Since listening to Tokyo Police Club’s latest album “Champ” and reviewing it here I have only grown to love the album more. For a few days I had to listen to it first thing in the morning and then just before I went to bed. The closing track “Frankenstein” is one of my favorite tracks of the year so far, no question.
Since writing my review of the album that I posted not only to this site but to Groovemine I discovered that my blog was linked to by the people over at BaebleMusic.com. If you haven’t been to that site, please do yourself a favor and go there now. There is a TON of content over there, including many many exclusive full concerts and interviews and pictures. There is really just a ton of great content on that site and it’s worth bookmarking. So I just wanted to take this time to not only thank the people at Baeblemusic.com for linking to my blog and talk of my growing love for “Champ”, but to send any people that I can over to their site.
Follow this link for Tokyo Police Club’s entire concert performed exclusively for BaebleMusic. Scroll to the bottom of the page for bio, pics and Youtube videos.
Here’s a little taste:
If you haven’t already, run out and buy the new Tokyo Police Club album. It’s really great. I’m going to think about posting about the Flaming Lips show that I saw last week. Until then….
With his debut solo album Paul A. Rosales creates a complex sound world that completely envelopes the listener from first track to last. With an understated guitar pushed to the background behind ever present vintage sounding synths and vocals treated through an array of varying echoes and delays that sometimes change as the songs develop, this is an album that demands the full attention of the listener. True headphone music.
The opening track, “Crimes”, introduces us at once to all of the elements that are present throughout the album: a driving, urgently attacked guitar that is made to sound less threatening by being set way back in the mix. The tone of the guitar is clean, but rounded out a bit with the help of a phaser. Synths are layered over top, taking precedence in the mix, even over the vocals. The synth tone covers everything in a wash of color similar to the retro sound of Neon Indian. It is the aural equivalent of a grainy VHS tape playing old home movies. The bass pops up between the synth and the guitar with a persistent line that wants to encourage you to dance, but the trippy vocals and disorienting drums will probably find you too out of sorts to try.
Most captivating in this wash of visceral noise are the vocals. They are made cryptic, shouting out from the back of the room, trying to reach above the din. Some of the words break through, but they are layered over each other with a good dose of delay. It is clear that Rosales is interested more in creating sounds and then manipulating them than he is in creating catchy pop hooks. The closest thing that we do get to a catchy pop tune is “She Tells Me” that is guitar driven and precariously close to having qualities that would make the listener want to sing along to the stand out line, “I fucked up, she tells me” that is repeated several times.
Paul A. Rosales - "Wonder Wheel I"
In “Bastard of a Man” it is startling to hear the vocals so up front and out in the open. Most of the instruments are stripped away to make room for the lyrics “Don’t give up baby/Don’t worry baby” made all the more disconcerting through a vocal approach that doesn’t settle into pitch until after the words have already been delivered. The delay on his voice in this track bounces along with the drums. He’s really in complete control of every element of the sound on this album and even more so by taking the entire sound as a whole and casting a bit of distortion and fuzz on to it as if the recording was a little too hot. Especially on “Bastard of a Man” the grittyness is amped up a little bit more than on any of the other tracks.
“Clarity Dissolve” adds some dimension to the sound with drums that were recorded to sound like they are a mile away, and the vocals are once again pushed to the back of the mix and this time sung in falsetto. The guitar is more up front, taking the role formerly held by the synths, by creating an amorphous cloud of overdriven sound. The synth line is only able to be heard in tiny bursts as if it were trying to take quick breaths.
Altering sound elements is not the only way that Rosales builds his songs. On many of the tracks the beat has a fluidity to it that creates another level of motion against the shifting color palette. Sometimes the vocal delivery is a bit relaxed and behind the beat, creating a push and pull from where one would expect a new measure to start. This is the fluid element to the song writing. That is not the only way that it is done, for example in the song “Change Faster” he swings from a steady eighth note pulse that alternates with a few bars of a metric modulation that speeds things up slightly, giving an off-kilter motion to the song.
Overall this album is a study in sound manipulation more than it is an exercise in writing standard, radio friendly songs. This album is pretty far from being radio friendly with its truly lo-fi production and all around grittyness. This is an album of experimental sound sculpture disguised as songs. There are some very interesting things going on throughout, and I would suggest giving this album the due time that it deserves to sink in and truly begin to enjoy all of what it has to offer.
What is one to do after 3 days of attending a major music festival? The answer is clearly to catch one of the bands that you saw at the festival in a small club setting. Real Estate played the Pitchfork Music Festival on Saturday at the main stage to probably something like 10,000 people. Getting to see them again, this time at a club with a capacity of less than 200 (I’m guessing), changed things a bit, for the better.
Opening, and already well into her set when we arrived, was Zola Jesus. Her voice is beautiful and haunting and the backing music was not quite danceable, but not exactly droning either. Could we be happy with a classification of “electro-shoegaze”? Thankfully for her, the music is wonderful because her stage presence was unnerving to me. She paced relentlessly back and forth across the small stage for an entire song, which took my focus off of the music and placed it more in the “is she ok? What’s going on?” as my eyes moved back and forth following her. For her last song the pacing continued, but this time in a straight line from the stage and through the crowd. When she reached the point where I was standing she turned around, and I realized how short she is (about to my shoulders). When her set was finished she promptly scurried up the stairs located to the rear and side of the stage, never to be seen again for the rest of the night.
Huh.
