Pitchfork Music Festival preview

Pitchfork Music Festival
Union Park, Chicago
July 18 – 20, 2008

Chicago-based Pitchforkmedia.com hosts its annual festival this weekend, and though tickets only remain for Friday night’s “Don’t Look Back” expose, we’ve marked some highlights for those of you inside and outside the gates.

Friday, July 18th
“Don’t Look Back” pits artists against a classic album of their own creation, the idea of which gained steam from the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival in England. Last year Pitchfork invited Sonic Youth (Daydream Nation), Wu-Tang’s GZA (Liquid Swords), and Slint (Spiderland); 2008 can’t keep up. Undoubtedly, the must-see event of the entire weekend will be Public Enemy attacking It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back. But their openers, Sebadoh (Bubble & Scrape) and Mission Of Burma (Vs.) do little to inspire. Sebadoh are a terrible live act no matter the incarnation, this being Lou Barlow, Eric Gaffney, and Jason Loewenstein. Mission Of Burma have already been spotted playing most of Vs. on their 2002 reunion tours and, on top of that, the album takes a backseat to their debut EP, Signals, Calls And Marches.

Saturday, July 19th
The highlight for many on Saturday will be the rare appearance from Jarvis Cocker. The former Pulp frontman has been invisible on these shores since the band collapsed, giving his latest projects, Relaxed Muscle and 2007’s Jarvis, little traction in the States. Without Michael Jackson to embarrass, it’ll be interesting to see what’s up his sleeves. Pitchfork dubbed The Hold Steady “kings of the parking lot,” and though their Springsteen direction has dampened the party, few indie rockers hold court like Craig Finn. Titus Andronicus were signed to Troubleman Records for their live presence and, given Pitchfork‘s boner for such acts (Les Savy Fav, The Black Lips), have been invited for much the same reason. Today’s also a good day to reacquaint yourself with the Sub Pop roster (Fleet Foxes, No Age, Ruby Sound).

Sunday, July 20th
Oddly, three of Sunday’s four “headliners” (Spoon, Dinosaur Jr., M.Ward) are connected to Merge Records, capping the weekend rather conservatively. Perhaps they expect everyone’ll want a cool down after Les Savy Fav go to reclaim the dance punk throne they lost by breaking up too early. Ghostface & Raekwon will hopefully redeem the family name after GZA’s shaky 2007 performance. Catching Boris and Bon Iver outside, during the day (as opposed to in a darkened room with headphones) wagers to alter expectations, but, if you’re out to justify your $65 weekend pass you’ll need to arrive somewhat early for King Khan & His Shrines. It’s what separates Pitchfork from the big-box chaff coming up.

— Steve Forstneger

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly