Stereogum Home
July 16, 2007

Pitchfork Music Festival 2007 [Sunday; 7/15] Rating: 6.2

Wouldn't be a series of Pitchfork scores without at least one bearing little-to-no relation to the verbiage that followed, right? Well, day last of this year's P4K party in Union Park was another fine one, bringing two more mind-bending sets, and ending (for us) on a perfect note. A perfectly triggered sample, really -- compliments of the Field (aka Axel Willner), who delivered the house-nodding, trance-y From Here We Go Sublime to a rapt set of dance-happy beat-seekers. This set's in a tie for top honors on the day, and if you have the means to make it to the Field's NYC debut Wednesday night at Studio B, you really should be there.

After Axel's set we were off to tie up some loose ends before hitting the surreal and unforgettable "secret" Dan Deacon/Deerhunter warehouse show at 2AM (post tk), but we didn't leave the grounds without having had socks rocked a couple more times. One of the weekend's best came as Sunday's first: yes, Deerhunter. Deerhunter, Deerhunter, Deerhunter. They were that good (with Grizzly Bear on encore), but we'll hold off on the gush (and most of the 'fork fest pics) for tomorrow's post. The other happy surprise on the day came from soul-swaggering, beatboxing loop king Jamie Lidell, irresistibly cooing and funking in a shiny jacket (with equally flashy headgear, having him look like a pimped out sonic sorcerer). Last we saw him at Webster, he went too far on the loops 'n' samples geek-out; yesterday he kept it in check and let his tunes and charisma do the talking.

Of Montreal were good vibes as always, pulling largely from album-of-the-year contender Hissing Fauna..., and featuring Kevin in a late-set costume change: tight black leather biker/dominatrix getup (all while his wife looked on from sidestage with smiling eyes). Of course this was after our camera was away, but let's take a moment to hear it for understanding wives.

Menomena: Love 'em to death, good as always, but we've heard 'em better. Think Justin's voice was a little shot, but it (and they) got better throughout. Although Junior Boys's latest garnered some 'Gum love, we've never been that hot on the live show (last seen at Studio B a few months ago), and Sunday didn't change that. Fair to note, though, that the smoother/mellower acts didn't fare as well this weekend, by our ears or most others'. Maybe that was a sound issue thing?

And in that light, Stephen Malkmus turning up solo and sans Jicks was troubling before he even took stage. Seeing Malkmoose will always be a thrill, but the singer-songwriter vibe (along with uncompromising, meandering guitar parts built for band-backing jams) didn't carry far beyond the stage-lining rows of Pavement/Jicks worshippers. (In fairness, there were many -- and they were loving it.) Still, when Stephen trotted out the Pavement tunes (including "Spit On A Stranger," "In The Mouth A Desert") -- and Bob Nastanovich on the kit -- a friend turned and said "special, right?" Right.

And this may be difficult to believe, but Pitchfork Festival actually appealed to other MP3 bloggers! Good as always to see our friends at Fluxblog, Gorilla vs. Bear, Idolator, Muzzle Of Bees, and You Ain't No Picasso. Big thanks to the 'Fork folks for being hosts with the mosts, and Battles/Clipse/Mastodon/Twilight Sad/Deerhunter/The Field/etc. etc. for being so awesome. Take the jump for the rest of Sunday's pics, and tune in tomorrow for a report from the insane Deaconhunter gig. See ya in a couple of weeks, Chicago.

DEERHUNTER

MENOMENA


JUNIOR BOYS


JAMIE LIDELL

STEPHEN MALKMUS

OF MONTREAL



THE FIELD

Posted at 10:29 PM in
Tags:  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |




-->

12 Comments

Is there an award for not looking like a complete douchebag? If so give it to menomena

Posted by: dannygutters at 07/17/07 12:21 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

my faves were deerhunter, girl talk, jamie lidell, of montreal and grizzly bear.


anyone else that thinks different has BAD TASTE BECAUSE I AM THE KING

Posted by: king at 07/17/07 12:38 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

jamie lidell completely blew me away! he was totally the highlight of the weekend for me. but that doesnt mean that the deerhunter and grizzly bear performances weren't absolutely fantastic, because they really really were.

Posted by: ben at 07/17/07 12:49 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Damn...really regretting having skipper Deerhunter. Of Montreal was fantastic though.

Posted by: jay at 07/17/07 12:49 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Damn. It looks the whole weekend was a killer. I'll call sick next year in my job.

Posted by: Eduardo at 07/17/07 2:15 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Tell me about Malkmus! Details! Please!

Posted by: ellie at 07/17/07 8:38 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

I'm blanking on whoever I met at that warehouse party. Email me a link to those photos? That would be amazing, thanks.

The Field--excellent in my own world. I expected little of the crowd in terms of energy so I paid no attention. I wish I'd seen Jamie, though.

Posted by: audrey at 07/17/07 8:55 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

The Klaxons were crazy. I seriously think I got raped in the mosh pit. Yes, a mosh pit for the Klaxons.

