Chaka: I 'fork like a beast · Jul 19, 07:08 PM by Chaka
Sorry it’s been a while since I rapped at ya, but I’ve been refusing to work until Scooter Libby was freed. Thanks and praises to the President for having the cojones to do what was right even though it was unpopular with, like, the whole rest of the world, like he did last summer when he helped his buddies blow up all those children in Lebanon. Speaking of which, what’s that ol’ Texas saying again? When the cotton’s high, the president’s child-murderin’ finger gets itchy, or something like that…
As anybody who reads CNN.com knows, Pitchfork went down again this weekend, and it’d have taken more than a gaggle of Grinnell College freshmen who don’t know how to get on a fucking subway car to keep Enik and me away. We’re back, showered, and rested, and are pleased to file this report.
Friday found us blowing off Slint and GZA in favor of showing up just in time for Sonic Youth. I suppose I should give Slint a pass because of the first Squirrel Bait record, but honestly, if Spiderland should be remembered for anything more than achieving absolute maximum boringosity, those accomplishments are completely lost on this Pakuni. As for GZA, following the ins-and-outs of the Wu-Tang mob would require a scorecard and, hey, I’m a busy guy.
After getting our bearings within the festival grounds and spooking Steve Shelley with words of encouragement delivered with maybe a little more gusto than was required, I hit the honeybucket and emerged with ‘Theme de Yoyo’ absolutely blaring from the PA. What a way to start a show! It was unclear whether the Sonics, the promoters, or the sound crew were responsible for this stroke of genius, but it put me in the perfect mood to see Daydream Nation, Tim Tuten’s umpteenth buzzkill attempt notwithstanding. The Sonics’ set was ramshackle at first, with poor, quiet sound (Kim’s bass was completely inaudible throughout the entire set – more on that later), culminating in a version of “The Sprawl” that threatened to come off the rails at least twice as Kim came in with her vocal completely out of time with the rest of the band.
Momentum grew, however, around the time of the Lee tunes and the band finished strong with a three-song encore of Rather Ripped tunes, all of which sounded tighter and more confident than the best of their Daydream Nation set. Sonic Youth seems like a particularly forward-thinking band, and their live version of Daydream Nation probably felt as unnatural to them as it often sounded for us. One interesting footnote – frequent Sonic bassplaying pinch hitter Mark Ibold’s bass was prominent in the mix for the entirety of the encore; was Kim’s bass turned down for the Daydream Nation set on purpose? She certainly seemed to be at the center of the more glaring errors of that part of the show…
Enik interjects: I have to agree with Chaka: The idea of hearing Daydream Nation was more attractive than the actual execution. That being said, Lee’s tunes did kill, especially “Hey Joni” (“K-k-k-kick it!!”). Thurston’s “Total Trash,” and Kim’s “Eliminator Jr.” were highlights as well. There was a marked difference between the Nation songs and the 3-song Ripped encore. The band just simply played the new songs better. The contrast made obvious the fact that the Nation songs have indeed been underplayed over the past 19 years. Though the Ripped songs, uh, ripped, I was disappointed by their inclusion; I was pulling for an encore comprised of the four covers included on the new reissue.
Saturday. We showed up in time for Grizzly Bear, who were completely overwhelmed by the relentlessly yammering Pitchfork crowd. Many a Chicago rock show has been ruined by the heckling and gossiping of the typically rude Chicago rock show crowd, and while there was little heckling at Pitchfork, there was little polite silence either, leaving a band as quiet and ethereal Grizzly Bear (and, later, Iron & Wine) with really no chance.
Enik interjects: This Grizzly Bear needs to stay indoors. I’d love to see these guys at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago or the Pabst in Milwaukee. Their delicate songs seemed to literally be blown away by the wind. I like that their “hit,” “Knife,” was played in the middle of the set and not used to cap the set.
Next came Fujiya & Miyagi, tops on my list of Most Want-To-Seeable Bands. The absence of a drum set on the stage was a bit off-putting for me (hey, I keeps it real like dat), but that drifted away faster than Billy Corgan’s street cred as they launched into the fantastic “Ankle Injuries”. Me love these guys long time, but opening with your best number can be a dangerous gamble (see also The Lady Sovereign Effect). No matter, though, these guys powered through a fun, memorable set that culminated in a huge hand from the crowd that seemed to genuinely surprise and thrill the band. F&M’s new single, “Uh”, is a serious misstep but hopefully only a temporary one for a band that obviously has listened to their share of Neu! and Stereolab (I’m guilty as well) but has a unique mix of sleaze and clinical coolness that gives me a Steely Dan-type vibe for some reason.
We wasted time during the sets of some metal band whose name I didn’t catch (might I suggest Food And Piss Break?) and Clipse, who actually sounded great, no small feat for a hip hop act at an outdoor festival (I’ve had one of the tunes from Clipse’s set stuck in my head since Saturday night – guess I better check out their records) while waiting for Cat Power to start. Any time Chan Marshall takes the stage, history could be clinging to her in a Baby Bjorn, so even though she’s burned the entire Timedoor staff with pathetic live performances in the past, we eagerly awaited her set.
