Pitchfork Music Festival review: Saturday

Saturday, July 19, 2008, Pitchfork Music Festival, Chicago, IL

There were a lot of great moments from Saturday. Caribou put on a surprisingly cool set. I had never heard of them before, but will definitely check them out further. Their spacey, experimental style was something I hadn't expected to hear much of at this festival. It was a nice surprise, especially since it was the first act I caught.

Next came Fleet Foxes. I looked forward to seeing if they could pull off the magic of their recently released self-titled debut. They really exceeded my expectations. The vocals sounded amazing; their harmonies were dead on. Any doubts of FF being able to nail the harmonizations were washed away right from the start. They opened with an all-vocals number, and it just sounded great. This group is only going to get better. A little more experience and a little more variance to the types of songs, and these guys are going to be a can't-miss. "Blue Ridge Mountains" made for a great closing song.

While waiting for !!! to come on I was completely underwhelmed by Vampire Weekend's set. Not really sure what the hype is all about with this band. !!! was pretty good, a lot of energy. Their set really hit full stride with the last few songs. Vocals were kind of hard to hear, but that's not really what !!! is about, so it can be overlooked.

After checking out The Hold Steady (eh...) and Atlas Sound I waited for No Age to take the small stage. I planned on checking them out for a half hour and then heading over to Animal Collective. Unfortunately, they went on 20 minutes late. So after two songs (in which I could hardly hear the vocals, performed by the drummer) I had to leave to catch Animal Collective.

AC was definitely the highlight of the festival for me. I've never seen a performance like the one they put on. They played for the first 25 minutes straight, said a quick hello, and went back at it. They didn't stop again until the end of the night. I can't explain what they sounded like; it was music from another planet. A lot of loops and noise and lights. I couldn't stop smiling because it was something I've never heard before. This was one of the best performances I've ever seen. Period. I will definitely be catching these guys the next time they come to town. The worst part of the show was the very end, when they had to stop playing at 9:56 because of a "curfew."

Current Albums We can't Stop Listening to...

OD
1) Fleet Foxes, "Fleet Foxes"
2) Yeasayer, "All Hour Cymbols"
3) Kings of Leon, "Youth & Young Manhood"
4) M. Ward, "Transistor Radio"

Haas
1)Fleet Foxes, "Fleet Foxes"
2) Black Keys, "Attack and Release"
3) She & Him, "Volume One"
4) Wild Sweet Orange, "The Whale" EP
5) Islands, "Arms Way"
I have been goin heavy on the Talking Heads lately as well.

Jon OC
1) MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
2) Ted Leo + the Pharmacists - Shake the Sheets
3) Okkervil River - The Stage Names
4) Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
5) The Arcade Fire - Neon Bible

Marquis
1) Simone Dinnerstein - Bach: Goldberg Variations
2) Dirty Projectors - Rise Above
3) Smog - Red Apple Falls
4) Walter Meego - Voyager
5) Jason Molina/Songs: Ohia/Magnolia Electric Company

Review: Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - "Lie Down in the Light"

It has been about 21 years since Will Oldham co-starred in the classic film Matewan, which details a 1920s coal-miners' strike in West Virginia, but nevertheless, on his superb new musical release under his familiar moniker, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, it seems as though little has changed from this early influence on this work.

Like a black and white photograph, "Lie Down in the Light" (Drag City, Palace Records), Oldham's first studio release of original songs since 2006, again carries us through the dust, the smoke and the peril of a spiritual Appalachia. However, unlike Oldham's earlier classic, "I See a Darkness," "Lie Down in the Light" is more of a mature voice leading through and from the darkness to, well, into the light. Oldham has grown up from the young preacher he depicts in Matewan, to become a wiser spiritual philosopher, depicting a man who has learned from his experiences and has grown from his past musical collaborations as a songwriter.

Like most Bonnie 'Prince' Billy records, Oldham is again accompanied by a list of talented veteran musicians who add a professional clarity and assuredness to Oldham's fantastic, almost implausible tenor. Never fear though, even with an orderly produced sound, "Lie Down in the Light" remains remarkably faithful to Oldham's lo-fi roots.

To come clean, "Lie Down in the Light" is an indie folk album, one full of vocal harmonies, acoustic guitars and warm Nashville twang, with only the smallest bit of percussion to beat. In addition, however, there are also wonderful moments of electric guitar solos and horns in these tunes, cleverly serving as precise evolutionary functions, helping to shift away from the slow inaugural air of some songs. But mainly, "Lie Down in the Light" is simply beautiful, soulful and quiet, with a flicker of unique excitement out of each piece helping to avoid monotony.