Anyway, I was really there because of Real Estate. Like I’ve said on here before, I love their album and their performance at Pitchfork was great so I was expecting another great set. I was not disappointed. The set consisted of pretty much the same tunes as their set from a few days before, but there was more banter, and I think that the size of the club really helped them make a strong connection with the crowd. At least that was the case with me. The sound at the Subterranean is really good, and the mix was clear. I also like that the bar is parallel to the stage, so people don’t tend to crowd around it, and I could zip back for a beer or 3 or 4 and quickly return to my spot at the center of the floor where Kurt Vile can push me out of the way to make his way to the front.
Upon visiting the merch table I saw that there was another Real Estate record that I don’t have. Unfortunately I don’t have money to change that, but after hearing those new songs a few times I realize that I need that album. It’s on my ever-growing list of “albums to get”.
I took one picture at the show, with my phone. Here you go:
This was the grand finale of the festival. The lineup was pretty stacked this day and it all seemed to go by too fast. There was an early morning shower, but it was all sunshine and 90ºF by the time the gates opened. It was a day of math rock, rap, crowd surfing, moshing to Lightning Bolt and nearly passing out and finished with Pavement, followed by an aftershow at the Subterranean featuring Zola Jesus and Real Estate, but let’s just stick with the festival.
On the B stage was Chicago band Cave, opening the day. I think the rain set things back a little bit on the side stage, so their set didn’t start on time, though I think things were sorted out quickly so that the rest of the day ran on time. Cave’s music is what I would consider heavy stoner rock. They are very riff heavy with a rhythmic focus and not much more than one chord per song. They had a lot of energy and elements of psych rock via delay pedals and keyboards, though there was not much in terms of vocals. Really good band to open up the day with and they had a pretty decent sized crowd. The opening commentary provided by some dude in military fatigues was kind of lame though. I don’t think anyone quite got the joke, or if there was even a joke to get.
I had been anticipating Best Coast‘s set for months and months. Sadly, they did not deliver. Maybe I just had too high hopes. Maybe it is best that they have just been releasing one song at a time. Their sound is highly recognizable with reverb laden guitars and vocals, getting that famous “wall of sound” Phil Specter sound with a surf rock sort sound added in. Their performance was just not impressive. Their set simply showcased the similarities between Bethany Cosentino’s songs. There were two songs in the set, back to back, that featured the exact same 2 chords over and over, which is the kind of thing that annoys me to no end. Is she aware of what is going on in her music? What is she focusing on when she writes, or puts a set together? Lyrically everything is about missing her boyfriend, wanting a boyfriend, and pot.
I imagine that the album is good from a timbral standpoint. There is good production, but I think that those production values factor in a little too heavily to her sound and the songs just can not stand on their own, exposed like this at a gig. The album is far too short as well, less than 30 minutes. This isn’t an album review, but I wasn’t going to spend money that I don’t have on an album that short by an unimpressive band.
We made our way to the main stage for a set by Girls. I made note of their good ensemble work with their sophisticated pop songs though I didn’t really find many hooks to grab onto. The tunes were all well played, the crowd seemed pretty enthusiastic. The video screen showed a bunch of people in the crowd swaying and singing along. I just couldn’t get that into it. I was ready to be won over, but I think seeing this band for the first time in this setting just wasn’t working.
The lead singer played a Rickenbacker, and the other guitarist was with a Les Paul. I tried to make note of the guitars that appeared at the festival, because I think it says a lot about a band, or the sound that they are going for. I think this was the only Rickenbacker of the festival that I saw, though Annie of St. Vincent may have played one, I’m not sure. On a side note that is completely unrelated: Someone tweeted that the singer for Girls looked like a cross between Macauly Culkin and Kevin McDonald from the Kids in the Hall. Looking up at the video screen only proved him right.
Beach House brought their very low-key but lavishly beautiful songs to the main stage next. They provided a subdued set of keyboard driven tunes. I did like the guitar work (Les Paul again) and I really love the singer’s voice. The all around sound was very atmospheric, not too upbeat but perfectly crafted. I will definitely have to familiarize myself more with their music and I would suggest them if you don’t know them already. For some reason I used to get them confused with Real Estate, but I think that was mostly because Real Estate’s music makes me think of being at the beach. There are, come to find out, no real similarities between these two bands.
Beach House photo by Kirstie Shanley (2010 all rights reserved)
Previous to this festival my favorite juxtaposition was Iron and Wine followed by Mastadon a few years back at the 2008 Pitchfork Music Festival. We may have a new winner. Memories of Beach House’s delicately crafted atmospherics were obliterated when Lightning Bolt started.
Lightning Bolt. Where to begin. I wrote this down after their set was over because I was too busy being thrown around in the mosh pit to even try to write things: “Total. Fucking. Insanity”. Though my hands were shaking a lot when I was writing that so some of the letters are wrong, and out of order. It was just non-stop bassy, thrashing energy-fest. Even the heat did not stop the Brians or anyone in the crowd from going batshit crazy. The pit was huge and very intense and I was in the middle of it. As soon as the first snare drum attack I was pulled from the side of the audience and into the middle and then pulled all over the place. They did play some new stuff like “Collasus” and I think I heard “Transmissionary” and of course all the Lightning Bolt classics.
I think I nearly died twice. I had to be pulled out at one point because I couldn’t seem to keep my feet under me. I chilled for a song or two and got back in there for the last song. This was by far the most fun I have ever had at the festival. Total and complete abandonment. Good times if you know the band, but I imagine many people were wondering what the hell was going on. Lightning Bolt has been one of my favorite bands for a few years now. I could listen to their music all day. They are an interesting study in subtlety and intensity at the same time. Very interesting from an analytical standpoint. That is for another time though. This set was simply amazing. I don’t know how Brian Chippendale is not dead.