What followed was a genuine embarrassment – a sloppy, lazy, contemptible performance by an artist who has repeatedly proven she has no business being on stage and a bunch of pros who ought to know better. Chan wandered the extreme edges of the stage, loudly and repeatedly criticized the monitor mix, hid herself by standing in front the stage past lighting rig so most of the huge crowd could barely see her in the twilight, and generally seemed completely unprepared for and uninterested in the prominent festival gig for which she was undoubtedly handsomely compensated. Her band gave little more (with the exception of her drummer, who was great), though they were faced with the unenviable task of accompanying one of more notoriously flighty live performers in rock & roll history. This led to the majority of Cat Power’s numbers either ending abruptly or falling flat on with the same Naperville bar band shuffle interminably, completely sucking the life out of every number, including all of the many covers in her set and her fabulous 2006 single, “Could We”. Look, Chan Marshall’s been in the business for a decade now. She’s canceled tours, hit the stage completely fucked up more times than Joey Heatherton, and bullshit her way through at least one big festival show. Why do indie crowds put up with this? While even her best Pitchfork number sparked little more than polite applause from the crowd, they certainly were keeping their tomatoes and cabbages to themselves; this same crowd may have booed Yoko (though we didn’t hear it), but at least Yoko’s going for it. Why does Matador put up with this? Why does Pitchfork? Why, for that matter, does Chan Marshall? 17,000 people are standing there, giving you and your art a chance. Is that really all you want to do with that chance? Maybe a decade from now, when Chan is working as an assistant manager at a Fashion Bug in central Florida, she might regret how she ripped off so many people at her live shows. Until then, I guess she’ll have to be content with being the NASCAR of indie rock – an act most people are checking out only in hopes of seeing a spectacular wreck. Hey, I saw one of those spectacular wrecks Saturday night at Pitchfork. It was fucking boring.
Enik interjects: Because Chaka and I are intelligent, freethinking dudes, we are bound to disagree from time to time. Having seen what is arguably the Worst Cat Power Show Ever at Ladyfest in Olympia, WA, in 2000, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by Marshall’s performance. When I saw her at Ladyfest, she aborted a good number of songs and barely finished the others. And she was standing in front of the most supportive audience a female performer could ask for. The crowd coached her throughout the set to no avail. Marshall persisted in complaining about the sound, apologizing, muttering to herself, moving her mike stand numerous times, and, to reiterate, failing to finish songs. It was truly maddening to sit through. At Pitchfork, bolstered by a band, post-rehab Marshall was a different woman. She complained about the sound some (the first time she did it, I thought, “Here we go again”), but in the end it proved to not be a big problem. The band was far from tight, but, to give them the benefit of the doubt, maybe they were working around Marshall, trying to find a way to buffer the audience from Marshall’s unpredictability. Some songs seemed oddly short, while others lingered too long.
Even Yoko And Her Amazing Unicolor Penlights couldn’t wash the taste of Cat Power’s set out of my mouth, though we did stick around long enough to see what was undoubtedly the best set-opening videotaped press conference I’ve ever seen at a rock show. Luckily, Enik had to take me out for a bucket of mussels and a couple St. Bernadus, having lost the bet he made with me that Yoko would open with “Please Please Me”.
Sunday we decided to piddle around Chez Chaka until Malkmus’ set, and I have to admit I’m glad we did – while part of what makes festivals great is the ability to check out acts one would never have paid to see on their own, there’s also something to be said for seeing a concise number of sets at a festival to prevent burnout. Burnout prevention was just what we accomplished Sunday, and what we did manage to catch may have been the greatest three-act show I’ve ever seen this side of the fabled Dinosaur Jr/My Bloody Valentine/Babes In Toyland tour back in the day.
I have to admit I was crushed when we noticed the lack of drums from Malkmus’ stage prior to his appearance; while we knew that Janet was out with Bright Eyes (seriously, can we file a fucking injuction against Oberst or something?), necessitating solo Malkmus, I had still held out hope that somebody could fill in as a quick Jick pick for the day. No dice. I’ve never seen Malkmus live and selfishly wanted the full band effect. Regardless, Malkmus’ loose, sketchy set was still a gas, primarily because it was, you know, Malkmus. Nastanovich shambled on stage for a pair of Slanted classics that sounded every bit as half-assed as the rest of his set but still thrilled those of us old enough to be familiar with the concept of hi-speed dubbing. I can’t say I learned much about his new material because of the solo acoustic format but I thoroughly enjoyed his set as a whole.
