Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: awesome, Battles, Blitzen Trapper, Bristol Palin, Cold War Kids, Dr. Strangelove, Grizzley Bear, heckler, m. ward, music, Pitchfork, Pitchfork Music Festival, screen prints, The Flaming Lips, the national, The Walkmen, Yeasayer
How could I have forgotten to post this? This dude was ridiculous!
During The Flaming Lips’ set at Pitchfork Music Festival last Sunday, some d-bag help his middle fingers in the air and kept yelling about how shitty The Flaming Lips are.
After some intense FL love from the croud, and almost fist fight and a lingering cheeriness from the sound and sight of a great set, Shmucky McGee left… dignity not quite intact.
The back right of the crowd rejoiced as we were freed from the tyranny of the party pooper and resumed our festivities with a “Yoshimi” sing-a-long, lots of talking by messianic front man Wayne Coyne, and a well recieved finale of “Do You Realize?”
We were far since Grizzly Bear’s set was right before on another stage but it was still hella fun and, accoding to Kliph, the band had fun, too.
So, back to the beginning.
Saturday was sick. First, we checked out the posters and screen prints which were amazing. B.Mac met his inspiration, Jason Munn of The Small Stakes and got a great Battles poster, while I made away with a Dr. Strangelove inspired Cold War Kids poster by _____. Then, we checked out a great set by Yeasayer that started out with a hysterical sound check (Bristol Palin, check), continued with a light shower that really riled up the crowd (including one dude who beckoned God to bring back the rain) and ended with my favorite tune, “Sunrise” during which the friggin’ sun came out! It was magic.The day ended with a high energy set by The National where violinist Padma Newsome ripped up his solos and front man Matt Berninger belted out his lyrics with such intensity, his fell down (on purpose?) towards the end of the set. With crowd pleasing renditions of “Mistaken for Strangers,” “Squalor Victoria,” “All the Wine,” and “Fake Empire,” the concluded the show with an epic “Mr. November” where Matt ran of stage and stood on a trash can, later explaining to the crowd that it didn’t turn out as cool as he thought it would. What a charmer.
On Sunday, Blitzen Trapper played a good set, after which there was some more poster shopping (I got a beautiful M.Ward print and B.Mac got the official Pitchfork Grizzly Bear poster). Then, a great set by The Walkmen which was higly complimented by @Edward Droste, after which he and the rest of Grizzly Bear took the stage. The most anticipated set of the weekend, they did not disappoint and delivered a crazy awesome performance! Opening with “Southern Point,” they kept the momentum and navigated their way through a perfect set list including every one of my favorite songs. Regardless of a few technical difficulties (“This is the part where the stage hums and we all meditate”), they played stellar renditions of “Two Weeks,” “The Knife,” “On a Neck, On a Spit,” “Cheerleader,” and the always incredible “Ready, Able.” Plus, Droste is great with audience interaction; he’s a performance gem!
Overall, a great weekend. Can’t wait to immerse myself in hipster land again next year!
In preparation for the concert I will be attending next month, I listen to M. Ward for about 3 hours today and this song just sprang out at me.
It’s such a perfect song about life. It can have so many interpretations and apply to so many things.
The roller coaster can be as complex as a relationship or life, but it can also be as simple as the literal amusement park ride. The guitar, too, is just so charming and it just casually plucks through with ease while the cheery piano picks up and drops off as we weave in and out of the chorus. A perfect 10; can’t wait to see it live!