I will take a little tangent here to talk about the pit and the security at the festival. The people in the pit were helping each other out. If someone was looking like they were in trouble someone would hold them up, a ring of people would form around them so that they weren’t in the fray and they would be given water. Everyone would just pour water on the person, feed them water directly from their water bottles, and make sure that the person was doing alright. The security people at the front of the stage were continually spraying us with water from water bottles, handing water out and just making sure that everyone was alright. Chippendale would, thankfully stop after a little more than half the set to check up on his drums. This provided us with a much needed break, as I’m sure it did the same for him too. He also called out to us during the end of the set, pointing to specific people and expressing genuine concern.
“Are YOU alright…..how about YOU, are YOU ok?”. He must have been watching us. I can’t believe how amazing this band is. Great music, great guys. Fun fun times. Last thing: Most rock and roll moment. The set ends and the pit is dispersing. Sweaty people everywhere trying to walk away, staggering about. There was a general feeling of camaraderie like we had all just had this wonderful shared experience. A guy walks past a few of us in a white shirt with a significant amount of blood on it. Someone says to him, “Hey man! You’ve got a lot of blood on your shirt, are you ok?” to which he responds, “Yeah, I see that, but I don’t know whose it is”.
I was planning on seeing another band immediately after Lightning Bolt, but definitely needed food and water after that. I can’t remember who I missed, but the next act I caught was St. Vincent. I think the original plan was to catch all of her set, but making sure I didn’t lapse into convulsions seemed more of a pressing concern.
The end of St. Vincent‘s set blew me away. I don’t know where I got the impression that the music would be quiet and singer-songwritery, but I couldn’t have been happier to be proven wrong. Lead singer/guitarist Annie Clark was a crazy person on stage, and can shred the guitar like a maniac. She seemed to be in the same state that Isaac Brock was in on Friday night. She just loses herself completely to the music. The music was a really polished, arty, technically proficient showing with a good amount of noise thrown in, and very energetic. I left her set reminding myself to get her latest album.
This was a tricky part of the night a few things going on at once that we wanted to check out, but we were also still exhausted from Lightning Bolt. Major Lazer was up on the main stage, and it seemed like it was basically Diplo up there doing all the work while the other dude ran around the stage, jumped off a ladder to hump a dancer, jumped into the crowd and generally served as hype-man. I admit, despite the dancers, the humping and the Chinese New Year dragons up on the stage, I was bored and skipped out after about 15 minutes.
Over at the B stage was Neon Indian, the apparent torchbearer for the newly dubbed “Chillwave” genre. Sadly I couldn’t get anywhere near the stage after he started, so we just decided to go back and get a half way decent spot for Pavement.
Pavement. Pavement. Pavement. I have been waiting for this for a long long time. Not as long as some. I came to Pavement late in life. I don’t think I heard any albums until 2006, but once I did, it was a non-stop Pavement fest in my apartment and in my car and on my iPod for a long long time. When they announced they were reuniting I was ready to travel almost anywhere. When they said they were coming to Pitchfork I nearly died. I didn’t have to go to them, they were coming to me.
They played all the hits, “Cut Your Hair” was the opening, “Range Life”, “Silence Kit” and on and on. Everyone in the crowd seemed to know every song. We all sang along, bounced up and down, shouted, had a genuinely amazing time. I definitely did not want their set to end. I can’t say enough great things about their set. They met expectations, they seemed to be having a great time up there playing. Malkmus was loose and throwing down guitar parts with seemingly no effort.
Mysteriously theirs was the only performance not broadcast simultaneously online. Reports vary, and I’m not going to write anything I’m not sure of. It lived up to my expectations. I could have cried right there. It was definitely something special and they packed their hour with song after song after song. Everyone was great, it was fun. Enough said.
I took some very crappy video that I will share here that honestly has more sentimental value than anything else. The festival was amazing and I don’t think I am the only one wondering how the hell Pitchfork is going to keep growing after this. It’s a shame that some people missed this. In my opinion the audience for any of these bands should be enough to fill a park twice the size of Union Park, but at the same time I am proud to still be able to be part of this growing secret society.
Goodbye Union Park. Until next year I will dream of baking in the sun, standing on your baseball diamonds and resting in the shade of your tall trees.
Saturday was the first full day of the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago. All three stages are dedicated to music, all day. In case you are unfamiliar here is a very brief overview: Main stages (A and C stages) alternate with hour long sets. As one band plays on the A stage another is setting up on the C stage, so all one has to do is walk, or simply turn 90º and see continuous music on the main stages. The B stage, however, runs more or less independently and is across the park. If you want to hang out at the B stage all day you have to wait through set-ups and tear downs, and the set times overlap with those of the main stages. So, basically, you are able to see continuous music all day long no matter what you do. The park is large enough where there isn’t too much sound interfering from mainstages to B stage, and small enough where you can walk from one end to the other in a matter of minutes.
The first band I caught, Free Energy seemed quite excited to be playing to such a large crowd. The park was crowded right from the get-go on Saturday, which is good to see. Their music reminded me more than a little of J. Geils Band from the 70’s. Not necessarily saying that that is a bad thing, but it isn’t really the kind of thing that I would go out of my way to see. Their classic rock influences are proudly worn on their sleeves with their rockstar posturing, big arena rock sound and gratuitous guitar solos (some taken right at the front of the stage, guitar pointed towards the sky as if offering up alms to the ever present God of Rock ‘n Roll). Their music has some hints of decency, but it also seems like they ran out of ideas pretty quickly.