Enik interjects: Malkmus clearly failed to rehearse for this gig. Most of the post-fest press slagged on him for this, but, like Chaka, I enjoyed the set. Admittedly, my good will is based on the fact that I’d never seen Malkmus solo before. I live in Milwaukee and stupidly skipped his show at Todd Wehr Hall a few years back where he did an all-Pavement set. Similarly, on this day, he did plenty o’ Pavement songs, including “Heaven is a Truck,” “Extradition,” “Spit on a Stranger,” “Trigger Cut,” “In the Mouth a Desert,” and “We Dance.” Cat Power once covered “We Dance”; it would have been cool if she’d come out to help sing it. The songs I didn’t recognize were most likely new songs, though he did play “Us,” from Pig Lib (a great album with a great title), and “Loud Cloud Crowd,” from Face the Truth (a great album with a terrible title). Fellow Paver Bob Nastanovich did a little surprise drumming midway through the set. (How come Ibold didn’t pitch in with his thunder broom?) After he left the stage, SM apologized for BN’s brief visit by saying, “We only didn’t rehearse two songs.” Nastanovich did return to the stage to dance with some unidentified male during the set-closing “We Dance.”
mp3: Cat Power – We Dance :: Pavement cover
Though I suppose Enik’s Flaming Lips comparison is accurate, there is simply no other band quite like Of Montreal, both in sound and appearance. Something about them reminds me of late-period Move, though that may just be #2 Montrealer The B.P. Helium’s resemblance to Move-era Jeff Lynne (that’s him wiping his guitar on the stacks in the first picture). Of Montreal slipped me some goddamn date rape drug or some shit at Lollapalooza last year, but dang if they weren’t a zillion times BIGGER at Pitchfork – more guest appearances by Imperial leaders, more crustacean appendages, more costume changes (or maybe less would be more accurate), more melodrama, well, just plain fucking MORE.
Of Montreal’s use of a live drummer on some numbers and canned beats on others really makes their live show sound like it covers a lot of stylistic ground. Their singing was also excellent throughout.
“Suffer For Fashion” from their new record was a highlight, as was a set closing cover of “All Day and All of the Night”, though I was completely entertained for their entire 55-minute set and was left wanting more even though I’d hardly consider myself a big fan of their records. A great show by a great live band.
But wait – there’s still more after the mini-Pavement reunion and the living Bosch painting! I think Pitchfork was the fifth time I’ve seen the New Pornographers in just over two years, but that’s no chore considering I feel they’re the best band in our quadrant right now. I admit to feeling a little underwhelmed upon my first few spins of their latest record, Challengers, and was hoping some of the new material would stick after I saw it live. Sure enough, new tunes like the set-opening “All Of The Things That Make Heaven and Earth” and “Mutiny, I Promise You” stuck to me like a slab of Lee Ranaldo’s famous barbecue ribs. Honestly, I don’t think I’m qualified to discuss the New Pornographers because I dig them so unconditionally – these guys absolutely fucking slay me. After a weekend of timid or amateurish performances, the New Pornos stood out as sounding really professional – maybe even bordering on too professional, though they never quite tip the scale towards hackdom thanks to indefatigable efforts of one-man wrecking crew and World’s Greatest Living Musician, drummer Kurt Dahle (check out the mid-song beer-fetch below).
They mixed just the right number of new material and hits, all of which kicked, especially “Jackie, Dressed In Cobras”. If I could muster up a complaint about the New Pornos’ live show, it’s that they always finish with “Sing Me Spanish Techno”, a middling song in my opinion compared to their vast canon of 21st century classics, and “The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism”, a tune I consider one of their worst, and one I suspect they always close with because of its alcohol/party connotation. Can’t wait to see these guys again in October.
The New Pornographers @ the Pitchfork Music Festival, Chicago, IL 7/15/07: All The Things That Go To Make Heaven And Earth :: Use It :: The Laws Have Changed :: All The Old Showstoppers :: Jackie, Dressed In Cobras :: The Spirit of Giving/We Will Rock You [Queen] :: Mass Romantic :: My Rights Versus Yours :: From Blown Speakers :: Mutiny, I Promise You :: Twin Cinema:: Sing Me Spanish Techno :: The Bleeding Heart Show :: Encore: The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism
mp3: The New Pornographers – The Bleeding Heart Show :: live at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. (March 6, 2006)
With that, we split before De La Soul (who to me are to hip hop what In Living Color is to sketch comedy) could ruin the buzz. One thing is clear after this year’s Pitchfork, however – the festival has completely outgrown Union Park and desperately needs a new location, particularly in light of Saturday’s third stage incidents. Moving the festival off the Green and Pink lines and onto the Red or Brown lines would be a huge improvement as well, since the puny three-car Green lines trains can be a real drag when an act like Yoko Ono is sending everybody fleeing for the exits at the same time.
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Songs in the MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 format are offered for a limited time only. Songs that are no longer downloadable from Timedoor can be streamed for several weeks courtesy of Hype Machine’s Timedoor Pop-up Flash Player. Dead mp3 links take you to the top of page one.
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