Tag Archives: pitchfork

Pitchfork: (Or…Reading About It Online) (4/4)

by Jake Sanders

Ah yes. Like a national holiday for those who aren’t quite patriotic, The Pitchfork Music Festival comes around but once a year…however, I don’t have the money to attend. No, I’m not bitter or jealous. After all, there’s a ton of music blogs to choose from that give an group-by-group account of the festival, plus all the really juicy stuff that happens off stage. That should be almost as good as being there, right?

Trying to get to a concert of this size is the same story almost every year. The ads show up around the beginning of spring for the summer shows, there’s a lot of hype, there’s a lot of bands listed, and even the price is affordable. And I think, “Yes, this will be the year I’ll get to see at least one, get out there and really jive, y’know?” Yet I wonder.. “How will I make it there? I don’t think I know anyone who lives in East Sussex, and I’m not sure if there’s even a hamlet nearby where I could rent a room.” So I become resigned to looking around for local shows, or if the money’s really tight, watching The Last Waltz at home.

Thankfully, the blogs are there for people who couldn’t go to Pitchfork. You can skip a rock on the internet and hit a music blog covering it. If you’re quick enough, you can catch the live streaming videos during the performances, but if not, there are the write-ups that some blogs do. It’s not exactly the same as hearing the band live, but if you know them well enough it’s kind of interesting to read what they sounded like, and to check out some pictures too. And for bands that you’ve never heard, it’s good to read about what their performances were like, and to check them out some other time. To be fair though, sometimes they can leave something to be desired. I would like to know how Neko Case and Fleet Foxes played, but reading on Pitchforks’ blog that an out-fit looked like it was from a yard-sale and how there were five beards were on stage seems a bit like reading tips from Vogue or GQ.

One thing that I do love about reading the blogs is checking out the pictures. I’d like to think that I’m a purist and couldn‘t care less about what a band looks like. But, I know that I’m really not, and that I do like to see the funny faces that musicians make and the like. Like, scrolling down a list of pictures on onethirtybpm.com and Brooklynvegan, then seeing Robert Pollard performing a high-kick without any context or without actually having been there is hilarious to me. Or, seeing Ariel Pink putting three fingers in the air and grimacing. “He looks so angry here,” I think to myself, “and yet he makes such pleasant music”.

It is a stretch to think that a combination of pictures and a short description is any substitute for seeing a band live. But I found out about a lot of new groups looking over all this stuff, so thanks to all those who went and wrote about it. Then again, it could be that the bloggers are just flaunting how much fun they had, just callously rubbing it in our faces. Just giving us little tidbits of information to keep us mildly interested, but really laughing themselves silly thinking about all those who couldn’t go.

But no, I’m not bitter at all, really.

Pitchfork: Day Three (3/4)

This is the third of WPRB’s four part review of the Pitchfork Music Festival held on July 15-17 in Chicago, Illinois.

Deerhunter

Day Three

by Griffin Winton-LaVieri (WPRB Music Director)

Sunday was the hottest day of them all and I was the most worn out. We saw The Fresh and Onlys, Kurt Vile, and Ariel Pink at the Green Stage but I was too tired and hot to be able to judge them well. Kurt Vile seemed to be well liked by everyone in the crowd. Ariel Pink seemed out of it as he performed, falling down at one point, and left the stage for unexplained reasons half way into the set, thus cutting the set down significantly. Also, Ravi and I made it to the festival grounds first that day.

Sunday was also the day that OFWGKTA performed. We probably made the right decision in not joining the massive crowd but viewing the chaos from afar. It looked like madness. Tyler, the Creator, the front man of Odd Future, despite having a cast on his foot which caused him to hobble, jumped in the crowd on multiple occasions. One of the friendly security gaurds, Jeff, described working it as the hardest thing he’s ever done. Jeff was in Iraq 6 months ago. The meaning of Odd Future and their controversial lyrics has been and will continue to be the theme of many think-pieces. You can make your own call about the whole thing.

Sunday improved as Deerhunter’s set at the Green stage approached. Deerhunter are simply, a quality band. Hits such as “Helicopter”, “Revival”, and “Nothing Ever Happened” were performed. “Nothing Ever Happened” was definitely the highlight as they jammed along – rhythmic and euphoric. No new songs were played but I was fine with that, having never seen them live. Bradford said that they had just returned from the UK and concluded ”It’s good to be back in the USA. Fuck anybody that tells you it isn’t the best country in the world.”

After Deerhunter we got dinner and walk around. Cut Copy was playing so we watched them from afar. It was impressive to see the huge crowd jump up and down as a mass. Cut Copy put on a high energy show and ended with “Need You Now.” I like that song. After Cut Copy was the final headliner, TV on The Radio. I’m not a big fan of them so I persuaded Ravi that we should cut out early as we were going to another after-show. The second song TV on The Radio played was “Dancing Choose” so I felt like we saw at least one important TV on The Radio song and could leave the festival knowing it was a weekend well spent.