Real Estate was one of the bands that I was really looking forward to hearing at the festival. It was great to hear them play new tunes (I counted 3), one of which featured the other guitarist as vocalist. What was also promising is that the songs that they played from the record had extended sections worked out a bit more, some noticeable tempo changes and some parts added. The fact that the band is not content to just leave the songs as they are bodes well. They have taken the time to evaluate their work and are changing things, bringing the songs through a process of evolution. They are making the old (even though it really isn’t that old at all) new again. Their mix was good, everything came through and the band is very balanced in general. The new songs sound a bit more focused and less jammy than the tunes on the first album. They were an early highlight of the day. Their songs work well in a large outdoor setting, especially with the bright early afternoon sun blazing down on us. Their music is so relaxed and uplifting in a way that the setting just made them all the better. Meanwhile over at the B stage Kurt Vilewas getting ready to bring his psychedelic garage rock to life. I have heard a lot about him before seeing him at this festival, but have never actually heard any of his music. That being said, this was one of the acts that I was ready to have impress me. Every year I try to catch as many bands as possible that I know absolutely nothing about. This year was a little bit leaning in the other direction because I
Kurt Vile photo by Kirstie Shanley
am so familiar with so many of the bands that there were only a few that I would be able to catch for the very first time. His band featured a harpist on stage left, in lieu of a bassist. Her sound brought a certain depth to the music. The percussive attack from the harp would percolate through the flanged, delayed layer of guitars that were washing over the vocals. At times the harp seemed to act as a piano, other times it would break through with intricate little lead lines that really brought some focus to some of the noise all around. All in all his set was pretty good, and I’m glad I caught it.
Now for the real action. Titus Andronicus. Holy shit. They brought it, and they brought it hard. Right up front I’m going to say that this was quite easily the highlight of the day for me. Their performance was spectacular, and this was the 3rd time that I have seen them. The first time was at the Pitchfork Music Festival in 2008, where they opened up Saturday, in the rain and I don’t think very many people were familiar with them at all. I certainly was not. The 2nd time I saw them was only 3 days before this most recent performance, but in a small room in Buffalo. That gig in Buffalo familiarized me with their songs a bit more, and they have recently released a new album. When they took to the main stage the crowd was so large that I couldn’t force my way any closer than the sound booth, about halfway back. It was good to see them from there though because I could see the crowd bouncing with the music, shouting along, pumping their fists and making the whole set like a huge celebration. The band was running around giving it all they got. Patrick, the leader of the group, jumped into the crowd while continuing to sing his powerfully emotional and heartfelt songs to an audience that was supporting him in every sense of the word.
His lyrics really spoke to me, and I think to the whole audience. They came off as pieces of advice from the trenches that he was translating to us because he has been there. “You will always be a loser” in his hands is not a defeatist saying. Instead it is a rallying cry. “Your life is over” is said as if not speaking directly to us but through him to others that have given up fighting. He is warning through experience. My personal favorite though is, “But when they see the person that you really are, you won’t be laughing so hard.” It’s not all toughness and struggle though, there are also feelings of vulnerability and honest desperation when he repeats “Please don’t ever leave”. This is hardcore music with truly no fear at all. It must be frightening to bring that kind of honesty and strength to the stage every day. It is all well worth it though, because the connection that was made with the 10 – 12,000 people that were there will not soon go away. Helping the band out through a few songs were members from Boston’s Hallelujah the Hills bringing a trumpet, cello and extra set of hands for keyboards and guitars which really helped their set truly reach new heights. Local Chicago band of extraordinarily young kids, Smith Westerns played the B stage. They have some really good tunes. Basically what you have here is really young kids playing well crafted rock tunes that sound like they are influenced by old 60’s albums and a touch of garage rock. They were catchy enough, though I feel as though the singer really needs time to develop his voice a bit, but he is still young, so it isn’t truly a concern. He is relying too much on his falsetto and that kind of wears on one after a while. Uniqueness bonus for the lead singer playing a left-handed guitar right-handed, perhaps a backwards nod to Hendrix?
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. Gritty. Loud. Raw. Epic voice. This is what Jack White wants to be when he grows up. It was good to see a truly veteran performer up on the stage. His confidence showed through his ability to jam on a song for 10 or more minutes of bluesed up abandon. He never lets his guitar prowess put too much of a shine on the dirtiness of the sound. Great balance of raw improv and solid structure.
Back on the B stage WHY? gave us their interesting mix of eclectic influences ranging from prog rock shiftiness to straight up old school rap. The singer’s nasal vocal style is reminiscent of John Linnell of They Might Be Giants. This was the first act of the festival that is truly hard to define in simple terms. Artful arrangements with xylophone, sometimes sparse drums, sometimes aggressive guitar and a declamatory vocal delivery with a fine tuned focus on rhythm with deeply personal lyrics. Really good sound, and interesting. I’d file this under “need to investigate further”. Another surprising discovery for myself at the festival.
Wolf Parade‘s nervous and jittery set of energetic tunes were already blaring from the main stage as we arrived. The crowd had swelled considerably. My best guess is that people were jockeying for position for Panda Bear, who was closing out one of the main stages. The lead singer has quite a recognizable voice. The songs were mostly straight ahead and rocking and ranging from guitar driven to synth-centric, though some did wander in the territory of what I would consider “angular”, bringing attention to their quirkiness.
