Intonation 2

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The Good: Chromeo’s early set didn’t seem opportune for a retro funk, tongue-in-cheek humpbot duo, but their drunk-in-the-afternoon attitude had a lot to do with propelling Intonation’s early sets in the right direction . . . Though Mike Skinner seemed more interested in playing stand-up comedian, The Streets’ closing slot on Friday night provided bounce after 10 hours in the sun. This summer’s The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living falls short in its self-absorption, but an even mix of old and new cuts, as well as mocking modern hits (“I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor”) worked exceedingly well . . . Festival headliners Bloc Party still have a lot to work on live, namely Kele Okerke’s vocals and everyone’s harmonies, but the passion was there as was an amazing, white-out light rig.

The Just O.K.: Swedish/Argentine “new Nick Drake” José González took forever getting his guitar in tune and took his time as the sun cooked everyone’s neck. But he did whip out two covers, Kylie Minogue’s “Hand On Your Heart” and Massive Attack’s “Teardrop,” worth the melting . . . The most exciting thing about Lupe Fiasco’s set was a brief opening by fellow Chicagoan Qualo. Taking place one set removed from Rhymefest’s, Fiasco displayed little passion or character in anticipation of the August release of Food & Liquor. Chicago hip-hop’s love affair with chintzy dance moves lived through “Kick/Push,” Kanye’s “Testify” and “Diamonds Of Sierra Leone” were borrowed, and Iron Butterfly got an unlikely reference, but the rapper himself didn’t leave any impression . . . It could have been The Sword’s fault for Blue Cheer sounding so one-dimensional, because their Sabbath-indebted tunes failed to distinguish themselves. The pairing of the two bands back-to-back on Sunday was a momentum killer . . . High On Fire frontman Matt Pike screamed and shredded all he could, but he was mostly on the losing end of George Rice’s bass cabinet . . . I can’t remember anything about Dead Prez’s set other than the politics. Like an aging punk band, six years after their landmark Let’s Get Free, they’re all bitter Chuck D with no Bomb Squad to tell the soapboxing rant from the next.) Getting an all-white crowd to chant in favor of slavery reparations was priceless, however.)

The Fuckin’ Ugly: Separate sets from electro-pop Annie and fem-grime rapper Lady Sovereign failed to justify either’s inclusion on the bill. At least Lady Sov tried to overcome her shortcomings by being her own hype man and jumping around . . . Despite solid songwriting steps on their sophomore album, Without Feathers, The Stills stuck out like Mike’s Hard Lemonade at an absinthe tasting . . . Following an opening burst of screaming noise, Japan’s The Boredoms found a pummeling drum groove that seemed to last through the entirety of their set. Repressive by the end, they most literally embodied the festival’s name.

— Steve Forstneger

Category: Live Reviews, Weekly