Pitchfork Music Festival 2009

Next up, I went with a special someone to a smaller music festival in Chicago, the Pitchfork Music Festival. It's a great mid-size festival that is run by the musical geniuses at Pitchfork Magazine. (Okay, they probably hire a group to run it, but you know what I mean.)

Some good ones we missed: Beirut, Cymbals Eat Guitars.

I will give some brief highlights:

• The National - solid, but not remarkable.
  
• The Black Lips - can't recall
• Matt and Kim - oh man, they were good. Unexpectedly good. Is that really just two people on stage? Yeah, we were blown away.
• Yeasayer -- Loved it, loved it, loved it. Killer energy. I bought their most recent album afterward.
• Final Fantasy -- I've never seen anything like it. I haven't bought the music, and probably wouldn't because I'm not certain how it would translate, but check this guy out if you ever have a chance. Do it. He plays violin and constructs entire songs in front of you with his violin, keyboard, loops and pedals. It's unique and great artistry.
• The Dutchess & The Duke -- Great folksy rock sound. A surprise we stumbled upon and were glad we did.
• Mew -- solid
• Grizzly Bears -- a better venue for them than Sasquatch...or at least a more solid performance.
• M83 -- whereas M83 was better suited for Sasquatch, and played better there. Still solid though.
• Japandroids -- loud and unspectacular
• The Walkmen -- solid
• The Thermals -- simply a blast. They really outperformed my expectations of them. Super fun.
• Vivian Girls -- ehhh
  
• Pharoahe Monch -- very fun vibe and I would see them again.
• The Killer Whales -- another fun one.
• Blitzen Trapper -- do these guys ever get old? (Hint: no.)
• Frightened Rabbit -- strong performance
• Dianogah -- can't recall
• The Mae Shi -- impressive and fun
  
• The Flaming Lips -- trippy. Loved the performance, but they were overshadowed by...
• The Very Best -- the reason you go to music festivals is due to the sampler platter effect. You get to try lots of bands out in a short time...with the hopes of discovering a gem. The Very Best were that gem. Fantastic international rap-esque sound. They brought such energy that we were disappointed when we broke away to check out The Flaming Lips. I immediately bought there album afterward and listen to it frequently still. I rave about this group to everyone I meet!