Panda Bear. Everyone was excited for Panda Bear. After his set everyone seemed to be wondering, “Why was I excited for Panda Bear?”. Yes, of course, he is a member of Animal Collective. That in and of itself doesn’t mean that his set is going to be good. His set got off to a slow start and once it did there were no breaks. If you are into standing in a large crowd to watch a guy stand at a keyboard with a guitar play excruciatingly long and drawn out songs that are mostly developmental headphone music then maybe you would have enjoyed this set. I don’t feel that this kind of music works for this venue. There is really nothing to latch onto. The energy, whatever energy there is, doesn’t really translate very well. There was no chance for the audience to really digest the songs or to even figure out what was happening. Total dud of a performance.
The headliner of the night was LCD Soundsystem who really has a way of making songs that are over 10 minutes long that simply repeat the same groove over and over again into
a constantly growing mammoth tune in spite of itself. As opposed to Panda Bear, this music was EXACTLY the kind of music that plays well at this type of venue. LCD Soundsytem turned the entire Pitchfork crowd into one huge dance party. A conga line was formed that snaked through the crowd. Glo-sticks flew through the air, people sang along and everyone danced. They danced with strangers, they danced by themselves, they smiled, they moved. Everything was great for that 45 minutes. It was a great way to end a night. This was the one night that we didn’t catch a show after the festival.
After a full day of festival-ing at Pitchfork we walked down the street a few block to the Bottom Lounge to catch a show by Liars (who had already played an awesome set earlier in the day). Opening was Chicago based dark-prog-metal band Follows and sound artist John Wiese.
When we walked in Follows was already on the stage. If you are familiar at all with the work of “Enter” era Russian Circles you can begin to understand the heaviness of Follows as the bassist is formerly of the Chicago post-metal band. They are almost devastatingly heavy, made all the more so by their extended compositions that seem to build continually louder and become more imposing as the minutes tick by. The songs feature quiet, understated vocals by their female lead singer/guitarist that exist over the top of a roaring crescendo of bass, guitars and drums. Many of the songs featured asymmetrical meter and odd phrase lengths, hence my “prog” designation. Check out their songs on myspace.
Follows
John Wiese took a little longer to set up than I feel they were planning on. Alone on stage with just a laptop and some assorted electronics he performed, or possibly composed on the spot, music that was consisting mostly of manipulated sounds. I guess the best description I could come up with is “sound sculpture”. An interesting juxtaposition coming from a band like Follows and preceding a band like Liars. His set consisted of a non-stop ebb and flow of sounds for about 25 minutes. Take a listen here.
John Wiese
Liars took to the stage shortly thereafter in much the same way they did for their set at Pitchfork earlier in the day, with everyone in the band except for Angus coming out and beginning a song. This makes them seem like even more of a “rock band” than they really are. Their set consisted of the same material from earlier in the day plus a few other songs. They still tended towards the more guitar driven tunes but during their encore they did play as the classic trio. Though I do miss the days of Angus Andrew flailing around with a guitar around his neck and him seeming to struggle to break free, their band is really tight now. The noise is much more like a controlled burn rather than the out of control forest fire that used to be their live show.
They really seemed more energetic, oddly, at this point in the night. Their set was loud, wild and felt far too short. The addition of a bassist really makes a big difference in their overall sound, especially considering that he would spend most of songs strumming the bass as if it was a rhythm guitar. There was a low end rumble that was noisy, but still providing the foundation that one would expect from a bass guitar. I would have been happy to stand there all night.
Friday, July 16, 2010 was the first day of the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago. The festival is growing year after year from it’s 2 full day beginnings in 2006, to their collaboration with All Tomorrow’s Parties in 2007-2008 that saw bands invited to play their classic albums in their entirety (including Sonic Youth, my personal favorite, playing all of Daydream Nation for the first time on American soil).
Now the festival has grown to 2 and 3/4 days of music, and for some reason comedy (a failure that hopefully won’t happen again), and art. I always try to see as many bands as possible and this year I actually brought a notebook so that I don’t have to attempt to do it from memory. This was my friday:
Sharon Van Etten- The very first musician of the festival. She came out with only a guitar, which I think is a very daring thing to do, but she was fantastic. No effects on her guitar, just a clean tone. Her songs have these really honest and heartfelt lyrics that don’t hold anything back, and don’t hide anything. Heartbreak, loneliness and trying to pick up and start again after failed relationships seems to be the main themes.
During her set, towards the end, she broke a string on her guitar and after managing to make it through one more song she was joined on stage by a roadie that handed her a new guitar to finish her set, to which she excitedly announced to the crowd, “Modest Mouse just let me borrow their guitar!”. It was a beautiful black Gibson hollowbody with gold trim. That was the end of her set. Unfortunately the first two sets of the afternoon are only a half an hour long. I would have gladly listened to Sharon Van Etten’s music all night.
Marie-Claire (left), of Speck Mountain and Sharon Van Etten (right) Photo by Kirstie Shanley
We decided to skip out on The Tallest Man on Earth to check out the Flatstock Poster Convention. It’s a great showing of many artists that design show posters. Every year I make it a point to stop at the Bird Machine tent because Jay Ryan always does the official Pitchfork Music Festival poster.
From what I did catch of the Tallest Man on Earth set I gathered that it was another singer songwriter, solo, on acoustic guitar. I don’t really feel like I caught enough of the set to make a good judgment on what his music is really like though.
