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Pitchfork Music Festival 2007
Over the course of the three-day festival held in Chicago’s Union Park last weekend, this is a list of ten artists I watched, in order of performance (from Friday to Sunday), not in order of preference.
Sonic Youth
Sure, the fact that they played Daydream Nation in its entirety was the main draw here, but while it was thrilling to hear them play that double album opus from start to finish, the real highlight was their three-song encore. They brought out former PAVEMENT member MARK IBOLD to play bass, freeing up KIM GORDON to sing “Reena.” “Incinerate” and “Jams Run Free,” both also from last year’s excellent Rather Ripped, followed, both also possessing a raw energy and vitality that the material in the main set lacked.
Voxtrot
Although I’d just seen them play last month here in Philadelphia, it’s still always a pleasure to see this excellent outfit from Austin, Texas. Contrary to many reviews I’ve read, which say that they lack that extra something live, they were superb (as always) on this day, and it was nice to hear them play on the only stage not affected by sound problems throughout the weekend. It was still too short of a set, though.
Fujiya and Miyagi
Playing on the smaller Balance stage, this British duo played their Krautrock and early electronica-inspired stuff well, but their set suffered from abysmal sound. Simply put, this stage needed a bigger PA to really project, though the fact that there were two other, much larger stages (one not that far from this one) would probably make it difficult to balance.
Cat Power and Dirty Delta Blues
The last time I’d seen Cat Power was back in 1996. She played by herself and was so timid that one could barely hear her as she hid away behind her guitar. What a difference eleven years can make. Playing with a band that included former DELTA 72 frontman and JUNCTION guitarist GREGG FOREMAN instead of the Memphis session musicians she toured with last year and who played with her on her most recent album, The Greatest, this set nevertheless had a real soulful vibe. She covered both “Satisfaction” (in a much more boisterous fashion than her version on The Covers Record, perhaps owing a bit to OTIS REDDING’s incredible version) and the Memphis soul classic “Dark End of the Street,” making a convincing case for herself as a modern-day female soul singer in the process.
Yoko Ono
Although many people in this audience (yes, even in the supposedly open-minded indie-rock scene) absolutely hated her and some even made fun of her, Ono still thrilled, playing some choice material from the ‘70s, such as “Don’t Worry Kyoko (Mummy’s Only Looking for Her Hand in the Snow)” and others, plus perhaps her best-known song, “Walking on Thin Ice.” For the last four songs of her set, Sonic Youth’s THURSTON MOORE sat in on guitar, thrilling the crowd with his avant-garde bag of tricks.
Deerhunter
Although not as exciting or visceral as their set five days earlier at the Starlight Ballroom in Philadelphia, they still played a fine set of visceral and noisy, yet atmospheric space-rock.
Menomena
Although they were a lot better than they were last year opening for The Long Winters, I’m still not 100% convinced by all the critical hosannas given to this band. Nevertheless, I give them points for originality, since they seem completely unique, not reminding me of anyone during their set. Plus, on the few songs a saxophone was employed, it sounded a lot like DANA COLLEY (MORPHINE), which is always a plus.
Junior Boys
This Canadian synth-pop duo (supported by a live drummer for this show) was the biggest surprise of the festival for me. Concentrating mostly on material from last year’s So This is Goodbye, they had the crowd in the palm of their hand (and some were even dancing). Their set was plagued by sound problems (at times they could only be heard through one channel), but they played so well that it didn’t matter. It was as if a modern-day version of NEW ORDER circa Power, Corruption and Lies had just taken the stage.
Stephen Malkmus
This was the biggest disappointment of the festival. Since former Pavement bassist Mark Ibold was at there, some (including my girlfriend) were predicting an unannounced Pavement reunion. Instead of that, or even a full-band set (which is where he really excels), we got a boring solo set not appropriate at all for a large festival setting. Sure the set was a mix of Pavement songs as well as his solo material, but I couldn’t help but be disappointed.
New Pornographers
I’ve seen this great Canadian band play three times before this show, but I’d never, ever seen them play this well. They simply owned the stage, expertly mixing songs from their new Challengers along with their stellar back catalog.
