Year after year, concert-goers flock to Chicago’s Pitchfork Music Festival knowing only a few of the bands in the line-up and find themselves pleasantly surprised when the sets they enjoy the most are performed by artists they knew the least.
Unlike Lollapalooza, a behemoth of a festival with what feels like an endless amount of territory between its countless stages, Pitchfork is held at Union Park, 1501 W. Randolph St., and has three stages confined within a much more manageable space. As a result, it’s pretty easy to hear any band playing at any given time. And if you like them, there’s little reason not to get a closer look.
There are a few other nifty things Pitchfork has going for it. This year, for example, the bands performing Friday night are playing sets that have been voted on by ticket buyers. Called “Write the Night,” this section means that bands like Built to Spill, an awesome rock band known for their sprawling songs with guitar solos as long as singer/guitarist’s Doug Martsch’s beard (i.e. really long) will probably be playing more songs off of their old, great albums “Keep It Like a Secret” and “Perfect from Now On” than their so-so newest album “You In Reverse.”
The other performers participating in this are electronic band Tortoise, indie-rock legends Yo La Tengo, The Jesus Lizard and The Flaming Lips. Wayne Coyne, the front man of the psychedelic Lips, discussed the prospect of letting the fans choose the set in a recent interview in TimeOut Chicago.
“I’m not a very good musician. I’m always struggling to play anything to get it to sound good once,” he said. “But I don’t think the audience wants it to be a perfect thing. I think they want you to do the best you can, fumble through these old classics.”
Of course, not being able to pick the sets of the other bands performing shouldn’t stop you from checking them out anyway. On Saturday at 2:30 p.m., hardcore punks Fucked Up will bring their usual destructive set to Pitchfork, which, if not a band to hear, is certainly a sight to see. The band performed on MTV a number of times, and each time caused serious amounts of destruction, both to the sets on which they performed as well as themselves. So if you’re looking to see a guy bleed onstage, here’s your chance.
Friday’s schedule, with Built to Spill and Yo La Tengo, is largely attuned to the 1990s, so anyone in the mood for an earlier decade should be sure to check out The Pains of Being Pure at Heart Saturday, at 3:20 p.m. or M83 Sunday at 6:15 p.m. The Pains evoke The Cure with their crooning, emotive vocals and their meandering, reverberating guitars, while M83 is all about the electronic ambience and the catchiness of early 1980s bands.
If you’re looking for something a little faster-paced and perhaps a little simpler, then The Thermals are for you. A pop-punk trio from Portland, they’ve been around since 2002 and have perfected the short-but-sweet sound of a catchy, hook-driven pop song. They perform Sunday at 4:15 p.m.
If you’re just looking to meander without much regard for the music, you’ll find poster and record sales amongst the usual festival fare of food and beer. But unlike Lollapalooza, the stages will never be far off, so be prepared to be audibly (and pleasantly) surprised.