Next up was El-P. I can’t say enough bad things about this performance. The first thing that I have written down in my notebook is “fucking bullshit garbage rap”. This isn’t to say that I hate all rap. That is not the case. I really hate when Pitchfork puts really shitty rap on their festivals, it ruins the whole flow of the festival. GZA did well a few years back, Public Enemy blew the roof of the place a few years after that, but this was just awful. It was mostly pre-recorded. There was no melody, no harmony, seemingly no focus on song structure. It seems that their entire set was spent just trying to get us to “put [our] motherfuckin’ hand in the air”. Why is it that this act gets an hour when Sharon Van Etten only got half that?
After that, which was too loud to avoid, it was time for Liars. Last time I saw Liars they had just finished “Drum’s Not Dead”, album oriented psychedelic (in a sense) concept post-rock. Their set was focused more on long form tunes that seemed improvised to a great degree. This time around they are a roaring tight aggressive and polished band playing more “traditional” (it’s funny to even say that in reference to Liars) rock. They have added 2 members to their touring band, up to 5 from the trio that they previously toured with, adding a guitarist and bassist.
The sun was blinding me during their set. It was good to hear new arrangements of old songs from previous albums due to their new touring lineup. There was more of a guitar focus than the tribal, perpetual drumming of their performance at the same festival in 2006. The set was mostly up-tempo noisy rockers, and the band touched upon each release in their output so far. It was definitely great to hear songs from “They Threw Us All in a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top”. Highlights also included “No Barrier Fun” and “Scissor” as well lead singer Angus Andrew’s stage antics including reminding festival goers to stay hydrated by visiting the water stations, including the one located “in [his] pants, so feel free to hop up on stage and have a go.” Their set was the most energetic of the day (and we went to see them after the festival later that night, down the street at the Bottom Lounge)
Broken Social Scene played a set of new songs from their current album “Forgiveness Rock Record” and classics from their catalog on stage with several musicians from Chicago, including string players and the drummer from Tortoise. I suppose they just aren’t comfortable on stage unless there are at least 15 of them up there. The songs were ok, the new ones came off well, but it just seems to me like there are too many cooks in the kitchen. How can you make that music sonic space for that many people up on stage? They seem to want to make this epic statement every time they take the stage. I think that they really need to allow the songs to speak for themselves. If the songs don’t hold up live then the best thing to do would be to change the songs, not continually add more layers on top of things.
I was happy that they played “7/4 (Shoreline)” which is one of my favorites, as well as “Windsurfing Nation”, but the singer that they brought with them had a very breathy voice with no projection and even less stage presence. I just didn’t connect with the set as much as I was hoping to.
The final set of the night was brought to us by the biggest (commercially speaking) act of the festival Modest Mouse. They also had a fairly large band with them, with a few extra members, one of them a multi-instrumentalist. They also played a wide swath of material from old favorites to new tunes, but noticeably avoided playing “Float On”, which I actually feel good about, even though I kind of wanted to hear it. I like when bands seem to know what their “big hit” is, but avoid it. In essence they are saying “we have many many other songs that are equally as good, or maybe better. Perhaps you should familiarize yourself with them, right now. If you want to hear Float On, go home and throw it on the turntable”.
Lead singer, and all around lead-dude Isaac Brock came off simultaneously insane and focused and in control. He had a crazed look in his eye for most of the set and played the guitar and banjo like he was attacking them or punishing them for something. At one point between songs a glo-stick made its way onto the stage. Brock thought it would be a good idea to bite into it and make his mouth glow. It was not a good idea. He told us immediately that he discovered this was a bad idea, but when he spit it out his spit glowed.
I felt as though the set was pretty polished with a few rough edges. It wasn’t absolutely pristine, which is a good thing. They did a 2 song encore after sort of abruptly leaving the stage the first time.
After that we headed down the street to the Bottom Lounge to catch Liars. That review will be coming soon. It will also be a much shorter review. Next up, the 2 full days of the Festival.
First up was The Midwest Beat from Wisconsin. I immediately liked them. Two guitars, bass and drums with singing duties shared by the bassist and one of the guitarists. There was some tight harmony singing supporting the lead vocal, but I feel that they could have used even a bit more to strengthen their sound. The band was very energetic with all tunes in the set very up tempo garage rock-ish songs with a sort of mid 60s vibe to them. Very tuneful and fun without a lot of effects or solos. Stripped down rock with nowhere to hide. Not too much distortion or flashiness. The two guitarists balance each other out very well. They were tight with good sound and a few interesting changes as well. Check out “Get It Started“
The Midwest Beat
Next up was John Paul Keith & The One Four Fives, from Tennessee. They are a 3 piece, straight up, uninteresting, unoriginal and very derivative blues based rock band. Perfect for your local watering hole. They play very well and John Paul Keith knows all the riffs and licks that one would expect from a country/blues guitarist. Their name is very fitting as they are not really a band that one would look to to be doing anything interesting from a harmonic standpoint. Just the basics. I-IV-V. Some songs featured the hackneyed shuffle drumbeat with steady bass dominant to tonic motion with finger picked telecaster through a Fender Twin reverb amp. Exactly the sound one would expect from this kind of band. With each song that was played I feel as though I am totally justified in wondering to myself if it was a cover tune or not. Personally I wish that this kind of blues/roots rock would just go away, never to return. The set was made all the better when he called out from the stage, “Who here is from out of town…for the Pitchfork Festival?” to which I slowly raised my hand (the only one). His reply: “I’m sure you really love this country music”. He’s right, I didn’t like that country music, but it’s not because I don’t have a varied taste, and I’m not the typical hipster. It’s because hist style is boring and hackneyed and standing in direct opposition to pushing an artform forward.
