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Two main stages with alternating sets. Sets start somewhere around 30-45 min. and get longer through the day.
A third, smaller stage featured more electronic/dance stuff last year (not as much on the bill this year?) and some jazz.
The only conflicts would be with acts on that third, smaller stage. Now that I think about it they advertised the third stage (it was called the Biz3 stage I think) before the fest. Maybe they aren't doing it? I would think someone like Girl Talk would be too big a draw for the small tent, but who knows.
The two main stages alternate so there is virtually no wait between sets and you can sit in the middle and see every act. So for example if the New Pornos are closing the fest with a set Sunday at 8:30, than Stephen Malkmus will probably be something like 7:15-8:30 on the other stage, De La Soul would be 6:15-7:15 on the first stage, Of Montreal 5:15-6:15 on the second stage. I'm just making this up, but it won't be too dramatically different from that. Both stages are the same size.
I missed Roo this year with a newborn, but Pfork is right down the street so I am really excited.
Post by famousblueraincoat on Jun 28, 2007 11:54:07 GMT -5
So let's talk albums that we should have before hitting the festival. I obviously have a good collections of stuff by New Pornographers, Cat Power, Iron and Wine, and Stephen Malkmus. I've had the Of Montreal and Brightblack Morning Light albums for a while, and I've recently picked up the new Menomena, the Twilight Sad's "Fourteen Autumns," the new disc by the Field, the new Voxtrot, "Yellow House" by Grizzly Bear, and "Cryptograms" by Deerhunter. I don't really have any De La Soul in my collection. What's worth grabbing before the festival?
Post by placidcasual79 on Jun 28, 2007 12:08:16 GMT -5
just some that i own and enjoy:
well if you are going friday all 3 of those albums
Califone - Quicksand/Cradlesnakes Beach House - s/t Mastodon - Leviathan Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury Of Montreal - Satanic Panic in the Attic Sea & Cake - s/t Junior Boys - i really like both albums
Post by steveternal on Jun 28, 2007 15:20:12 GMT -5
to add: Battles - Mirrored The newest stage of evolution in instrumental rock. A supergroup combining members of Don Caballero, Tomahawk and even Tyondai Braxton, the son of the legendary avant-jazz saxophonist Anthony Braxton. Dan Deacon - Spiderman of the Rings Gotta show hometown love for the anti-rock star who churns out bubbly, thumping techno mixed with a whole lot of jarring and irreverent effects. Nothing is sacred. William Parker Quartet - Raining on the Moon New York jazz and improvised music giant and all-around badass on the bass. His quartet mixes elements of rock and soul into an aggressive post-bop sound, yet that's not to say it's "fusion" by any standards. Powerhouse Sound - Breaks: Oslo/Chicago Chicago sax man Ken Vandermark's project based around the electric bass. A wild, frenetic sound underpinned by Tortoise members Jeff Parker (guitar) and John Herndon (drums). Craig Taborn - Junk Magic The default classification for this album is "jazz", but after the first track you realize how inaccurate that is. The members-- including The Bad Plus drummer David King-- are all jazz musicians, but the music is something highly textured, equal parts ambient and chaotic, and the rare solos operate under a fundamentally different concept of improvisation. Truly something new and exciting.
I'll second the Battles Mirrored, the Tortoise-related Powerhouse Sound and mention that I love Of Montreal's new one (Hissing Fauna....). I've really enjoyed Liquid Swords too, after never having been too into Wu Tang. I'm also pretty impressed by what I've heard of Jamie Lidell
The Cool Kids are throwback, old-school (like mid-80s evoking) rappers. Kind of a cool (if inevitable) concept, and they seem fun. I found a couple of mp3s floating around, no album I'm aware of.
EDIT: I just checked out the schedule. Girl Talk is gonna be way too crowded in that tiny tent. I'm surprised Vandermark is playing at 1:00 in the tiny tent (I was thinking they would be early on a big stage or late on the small stage).
Man, I'm looking forward to this festival. The set up looks great, and I know some of the guys doing flatstock there. My print shop was actually printing out vellums for one the festival posters...
Last Edit: Jun 30, 2007 19:07:00 GMT -5 by dudezer47 - Back to Top
So I may have some seriously limiting factors on my Pfork attendence (7 week old baby, wife didn't get tix before sellout so I'm going solo and/or pissing off wife, etc.), so I may not be able to spend as much time at the fest as I'd like. In a perfect world, though, this would be my (very flexible) plan:
Sat: 1:00 Powerhouse Sound, some William Parker, wander the fest until 3:30 then get a good spot for Battles 4:00 Battles, try to catch some Fujiya Miyagi? 5:15 Professor Murder Mastodon/Oxford Collapse Dan Deacon Cat Power Girl Talk (probably from afar) Based on past experience, I'll probably head home dead drunk before Yoko, although I'm curious.
