly of him moaning over everything. I’m sure I would have enjoyed this at a house show but a festival crowd wants to hear the bangers: “Bros” and “Comfy in Nautica”.

Grade: N/A

LCD Soundsystem

Whatever your qualms regarding this band, all their songs are incredibly repetitive and too long, they know how to perform tightly and with energy yielding one of the best sets of the festival. As I waited the bros and I saw a massive disco ball being attached to the rafters. While I was mainly trying to figure out the best way to urinate into a beer cup without anyone noticing, I knew that I was in for it. Ripping through tracks from their newest This Is Happening, as well as their previous two albums, they knew how keep the crowd dancing throughout their 90 minute set. Perhaps the most exciting moment was the transition from “Daft Punk is Playing at My House” to “All My Friends.”

I don’t think anyone was preparing to get “All My Friends” that early in the set but whenever it was going to come it was still one of the most amazing musical moments I’ve been able to see. The gut wrenching sadness was intact but the track came off with more danceability than on record, however, witnessing a few thousand people singing along was jaw dropping. Too bad it was over before it even began. The set closed with "New York, I Love You but You're Bringing Me Down" which was a nice closer made even better with the addition of a bit of “Empire State of Mind” at the end. Everyone can get behind that business. Although that seemed to be a pretty definitive set closer people were upset that they didn’t bust out “North American Scum” but all I wanted was appropriately “All I Want.”

Grade: A

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I promise it won't be too long of a wait for Sunday. I'm too tired to upload all the photos and what not and got that unpaid internship and all that business tomorrow.