John Paul Keith
Headliners Jack Oblivian & The Tennessee Tearjerkers were up next. It’s kind of a stretch to say that this was a completely new act as it was simply John Paul Keith and co. plus Jack Oblivian (and it drives me crazy that he chooses to spell it ‘oblivian’. I hope that is really his last name).
I did like this act better than the One Four Fives. Much less of a focus on country and blues based influences and steering directly towards more rock-based music. I feel as though John Paul Keith was equally comfortable playing more straight ahead rock material and his solos were somewhat more aggressive this time out, sharing duties with Oblivian, whose main axe was a nicely weather-beaten Jazzmaster with a much dirtier tone than was present up to that point in the night. The songs worked well, and I do appreciate a little bit of a harder edge, but the songs were still quite derivative. Nothing too unlike things that you would hear at any number of bars in any number of cities at any time of the year. His not funny jokes about worshipping Satan and Lady Gaga didn’t come off as funny, but rather awkward and his repeated proclamations to not knowing what Pitchfork even was did not endear me to him very much. Instead it made him feel even more old and out of touch, playing a music that was slightly….old and out of touch. Neil Young he is not.
Jack Oblivian
All in all I am glad that I got to experience the music of The Midwest Beat. I would say definitely check them out if they come to your town. But, make sure you head for the door if they are followed by groups of old boring dudes.
Hippo Campus is the solo project of Makan Negahban, who also plays with a band called Blips. With the EP “Glass” he has created music that is at once ambient, glitchy, trippy, deep and mysterious. Laden in echo the songs seem to emerge from a distance, shrouded in haze, but not directionless. On the contrary the songs carve out a path that may seem like it is leading the listener astray into unknown, bewildering territory, but after the trip is over we find that we are safe and sound, right where we began.
The opening track “Ghosts” is a very frightening opening track, despite all of its subtleties. Chimes sound, pitch shifted, a voice calls out, synths jitter off in the distance and the whole intro seems very unsettling. You immediately find yourself in a different world from the one that you were in only seconds before the music began. The next track “Juice” seems to me to be the real kick-off to the EP, with it’s steady back beat of drums and a pumping bassline. We have wandered out of the ambient territory of the opening, to a track that is much more reminiscent to Crystal Castles, though there is something rather interesting that happens in this track with the tempo shifting that pushes and pulls at the driving element of the song. We are caught between the two sound-worlds presented so far. Ambience vs. IDM. Yes, it’s true, according to Hippo Campus, we can have both.
In “Syrup Seas” we are moving back towards ambience, though some pulsations remain that seem to want to burst through the surface. Lighter bits of percussion and synth that are really hollow and reedy sounding like pan-pipes are combined with ethereal vocals that are off in the distance. The vocals are so delayed and echoed that they seem to plead, if lazily, for attention before reinterpreting the synth line until the distant calls of the vocals are the only thing that is left.
Hippo Campus "Glass" cover art by Miranda Darley
At the center of the album is “Glass Eye, Glass Palace”, the longest and most developmental track. It seems to build in a steady crescendo until the very last second before it explodes into “Nasty Drip” which flies excitedly, continuing the trajectory of steady rising before it gets caught up in a loop. Some more distant vocals are introduced before fading off into the gently pulsating organ timbre of “Vanish, Famish, Banish and Squid”. These tracks are best experienced as a trilogy. They seem to flow into and out of each other. They create a connective tissue at the heart of the album that ties many disparate elements together. Towards the end of the trilogy there is a steady drumbeat once again, accentuated with syncopated cymbal work.
The last two tracks also seem to go together. “Pet Shamoo” drifts more towards the brand of IDM that is present in the recordings of Doormouse. “Charlemagne” comes straight out of the preceding track with the hum of angry bees and adds a depth of sound that we have not heard yet, the sounds of the deep, low pulse of a gamelan.
The album was completed earlier this year with Negahban as the sole contributor. At work in Orange County, California with only an old Casio keyboard and his laptop he created music inspired by Broadcast, Ariel Pink, Animal Collective, and Kate Bush’s “Hounds of Love”, with of course The Beatles for good measure. These varied influences helped to create an album that is layered and far reaching. Bleak and emotional, this is music that taps into a realm not often explored in music.
Work on his next project is “50-60% done” though other projects are currently in the works so there is no real definite release date. Thankfully this release is available for free over at Rack and Ruin Records. So feel free to head over there and grab the album. The artwork was done by Miranda Darley. Of her work Negahban comments that,
“What stood out to me is those anguished old faces; I really liked how they are bleak, emotional, and almost humorous all at the same time, and in a way i see a lot of those same qualities with
my music.
It’s clear that the album, from track to track and from artwork to inception, is a whole piece of art. Everything is connected and elements are brought together to complete a total vision. Definitely worth a listen.
Thanks for taking the time to read all of this. I know that really the important thing here is listening to the music, and I really hope that you find something that you like. I know that good music doesn’t come through here too often. Though I guess if you keep an eye out there is some good stuff. I would have never heard any Mt. St. Helen’s Vietnam Band if I didn’t go to see Japandroids at the Soundlab. That was a good choice. I guess I’ve just grown cynical. Never happy no matter where I am. Buffalo isn’t really that bad, thanks to bands coming through here to get to and from Toronto. I guess it could be worse. We could live in Nebraska or something, or North Dakota. The Dakotas are probably an indie rock dead zone, I imagine. Anyway, what I was talking about? Oh yeah the last day of the Pitchfork Festival.
