Atlanta MC Killer Mike broke into the game as a running body of OutKast. For his upcoming sixth LP, R.A.P. Music, he enlisted another rap icon, Definitive Jux head El-P, to serve as producer. Our first taste of the album comes in the guest-heavy opener “Big Beast”, featuring even more star power thanks to cameos by Trouble, Bun B, and T.I. The resulting cut sees all four MCs spit their quintessential gangster ish over a beat that’s a bass-heavy barrage of noises, tweaks, and random, jumbled effects. Stream it below (via Pitchfork).

R.A.P. Music hits stores on May 15th via Adult Swim’s label Williams Street Records.

R.A.P. Music Tracklist:
01. Big Beast (feat. Bun B, T.I., and Trouble)
02. Untitled (feat. Scar)
03. Go!
04. Southern Fried
05. Jo Jo’s Chillin
06. Reagan
07. Don’t Die
08. Ghetto Gospel
09. Butane (Champion’s Anthem) (feat. El-P)
10. Anywhere But Here (feat. Emily Panic)
11. Willie Burke Sherwood
12. R.A.P. Music

El-P didn’t even put out an album this year and he still owned it. He reunited with Company Flow, dropped a new track, remixed it with Rush, and appeared with Mr. Muthafuckin eXquire & Friends on “The Last Huzzah“, which landed on our Top 50 Songs of the Year. It ain’t over yet.

As unlikely as the pair may be, Prince and Metallica just got the El-P mashup treatment. El-P had this to say about the track:

“I was asking people who follow me on Twitter about who the most anti downloading/digital music musicians were and we landed on Metallica (who I dont give a shit about) and Prince (who is one of my biggest influences).  For fun, I put this thing together comprised of Metallica’s “Unforgiven Part 2″ and Prince’s “Purple Rain.”

And to complete the circle, download the mashup below.

El-P – “The Unforgiven II/ Purple Rain”

As a way to benefit his longtime friend and touring partner Mr. Dibbs, who recently fell ill, legendary emcee El-P has reworked his recent banger “Drones Over BKLYN”. Teaming up with Legitmix, a new platform that allows musicians to legally sample music, the Company Flow honcho laid the track’s rhymes over a sample of Rush’s “Tom Sawyer” and called the end result “Rush Over BKLYN”. You can listen to the reworking below (via Prefix) and purchase it at Legitmix’s website. All proceeds will benefit Mr. Dibbs.

Says El-P of the track:

“I did this because I think it’s an interesting idea and approach to the sample clearance issue. Most importantly I hope this raises awareness and money for my good friend, collaborator and hip hop legend Brad Forste aka DJ MR DIBBS. He is suffering from cirrhosis of the liver and (like so many of us) uninsured. He has racked up almost a half a mil in hospital bills after just one month, and he needs help. All proceeds from this song go to him.”

Rising Brooklyn rhyme spitter Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire tapped El-P, Das Racist, Danny Brown, and Despot for the remix of his track “Huzzah”. There’s now a corresponding music video and everyone showed up for the shoot.

Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire’s new mixtape, Lost In Translation, can be downloaded here.

Consequence of Sound turns four years-old today, which in internet years is about seven decades. Quick, without looking, can you name two songs on last week’s Top 10 list? One song? See I barely got two off the top of my head. Things move quick and yesterday’s Lana Del Ray quibbling is tomorrow’s Lana Del Who? I’m always in search for a song that can withstand more than a day, or a week, or maybe the golden song that I can listen to for a year straight. I’m still waiting for that perhaps unattainable 365 day half-life to be ascribed to a tune, but you never know, maybe it’ll be one of these songs here like Thee Oh See’s brilliant new track or that Twin Shadow rearrangement of an early 80′s Italian-disco track. Who’s got a year-long track so far this year, or in internet years, 100 lifetimes?

-Jeremy D. Larson
Content Director 

The Big Pink – “Stay Gold”

“Stay gold, Ponyboy” quoth The Outsiders. The nostalgia that book elicits predates the rock-arena nostalgia you get with The Big Pink, but let’s hope that these guys can stay. -JL

James Blake – “Not Long Now”

Everyone’s (or maybe just my own) post-dub heart-throb James Blake is at it again. Following the annunciation of his upcoming EP Enough Thunder, he dropped this little ditty on us. It could very well have been on his superb self-titled LP, but it does carry a bit of the feelings from his earlier EPs and singles. So, this one ought to appease both audiences – the ones who hate his poppy sound, and the ones who loathe his experimental days.-WR

Curren$y – “N.O. Shit”

Curren$y is like a fine wine; better with age. The 30 year old rapper just keeps on trucking with mixtapes and albums, and this cut from his forthcoming Muscle Car Chronicles is a first rate track from one of independent hip hop’s first rate acts. Can’t ask for much else. -WR

Curren$y – “N.O. Shit”

Jay Electronica – untitled demo

Please bear in mind that this is a demo. This didn’t even make the cut for his forthcoming debut album. That’s how good Jay Electronica is. This is seriously one of the strongest spitting on a single or otherwise in a long time, and it wasn’t even good enough to make the album. With that in mind, Act II: Patents of Nobility should be an absolute masterpiece. -WR

Mr. Muthafucking eXquire – “Huzzah!” (Remix feat. Despot, Das Racist, Danny Brown, El-P)

Want a crash course on who’s on the forefront of the rap scene right now? Mr. Muthafuckin eXquire just dropped a pretty complete and outrageously fun mixtape, and the remix of the previously released “Huzzah!” features underground forerunners Despot, Das Racist, and Danny Brown, as well as hip hop figurehead El-P coming in for a verse, too. This is the 2011 “pass the mic” party of the year. -JL

Mr. Muthafuckin eXquisit – “Huzzah!” (Remix feat. Despot, Das Racist, Danny Brown & El-P)

Quilt – “Penobska Oakwalk”

Quilt are a cross-generational psych-folk outfit that calls as much from younger bands Woods as they do from more historical acts like Nico and Lou, or even Jefferson Airplane. That production and performance style where the power in vocals are twice that of the instrumentation below it gives it this 1968 anti-war vibe that’s both urgent and relaxed. This Boston group has their debut album out on Mexican Summer November 7th. -JL

Quilt – “Penobska Oakwalk”

SE62 – “Dreaming”

It’s not often that we get to write about the music scene in Ukraine. And by not often I mean absolutely never. So, it’s been a sweet couple days with SE62 and their funky soul tunes. Sweeter yet – I get to tell you all about them. Three cheers for Ukraine! -WR

Thee Oh Sees – “Carrion Crawler”

My only qualm with earlier John Dwyer recordings with the Thee Oh Sees is that they seemed a little choked. It’s raw, but Castlemania never really breathed as deep as I wanted to. Dwyer must have gotten my mind letters, because not only is the title track from their forthcoming album a good indication that Thee Oh Sees are taking more time with their instruments, but that their sound is opening up to something just as erratic but on a larger playing field. And no, that’s not a Megadeth album cover. -JL

Thee Oh Sees – “Carrion Crawler”

Twin Shadow – “Changes”

This one is a cover. Kind of. Well is it still a cover if you change the title? That’s a question for a different day. For now, we’ll stick to the task at hand: Twin Shadow’s cover of an Italian disco band from the 80′s, Bargarre. The original is called “Circus Is Gone”, Twin Shadow’s is called “Changes”, which is fitting for obvious reasons. He’s made it all his own – dark, dance-able, and, uh, some other adjective that starts with a “d”. -WR

Twin Shadow – “Changes”

Wavves  feat. Fucked Up – “Destroy”

Two stoners with a penchant for bringing the motherfuckin’ ruckus mustered up all the energy they could and came out with something pretty exciting. I talked with Damian Abraham earlier this year, who said he’s going to try to use his carnal bark in more guest spots in the coming future, and so it begins here. Abraham and Williams are at their rawest they’ve been in years on this track. -JL

This Lollapalooza come down is rough. That whole festival is a sensory overload, and if you’re an introvert like yours truly, it can bring out some serious anxieties probably worthy of medication, though beer usually does the trick. One time over the weekend, I had to swim upstream through a sea of people to get to the other side of the fest and I had a full-panic attack and almost threw everyone into the Buckingham Fountain and then ran off into the distance. It’s good to be back in the land of singular songs that aren’t shirtless and asking me if I can “hook me and my girl up with some caps.” El-P is back, Warpaint is back, with John Fruscante of all people, and the world seems to be finally spinning a tad slower, but just as loud. Always loud. Always good.  -Jeremy D. Larson

Bear Ceuse – “I Saw It Beating”

Bear Ceuse is drinking the same water as everyone at Merge Records because that shit tastes real good. Perhaps if Thurston Moore and Ryan Adams worked on a project together in the 90′s, there would be no need for this Brooklyn band but since that never happened, Bear Ceuse picks up where that (my) dream left off. The four-piece capitalize on hook-ass hooks, guitar chords stacked to the 13ths, and everything in between, all piled over a skate-or-slack rhythm that lands right in that sweet spot between warm nostalgia and excitement. Look for their full length LP Don Domestique out later this fall.