Obviously, this album can be rather melancholy and even disturbing at times, because of Oldham's explicit lyrical maturity and humanism, but what moves you through these songs is the potential for a musical crescendo or moment. A moment where the musicians, Oldham and his words figure something out: a type of musical epiphany, which they then realize for one sweet moment, recognize it, smile, and fade away. This is ever so evident on the third track "So Everyone," which build and grows to a fruition of perfectly produced instruments and harmonies, and Oldham, in beautiful juxtaposition, singing, "...Oh lady, show how you want me. And do it so everyone sees me. Sees that you love me."

In other words, "Lie Down in the Light" is a great album to impress chicks (joke).

Disco,

km

Notable tracks for stealing: "Easy Does It," "So Everyone," "You Want that Picture" and "I'll be Glad".

(Drag City - Loose Fur, Stereolab, Silver Jews, smog, Joanna Newsom, Mick Turner)

RadioHead New Video

Check out this new video from Radiohead, they partnered with Google to create this 3D recording. No cameras, no lights, all data and lasers. Check out how it was made here.

How worthless is Mickey?

Does he ever post on here? Weak.

News: A Millennium Park Lunch with Bill Callahan and Tortoise

In an exquisite partnering of Pitchfork Media and The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, a unique collection of shows is currently underway at Chicago's Jay Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park. The series, referred to as "Audible Architecture: Chicago Night Clubs at Noon," is a ten week "mini-fest" featuring an artist of the week performing at or around 12:15pm every Monday.
The past performances, which began June 16th, have featured such names as Killer Whales, Bird Names and LeLoup...yawn. HOWEVER, the next two upcoming shows present two fantastic gems: Bill Callahan (formerly known as "smog") on 7/28, followed by Tortoise on 8/4.
Bill Callahan, who rarely seems to tour is known for his lo-fi indie folk/rock material, driven by a perceptive lyrical force; he is nearly a legend among contemporary singer songwriters. For pre-event listening, I recommend the albums "Red Apple Falls," released as smog and "Woke on a Whaleheart" as Bill Callahan.
Tortoise on the other hand, was arguably one of the best performances of the 2006 Pitchfork Festival, and should be a great post-rock side with your sandwich.
As far as I can tell these shows are free, running until 8/25 and a TBA performance slated for 8/11, which knowing Pitchfork, can be just as exciting as a scheduled act.
For more information check out: http://www.millenniumpark.org/parkevents

NIN - The Slip

NIN has gone and done it again. They are giving away their music before its released on hard copy in hopes that it will generate a "buzz". Trent Reznor has taken the digital revolution and created a very unique relationship with his fans. Releasing albums for free, allowing users to submit remixed tracks of NIN tunes, providing fans artwork, and giving users a choice in what format they want thier music in continues to resonate with this fan and I could not be happier.

You can get The Slip right here: http://theslip.nin.com/

They even allow you to download WAV files which is higher quality than CDs.

Indie Music Videos

As we all know there are a lot of great bands out there that don't get the recognition they deserve. Hence, the creation of Claptrapped. (OD you love the name) But there is also a TON of indie music videos that never see the light of day. One of my contributions will be to post some of those videos every once in awhile.

I am going to start with one of my all time weird favorite music videos by a band I have grown to really like in the last year. Try not to have nightmares after watching this one.

Animal Collective - Peace Bone

Does anybody buy CDs anymore?

I love buying albums. I like going to the store without a plan and waiting for something to catch my eye. Something that I've heard snippets about and I'm willing to take a chance on. I also like going to the store with a plan -- for instance, I'm looking forward to picking up Beck's new disc, along with something else, I'm sure.

I like having the CD, with its case and a booklet to read. But maybe that's just part of my personality. I definitely am willing to bet I'm in the minority when it comes to this.

Most people I talk to download albums (whether it be for free or off pay-sites like iTunes) or simply borrow CDs and upload them onto iPods. I'm not going to say I've never done it. I won't refuse if a friend wants to burn me an album. But I still miss having that booklet to flip through while giving it a first listen; or reading who wrote which songs, who played which instruments on each song, etc.

So does anyone else out there actually buy CDs?

BECK - Modern Guilt

I just gave a listen to the new Beck that comes out on July 8th to the public. The only thing I have to say negative about this album is the shortness, otherwise I love it. I really felt like Beck just had a great time recording this album. It has steady grooves from beginning to end. I know this is one of those albums I can listen to repeatedly, there is no stand out tracks in my mind, it seems like one long song. This to me is not Beck's best or innovative album by far, but it does share some great beats and harmonies as other albums in the past. I would not categorize this as a "musical forest" as OD did in the last post about the Fleet Foxes, but I would say it's a great album to drink and shoot the shit to. It just makes ya feel good.

Let me know what you think of the new one from Beck.