Pitchfork Rundown: Saturday

I'm back from my wonderful weekend away from work and house repairs and GRE prep, and back at the grind over the lab bench. Pitchfork 2008 was great for a lot of reasons, despite the rain on Saturday which kicked in just enough to birthe a giant mud pit and ruin my shoes, and despite my friends who were incensed that I wouldn't leave and miss Dinosaur Jr. on Sunday. Come on!

Thanks again to Kate for subbing on Friday, and you can check out all she played here!

Below is my rundown of the bands I saw on the first day of Pitchfork. The second day is forthcoming. We took it a little easier this year, and instead of either camping out at a stage or refusing to take a break from the music all weekend, we did a little shopping (I scored Cheap Trick's Heaven Tonight on vinyl for 5 bucks!) and actually tried the food (the ginger chicken was supreme). This means I saw slightly fewer bands, and was not in the front for all of them--although I came pretty close for a few. I had great company--my friend Mike and his crew on the first day, and my two indie cousins on the second day--and actually didn't get sunburned this year! I also shared my sunscreen with about half a dozen red-necked hipsters, made friends with (most of) the crowd around us, and had a delightful weekend.

Check it out.

Saturday, July 19
1:30 p.m. Jay Reatard ++
Loud, sweaty, and full of energy, barely stopping long enough between songs to yell out the next one before plunging forward. Near noise-rock.
"An Ugly Death"

2:00 p.m. Caribou +
I was too far away.
"After Hours"

4:00 p.m. Dizzee Rascal ++
The token hip-hop group of the year. The field filled up with pot smoke and Dizzee succeeded in making us "Bounce! Bounce! Bounce!"
"Is This Real"

5:00 p.m. Vampire Weekend +
Too pop-arrific for my taste. Still, fun and energetic and not at all a waste of time.
"Oxford Comma"












6:00 p.m. !!! +++
Front row! Lots of pelvic dancing, lots of banter, lots of touching. Nic Offer spent half his time atop the speakers and half his time being stroked by the crowd. There was a kind of sad exchange when a girl insisted upon giving him her giant purple sunglasses, then insisted he keep them--"I don't like sunglasses... they make me feel like I'm trying to be cool"--then, as a weak recovery--"Quick, take your picture. I'm going to take these off in a minute, but I'll wear them whenever I'm trying to be cool. Thanks." Ouch.
"All My Heroes Are Weirdos"






7:00 p.m. The Hold Steady +++
God, I love them. I don't think a single other band of the festival had so much fun onstage, enjoyed the crowd so much, or made it so damn impossible to sing along.
"Party Pit"
























8:00 p.m. Jarvis Cocker ++
I was barely close enough to appreciate the show and didn't really have intentions of staying the whole time (or paying too close attention) but I was completely drawn in by Jarvis Cocker. Aside from the fact that "Common People" is a staple in my danceparty mixes (and really, that doesn't mean anything), I'm ashamed to say I don't know much of Jarvis Cocker's work, and am looking forward to checking out the forthcoming album this fall.
"Big Stuff"

I'll post my rundown of Sunday sometime Thursday or Saturday. Don't forget to tune in Friday to win tickets to see Apples in Stereo, as well as a copy of Electronic Projects for Musicians!