-Jeremy D. Larson

<a href=”http://bearceuse.bandcamp.com/track/i-saw-it-beating” mce_href=”http://bearceuse.bandcamp.com/track/i-saw-it-beating”>I Saw It Beating by Bear Ceuse</a>

Com Truise – “Ether Drift”

Technically this track’s been out for a little over a month, but if you haven’t heard it, it’s worth a listen. Re-released this week as a free download, Com Truise‘s “Ether Drift” is a dreamy synth-pop number straight out of a John Hughes film – possibly in the film’s critical turning point. If there’s a better fit for a tourmate for Neon Indian, we’d love to see them. Truly a match made in heaven. -Winston Robbins

Com Truise – “Ether Drift”

DJ Diamond – “Speakerz ‘n’ Tonguez”

Creamteam.tv puts it well: Juke music is the grandchild of Chicago house, the son of Ghetto house. DJ Diamond (24-year-old Karlis Griffin from the West Side of Chicago) traffics in juke styles of sample repetition and stretched out tension that’s long enough to not expect a “sick drop” and to just move to it. This is the second track from the album, this is the first, and you can pick up the rest from Planet Mu. Do all of those things if you want some more style in your life. -Jeremy D. Larson

DJ Diamond – “Speakerz-n-Tonguez”

Ducktails – “Sit Around With Ya”

The ultimate chill song: A song so chill that its subject is about chilling, albeit with someone else. Three chords go a long way with Real Estate guitarist Matthew Mondanile. “Just be on my side,” he barely ekes out as part of an ode to a fellow chillaxer. That’s the line that got me. -Jeremy D. Larson

Ducktails – “Sit Around With Ya”

El-P – “Drones Over BKLYN (censored mix)”

Company Flow is reuniting and El-P dropped a new track after four years of radio silence. Someone up there is listening. Speaking of radio, this track comes ready (for some reason or another) for the FCC with the censored version which flexes that Beastie Boys’ “The New Style” horn sample a heck of a lot of times. “It sucks to be nothin/no one struts when they’re down on their knees” he laments in one of the many lines on fire with internal rhymes. The half-time space-rock jam reaches its peak, ends, and El-P knowingly brings it right back in a somewhat comical, mostly sick moment. -Jeremy D. Larson

El-P – “Drones Over BKLYN” (censored mix)

Frank Ocean – “Best Seller”

Trending lately: Frank Ocean, and with good reason. Not only is he responsible for two of the tracks from the towering tyrant that is Watch The Throne, but he just keeps dropping great songs. This time it’s in the form of “Best Seller”. In it, Ocean croons beautifully (is he capable of anything less?) over the woes of trying to make his work a “Best Seller”. Trust me, Mr. Ocean, if you keep dropping tracks like these, you’ll always be a best seller. (Writer’s note: My favorite part is when he makes his voice sound like a female robot and says “R&Bexclusive.com”… Apologies for r&bexclusive.com’s audio tagging, it seems to be the only version of the song on the web at the moment. Trust me, it’s worth ignoring to get to the goods.) -Winston Robbins

Ganglians – “Drop the Act”

On “Drop the Act”, Ganglians take their turn in the spotlight of the sun-bleached sound that has been so rampant lately. What makes them intriguing is that they incorporate the pop sensibility and brightness of Brian Wilson’s Smile, but also go where no surf- pop band has gone before: over three minutes. -Winston Robbins

Ganglians – “Drop the Act”

The Mountain Goats – “Babe (Styx Cover)”

Photo by Heather Kaplan

Can we just dwell in the past for a second with a live track from last weekend? What. A. Festival. Lollapalooza 2011 was packed with savory moments. This particular moment with The Mountain Goats was completely out of left field and completely stunning. I still can’t tell whether it’s supposed to be tongue-in-cheek or if it’s a legitimate dedication. You can be the judge. But either way, it’s a superb listen, and a great way to re-live Lolla. -Winston Robbins

Mountain Goats – “Babe” (Styx cover)

Warpaint – “Billie Holiday” (prod. John Frusciante)

Before now, it was a bit of a head trip to try to connect the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Warpaint. But, surprise, surprise: John Fruscante offers his touch behind the knobs for this slow burner in preparation for the re-release of Warpaint’s debut LP, The Fool. The ladies actually get more lush on this remix if you can believe it. -Jeremy D. Larson

Zechs Marquis – “Everlasting Beacon Of Light”

If we’re talkin psych-rock, it doesn’t get much more divisive than Marcel and Marfred Rodriguez-Lopez. There are those who believe prog doesn’t belong in their psych cereal, and that the sound should get soggy and mushy as opposed to crackle and pop. Man, fuck those people, but seriously the brothers Rodriguez-Lopez in Zechs Marquise deliver to all sides of the psychedelic spectrum with this new one from their forthcoming sophomore album Getting Paid (notable artwork above). The restraint pounding underneath the track isn’t comfortable, but it’s really effective. -Jeremy D. Larson

Zechs Marquise – “Everlasting Beacon of Light”

]]> Jeremy D. Larson Bear Ceuse - "I Saw It Beating" Bear Ceuse is drinking the same water as everyone at Merge Records because that shit tastes real good. Perhaps if Thurston Moore and Ryan Adams worked on a project together in the 90's, there would be no need for this Brooklyn band but since that never happened, Bear Ceuse picks up where that (my) dream left off. The four-piece capitalize on hook-ass hooks, guitar chords stacked to the 13ths, and everything in between, all piled over a skate-or-slack rhythm that lands right in that sweet spot between warm nostalgia and excitement. Look for their full length LP Don Domestique out later this fall. -Jeremy D. Larson <a href="http://bearceuse.bandcamp.com/track/i-saw-it-beating" mce_href="http://bearceuse.bandcamp.com/track/i-saw-it-beating">I Saw It Beating by Bear Ceuse</a> Com Truise - "Ether Drift" Technically this track’s been out for a little over a month, but if you haven’t heard it, it’s worth a listen. Re-released this week as a free download, Com Truise's “Ether Drift” is a dreamy synth-pop number straight out of a John Hughes film - possibly in the film's critical turning point. If there’s a better fit for a tourmate for Neon Indian, we’d love to see them. Truly a match made in heaven. -Winston Robbins Com Truise - "Ether Drift" DJ Diamond - "Speakerz 'n' Tonguez" Creamteam.tv puts it well: Juke music is the grandchild of Chicago house, the son of Ghetto house. DJ Diamond (24-year-old Karlis Griffin from the West Side of Chicago) traffics in juke styles of sample repetition and stretched out tension that's long enough to not expect a "sick drop" and to just move to it. This is the second track from the album, this is the first, and you can pick up the rest from Planet Mu. Do all of those things if you want some more style in your life. -Jeremy D. Larson DJ Diamond - "Speakerz-n-Tonguez" Ducktails - "Sit Around With Ya" The ultimate chill song: A song so chill that its subject is about chilling, albeit with someone else. Three chords go a long way with Real Estate guitarist Matthew Mondanile. "Just be on my side," he barely ekes out as part of an ode to a fellow chillaxer. That's the line that got me. -Jeremy D. Larson Ducktails - "Sit Around With Ya" El-P - "Drones Over BKLYN (censored mix)" Company Flow is reuniting and El-P dropped a new track after four years of radio silence. Someone up there is listening. Speaking of radio, this track comes ready (for some reason or another) for the FCC with the censored version which flexes that Beastie Boys' "The New Style" horn sample a heck of a lot of times. "It sucks to be nothin/no one struts when they're down on their knees" he laments in one of the many lines on fire with internal rhymes. The half-time space-rock jam reaches its peak, ends, and El-P knowingly brings it right back in a somewhat comical, mostly sick moment. -Jeremy D. Larson El-P - "Drones Over BKLYN" (censored mix) Frank Ocean - "Best Seller" Trending lately: Frank Ocean, and with good reason. Not only is he responsible for two of the tracks from the towering tyrant that is Watch The Throne, but he just keeps dropping great songs. This time it’s in the form of “Best Seller”. In it, Ocean croons beautifully (is he capable of anything less?) over the woes of trying to make his work a “Best Seller”. Trust me, Mr. Ocean, if you keep dropping tracks like these, you’ll always be a best seller. (Writer’s note: My favorite part is when he makes his voice sound like a female robot and says “R&Bexclusive.com”… Apologies for r&bexclusive.com’s audio tagging, it seems to be the only version of the song on the web at the moment. Trust me, it’s worth ignoring to get to the goods.) -Winston Robbins [youtube U2_M8rQN85c 500 25] Ganglians - "Drop the Act" On “Drop the Act”, Ganglians take their turn in the spotlight of the sun-bleached sound that has been so rampant lately. What makes them intriguing is that they incorporate the pop sensibility and brightness of Brian Wilson’s Smile, but also go where no surf- pop band has gone before: over three minutes. -Winston Robbins Ganglians - "Drop the Act" The Mountain Goats - "Babe (Styx Cover)" Photo by Heather Kaplan Can we just dwell in the past for a second with a live track from last weekend? What. A. Festival. Lollapalooza 2011 was packed with savory moments. This particular moment with The Mountain Goats was completely out of left field and completely stunning. I still can’t tell whether it’s supposed to be tongue-in-cheek or if it’s a legitimate dedication. You can be the judge. But either way, it’s a superb listen, and a great way to re-live Lolla. -Winston Robbins Mountain Goats - "Babe" (Styx cover) Warpaint - "Billie Holiday" (prod. John Frusciante) Before now, it was a bit of a head trip to try to connect the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Warpaint. But, surprise, surprise: John Fruscante offers his touch behind the knobs for this slow burner in preparation for the re-release of Warpaint's debut LP, The Fool. The ladies actually get more lush on this remix if you can believe it. -Jeremy D. Larson Zechs Marquis - "Everlasting Beacon Of Light" If we're talkin psych-rock, it doesn't get much more divisive than Marcel and Marfred Rodriguez-Lopez. There are those who believe prog doesn't belong in their psych cereal, and that the sound should get soggy and mushy as opposed to crackle and pop. Man, fuck those people, but seriously the brothers Rodriguez-Lopez in Zechs Marquise deliver to all sides of the psychedelic spectrum with this new one from their forthcoming sophomore album Getting Paid (notable artwork above). The restraint pounding underneath the track isn't comfortable, but it's really effective. -Jeremy D. Larson Zechs Marquise – “Everlasting Beacon of Light” ]]> http://consequenceofsound.net/2011/08/top-10-mp3s-of-the-week-812/feed/ 0 http://consequenceofsound.net/2011/08/check-out-el-p-drones-over-bklyn-cos-premiere/ http://consequenceofsound.net/2011/08/check-out-el-p-drones-over-bklyn-cos-premiere/#comments http://c438342.r42.cf2.rackcdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2011/08/el-p-adult-swim.jpg Mon, 08 Aug 2011 10:05:25 +0000 Alex Young http://consequenceofsound.net/?p=141702

For the second-to-last installment in Adult Swim’s Singles Program 2011, Company Flow emcee turned solo extraordinaire EL-P dishes out  “Drones Over BKLYN”. Check out an exclusive stream of the track below.

The mp3 series, which has brought us exclusive offerings from The Tallest Man on Earth, Mastodon, Best Coast, and more, wraps up next week with a track from Cerebral Ballzy. Click here to download the entire series.

El-P – “Drones Over BKLYN”

Piggybacking off the success of the irritatingly catchy “Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell”, Brooklyn’s Das Racist dropped two mixtapes in 2010, Shut Up, Dude and Sit Down, Man, that caught the attention of a hungry fanbase. Now, the trio try to serve up another hit with their proper debut album, Relax, this September 13th. The 14 track effort features cameos from Despot, Danny Brown, and El-P, while Vampire Weekend’s Rostam Batmanglij, Anand Wilder from Yeasayer, Diplo, and the aforementioned El-P all had a hand in the production.

