An unnecessarily large crowd for Odd Future |
Twin Sister |
Well, despite all the controversy and pseudo-morals I preached, curiosity got the best of me as I walked over to the Red Stage for Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All. I missed out on lead Golf Wanger Tyler, the Creator stage dive with a cast on his leg, which would have been pretty cool to see. And it was also a bit, um, "odd" to see the bobbing red afros of the Mysterious White siblings on the side of the stage. Other than that, the set was pretty much as expected. Lots of white people moshing to mediocre beats, throwing up middle fingers when prompted, like some brainwashed mob trying to escape their own privilege. At the end of the day, it was really just whatever. They can call themselves geniuses all they want (is the phrase "fuck the police" still considered creative?), they’re really just the product of an overhyped media and I regret perpetuating the buzz in the past. No mas. Moving back to Blue Stage.
Shabazz Palaces like to remain a mystery. The lead of the Seattle based avant-rap group Palaceer Lazaro and former member of Digable Planets and Cherrywine doesn’t name who else works with him, doesn’t like interviews or promo shots and the music certainly reflects this philosophy. Highly reverbed vocals (a bit of a misnomer for conventionally lyrically based music) and rarely a discernable beat to get a groove to, the Sub Pop artist was certainly more left of the dial, darker, and all around interesting than the rap collective making waves on the main stage.
I found myself wandering around a bit, catching a little bit
of Ariel Pink. Was disappointed to
learn from Twitter a few minutes after moving back to the Blue Stage that he
did indeed leave the stage early, of what can now just be considered his shtick.
I don’t really care how great your records are: if you commit to performing a
set and can’t follow through, you’re just wasting the fans, the event’s staff
and curators, and your own time. Save the stage space for a more deserving
artist and find a new job, man.
The majority of my view for the mid-afternoon |
Considering how shaded the area is by trees, the Blue Stage
is the best place for the more low key artists. It’s not too interesting to
watch a dude work a laptop, especially on a hot day (see: Washed Out last
year), but the sounds are pleasant to take a brief nap to. So I headed towards
the back of the Blue Stage area, claimed some grass and chilled out to Baths. And then, in the exact same
spot, I got my ass kicked by Kylesa.
As OFF! were the obligatory punk band the day before, so were Kylesa the
obligatory metal band of the year, a position formerly held by Mastodon and
Boris in the past. It seemed most of the crowd from Baths dispersed to catch
either Superchunk or Deerhunter on the main stages, thus missing out on the
dual drumming and Kim Deal meets Rob Halford screams of Laura Pleasents. And immediately
following this? Back to the chill with South Carolina’s Toro Y Moi. Although the brainchild of Chaz Bundick, he had a full
band to back him up Sunday night. As things were a little behind schedule on
the side stage, only caught a couple tracks before heading over back to the Red
Stage for what turned out to be the best set of the day.
Cut Copy not letting the energy die even at the end of the weekend |
Although I’ve gotten more into electronic based pop-rock and
have started to find at least some relevancy in synths, for whatever reason I
still cannot get that much into Cut Copy.
A friend had continued to rave on and on about how great they were live though,
so I had to submit. And literally, the whole field was packed. Didn’t even
bother to try to get up close since there were just people dancing all over the
place. There was more energy than when LCD Soundsystem closed out the night
last year. From the start of the set with "Feel the Love," the first track off
2008’s In Ghost Colours, following
the route of the setting sun until the end of their set, it was non-stop
dancing throughout the park. The band does a great job getting the crowd into
it, running around the stage themselves, running into each other, backed by a
much brighter lightshow than the one DJ Shadow exhibited 24 hours earlier in
the same spot. The biggest tracks got the crowd going the most. Highlights were
for sure "Lights and Music," "Need You Now," and "Where I’m Going," the
uber-poppy electronic Beach Boys jam that never resonated any filling but
boredom from me before they played it live. Pretty sure I’m officially
converted into a Cut Copy fan after this show.
After an already long day, a blatant disregard to basic
hydration rules (despite the festival’s numerous, numerous pleas to do so) and the
entirely thrilling Cut Copy set, I hardly had much energy left for TV on the Radio. Another band I have
little familiarity with, but figure, hey, if they’re headlining, gotta check ‘em
out. They kicked it off with the lead to 2009’s Dear Science, "Halfway Home," a driving beat and catchy ba-ba-bas.
Cut Copy was a tough act to follow, but they certainly did their part to keep
the energy going, playing tracks what seemed faster than their recorded
counterparts. However, the combination for me of unfamiliarity and the on
setting exhaustion led me to book it a bit early.
Overall, the fest was great. Literally three days of
shirking responsibilities, sitting around a park with friends and listening to
music. Not gonna complain about sound issues, rising ticket prices, or the
commercialization of the fest. A lot’s changed in six years, mostly for the
better. Although I was initially disappointed in the lineup and swore not to
buy tickets next year before the bands were announced again, I think I was
reminded why Pitchfork is Christmas in the summer. Looking forward to it again
next year.
Check out the day one recap here and the day two recap here.
Check out the day one recap here and the day two recap here.
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