Sun: Deerhunter Menomena ? Jamie Lidell The Cool Kids Stephen Malkmus Cadence Weapon Of Montreal The Field New Pornos
It's getting bigger every year, but in the past its been really easy to get close for the early sets, and then its pretty packed by the end of the day. I've always gotten there for the start of the fest and left before/during the closer out of exhaustion/drunkenness/ lack of desire to have a music fest port-a-potty experience with my own toilet 10 minutes away.
My schedule's looking something like this right now. Great thing about the layout is there's more room for improvisation than at larger fests.
Saturday, July 14: 1:00 Ken Vandermark's Powerhouse Sound 2:00 William Parker Quartet 3:00 Grizzly Bear 4:00 Battles 5:00 Iron and Wine 6:00 Mastodon (Dinner) 7:15 Dan Deacon 8:00 Cat Power and Dirty Delta Blues 8:30 Girl Talk 9:00 Yoko Ono (with special guests)
Sunday, July 15: 1:00 Fred Lonberg-Holm's Lightbox Orchestra 2:00 Menomena 3:00 Junior Boys 4:10 Craig Taborn's Junk Magic 5:00 Jamie Lidell 6:15 Cadence Weapon 7:15 The Field (Dinner) 8:00 The New Pornographers 9:00 De La Soul
Last Edit: Jul 1, 2007 18:25:15 GMT -5 by dudezer47 - Back to Top
Post by steveternal on Jul 2, 2007 22:05:57 GMT -5
*sigh* Well fellas, I'm thinking I won't be making it after all. I shouldn't get into it, but essentially I had a connection for tix that has pretty much fallen through, so I'm just assuming at this point that I won't be there. Such a shame, as this is just a fantastic assemblage of talent. ka mai, dudezer, placidcasual, attornaroo, y'all enjoy yourselves... and think of me from time to time.
Post by placidcasual79 on Jul 3, 2007 8:53:54 GMT -5
steveternal said:
*sigh* Well fellas, I'm thinking I won't be making it after all. I shouldn't get into it, but essentially I had a connection for tix that has pretty much fallen through, so I'm just assuming at this point that I won't be there. Such a shame, as this is just a fantastic assemblage of talent. ka mai, dudezer, placidcasual, attornaroo, y'all enjoy yourselves... and think of me from time to time.
i bet it wouldnt be hard to buy one there for cheap, but from the looks of it you have quite a trek to get there. sorry you cant make it man!
Post by placidcasual79 on Jul 3, 2007 8:55:45 GMT -5
who do you think Yoko Ono's special guests will be? frankly, it will have to be someone impressive for me to even be interested.
also, anyone have any music from the jazz artists (vardermark, parker etc)? i am looking just to kind of sample what the sound is before i get there. just curious.
who do you think Yoko Ono's special guests will be? frankly, it will have to be someone impressive for me to even be interested.
also, anyone have any music from the jazz artists (vardermark, parker etc)? i am looking just to kind of sample what the sound is before i get there. just curious.
Her last album is all collabs and one of the artists is Cat Power. I've heard Thurston moore as a rumored guest on another board, although I have no idea where that comes from. In any case I was't personally thrilled by this addition and would probably have sampled her set midday, but I doubt I'll stick around for it as the closer.
The Vandermark group features Tortoise members on drums and guitar. The album I have is rythm section focused soundscapes, dedicated to various funk and dub legends (not to mention Public Enemy). Not sure how else to describe it but I like it.
I've heard great things about William Parker and believe its more "traditional" jazz. I just put a track on and the first thing that comes to mind is "Mingus". That's not a bad thing.
Craig Taborn also fits under the jazz umbrella I believe. I listened to the album once and don't really remember it. I think I remember keys and electronic elements being the jist.
The one artist on the bill I haven't been able to find anything by is Fred-Lonberg Holmes. Anyone know anything about him? (EDIT: pfork site just led me to realize I can dl this from emusic. I'm grabbing it now)
Unfuckingreal development. So the guy who I'm bumming a ride with was having his car fixed last week. And then it spilled over to this week. And now the mechanics are making excuses as to why the car still isn't fixed. So pretty much our plans are fucked. I have a van that makes traveling to Chicago for the festival unrealistic and plans to go from Chicago directly to Boston via train after the festival for a family reunion. All these plans down the toilet.