Along with the impressive guest list, the band are releasing the LP on their own via member Himanshu Suri’s Greedhead Music label. Dig into the tracklist below.

Relax Tracklist:
01. Relax
02. Michael Jackson
03. Brand New Dance
04. Middle of The Cake
05. Girl
06. Shut Up, Man [ft. El-P]
07. Happy Rappy
08. Bootyin the Air
09. Power [ft. Danny Brown & Despot]
10. Punjabi Song [ft. Bikram Singh]
11. Selena
12. Rainbow in the Dark
13. The Trick
14. Celebration

There’s an idea to Asheville. You could say it’s a small town with the heart of a city, but you’d be wrong. It’s not a city and it’s not a town. The most obvious word to use would be “community.” At least judging from its downtown area, there appears to be a sense of pride towards ownership. Dozens of independent shops and restaurants litter the area – everything from creative vegan eateries (Rosetta’s Kitchen) to southern-fried goodness (Tingles Cafe) to snazzy bars (Sazerac) – and yet they all work. People flock to them. Items and goods are sold. Smiles filter everywhere. The stores appear happy rather than desperate. It’s great, it’s inspiring, and it’s 100% American.

That’s why Asheville and MoogFest make such a great couple. Despite being the hometown of Moog Music, the overall mission of Robert Moog’s fascinating experiments and technology fully embodies the spirit of community and positivity that pervades the area. People were meant to use these machines to communicate their music in a way they couldn’t before. Seeing as how you can’t cross a street here without coming across one musician pouring his heart and soul out to passersby and pooches, it makes sense that such an open-door instrument would call this place home.

Although New Orleans’ Voodoo Festival capitalized on the Halloween weekend, this year’s inaugural MoogFest has done one hell of a job in making a name for itself. With sold-out ticket tiers and thousands of natives and travelers flooding the intricate downtown streets, all in various (and ultimately creative) costumes, it’s safe to say that this country can handle two landmark music festivals on All Hallow’s Eve.

Three times the charm?

-Michael Roffman

Friday, October 29th

Although Consequence of Sound and WNC Magazine kicked off things the night before at The Southern, with one chill-out DJ set by Saturn Never Sleeps’ King Britt, the party didn’t officially start until around Friday evening. This let everyone else who arrived early to explore the city and take advantage of time. But, that’s exactly what the festival intended.

If you were lucky enough to snag a hotel room at the nearby Four Points Sheraton (basically the hub for all things press and media), then you set yourself up for an easy weekend. Everything’s within walking distance, really. In fact, you can crawl to the Asheville Civic Center. No lie. Well, a little bit of an overstatement, but if you wanted to, you probably could. Bottom line: Comfort should take precedence at music festivals, so here’s a place to start.

King Britt [DJ Set] – CoS/WNC KickOff Party
Photo by Cap Blackard

There’s a reason to focus on where you’re staying. Simply because you’re walking everywhere. This isn’t like Lollapalooza and it’s nothing like that other Ashley Capps-produced event. You know, the one in Manchester? Instead, MoogFest works much like SXSW or Capps’ recent endeavor, Big Ears Festival. Several of the town’s venues take a piece of the line up. There’s the legendary Orange Peel, the vintage-yet-endearing Asheville Civic Center, the corresponding Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, Stella Blue, and the Moogaplex. Not only does this give festivalgoers a chance to visit the town’s establishments, but it gets folks out into the nighttime air, offering nearby bars and eateries an opportunity to snag some business for themselves.

The first night started with a bang, but there were some issues. Mild confusion led to some disconnect on where patrons could enter or exit – especially for media – resulting in some traffic issues, at least in terms of moving people around. Several folks seemed lost on where the venues were, as well. The festival had attached maps to the guides, but that didn’t stop attendees from shouting out to one another for directions. It was pretty common to hear, “Dude, you know where the Moogaplex is?” Also, and this isn’t the festival’s fault, but the late-night eating was an issue. Actually, it wasn’t so much an issue as it was just non-existent. Save for the Civic Center’s “ballpark” offerings, and a couple of local places like Rosetta’s or The Bier Garden, there lacked a forum for late-night noshing – which is sort of a must given that the fest goes on until three in the morning. Let’s just say a taco truck would have made a small fortune.

But, by now, you’re probably wondering about the music, right?

-Michael Roffman

Dan Deacon
The Orange Peel, 6:00 p.m.

Dan Deacon kicked off the inaugural Moogfest by doing something that he had never done – stepping away from the wild craziness that usually defines his live show, turning it down a few notches, and performing an improvisatory ambient show. Armed with a table of mostly Moogerfoogers – positioned in the crowd and not on the stage, of course – Deacon began the set with a genuine speech about the Moog brand and what it means to him personally. According to Deacon, he was excited to play a festival where the main sponsor is a brand he actually believes in, and something that has influenced his music greatly. He was humbled to be playing in the same room as some of the people that actually assemble the Moogs that he uses, and the hoard of people crowded around his table didn’t help his nerves. After unsuccessfully suggesting to the crowd that they could take a seat if they wanted to – as he explained how this show would be different from his others – he decided to lead the crowd in some exercises to help everyone get “in the zone.” He led everyone in stretching, deep breathing, cartoon noise exhaling, and more. He then made everyone get their own personal space by spreading out to where no one could touch anyone else. Then he “tricked” them into following his lead and sitting on the ground – “pretend we’re at the beach! Just lay down!”

Photo by Laura Helen Winn

Once everyone was seated, he finally began his set. Through a series of plugging in wires and turning knobs, he somehow managed to create wonderful pieces of music right on the spot. He played two “songs” – if we’re using a loose definition of the word – and they each had their own very unique vibe. The first began as a rolling and calming ambient piece, but eventually was overrun by spurts of noise – but not in a bad way. His second piece was more dark and brooding right from the start, with a bass tone that could rattle your chest. A beat eventually kicked in and Deacon used his voice as an instrument until the piece came to a close. The difference between his early set and his late set were enormous, but they each held their own, especially the ambient set – where anything could’ve gone wrong but absolutely nothing did. -Carson O’Shoney

The Octopus Project/Devo
Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, 6:30 p.m.

Photo by Cap Blackard

Austin, TX’s The Octopus Project is like nothing I’ve ever seen; electro-pop meets Mogwai in a loose sense, a dash of Californian HEALTH, and this is your nutshell. Every song is glazed with instrument change-ups on-stage by the band ñ guitarist Josh Lambert taking over drums, the poetic inclusion of a Moog theremin by Yvonne Lambert, and so on. A long focus on the band’s two latest electronic-heavy releases, Hello, Avalanche and Hexadecagon, had the scarce and costumed crowd discernibly engulfed in bizarre imagery and positive energy.

Photo by Cap Blackard

As if a giant banana and some colorful fairies seizing to “Truck” wasn’t icing on the cake, Gerald Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo made an astounding surprise guest appearance for a brief monologue about the band’s relationship with Robert Moog, the synthesizer factory heaven Mothersbaugh was privy to in ’70s New York, and a grand finale of “Girl U Want” and “Beautiful World”. We wish Devo the best, and though we’re sad to have seen them cancel, this little collaborative effort will be remembered forever in Moog – and spud – history. Now, where can we play their special synthesizer? -David Buchanan

Big Boi
Asheville Civic Center, 8:00 p.m.

Photo by Laura Helen Winn

Big Boi’s hype man claimed that they were the “coolest motherf**kers on the planet”. After Friday night’s show at Moogfest, I’m inclined to agree with him. The moment Big Boi walked on stage, he had the entire arena’s attention, and he never let it go throughout the whole show. From song one it was a non-stop party, with Big Boi playing cuts from throughout OutKast’s discography as well as fresh tracks from his new album, Sir Luscious Leftfoot. From “Rosa Parks” and “So Fresh, So Clean” to “B.O.B.” and “Ms. Jackson” – the OutKast songs received the biggest response. Big Boi even dove into his group’s first album, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, for “Player’s Ball”. That’s not to say the new songs weren’t fantastic live – they were just as huge as he intended them to be. As I looked around the Civic Center, even the people on the top level of the arena could not stop dancing for the whole hour he was on-stage. Big Boi put it best himself in a tweet after the show – “O yeah we just DESTROYED #Moogfest #weoutchea” -Carson O’Shoney

MGMT
Asheville Civic Center, 6:30 p.m.

An act like MGMT has built an accidental pedestal trying to be two things at once, essentially an amalgamation of psychedelic experimentation and modern pop; a clumsy gamble for a band only onto its sophomore release. As an innocent bystander watching the rise of MGMT, you get the feeling that they’re a very confused group of boys, experimenting within certain comfort zones while also branching out into the unknown, which essentially has resulted in a post-modern picture of ’60s psychedelia. Oh, and a few kick-ass music videos.

Photo by Laura Helen Winn

For a raging, energetic crowd, maxing out the wide open space of Asheville’s Civic Center, MGMT took advantage of the energy. Early on, “It’s Working” and “Time to Pretend” kept costumed fans dancing and hopping over one another – most were singing the songs word for word. However, towards the middle, and following another crowd favorite “The Electric Feel”, the band turned to more material off of Congratulations and admittedly the crowd diminished. The lull in back to back spacey tracks didn’t sit well for those who came in with glow sticks and a desire to dance and “freak out.” However, for the thousands that remained, MGMT bounced back reliably with “Kids”, working off some lights and sounds that created a cloud of hum and happiness for “Brian Eno” and the meditative ballad, “Congratulations”. A little work on the set’s pulse rate could improve an otherwise tight and enjoyable set, even for this non fanatic. -David Buchanan

Van Dyke Parks
Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, 11:00 p.m.

Photo by Laura Helen Winn

Van Dyke Parks has long been one of pop music’s unsung heroes. Most famous for his collaborations with Brian Wilson, he’s also worked with everyone from U2 to Joanna Newsom. His fans treated him the right way at Moogfest, with the utmost respect. Beginning (and ending) the set by telling the audience, “be nice to each other or I’ll kill you!” – Parks played a set filled with the pleasant songs that makes him such a popular collaborator. Of course, his Brian Wilson tunes received the biggest response. Towards the end of the set, Claire from Claire and the Reasons, the band supporting him on his current tour, came out to do a few songs – including a wonderful version of “Heroes and Villains”. The crowd was appreciative of Parks, and Parks was appreciative of the crowd. It was a big love fest – and Parks looked like he had a great time being the ringleader. -Carson O’Shoney

Dan Deacon
Asheville Civic Center, 12:00 a.m.