We traveled on the “L” to Schubas. The venue struck me as almost equivalent to Maxwell’s, in New Jersey, as it was basically a bar with a room for concerts in back. Unknown Mortal Orchestra opened the show. I haven’t really made up my mind about them but that is more a function of me not listening to them much than anything else. Yuck had played Pitchfork earlier that day but we had missed them so it was worth the trip, time and money. They are pretty heavily indebted to their nineties influences but nonetheless the music they make is enjoyable to listen to and I’m glad I got a chance to see them live.

Overall, the weekend met if not exceeded my expectations. Ravi and I saw pretty much all the bands we wanted to and saw them up close. It was our own summer adventure. We left Chicago the next day separately–tired but happy.

Photo Credit: Ravi Prakriya

Pitchfork: Day Two (2/4)

Zola Jesus

This is the second of WPRB’s four part review of the Pitchfork Music Festival held on July 15-17 in Chicago, Illinois.

Day Two

by Griffin Winton-LaVieri (WPRB Music Director)

Having realized it was worth it to be up front and thus arrive at the gates early; Ravi and I spent two hours waiting outside the festival grounds on Saturday. However, that day, instead of going to the Green stage where Fleet Foxes would headline, we opted for the nearby Red Stage. Our fellow early arriving Pitchfork attendees were generally more interested in Fleet Foxes so we had no trouble making it to the barrier.

The first act on the Red Stage was Woods. Woods are a pretty solid freak folk band. I haven’t really gotten into their music so I didn’t really recognize their songs but nonetheless enjoyed my self. One of the members of Woods sang through a pair of headphones, which is a rather novel way of making music. The lead singer sang in a pleasing falsetto.

After Woods, on the Green stage was Cold Cave. Thanks to the positioning of the stages and a jumbotron, we could observe the band though either a video feed or as tiny guys on a relatively distant stage. They were dressed in black and performed with remarkably high energy considering it was not only incredibly hot out but it was likely earlier than they would be ever expected to leave their apartments. I really like Cold Cave’s first record so I enjoyed hearing tracks like “Youth and Lust”, “Hello Rats”, and of course, the title track. As mentioned above, the members of Cold Cave danced wildly around the stage (in a cool way, though) and I was ultimately unsure how much of the sound they were actively producing themselves.

Up next on the Red Stage was No Age. I’m a big fan of No Age and so I was particularly excited to rock out to them. Dean and Randy ripped through songs off of all three of their records and the crowd ate it up; bodies were pressed against each other, water was flung overhead to cool us down, and crowd surfers flowed regularly over the barrier. No Age covered a Black Flag and the Misfits but the highlight of the set was “Everybody’s Down” which featured Dean leaving the stage and joining the crowd. No Age are a quality band who write good songs and put on fun shows. Fun Fact: The picture that heads the Pitchfork article about the festival was taken during No Age’s set and I’m the kid wearing red in the front row.

Destroyer played next on the Red Stage. Naturally, Bejar’s epic jazzy jams were a stark contrast to No Age’s punk songs but it was now late afternoon and chilling out was in order. Destroyer make enjoyable music and they performed their tracks well so it was a good set, even Dan Bejar, who is notoriously moody, seemed like he was having fun. I had the part in “Bay of Pigs” where Bejar sings “Magnolia’s a girl/ her heart is made of wood/ as apocalypses go/ that’s pretty good/ sha-la-la/ wouldn’t you say?’ and the synths come stuck in my head all day in anticipation of hearing it live so I was quite pleased when that song concluded Destroyer’s set.

After that, Ravi and I grabbed dinner and headed to the Blue stage for Nika Roza Danilova, who is better known as Zola Jesus. With barely any trouble we were able to make it to the front, which made me happy because Zola Jesus is actually one of my favorite musicians and I had never been able to make it to one of her shows before. Although I had read about how small a stature she has, it was surprising to see her in real life and realize that, yes, she is 4’11”. Her size didn’t inhibit her performance in the least as she danced and pranced across the stage as she sang tracks from her Stridulum and Valusia EPs. The standout song was probably “Manifest Destiny” which is an incredibly powerful track in terms of Danilova’s vocal performance. Zola Jesus is an artist to watch out for and I am incredibly excited to hear her new record Conatus, which will be released in October.

Fleet Foxes were headlining that night but neither Ravi nor I are particularly familiar with their music so we left after Zola Jesus. Instead of being satisfied with a day’s worth of live music, we ventured to Chicago’s Lincoln Hall for an unofficial after-show. Shabazz Palaces opened the show. I’m not a big fan of rap or hip-hop so they weren’t exactly my thing but I definitely acknowledge that they could be a quality act. It was entertaining to watch the two members perform as many of the songs featured synchronized dance routines. The headlining act was Moonface, which is Spencer Krug’s new project. It was an interesting performance as Krug played keyboards and sang and another fellow played marimba and drum machines. It was fun and worth going to but after two days of standing on metal barriers, I was tired and my feet were incredibly sore.