Honestly. One roommate goes crazy and makes Bonnaroo not happen for me. The other roommate takes forever to get his car fixed and makes Pitchfork not happen for me. My new motto: self-reliance. No more fucking carpooling to festivals unless it's 100% ironclad signed in blood.
Sorry to hear about all the complications keeping people from Pitchfork.
I had to budget my alloted Pitchfork time carefully and decided not to go Friday night. I had a blast on Saturday with the Battles playing what seemed like the set of the fest to me.
I'm not sure how much time I'll get to spend there today, but I'm planning on catching Of Montreal for sure. I'll post some pics later.
Post by famousblueraincoat on Jul 15, 2007 9:37:33 GMT -5
WIth day one completed, I have to say I wasn't overwhelmed.
The 3rd stage pisses me off. It made watching Girl Talk absolutely unbearable (they were talking about cancelling it due to the fire code) and the sound for Fujiya and Miyagi was terrible.
With that said, a few pleasant surprises...
Mastodon - Howboutcha? This was a sick, sick set. I hate metal and I'd see these guys again.
Battles - Very interesting set. Gotta get my hands on their new album.
Yoko was pretty miserable despite bringing out (and stop me if my eyes deceived me) Thurston Moore from Sonic Youth. My buddy kept calling for someone to put her out of her misery.
Iron and Wine - who were really my reason for going today - played a lot of new stuff (which was good), but, as always, his set was decidedly sleepy
I missed Cat Power due to the Girl Talk debacle, did anyone else catch Chan's set?
Today is really the day I'm looking most forward to with sets by Deerhunter, Jamie Lidell, Nomo, Stephen Malkmus, Of Montreal, Menomena, and the New Pornographers. Should be fun.
^^^That sucks they didn't have their shit together on the production side. Nothing's more frustrating than a venue that keeps you from enjoying a show because of shitty sound or a bad setup...
Fill us in on Sunday though. Menomena was phenomenal when I saw them a month ago.
I'll post a bunch of pics and a detailed "review" later this week. I had a blast, but they were a definitely overstreched this year. The third stage was greatly expanded in terms of space, but the sound was so weak it didn't matter. On all three stages, you had to be close to really experience the show. They need much louder sound for that many people. That said, there was a great time to be had if you figured out the quirks of the sound/setup soon enough. Best show was Battles. Second best for me was Of Montreal. I really liked The Cool Kids also. I'm not a huge fan but The Clipse pretty much killed it. The third stage was a clusterf*ck on Saturday, but surprisingly accesible on Sunday. Malkmus' set was pretty ridiculously bad I have to say.
I'll happily support this fest as long as they hold it within walking distance from my house.
Post by famousblueraincoat on Jul 15, 2007 23:31:26 GMT -5
Ok. I'm back, and Sunday was a vast improvement, but sound problems still ruled the day. Unless you were in front of the sound booth on the second stage ("Connector Stage"), it really wasn't worth trying to get into the band. Sucked the life out of a great set by Menomena early on before I figured out to move up.
My Favorite Sets of the Weekend
1. Of Montreal - Tore it up. These guys need to be at the Roo. They could do a crazy late night.
2. New Pornographers - I just love this band. I'm in love with the keyboard player. Great set, fun, that's all I can say.
3. Menomena - I can't wait to see these guys in a better venue.
Mastodon, Nomo, Battles, Clipse, Jamie Lidell, Twilight Sad, Grizzly Bear, Deerhunter, Iron and Wine (encored with "No Surprises" by Radiohead), and the Cool Kids also put on quality sets. I also heard that Junior Boys were great, but didn't see their set.
Malkmus was awful. AWFUL. I love the guy. I've seen him live multiple times. He should never, ever play solo again. My girlfriend was trying to decide whether he or Yoko was the worst set of the weekend, and it really was tough to tell. It was almost like he found out at the last second his band wasn't coming and had to wing it (we all know this isn't the case, but you get the point).
Pitchfork needs to figure out if their festival has outgrown Union Park. Did they have to monitor the sound because of neighborhood sound ordinances or what? Especially on the Balance stage, people were calling for them to turn the sound up all weekend. It was really disheartening for me (especially because this is the first festival my girlfriend has agreed to attend with me and she's more of a sit in chairs and relax in the back kind of gal).