Take one part D&D player, one part Skittles bag, and a liberal helping of radio transmissions from deep space, and Dan Deacon is your result. From improvised dance contests to spoken word to commands and vocal distortion – Deacon is like sonic awesome, digitized for consumption, and while he can be a bit much for the lesser eccentric types, the acquired taste is something akin to Mike & Ike’s. As someone just getting introduced to Deacon’s repertoire (Meetle Mice = brain enema), the entire set was an experience that fed off of everyone participating.

On that note, Deacon isn’t so much a one-man band as he is a character with a voice-changer and some trippy lights coming from his mind. Enough said, check the static yourself. -David Buchanan

Panda Bear
Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, 12:30 a.m.

Photo by Laura Helen Winn

To be honest, I was a bit worried about Panda Bear’s live show. I’ve always loved his work with and without Animal Collective, but I had heard mixed reviews of his live shows. Luckily, he laid those thoughts down to rest and came out on top in the wee hours of Saturday morning. With only a table of looping machines and a guitar, Panda Bear put on a show to remember. He only played three old songs – “Ponytail”, “Comfy in Nautica”, and Animal Collective’s “Daily Routine” – but some of the new songs showed the potential to become new favorites. The show’s opener was an astounding number that found him switching seamlessly between harsh white noise and a deep bass beat, all while keeping his voice as great as ever. The new songs ranged from slow, meditative pieces to straight up dance songs – so if it’s anything like his live show, it looks like fans of every side of Panda Bear should be satisfied with his upcoming album, Tomboy.  -Carson O’Shoney

Girl Talk
Asheville Civic Center, 1:00 a.m.

Feed The Animals is, to me, the epitome of party music this decade – Gregg Gillis’ latest foray into full-length album mash-ups. The man known as Girl Talk, infamous for his reputation as “that guy with laptops hosting the big-ass house parties”, is a forefront representative for the new age of DJs (term “disc jockey” used loosely). If you spin vinyl, the purist in you might mock him; if you embrace the digital age, you might see him on-stage, surrounded by dancing fans, and think he’s on cocaine.

Halloween weekend 2010 will go down as Girl Talk’s swiftest letdown in hype: entering dressed as Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare On Elm Street, he jolted the crowd with a Black Sabbath/Ludacris mash, some Halloween-themed pieces, lots of fun pop, and insertions from Feed The Animals, whereas the last half of Gillis’ performance hit a couple of tech snags (me thinks hard for one guy and two laptops) and a lapse in crowd return of energy. When people are dozing off at the second helping of your show, they aren’t full on Thanksgiving turkey or crashing on the candy buzz…they are bored. -David Buchanan

Gallery by Cap Blackard

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Gallery by Laura Helen Winn

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Saturday, October 30th

If Friday felt rough, it’s only because MoogFest decided to unpack the big guns, throw its attendees into the corral, and shoot off the fireworks. Think about it: One Dan Deacon performance could tire your calves, two could put you in a coma, but couple it with a performance by Girl Talk and a raucous hip-hop jamboree by Big Boi and you’re two-thirds from death. So, it’s no secret that plenty of folks would be exhausted, right? Thank god for the early-evening start times.

But, you can only sleep so late, and MoogFest organizers understood this. Sprinkled throughout the day, workshops and films cracked open the Moogaplex, all exhibiting Bob Moog’s fine legacy. In addition to tech panels and theremin performances, attendees had the opportunity to try out the latest Moog equipment, where for a few minutes (that is, if there wasn’t a line) they could feel like a world renown DJ. What’s the old adage? Education can be fun.

Most people celebrate Halloween. Asheville lives for Halloween. On Friday, it felt like All Hallow’s Eve, where nearly everyone showed off their wicked finest. For Saturday, however, everyone came dressed again, ready to relive their fictional personalities once more. Some even arrived with a new costume. Creative? Sure. Obsessive? Maybe. If anything, it added to the already overflowing charm this town offers.

Before we digress on the music, we’ll say three words: Tupelo Honey Cafe. If you were like us on Friday, starved and lost for grub, one healthy dosage of this Asheville landmark eatery will keep you satiated for 12 hours or more. If you have big pockets, take as much food with you as you can. Christ.

Write that down.

-Michael Roffman

Mountain Man
Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, 6:00 p.m.

When you see a name like this on the bill in Asheville, being unfamiliar, you could be easily misled, but more so pleasantly surprised. This quaintly-named Vermont acoustic trio of beautifully harmonizing birds could make the Appalachians ring ethereal. As the first act of Thomas Wolfe’s Saturday run, Mountain Man is a prize gem, and at a half capacity audience, three things become evident.

Photo by Laura Helen Winn

The enormous amount of folks who paid no attention missed all the charm; those who made it received an intensely sensual experience and the taste of a faster-paced new song; the performance of debut material from Made The Harbor did more justice to a three-part harmony than Bob Marley’s back-up singers and the Dixie Chicks combined. This act seems like a wild draw for a festival dedicated to the inventor of the synthesizer, but I believe Mountain Man needs some extra-special attention immediately.

Sensuality and all. -David Buchanan

Nosaj Thing
Asheville Civic Center, 6:00 p.m.

Photo by Laura Helen Winn

Nosaj Thing was a perfect candidate to open the second day of Moogfest – he appeals to both the indie crowd (he opened for the xx and jj earlier this year) and, of course, the electro crowd. He kept both sides interested by keeping the tempo high and atmospheric while throwing in samples of everyone from Portishead to Wu-Tang Clan during his non-stop hour-long set. The crowd, which started small and grew larger and larger as the set went on, locked in on what he was doing and never stopped dancing. -Carson O’Shoney

School Of Seven Bells
Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, 7:00 p.m.

The Curtis/Deheza front known as SVIIB by the fans has a lot of things going for it this day and age: Curtis’ former act, The Secret Machines, contributed music to a Beatles-based musical film, Across The Universe; his current undertow with SVIIB’s debut Alpinisms is atmospheric, but devotionally weighted in both lyric and love. How does this translate to Moogfest 2010?

Photo by Laura Helen Winn

The presence felt like watching Roxette with elements of David Gilmour or shoegaze, amplified for the setting appropriately. Live, the lyrics do not seem as legible due to volume and layers of sound surrounding them, so throw in some expert chameleon-esque lighting, and you get a show more color-crazed and ethereal than a DJ spinning prisms on the sun. Also, phenomenal music, as expected. The hair, too. -David Buchanan

Caribou
Asheville Civic Center, 7:30 p.m.

Photo by Laura Helen Winn

An arena doesn’t seem like the most likely choice of venue for Caribou’s brand of electronic indie jams. But somehow they pulled it off – and had a very sizeable crowd, too. Caribou live and Caribou on record are two totally different animals. Their live show went a lot further than they attempt to go on record. With the drummer going crazy and the rest of the band following suit, Caribou put on a high energy set filled with extended jams and amped up freak-outs, almost turning into an electro jam band. The crowd loved every minute of it – and responded by treating the band to huge applause. -Carson O’Shoney

Thievery Corporation
Asheville Civic Center, 9:00 p.m.

I had no idea where this performance was going to go, nor was I aware of how many collaborators had been involved and on tap within Thievery Corporation. What was, on Radio Retaliation, a well-tempered but eclectic hum of awesomeness had taken on a giant Indian celebration with funk and reggae abound and tribal-esque dance vibes throughout the entirety of Asheville Civic Center. People dancing in elevators, on railings, on seats, and don’t even ask about the ground floor.

The brass accented when needed, the bassist was a madman every step of the way, Sly & The Family Stone received an honorable tribute via “Thank You (Falettin Me Be Mice Elf Agin)”, and this became the high that everyone needed before delving into our dark, demanding final act… -David Buchanan

Jónsi
Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, 8:30 p.m.

Let’s just get something out of the way – any words that I could say in this review will not do justice to the absolutely astounding set that Jónsi put on at Moogfest. But since it’s my duty, I’ll try my best. The value of his stage production cannot be understated – the visuals that overtook the stage were visually appealing and emotionally inspiring. At different times subtle and powerful, they fit the music perfectly, and only added an extra level to the show – never took away from it or overwhelmed the actual music.  The music itself was something to behold as well. While Jónsi’s debut Go never reached the same heights that he does his band Sigur Rós, the songs work much better live. The crowd was obviously familiar with the material – once each new song was recognized, a respectful applause arose.

Photo by Cap Blackard

The set started out with some of the slower numbers, but picked up with back-to-back performances of “Go Do” and “Boy Lilikoi” – which sent the large audience into a blissful frenzy. The applause through the rest of the set was nothing short of rapturous. Jónsi was at his best as a frontman when he was free from the restrictions of playing guitar and was free to roam around the stage, from the edge near the crowd to the back with the rest of his band. At the end of the set – all that was left on stage was Jónsi screaming into the mic while hunched over his pedals as a wall of sound engulfed him.

Photo by Laura Helen Winn

When the set ended abruptly with the “thud” of his microphone as he let it fall to the ground – the audience let out an audible gasp of disbelief of what they had just experienced. Once they came back to their senses, the response was deafening. Jónsi came back out for an encore of a few songs that just solidified what everyone already knew – that was the defining set of the weekend. Women cried. Men cried. As I left I overheard multiple conversations including the phrases “religious experience” and “life-changing.” I’m inclined to agree with them – this was an experience I will never forget. -Carson O’Shoney

Photo by Cap Blackard

Massive Attack
Asheville Civic Center, 11:15 p.m.

A giant wall of LEDs scrolls seemingly random military command text across the boards; a veritable symphony of people enter the stage, followed along by frontmen 3D and Daddy G. The brooding bass and spacious crescendos were on tap, and Massive Attack came to milk it all. Aside from the Mezzanine standards like “Angel” — which was accompanied by our dear Horace Andy on vocals — or “Teardrop” and “Risingson”, the unintentional originators of so-called trip-hop who have graced soundtracks and strolling pedestrian earphones for years brought the house down during Moogfest 2010.