I’ve never heard of either of the 1st two bands, so unless they sound really interesting, the chances of me standing there to check them out are slim. I have to remember to get to The Bird Machine‘s table and get my official Pitchfork Music Festival poster that I always pick up (except for the first year I went, which I have regretted ever since). I love Jay Ryan’s designs. He’s done some album artwork too. He did Andrew Bird’s “Weather Systems” and Fruit Bats’ “Spelled in Bones”. He’s a nice guy too (and the lead singer/bass player in Dianogah).
The first thing that I want to check out is Best Coast’s set. I sent you that one song back in like December or January or something like that. Remember, it was all awash in reverb and sounded like something out of the early 60’s recorded by Phil Spector? The wall of sound? Well, anyway, that song was “When I’m With You” and I’m just going to re-use it again here. Best Coast is pretty much a solo project by Bethany Cosentino. She used to be in a band called Pocahaunted, which, if I remember correctly, also drowned everything in reverb and echo. As of Monday you can stream the entire album over at Urban Outfitters’ site. I checked it out. I imagine this album will be good and then the 2nd album will end up sounding exactly like it and probably won’t be worth buying. But for now, excited.
Things are going to get tricky Sunday afternoon because Lightning Bolt is playing at 4:15 and Surfer Blood is playing at 4:45. I have seen Lightning Bolt before, as you know. It was at the Soundlab again, and I was standing in the front row of people crushed against the drums and every time Chippendale hit the snare it felt like I was getting punched in the nose. I’m curious about what Lightning Bolt is going to do in a festival setting like this because they usually like to play IN the crowd. I don’t think they could get away with that here. It may take away from some of the fun if they are so far away, up on a stage, but I love all their tunes so much I guess it doesn’t really matter to me, and I will be in no mood to fight my way to the front. Their latest album, “Earthly Delights” came out several months ago. I love it. I think it’s better than their last album. The song I’m putting on your mix is “Sound Guardians“, the opening track. They named it as such because when they first began work on it they thought it sounded like Soundgarden. This has all the typical elements of a Lightning Bolt track, it’s loud, distorted, fast, with break-neck speed drumming and lead bass that’s like a drill being bored into your skull. Intense. One of my favorite bands.
Surfer Blood I only recently became aware of. More of a classic garage-band thing going on. I like what I have heard so far and my ability to make it to their set will depend on how awesome Lightning Bolt is (which will be measured in volume). “Floating Vibes”. This track sounds similar to Real Estate to me. Of course you remember me going on and on about them yesterday. Surfer Blood is from Florida though, not New York, which is strange I guess, considering.
Did I tell you about Neon Indian coming through here a few months ago? Well they did and I was going back and forth about weather I was going to see them or not and I ended up not going. I don’t regret it or anything, especially now that they are playing Pitchfork. There has been a good amount of buzz about this band. There was a new categorization made for them, people refer to them as “Chillwave”. They are really synth heavy, and from what I have read the lead guy, Alan Palomo, is a composer. “Should Have Taken Acid With You“. The songs sound like post-modern responses to the 80s. I feel like I’m listening to the aural equivalent of a grainy home video. It’s scary to refer to something that sounds like it is out of the 1980s as “retro” but there you have it.
I doubt that I’ll check out Sleigh Bells, but I may. Around the time that they are scheduled to go on (and on the ‘b’ stage everything always runs behind schedule) I should probably be heading over to the stage that Pavement is playing on. I almost feel bad for Sleigh Bells, going up against a long awaited reunion of a band like Pavement. Indie rock royalty. Anyway, I have really liked what I have heard from Sleigh Bells, like this track “Crown on the Ground” which reminds me of The Go! Team (saw them open for Sonic Youth in Toronto….I wonder what happened to them…) the way the girl sings and the way there are handclaps and distortion all over the place. It might be good to check them out for a minute, if their stage is running on time. But I really really need to see Pavement.
I don’t know if I have ever gone on about Pavement to you before. I was very late to the game as far as being a Pavement fan goes. They were broken up for 7 or 8 years before I even bothered to listen to them at all. When I did I listened non-stop for what seemed like a year. I memorized the tunes on every album. I became completely obsessed. I moved from album to album, listening to one 5 or 6 times a day for a month and moving on to the next. I have my favorite tracks, though my favorite album by Pavement changes every time I sit down. They broke up in 1999 and have been anything but forthright with whether or not they would ever get back together again. When they finally announced that they were I go so excited that I told everyone that I knew, even people that didn’t care, because I just felt like I had to tell everybody. When I heard that they were headlining Pitchfork this year I got even more excited. Just thinking about standing there and watching them is getting me excited all over again. In just a few days it’s going to be a reality. I’ll probably text you as it is happening. I’m sure you are thrilled.
A few years back Stephen Malkmus performed at Pitchfork solo. He did a ton of Pavement songs and I was so happy then. I started recording his set before he even picked up his guitar because I had a suspicion that something amazing was going to happen and it did:
And yeah, he messed up the words, but I don’t think anybody could tell or even cared. I can’t even imagine how awesome it is going to be if they play “Range Life“, which is my favorite song by Pavement, and is right up there with my favorite Sonic Youth songs. But that is a topic for another mix tape.
Well, I hope you enjoy the mix. It should give you a pretty good idea of the stuff that I am going to be experiencing while I am in Chicago. If you are lucky I will recount every last minute detail to you upon my return.
![Paul A Rosales "Wonder Wheel I"](http://c4.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/148/l_ba76fbb032f54fc389a96eea5ac4b917.jpg "Paul A Rosales "Wonder Wheel I"")