Posted by: Amy D. at 07/17/07 10:17 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

dannygutters is right. Jesus, what is it with stupid outfits and indie rockers?

Posted by: Stu at 07/17/07 10:47 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

I *know* you're all patting yourselves on the back for seeing the Pitchfork-approved indie weirdos, but WTF, no love for De La Soul? Only one of the most respected hiphop groups of all time? I guess the sneering bearded hipsters were afraid they might be forced to, like, conform to some "urban hand waving" or something equally frightening. Your loss.

Posted by: landoc at 07/17/07 2:13 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

"let's take a moment to hear it for understanding wives"

oh stereogum... have to give it up for repressed indie boys.

Posted by: karen at 07/17/07 3:34 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

If anyone out there has ever played Soul Caliber II, doesn't that look like Voldo? It totally looks like Voldo. The show sounds like it would have been fun, but, man, Voldo creeps me the hell out.

Posted by: wurnstrom at 07/18/07 12:04 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Leave a comment


 

The 'Gum Drop

Get our newsletter. MP3s and giveaways weekly.

Search




Sort by:date relevance

Information

  • Contact:
  • About
  • Press
  • Advertising
  • Stereogum RSS Stereogum RSS XML Icon
  • MP3-Only RSS Stereogum RSS XML Icon

Staff

Founder/Editor-In-Chief
Scott Lapatine
Executive Editor
Amrit Singh
Senior Writer
Brandon Stosuy
Columnist
Jon McMillan
Technology & Operations
Jim Jazwiecki
Angela Williams

The Cool Kids

All Stereogum Posts

Get Flash to see our mp3 player. Here are our mp3s: Blank Dogs - Ants (»)
Blank Dogs - Crystal Ladies (»)
Annuals - Confessor (»)
Spoon - Writing To You In Reverse (»)
Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue (»)
Benoit Pioulard - Brown Bess (»)
Fucked Up - Twice Born (»)
Lykke Li - Little Bit (Loving Hand Remix) (»)
Crystal Castles - Crimewave (Crystal Castles vs HEALTH) (»)
David Grubbs - An Optimist Declines (Edit) (»)
High Places - From Stardust To Sentience (»)
Lou Reed - Caroline Says, Pt. II (»)
Passion Pit - Sleepyhead (»)
Pepi Ginsberg - Son (»)
Dr. Dog - The Ark (»)
The Walkmen - In The New Year (»)
of Montreal - Nonpareil Of Favor (»)
Sleeping States - Rivers (»)
Megafaun - Beloved Binge (»)
Chad VanGaalen - Willow Tree (»)
Land Of Talk - Some Are Lakes (»)

Band to Watch logo

Band To Watch: Blank Dogs

Blank Dogs are actually singular: It's the insanely prolific one-man Brooklyn-based band of Mr. Blank Dog. We don't know too much about the biography of the guy behind the bedroom new-wave pop/punk and he's usually covering his face with masks...

MORE »

Quit Your Day Job logo

Quit Your Day Job: Megafaun

Raleigh-via-Eau Clair BTW Megafaun debuted impressively earlier this year with Bury The Square. The trio nip-and-tuck experimental tendencies (tape splicing, white noise colliding with banjo, junkyard-laced spring reverb, screeching feedback at the tail end of a quiet back porch lament)...

MORE »

Premature Evaluation logo

Premature Evaluation: of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping

Skeletal Lamping is anything but skeletal. When we took a close listen to album closer "Id Engager" we mentioned it wasn't the strangest, most ambitious, or best tune on of Montreal's new one, but after absorbing the other 14 tracks,...

MORE »

Video Hangover logo

Video Hangover: Marcy Playground - "Saint Joe On The Schoolbus"

Every week, we dig in the archives for videos that we find noteworthy, memorable, or just unbelievably stupid. And then, Jon McMillan breaks 'em down for you. This week: Marcy Playground blows their one chance at video immortality.

MORE »

Oldstand logo

OldStand: Rolling Stone, September 13, 1984

Take our ink-stained hands and join us at the OldStand, where Jon McMillan goes to remind everyone what an honest-to-goodness music magazine is supposed to look like. Lots of Huey Lewis (and the News) news lately, so let's go back...

MORE »

The Outsiders logo

The Outsiders: Vol. 17: Bird Show, Hair Police, Hush Arbors

Not all of Stereogum's favorite sounds conform to what folks expect us to cover. In this space, resident Bananafish fetishist Brandon Stosuy focuses on bands, albums, singles, and villages in Sweden that may otherwise pass by unnoticed. This installment's virtual...

MORE »

The 'Gum Drop logo

Nicole Atkins - "Under The Milky Way"

On 9/9 Nicole Atkins is releasing a four-song EP fittingly titled Nicole Atkins Digs Other People's Songs via Columbia, on which the Jersey girl covers Nada Surf's "Inside Of Love," the Doors' "Crystal Ship," Mama Cass Elliott's "Dream A Little...

MORE »