Photo by Laura Helen Winn

The boards behind Massive Attack flashed numerous video and alpha-numeric messages, spelling out violence in statistics and news headlines, including a mention of the underpaid African-American farmers here in North Carolina (another matter entirely). As one of the biggest draws all Moogfest long, Massive Attack certainly lived up to expectations, following Thievery’s dark party with a little moodswing of its own.

Photo by Cap Blackard

I hope, for North Carolina’s sake, 3D and Daddy G and company bring the light back to the Carolinas again sooner than later — maybe an intimate Orange Peel setting? -David Buchanan

Jon Hopkins
Moogaplex, 11:30 p.m.

Photo by Cap Blackard

Although the Moogaplex felt a little too sterile for a dance hall, UK favorite Jon Hopkins worked some magic and turned the office space into a mini underground club. Given the competition – Massive Attack and The Disco Biscuits, to name a couple – Hopkins entertained a handful of costumed spectators, spinning synth lines and hammering out bass punches left and right. The grooves hardly subsided, though when they smoothed out, Hopkins peered up from under his Jonny Greenwood-esque bangs and offered a boyish grin. As the night surged forward, the guru, who recently collaborated with the likes of Brian Eno, sipped his beer and danced just as much as the audience. By the time the midnight hour arrived, there was less office space to share and plenty of atmosphere to wade in. Maybe he’s learned a thing or two from Eno, after all.  -Michael Roffman

Gallery by Cap Blackard

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Gallery by Laura Helen Winn

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Sunday, October 31st

It’s only natural that human beings feel the need to stay connected. Isolation remains one of our greatest fears, and yet, ironically, we continue to widen the gap between two parties. Communication is cheap these days. Industrialization has shaped the world into one reckless social network, where each second millions of people “connect” with one another, typically in the confines of one’s home. We live in a loud society, but you’d never know it. That is, unless you listened intently for the click-clack, click-clack of the nearby keyboards on everyone’s laptop or smart phone. There’s plenty of chatter, only little noise pollution. But to every negative, there’s a positive. Technology not only makes things easier for folks, it enlightens them.

With MoogFest, technology runs rampant. This is essentially a festival celebrating the idea of pushing music past its limits and the media in which to do so. However, unlike the Facebook’s and iPhone’s that flood every tech convention, MoogFest embraces the agenda of using technology to bring people together. Literally. What’s more, the festival surrounds itself with some of the country’s most spectacular foliage and natural landscapes around. So, in a twist of irony, while the technology brought people here, it’s the nature and community that bound them.

Photo by Michael Roffman

That’s the wonderful thing about MoogFest. Well, that and the dedicated festivalgoers who decided to treat everyday like Halloween wouldn’t return until the next century. Albeit young and with plenty of errors to remedy, the newborn event succeeds in championing a new kind of music festival – one that understands its core principles, while also feeling the need to switch on a few new lights. People bleed their life out at these festivals because it’s an experience that, in hindsight, truly changes their point of view on music. With MoogFest, the weekend excursion shifts your perspective on a variety of things: nature, people, small town life, communication, independence, etc. The list could go on and on, the explanations could deviate and come together, but the truth of the matter is… it’s a meditative escape that expands your mind and yet keeps you grounded, as well.

You also get to wear a costume.

Two Fresh
Asheville Civic Center, 6:30 p.m.

Hailing from Asheville, NC, the twin DJs of Two Fresh are pure southern natives with dancefloor mentality. Others I’ve spoken to say they’re something of a minor living landmark in western North Carolina; judging by Moogfest’s generosity, they really love holding their own. The Civic Center’s arena was not appropriate for the small act’s audience pull, though with nothing but straight rap beats and heavy bass, everyone arriving got to sit back and relax to enjoy. -David Buchanan

Sleigh Bells
Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, 7:15 p.m.

Photo by Laura Helen Winn

Scheduled for an hour, which everyone knew they wouldn’t fill, Sleigh Bells came on about 15 minutes past their scheduled start time. By then, the theatre had filled out quite nicely, and the people in the pit were already freaking out before they even played a note. Once they came out after the hardcore intro and bursted into “Tell ‘Em”, they got the audience jumping early and often – all the way to closer “Crown on the Ground”. The pit for Sleigh Bells might have just been the craziest one for all of Moogfest – but behind the pit, all of the auditorium’s seats made it difficult for anyone to dance, freak out, etc. If anything, this show should have been held at the Orange Peel – where the entire room could have been going properly nuts. But as it stands you had Sleigh Bells playing at an awkwardly large venue for them, but they made the best of it anyways.

Photo by Cap Blackard

One side of me was annoyed at the fact that about 75% of the music being played was just being played through a recording – the guitarist would add a couple licks here and there – and two whole songs were just Alexis Krauss alone on stage dancing and singing to a backing track. The whole thing felt like you could have just played their album Treats at an extremely high volume and gotten the exact same result, but I think that’s what Sleigh Bells are going for. They’re not there to be technically impressive or flesh out their songs with a drummer and bass – they’re just there to be loud as hell, in your face, and make you move. And if that was the goal, they accomplished it 100%. -Carson O’Shoney

MiM0sa
Asheville Civic Center, 7:30 p.m.

Drum-and-bass meets Girl Talk in a nutshell? Certainly. Stage presence and charisma? Definitely. Music selection? Depends on who you ask, but if you’re choosing between Girl Talk and MiM0sa, the recommendation is the former due strictly on mass appeal. MiM0sa as a live performer is really something to see, and he deserved a much bigger draw, but as an artist, Gillis utilizes far more than straight beat remixes for his arsenal.

Photo by Cap Blackard

Suggestion to MiM0sa: When you’re pushing the crowd, don’t just lace extra bass on extra bass for a reaction…pop snippets minimal regardless. -David Buchanan

Neon Indian
Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, 8:45 p.m.

Photo by Cap Blackard

Chillwave bands don’t exactly have a reputation for being tight live. The style lends itself to half-assed performances where the audience can’t tell the difference. Somehow Neon Indian continues to break that trend by being a very tight live band – perhaps that’s the reason why they’ve become one of the most popular bands to come out of that scene, as evidenced by the nearly full crowd they pulled at Thomas Wolfe Auditorium. Sporting some fancy equipment, like an awesome LCD screen guitar – Neon Indian got the crowd grooving and never stopped. The obvious highlight was “Deadbeat Summer” – the crowd just went crazy for it. They are exactly what you hope for live – fun and chill at the same time. -Carson O’Shoney

Younger Brother
Asheville Civic Center, 9:00 p.m.

Photo by Cap Blackard

This band from across the water works like an adrenalized Coldplay, and really makes its case with little strife and strain. Another alternative rock act that doesn’t quite fall into Moog electronic territory, Younger Brother brings enough artsy flare and visual stun to rock everybody’s night.

In the long haul, we sincerely hope that Younger Brother slams a larger dent in the overall rock scene, maybe try to build some more elaborate chord structures and funk time signatures to the work, avoid later Coldplay comparisons and kill any “everyone wants to be Radiohead” stigma. All in all, Younger Brother roped in a healthy crowd, especially given the competition, kneaded in some organic instrumentation, and became my ultimate find all weekend (aside from a kick-ass record store). -David Buchanan

Hot Chip
Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, 10:15 p.m.

Photo by Cap Blackard

One of many finales to Moogfest arrived as an eclectic package of dance, synth-pop, steel pan work, and switcheroo madness on every instrument available. London electro-pop band Hot Chip hosted the final show of the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium and there was hardly a seat available. Not that it mattered, though, as hardly anyone sat in them. Things felt stuffy and sweaty, especially since the pit area had been closed off, due to it being weakened incredibly from the weekend’s wear and tear. (We’re now accepting all “Ready for the Floor” puns.) Regardless, the tight-knit crowd only kept the rhythm in form, as the bouncy quintet chiseled through its four album-strong discography.

Photo by Cap Blackard

If they’ve learned anything from touring with LCD Soundsystem recently, it’s that the audience needs to dance itself clean, which is exactly what everyone in the TWA did. Plenty of costumed ghouls sat sheepishly in their chairs at first, but once the heartbeat hitters like “Hand Me Down Your Love” and “Shake a Fist” rolled by, many sneakers scoffed up the floor. Flamboyantly finishing with “Ready For The Floor”, Hot Chip set the building on fire, balconies shook, and a courtesy bow with a flourish gave us all the last taste of time well spent in the Carolina. One of many treats of this tricky-yet-enviable weekend. -David Buchanan, Michael Roffman

El-P
The Orange Peel, 10:15 a.m.

Photo by Laura Helen Winn

Facing stiff competition from Pretty Lights and Hot Chip, El-P’s set at the Orange Peel didn’t pull as large of a crowd as he could have had at a different point in the weekend – but he made the best of it. While he’s supporting his instrumental LP Weareallgoingtoburninhell-megamixxx3, he came out with hype man The Mighty Quinn in full on rap mode – playing mostly tracks from 2007’s excellent I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead – like “EMG” and “Smithereens (Stop Cryin’)”. Prowling the edge of the stage to rap over top of his audience, El-P and Quinn spit fast and furious for the first half of the show before transitioning into the instrumental segment of the set. Somehow, the energy stayed high throughout the 15-20 minute portion, in part due to the special guest they brought on – Dam-Funk. He grooved with them for one song and once he left they got “back into this rappy shit”. As the last show of Moogfest for some – El-P did not leave his audience disappointed. He sent the festival off right – with one big party. -Carson O’Shoney

Gallery by Cap Blackard

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Gallery by Laura Helen Winn

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It’s About the Fans…

Half a decade later, I now call Chicago my home, and I return to Pitchfork Music Festival for the first time since then. A lot has changed. There are more stages, the line up sports more adrenaline, and it’s certainly become a popular locale for locals and weekenders every July. And while this summer happened to tag along a blitzkrieg of a heat wave, the festival still sold out, drawing thousands upon thousands to the intimate Union Park event.

Without further ado, here are my thoughts, feelings, and impressions…

Friday, July 16th

Sharon Van Etten
Aluminum Stage, 3:30 p.m.
“There’s a lot of pressure.”

