A Very Short Review of Pitchfork 2010

It’s already August, but I wanted to say a few words about the 2010 Pitchfork Music Festival. As usual, it rocked. The weather was hot, but that seemed to be a good thing since it kept many of the poseurs and douchebags away (e.g. people who’s main interest in music festivals is to “be seen” or find out how drunk they can get).

The festival’s sound system continued to make improvements – I liked the additional bank of speakers they added that allowed people to get a better listen to the stage without having to crowd in.


From the bands I saw, there was only one glaring disappointment. Raekwon started his set 20 minutes late and sleepwalked through most of it. He even had a karaoke-style backing vocal track playing, and he still couldn’t remember all of his lyrics. Not a great showing from an act with a built-in fan base that was ready to be entertained. Here’s hoping he tries harder next time.

One of the things I love about Pitchfork is that every year I go I’m guaranteed to be blown away by at least three bands I’ve never heard or heard of. This year was no exception. Here’s my list of my favorite sets from this year’s festival:

Friday:

Broken Social Scene: They seem to play Pitchfork or Lollapallooza every year, which is cool because they are always great. There’s nothing like listening to a large group of gifted musicians performing together.

El-P: Energetic and conscious-raising hip-hop that really delivered. There’s an entire network of underground rappers that unfortunately don’t get the attention they deserve because the Snoop Dogs of the world continue to suck up all the oxygen. I say, less Eminem, more El-P!

Robyn: She’s an authentic “club-kid,” not one of the group of brain-dead realty-show Twitter-twits that passes for youth culture today. Her set was beat-tastic and just a little retro (in a good way), reminiscent of the days of house music and raves, before the boy-bands took over.

Saturday:

Delorean: Electro-dance music from Spain. These guys used to be punks, but they can go far in electronica if they keep making stuff like their latest album “Subiza.”

The John Spencer Blues Explosion: It’s not blues, but a violent collision between roadhouse-rockabilly and hardcore. John Spencer was very much the rock-and-roll front man, doing everything he can to keep the crowd rocking.

Panda Bear: You’re either a Panda Bear/Animal Collective fan or you’re not. I’m a fan. What other people complained was nothing but aimless electronic noodling I thought was a hypnotic trip from one of the leading musicians in alternative music.

Sunday:

Allá: It’s too bad this Chicago band got the 1:00 set, because more people should have heard them. They did a fantastic set that was a mix of rock, electronica, psychadelia, and pop. I’m keeping an eye out to see when they will be playing in town next.

Lightning Bolt: Year after year, for some reason the loudest, most aggressive bands at Pitchfork tend to be duos. This year’s example is a drum and bass noise-rock outfit from Providence, R.I. that would have torn the roof off of the place if there was one. I love bands like this because it makes it easy to expand my record collection.

Local Natives: This California-based pop/folk band with afro-pop influences seems to have everything they need to make it big, although their music is probably too advanced for American Top-40 radio. The harmonies are gorgeous and the ensemble is tight and energetic. It was perfect music for a summer afternoon.

Sleigh Bells: I kept hearing buzz about this New York noise-pop duo (guitar, voice, and backing electronics) prior to their set, mainly how loud they were and how good they were. 100% correct on both counts. They were fantastic.

Do yourself a favor and seek out these bands and support independent music!