Photo Credit: Ravi Prakriya

Pitchfork: Day One (1/4)

This is the first of WPRB’s four part review of the Pitchfork Music Festival held on July 15-17 in Chicago, Illinois.

Day One

by Griffin Winton-LaVieri (WPRB Music Director)

Every year the Pitchfork Music Festival seems to book the best bands. Last year as I watched the artist announcements (Broken Social Scene!) come out (LCD Soundsystem!) through out the spring (Pavement!), I was all too aware that there was no way I could make it. But 2011 was different; with orientation for college in Wisconsin, a trip to Chicago would fit perfectly into my summer and thus the trip was meant to be. When Animal Collective was announced as a headliner, I ran through the halls of my high school to tell my best friend, Ravi, who would be going to the festival with me. It was going to be the high point of my summer.

Since we arrived the day before, Ravi and I had nothing in particular to do midday Friday. As I’m a big fan of being early to concerts (a result of my short stature and subsequent love of being in the front row), we arrived at the festival gates at noon- approximately 3 hours before they would open. This was, in retrospect, one of the best decisions of the weekend because it allowed us to think about our priorities and prepare to realize our goals; namely, we decided to get through gates quickly and sprint to the Green Stage and stay there the whole day so we could see Animal Collective up close.

The first band on the Green Stage was Battles. Despite the fact that Tyondai Braxton no longer numbers among their ranks, they rocked through “Atlas” and other songs with the help of prerecorded vocals and a screen on stage displayed the guesting vocalists. Their set up was gear-intense as it featured such remarkable aspects as a cymbal elevated to the height of approximately 7 feet, effects pedals lining key board stands, keyboards angled at 45 degrees, and the machinery which built the loops that built the songs.

After Battles was Guided By Voices. If one band epitomized rock’n’roll that weekend, I’m pretty sure it is GBV; first off was Robert Pollard, the lead singer, who proudly took swigs of rum between songs and did multitudes of leg kicks as he performed. The guitarist took the prize, though, as he chain-smoked through the set; always needing a cigarette, he had a stagehand behind him whose sole role was to light new cigarettes and place them in his mouth. I have never gotten into GBV’s extensive catalogue so I recognized only a few songs that they play, but any set with “I am a Scientist” is a good set, right?

At 8:30, Animal Collective finally took the stage. In the break after GBV, an elaborate set was built featuring a giant head behind the band, huge glowing crystals in front of the band, and illuminated plastic bats hanging down from the rigging. The set consisted of almost entirely new tracks and the first song they performed was especially special as it was “Change”, one of the new tracks, which is the first Deakin sings on. As for the new songs, they generally the rhythmic and aggressive, more like Water Curses than Meriwether Post Pavilion. Then again, it by the time they come out in the form of a new record they will probably not only have different names but new directions as well. AnCo did play several old songs and each time they did, it seemed more euphoric; They worked their way through “Did You See the Words”, “Brothersport”, a slower, heavier version of “Taste”, and ended on an incredibly high note with the much loved “Summertime Clothes.” Despite the fact that they had 10 minutes before the Chicago curfew, they didn’t play an encore. Although the time they spent playing was magical, I’m sort of glad they didn’t. They couldn’t have topped “Summertime Clothes.”

Photo credit: Ravi Prakriya

The Pains of Being On The Cusp Of WPRB's Broadcast Area

It’s easier to get WPRB’s reception in NYC when you stand on a roof.

Pitchfork has an interview with The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, who have a great self-titled record on the resurrected (and stronger than ever before!) Slumberland Records. You may have heard this record on WPRB recently; last week it was #3 on our Top 30 charts.

Anyway, in today’s Pitchfork interview there’s a little WPRB namedrop that made us go “Aw shucks,” so we thought to share it with you. Yes, it’s true: we really did play a lot of Shellac back then! (But we don’t think that’s a bad thing, since they are awesome!)

KB: I don’t have a car or a radio I can listen to anymore, but growing up, my friend and I were on the very cusp of Princeton’s college radio station, we’d listen to it and try to write down everything they played. But the reception was bad, so it’d be like “And that was just a track by [static noise],” and it was such a bummer. They were so into playing Shellac all the time. And they were into assuming that you just knew who Shellac was, and even bands that weren’t Shellac they’d compare to Shellac; they’d be like, “That band was probably the best Shellac wannabe band!” [laughs] College radio at that time was super great for learning about new music.

Thanks, Kip!

Do you have a story about listening to WPRB? Ever struggle to hear us through the static? Let’s hear it in the comments!

We're So Cool

Just a wee news item to share with y’alls: seems that Philly group Man Man were interviewed by Pitchfork today, and they had this to say about, ahem, a particular radio station:

» Favorite Radio Show

Pow Pow: Princeton 103.3 [WPRB]. I actually saw a guy in the crowd today at the show who was wearing a Princeton 103.3 shirt. I grew up listening to that station, and it has completely warped my brain forever. Young influence.

Aw, thanks guys! Happy to have warped your brain.