For the first hour of Pitchfork, we were treated to two singer-songwriters. The first, Sharon Van Etten, is a kind, nervous, coffee-shop singer who plays a full-bodied cherry-red Gibson guitar. On Friday, cracking open the festival weekend, she played new songs – rather humbly, mind you – but her songs were hardly a change from the silence that preceded it. Maybe this uber slow fade was intentional on Pitchfork’s part, but poor Van Etten is just not suited to play her tortured love songs in the middle of a giant stage in 90 degree weather. Even if her downstroke-centric guitar playing added a great tension to her work, they still just faded into the ether. In The End: Her gorgeous voice and unrequited love ballads should fit nicely on a small wooden stage while you sip a ‘cino.

Tallest Man On Earth
Connector Stage, 4:00 p.m.
“Thank you. I haven’t slept for two days.”

Kristian Matsson, The Tallest Man On Earth, had a pretty easy act to follow, but I still was worried he wouldn’t be able to keep this crowd’s attention. It seems as though 75% of this crowd is lighting up right now, as I smell all the different varietals of cannabis sativa, from dirty to dank. Well, hipsters sure know how to get their smoke on. Anyway. The first few notes of “Wild Hunt” sent shivers limb to limb. He can whisper and have hundreds of people rapt, hanging on the sound of his raspy voice, eager to follow him on as he wispily travels to his next sweeping vocal line. His lyrics show wisdom beyond his years and his voice dances around his melodies skillfully and soulfully, like a sober Van Morrison. His setlist was a tad off-balance, playing “King Of Spain” third, and leaving no where to go to top that energy, but the Swede took the day so far, and filled that giant stage nicely. In The End: TTMOE pried smiles, stole ladies’ hearts, and proved his prowess as frontman. I can’t wait until he inevitably gets a band behind him.

El-P
Aluminum Stage, 4:35 p.m.
“Let’s get it fucking started.”

Charged with the above task of “starting it”, the Def Jux rapper El-P took the stage next and oh how I wanted to get with that first song. Oh, oh, oh, how I did. But sound problems plagued it and I just couldn’t. That’s not to say El-P didn’t do his job, though. His rhyme-centric and rapid-fire flow drew me in, as the backing band played more like a KMFDM industrial goth band than your standard hip-hop fare. El-P spit out his song “Patriot” a capella, and reeled me in to punch me in the face with his political style. The middle to end of his set suffered from a poor environment setting, but his throwback style and exuberance got it started and kept it going all the way to closer “The Overly Dramatic Truth”, which built his set to a powerful, distorted finish. In The End: El-P’s dark and cavernous hip-hop may not have been juxtaposed well in the midday heat, but with skill, speed, and spitfire lyrics and production, the group did its job nicely.

Liars
Connector Stage, 5:30 p.m.
“We’re gonna do a Bauhaus cover. We were going to do Tribe Called Quest but those guys did it first”

If you’re ever inclined to have intimate relations while on a punk spaceship, I suggest you check out Liars. Unlike James Murphy, I actually am inclined to believe that Liars were at the first Can show in Cologne. Lead singer Angus Andrew bounces around stage like a sex Christ on acid, distorting his vocals with a chaos pad. “We Fenced Other Gardens With Bones Of Our Own” sounded tight, or as tight as Liars choose to be. That aforementioned Bauhaus cover resulted in a pretty good version of “In The Flat Field.” In The End: Festival band? Probably not, but Liars commanded their set and asked the audience to get down with their art rock. Many people did.

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Robyn
Aluminum Stage, 6:25 p.m.
“[Brought] this thing like a Dancehall Queen”

Another Swedish import showed us lowly Americans how fem-pop is done. Robyn, armed with an all alabaster backing band put on the show of the day as she danced and cooed her way through a set mostly focused on her latest album, Body Talk Pt. 1. The radius of dancing that expanded from the center of the crowd was fearlessly led by the songstress whose afro-R&B gyrations inspired the masses. During “Don’t Fucking Tell Me What To Do”, Robyn took part in her own personal workout routine that would have made Billy Blanks/Kanye West proud. In The End: As festival performances go, it doesn’t get much better than this. Sexy, groovy, and endearingly foreign, Robyn should be a regular headliner at American music festivals.

Broken Social Scene
Connector Stage, 7:20 p.m.
“This song is Forced To Love. It’s our mantra.”

If the music business is indeed an “industry of cool”, Broken Social Scene (BSS) are the CEOs. This dectet knew how to rest on their heels and play with confidence and is one of the few bands that doesn’t have to push or force it. This works both for and against them, especially with such a late spot in a festival. It’s one thing for fans, who love to hear their full sound on “World Sick” and “7/4 (Shoreline)”, but outside of the fan realm, their Ray Bans sound is somewhat innocuous. People bragged to me about their 2 ½ hour set at SXSW, and their headlining material at other festivals. I felt short-changed. Songs like “KC Accidental” and “It’s All Gonna Break” were dearly missed from their set, (though they did play those songs five years ago at Intonation/Pitchfork Festival, so I understand). It’s hard not to like them, though, because they make you feel so cool, and their guest musicians added more layers to their towering music. If The Band’s Robertson, Danko, and Helm formed a group in Canada in the ’90s, I bet they would sound like Broken Social Scene. In The End: BSS came up a bit short, but they go down like a nice glass of red wine as the day ends. Bluesy and mature, they were head-nod producers.

Eugene Mirman
Balance Stage, 8:00 p.m.
“[As Broken Social Scene played] See, from here it sounds like there’s an intergalactic war happening.”

Kudos to Pitchfork for adding a comedy tent on Friday to the festival. They had nothing but the best of intentions, and with Hannibal Burress, Wyatt Cenac, Michael Showalter, and Eugene Mirman, you couldn’t have asked for finer lineup. But here’s the thing, just like some bands don’t translate to festival settings, some comedians don’t transfer to festival settings. Michael Showalter’s brand of anti-humor mixed with the thickest sarcasm fell flat. Eugene Mirman, the “headliner” dealt with the sound bleeding in extremely well and warmed the crowd over, all while understanding that he was working under not-so-convenient conditions. Favorite moments were him playing a song from Joe Piscopo’s website and just letting it be stand-alone as a joke, grammatically incoherent protest signs (“Abortion is neither here nor there!”), and a delightful little story about sending a time machine full of a child’s cum back to Hitler. In The End: There probably won’t be a comedy stage next year, but at least for Mirman, he got the bulk of the crowd engaged, which was no small feat.

Modest Mouse
Aluminum Stage, 8:30 p.m.
“I am my own damn god.”

Modest Mouse (hereafter: The Mouse) headlined Friday night as the sun was setting. It’s the best time slot because you’re starting at dusk and it really is this sort of starting gate for the night: anything can happen. Full disclosure: I was not exactly looking forward to The Mouse unlike the thousands of other people. After this show, I am now convinced there are only two options for optimum Mousage. Option a) you get silly drunk and elbow your way to the front of the crowd and rock the fuck out. Option b) you listen to them at home. Any other option will leave you seriously disappointed, as was the case with yours truly.

It’s not that Brock has ‘lost it’, but his trademark bray—that scary and penetrating voice that sounds like it’s one rude screw away from becoming unhinged (a voice that drew me into The Mouse in the first place, even going so far for me as to compare him to Mr. Tom Waits a few times) – is homogenized live. It never feels dangerous, or unhinged. Just sloppy and loud. That’s not to say the band acts the same. The Mouse’s musicians are tight and are continually improving in sound over the years. But it’s Brock that has been left behind.

“The Devil’s Work Day” live is a mere husk of song compared to its palpability and immediacy on the album. “Autumn Beds” was a yawn. But there were moments of respite from the doldrums of Brock’s vocals: “Dashboard” cohered surprisingly well, and the “Dramamine” into “Life Like Weeds” medley was a great showcase of their dynamic possibility as a band. Oh, and they didn’t play “Float On”, which made me laugh. You’re at a fucking festival, dude. Sorry, but you have to play it. In The End: Modest Mouse is a decent festival headliner, but Brock needs to figure out a game plan and work with his band better if they’re going to be a great headliner, which honestly right now, they are not too far from. But far enough.

Saturday, July 17th

Free Energy
Aluminum Stage, 1:00 p.m.
“We’re breaking out this time.”

Friday’s opener Sharon Von Etten didn’t do it for me. Free Energy on the other hand, well, did. Either Pitchfork accidentally put them at one ‘o clock instead of way later in the bill, or Pitchfork is breaking music festival tradition and putting one of the best acts of the day first. I knew these guys could make a pretty good album, but I was blown away by their live show, and it honestly wasn’t anything all that special. They are a young-ish band who borrow from the likes of early Rolling Stones, The Strokes, T-Rex, and a little of The Hold Steady. Nothing fancy, nothing digital: just some good ol’ fashioned roots rock to open up Saturday. Their simplistic lyrics are about high-steaks love, implying there’s nothing else to do but make these choices, like “this is all we got tonight” or “we’re never waking up if we never let it go.” They also (cheaply) throw in the casual indefinite pronoun like “child” and “kid”, which just win me directly over. In The End: Poppy, fun, and packaged for arenas, Free Energy is a must see live act, kids.

Real Estate
Connector Stage, 1:45 p.m.
“Budweiser, Sprite, everything is alright.”

After Free Energy, I was already a hot mess and only one band into the day. I needed a cool down and lead singer Martin Courtney served up the best kind of afternoon refreshment, a “Suburban Beverage”. As I laid supine in the shade and took in the surf rock of Real Estate, I thought about their song structure, style, dynamics, and themes: it’s all pretty much the same. I couldn’t really tell what song was which, or what direction they were going with their setlist. Normally this would make me bored or angry or mysteriously hungry, but as the notes pawed at me under the tree, I never wanted it to end. Visions of pools, beaches at sunset, barbeques, and laughter danced in my head. Real Estate is the epitome of summer, and added a great feel to an oppressively hot afternoon. In The End: Refreshing, chill, and dreamy, the oasis that was Real Estate disappeared too soon.

Delorean
Aluminum Stage, 2:30 p.m.

It’s hot out at half past two, about 92° by my phone. Delorean acted as our first foray into the dance-pop column at Pitchfork, and after winning The World Cup, these Spaniards were riding high with big hopes of besting the heat to get the crowd moving. Cutting to the chase immediately with “Seasun”, Delorean’s electronics sounded crisp and digestible, but lead singer Ekhi Lopetegi sounded quivering and unsteady. His reverberated vocals never reached the audience as a command; only a suggestion. And with that, the heat won. People conserved their energy and nodded politely to their pounding electro-pop, though each individual track begged for something more. Bad luck, Delorean. In The End: Aggressive, optimistic, but vocally unspecific, Delorean played like the US Team in The World Cup: with heart, skill, and pride, but their competition got the better of them.

Titus Andronicus
Connector Stage, 3:20 p.m.
“Wow, that’s my head up there on the screen. It’s like a metaphor about our post-modern condition. More about that later.”

Titus Andronicus won.

They won new fans, (I heard “These guys are amazing” and “Holy shit!” and “Why have I never heard of these guys?”) They won best onstage banter about the heat, (“I’m sweating like a pregnant nun talking to the Pope up here.”) They won best audience participation when lead singer Patrick Stickles dove into the audience during “No Future Part Three” and offered the mic to a fan. They won best onstage augmentation with a horn-blower, keyboardist, and cellist complimenting most of their set. They won best rock show. They won for giving a shout out to public libraries at the end of their set. But most importantly, they won for convincing all of Pitchfork Music Festival that we will always be losers. In The End: Titus Andronicus forever.

Dâm Funk
Balance Stage, 4:15 p.m.
“Came to kill this mother fucker today.”

I caught Dâm Funk (pronounced “dame”) at the Bottom Lounge on Thursday night, because I knew scheduling wouldn’t allow me to catch his set here. But since Raekwon was running late, I stopped by. He looks like Ice-T’s younger cousin, plays a keytar, and champions P-funk mixed with enough synths and MIDI controllers to make the 80s something we can reach out and touch. His festival performance faltered a bit, due in part to the expanse of the space and his backing band not being a significant part of the show. His vocals come off a bit milk-toast soul, like a studio singer as a guest on a hip-hop track. But Dâm Funk is a damn fine musician, tickling the horizontal and vertical ivories deftly. In The End: Funky, futuristic yet retro, go see Dâm Funk at a club and get your resurrected groove on.

Raekwon
Aluminum Stage, 4:15 p.m. (But let’s call it, 4:35)
“WU-TANG, WU-TANG”

“Yeah hi, I ordered one large “Mother Fucking Ruckus” to be brought by Raekwon and it’s like 20 minutes late. Can I get it for free?”

So: strike one. But when Raekwon did show up on stage, he informed us that we were gonna hear some “old shit”. And with that, much to everyone’s delight, he went right into “C.R.E.A.M.” This should have been fresh, but from where I was standing, the levels were way off and Raekwon’s verse was swallowed. After the song, the DJ was ill-prepared and was having serious issues with his decks. Technikal diffuculties? [rim shot] Anyhow, strike two. But Raekwon covered decently, surveying the audience on a variety of topics between how much we Chicagoans like Chicago and if we think this sound problem is shitty, too. Finally things seemed to be rolling along. Everything except for an interest in Wu-Tang classics. Back-tracking, song-truncating, and hype-men interfered with what could have been a unique hip-hop set. The old Wu-Tang songs sounded cliche at best, and stale at worst. “Da Mystery Of Chessboxing” was a smart choice, if only more songs carried that kind of intellect. Of note were guests Chi-Town Finest Breakers, a group of four pre-pubescent brothers and sisters who came on stage and boogalooed through “Wu Tang Clan Ain’t Nothin to Fuck With.” In sum, the kids stole the show. In The End: Raekwon wanted to please, but the lack of new solo material left me feeling cheated. Good flow, bad punctuality, weird and choppy energy.

Wolf Parade
Aluminum Stage, 6:15 p.m.
“It’s getting better all the time.”

Wolf Parade was the first band of the day that, for me, didn’t draw any comparisons to other bands. Wolf Parade is carved into the hall of music as Wolf Parade. Two singers with two distinct voices, heavy rock blended with synths, and an image-based lyrical style that mixes with some real anthemic love songs. Everything they played off Expo 86 seemed like the amps were up to 11, jumping out of the speakers, allowing for copious banging of heads. The climax came mid-set with crowd (and personal) favorite “I’ll Believe In Anything”, as hands reached up to the heavens like a regular tent revival. Pen- and ultimate songs “Cave-o-Sapien” and “Kissing The Beehive” also reignited the energy, though the crowd seemed less receptive. Maybe Wolf Parade’s distinction is too limited for those unfamiliar with their sound. In The End: They could be a headliner, but that would require some research on the audiences’ part. They rock too hard to have songs go unknown. Steady, solid, and hard-hitting, but maybe too much of Wolf Parade is a bad thing.

Panda Bear
Connector Stage, 7:25 p.m.
“…”

There was some talk at the festival about how disappointing Animal Collective was last year at Lollapalooza. I’ve only seen their live videos, but it does seem a little strained and thin. So Panda Bear was fighting some negative vibes from me already, but I’m open to everything and I kept telling myself “this is going to good.” Since Saturday, I’ve actually been torn on how to write about Panda Bear’s set. On one hand, the music was almost entirely unentertaining, self- indulgent, easy to make fun of, and so left-field avant-whatever that there’s no way a crowd of thousands would have the patience to absorb it. On the other hand, there wasn’t anything remotely “chill” on the A or C stages since Real Estate played a whole six hours beforehand. The festival was close to lighting up the tilt button at that point, and after careful consideration, I find myself actually behind the Panda Bear set. It was a genre not yet explored at the festival, and yes, we should have something that hardly anyone understands or follows. I’m serious. We all need to live in the abyss sometimes, in the dark unknown of sonic experimentation, even if it’s challenging, esoteric noise peppered with level-peaking vocals and only two or so songs with a real nice beat. I recognized a few tunes: new track “Tomboy” and Person Pitch diddy “Ponytail”, but most were streamlined through a constant tone of Panda’s nasally drone. In The End: Atonal, bizarre, and challenging. Good or bad, Panda Bear’s set allowed for a new kind of energy, one that led nicely into LCD Soundsystem.

LCD Soundsystem
Aluminum Stage, 8:30 p.m.
“Sorry, but we have these 12-minute songs and it’s just the same shit over and over again.”

…Quipped James Murphy in a moment of improv during “Pow Pow”. LCD Soundsystem can arm themselves to the teeth with lyrical wit, self-deprecation, pop-culture references, and, like Titus Andronicus, couple that with songs that speak earnestly to the hearts of their listeners. They fire those beats into you and cull from your body every last ounce of energy to dance with strangers and celebrate the search for unattainable solutions to relationships, modern music, and the conundrum of life in the 21st century. There’s that, and there’s also the fact that their 90 minute set tore into Pitchfork the way a headliner ought to.

The Aluminum Stage capped the night off right with one of the most anticipated sets of the weekend: LCD Soundsystem. As the first bass drum hits pulsed through the speakers (which, admittedly, didn’t resonate well toward the back of the crowd), the band soon glided into “Us V Them”, picking up where Titus Andronicus left off. Live, LCD find a heavier sound in David Scott Stone’s guitar, which sounds like they have some real nice Marshall stacks hooked to it. “Daft Punk Is Playing At My House” turned into a punk ‘n’ roll headbanger, and “Movement” had a powerful hard rock tweak to it. It was a running theme to have a band’s climax in the middle of the set, as “All My Friends” united the crowd in joyful, teary sing-a-long. Groups of people were locked arm over shoulder and yawped together the final lyrics of the song, only to realize that friends were all around, whether strange or familiar.

Following that, LCD played on into the evening, with other mini-climaxes appearing in “Yeah “ and the closer “New York, I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down + Empire State Of Mind”. The pit was a sweaty mass and on the edges of the crowds, dance pods ebbed and flowed. Murphy sounded perfect, blending those shielded ironies (“Losing My Edge”) with real close to the vest moments (“Someone Great”). The gamut was run, and LCD Soundsytem left me wholly and wonderfully exhausted. But then again, I’m an easy mark. In The End: It’s what a headliner should be: pushing the crowd to the finish line of an exhausting and amazing day and being the best reward when you get there. Epic, inspirational, spectacular, and totally awesome.

Sunday, July 18th

CAVE
Balance Stage, 1:00 p.m.
“Don’t forget to check out Bitchpork.”

I get CAVE, cause I was in a similar band during high school. Riff-based hard-rock with few if any lyrics. Like CAVE, our drummer was a metal drummer and heavily influenced our sound. The band digs back to like an early Faith No More aesthetic with some nasty synths and hard hitting guitar, and prog-rock leanings. They slammed the side stage into fifth gear with near 40 minutes of doom-funk. In The End: I wouldn’t hear anything harder for a long while on Sunday.

Best Coast
Balance Stage, 1:55 p.m.
“Free Weezy.”

Clouds loomed overhead, as Bethany Cosentino and her California outfit Best Coast begun the first of many chilled out acts at Pitchfork on Sunday. I’m not entirely sold on her act: she’s 22, she’s super reminding me of Heather Graham from Boogie Nights, she’s certainly alluring, but her siren songs lacked a fundamental truth to them live. As a performer, she’s too static, and her sentiment seemed detached and aimless. Best Coast is young, and I’m anxious to follow Cosentino’s song-writing skills as she ages As the heads of the crowds traced tiny infinity symbols side to side, I eventually followed suit. The sun was out by the time she finished. In The End: Fuzzy, cute, tropical. No wonder this exists.

Girls
Aluminum Stage, 2:30 p.m.
“Now I’m a ghost man, in a ghost town.”

You know that scene in Back To The Future where Marty McFly plays “Johnnie B. Good”? Well, take the house band from The Enchantment Under The Sea dance, and replace Marty McFly with The Jesus And Mary Chain, and you’ll get an idea of what Girls’ set was like. The juxtaposition of “Ghost Mind” and “Hellhole Retrace” was a favorite moment for me. The former sounded so fragile and the latter was by far the loudest song I heard at the festival. However, I believe they are among many bands here that are attached to a ticking time-bomb: their brilliant flash in the pan will soon be a mere afterimage. In The End: Twee, treble, and tremolo are Girls’ specialty, and since Paul Revere & The Raiders or The Troggs aren’t really touring anymore, the band finds their niche and plays to it nicely.

Local Natives
Balance Stage, 3:35 p.m.
[lead singer during sound check, 8va] “I still owe money, to the money, to the money I owe.”

Grizzly Foxes Local Natives’ Gorilla Manor is one great listen, and in anticipation of seeing their recreation of it live, I might have overplayed it. Local Natives reproduced it note for note, tone for tone, and beat for beat. Which means a) they are one of the most well-rehearsed and professional bands performing at the festival and b) I wanted something more, something to make Gorilla Manor pop. They half succeeded, but nearing my 20^th band of the weekend, my palette has waned towards cynical, and only during “Sun Hands” did they add a couple measures of anticipation before the breakdown. That was cool. In The End: Harmonious, lively, and wildly talented, Local Natives have staying power. If they can dissect their sheen live, they will soon be on top.

St. Vincent
Connector Stage, 5:15 p.m.
“I’m an actor.”

Annie Clark’s success in her band St. Vincent is predicated on the fact that she’s a well-versed musician who plays on the full spectrum of music. Actor allows her free range to use her experience to create this ethereal contemporary classical rock sound that stands atop so many other acts this festival. When an audience can see a band experimenting with real instruments (listen up, Panda Bear) it’s tolerable, welcoming, and engaging. From the dynamic opener “Strangers” to the fuzzy free jazz of “Marrow”, St. Vincent can rock just as hard as anyone, yet on “Party” her voice soared across Union Park like an angel. There’s a feeling to her live show akin to hearing Kid A live for the first time: a glorious challenge. Also, her guitar dance is the cutest thing ever. In The End: Thorough, mature, and innovative, St. Vincent are stylistic chameleons and are the standard bearers for the best female rock show in the scene today.

Major Lazer
Aluminum Stage, 6:20 p.m.
“I came to party!” “Do that crazy ballerina shit!” “Most importantly, someone is going to have sex and get pregnant!” “After all that butt sex, I need to smoke some weed!” “Gonna need to go to church after this.”

You ever miss a crazy party, and the next day your friends all gush about what you missed?

In what will probably go down as the wildest party of the festival, Major Lazer was jaw-droppingly good. Diplo manned the decks, and listen, there’s a reason people pay hundreds of dollars to see a Diplo DJ set. His skills are unsurpassed, and when the first beat dropped, the powder keg blew. Diplo is the spine of Major Lazer, grinding out non-stop dub mixes with reggae, house, and that signature lazer effect. But his team-work with Skerrit Bwoy is a match made in heaven. SB and his duo of daggerettes took the stage and hyped the crowd with “do or die” sentiments that left us with no other viable option but to dance our asses off. Two traditional Chinese dragon puppets bookended the stage and danced with the daggerettes, bottles of Henny and Champagne were imbibed and sprayed, Ace Of Base and Sleigh Bells were sampled, ballerinas pirouetted (and were eventually daggered), crowd members were dragged on stage (and were eventually daggered as well), Skerrit Bwoy dove from a ladder into the crowd, Skerrit Bwoy dove from a ladder to dagger one of his ladies. The list of ridiculous events goes on. “Pon De Floor” wasn’t just the highlight of the show, the entire show was the highlight of the festival. In The End: The theatre of Major Lazer may be cheap thrills, but Diplo and Skerrit Bwoy owned the stage and the crowd. With two acts left, it was anyone’s for the taking.

Big Boi
Connector Stage, 7:25 p.m.
“Oh yeh yer.”

Talk about a tough act to follow. Big Boi came on stage to a warm cheer from the gathered crowd and launched right into Outkast classic “ATLiens” which won over pretty much everyone. Following that, Big Boi performed one half of plenty of other Outkast songs. Only in hip-hop is this practice encouraged and I’m going to make a stand right now and say “stop it.” If you’re a solo artist, be confident in your solo material. It was pathetic and naive for Big Boi to think he had to go through his other band’s greatest hits to win over a crowd who no doubt were just as, if not more, excited to hear songs off of Sir Lucious Leftfoot.

 Sure, throw in a ‘Kast tune here and there, ya’ll are dungeon family first generation. But don’t open your set with half a retrospective of your singles. That being said, his new songs were outstanding. Big Boi amps up his flow live but still keeps it light and tight. His focus as a performer is like watching Ali in the ring, bobbing and weaving landing his punches and blows with skill. After a most unfortunate performance by Vonnegut on “Follow Us”, (I didn’t know that was Vonnegut at first. I just thought some white guy won a contest or something.) “Shutterbug” proved the most entertaining song of the evening. There was a certain lull that happened after “Shutterbug”, and not until Raekwon’s breakdancing kids came bounding back did the energy get relit. In The End: Big Boi’s crossover rap is funky fresh, he (mostly) avoided live hip-hop clichés, but his setlist was mismanaged and unbalanced. An unfortunate misstep for one of the most talented performers in hip-hop.

Pavement
Aluminum Stage, 8:30 p.m.
“This song’s called ‘Range Life’.”

We’ve come to the end, you and I. If we haven’t parted ways yet, dear reader, I will bid you a fond farewell and offer you my sincerest thanks for reading. I mean that. I hope you enjoyed my observations. I also hope you don’t troll this wonderful website who’s graciously let me post the following review. The onus of what’s to come lies solely on the author.

There’s little point in me reviewing this show. I could fake it. I could fake it really well. I’m staring at a setlist online right now, I wrote notes on every song, I could piece it together and make it something really okay. But who wants to read a review from someone who doesn’t understand Pavement? It’s disingenuous. I did my research like a caring and responsible individual. I listened to Slanted and Enchanted and Crooked Rain Crooked Rain a whole heaping ton before the performance. But, in the end it’d be a waste of my time and yours. So, in lieu of a review, here’s a brief letter:

To the youth of Pitchfork Music Festival who felt Slighted and Disenchanted,

Pavement sang songs, but I didn’t know most of them. People danced, but I didn’t really know why. The guitars were sloppy, but they sounded fine. Malkmus sounded above average; at times even good. But the whole premise for Pavement headlining is that they were really popular 20 years ago. I was five years-old 20 years ago.

The best way I can describe the show for me is this: seeing Pavement is like watching Godfather Pt. 2 without ever seeing The Godfather. I know this is supposed to be a masterpiece, a legend before my very eyes, a band known by everyone in the music industry. Unfortunately, I have no context. So what I see before me is a mediocre band playing mediocre lo-fi music. To me, this is what Pavement is out of context.

For the first time in a long while, I felt excluded. I went back to these old feelings of animosity toward Pitchfork which had long sense been buried. “Stop making me feel stupid for not getting this, stop acting like you’re better than me.” Young or old, you know what I’m talking about. The whole show left me supremely melancholic. I wanted desperately to connect to what was happening on stage, but I kept failing.  Where’s my generation’s Pavement? How come I don’t get to celebrate this? I left feeling guilt-ridden as a music writer, a music fan, a person. It was rough.

But there was a moment during Pavement’s set that saved me from throwing my computer in front of a train and never writing about music again. Between songs, I noticed a guy who was jumping up and down, clapping, having the absolute time of his life. I, of course, didn’t know what song just played, so I went up to him and asked him what song that just was. He didn’t know. I asked him if he’s liking the show, and he said “Yeah, this is amazing, you?” I lied to him and said I was loving it. We talked about the festival a bit and he asked me what my favorite act was today and I told him it was Major Lazer. He jumped in, “Oh my god, they were the worst thing. I’ve been to all six Pitchfork Festivals and that was the worst thing they’ve ever put up on stage. Horrible.”

I was saved. I found my Pavement. It was, for this moment at least, Major Lazer. I had my circle of understanding, my opinions that someone else didn’t understand, I felt so good knowing that this guy didn’t “get it”. I’m included once again. My sanctimonious soul was revived, and now I am confident, intelligent, and unique. I have agency in this man’s stupidity at not realizing the genius of Major Lazer. And now I’m even more depressed than I was before.

Please don’t fall victim to what I felt. Pitchfork Music Festival was an amazing celebration of music and community, filled with so much love from the staff and artists. And it’s the bullshit that I felt about Pavement’s exclusivity that I know a lot of people felt about a lot of bands. Just because you don’t “get” something doesn’t make it a personal slight on you. Just because Pitchfork hypes a band that you don’t like doesn’t mean they understand something you don’t. There’s no such thing as elitism in music, from Panda Bear to Free Energy.

If this whole treatise seems all too obvious and jejune and preachy, I apologize. These are my thoughts at the close of a wonderful weekend. I couldn’t have asked for anything more from a festival, even Pavement. In The End: Pavement was pretty good, after all.

All photography provided by Meghan Brosnan.
——

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King of Hearts was originally scheduled for release in 2008, but left incomplete in the wake of his cancer diagnosis. The release has since been completed, pieced together from the demos and home recordings he left behind. And the end result, according to longtime friend and collaborator El-P, is a record that is “amazing, weird, raw, and original.”

“In many ways King of Hearts is a record of what could have been, a snapshot of an artist mid-evolution.  In some ways it’s a diary discovered in the belongings of a friend who passed away. Or maybe it’s a scrap book of a master inventor with only half of the schematics of some incredible new invention detailed inside. You don’t need to see the invention fully realized in order to recognize the magnitude of the creative force behind the sketches,” explains El-P.

In an issued press releases adds: “The record marks a departure from his former works, most notably as it finds Camu favoring a distinctively playful, semi-soul croon as well as the off-kilter and wild rapping that earned him a reputation among peers and fans as an innovative genius. Musically King of Hearts delves into realms of gritty, electropunk pop, alternately veering between the dark carnival-esque and the sublimely summery. Pleasantly disorienting electronic tones cascade and pulse as dense, propulsive beats build a solid foundation upon which Tao constructs immensely hooky and infectious choruses.”

King of Hearts will be available on August 17th. In conjunction with its release, Definitive Jux will also be issuing the long unreleased 2004 debut from Central Services, a production crew and side project between Tao and El-P. The effort, titled Forever Frozen in Television Time, will be available as a free download.

As an early preview, we’ve included a stream of King of Hearts track “Perfect Plan” below.

Check Out:
“Perfect Plan”

Sometime over the next 24 hours, the Pitchfork Music Festival will announce the next round of artists scheduled to partake in its 2010 festivities. According to the festival’s Facebook, among those included will be “some old friends, some newcomers, some locals, and at least animal-themed band.”

According to Time Out Chicago, Animal Collective’s Panda Bear, aka the most obvious choice ever, and the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion are two of the biggest acts now set to hit Chicago’s Union Park between July 16-18. At some point, P4k approved up-and-comers Real Estate and The Smith Westerns should be announced as well.

We’ll update this post once an official announcement is made. Until then, have sweet dreams of Pavement.