With that said, the price is right. One dollar waters, decent reasonably priced ($4) beers, quality food choices, and location still make this the "best buy" festival. Here's to hoping they work out the kinks. All in all, this was a good transition festival for me before Lollapalooza in three weeks.
^^^You just pretty much sold me on buying a ticket for Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin. Of Montreal, New Pornographers & Ted Leo are all rumored to be headlining this year. If they keep to the set up last year, it will be a three stage fest (like Pitchfork) with one stage devoted to punk, one to indie rock and one to dj sets.
Hopefully, sometime in the near future, I'll make it out to Pitchfork.
Ok. I'm back, and Sunday was a vast improvement, but sound problems still ruled the day. Unless you were in front of the sound booth on the second stage ("Connector Stage"), it really wasn't worth trying to get into the band. Sucked the life out of a great set by Menomena early on before I figured out to move up.
My Favorite Sets of the Weekend
1. Of Montreal - Tore it up. These guys need to be at the Roo. They could do a crazy late night.
2. New Pornographers - I just love this band. I'm in love with the keyboard player. Great set, fun, that's all I can say.
3. Menomena - I can't wait to see these guys in a better venue.
Mastodon, Nomo, Battles, Clipse, Jamie Lidell, Twilight Sad, Grizzly Bear, Deerhunter, Iron and Wine (encored with "No Surprises" by Radiohead), and the Cool Kids also put on quality sets. I also heard that Junior Boys were great, but didn't see their set.
Malkmus was awful. AWFUL. I love the guy. I've seen him live multiple times. He should never, ever play solo again. My girlfriend was trying to decide whether he or Yoko was the worst set of the weekend, and it really was tough to tell. It was almost like he found out at the last second his band wasn't coming and had to wing it (we all know this isn't the case, but you get the point).
Pitchfork needs to figure out if their festival has outgrown Union Park. Did they have to monitor the sound because of neighborhood sound ordinances or what? Especially on the Balance stage, people were calling for them to turn the sound up all weekend. It was really disheartening for me (especially because this is the first festival my girlfriend has agreed to attend with me and she's more of a sit in chairs and relax in the back kind of gal).
With that said, the price is right. One dollar waters, decent reasonably priced ($4) beers, quality food choices, and location still make this the "best buy" festival. Here's to hoping they work out the kinks. All in all, this was a good transition festival for me before Lollapalooza in three weeks.
Agreed on all points, except I didn't catch Menomena and Battles was far and away my favorite set. Battles and Of Montreal would both go over big time at Bonnaroo. Man, did Malkmus come off badly.
Post by placidcasual79 on Jul 16, 2007 8:47:05 GMT -5
faletti said:
attornaroo said:
Ok. I'm back, and Sunday was a vast improvement, but sound problems still ruled the day. Unless you were in front of the sound booth on the second stage ("Connector Stage"), it really wasn't worth trying to get into the band. Sucked the life out of a great set by Menomena early on before I figured out to move up.
My Favorite Sets of the Weekend
1. Of Montreal - Tore it up. These guys need to be at the Roo. They could do a crazy late night.
2. New Pornographers - I just love this band. I'm in love with the keyboard player. Great set, fun, that's all I can say.
3. Menomena - I can't wait to see these guys in a better venue.
Mastodon, Nomo, Battles, Clipse, Jamie Lidell, Twilight Sad, Grizzly Bear, Deerhunter, Iron and Wine (encored with "No Surprises" by Radiohead), and the Cool Kids also put on quality sets. I also heard that Junior Boys were great, but didn't see their set.
Malkmus was awful. AWFUL. I love the guy. I've seen him live multiple times. He should never, ever play solo again. My girlfriend was trying to decide whether he or Yoko was the worst set of the weekend, and it really was tough to tell. It was almost like he found out at the last second his band wasn't coming and had to wing it (we all know this isn't the case, but you get the point).
Pitchfork needs to figure out if their festival has outgrown Union Park. Did they have to monitor the sound because of neighborhood sound ordinances or what? Especially on the Balance stage, people were calling for them to turn the sound up all weekend. It was really disheartening for me (especially because this is the first festival my girlfriend has agreed to attend with me and she's more of a sit in chairs and relax in the back kind of gal).
With that said, the price is right. One dollar waters, decent reasonably priced ($4) beers, quality food choices, and location still make this the "best buy" festival. Here's to hoping they work out the kinks. All in all, this was a good transition festival for me before Lollapalooza in three weeks.
Agreed on all points, except I didn't catch Menomena and Battles was far and away my favorite set. Battles and Of Montreal would both go over big time at Bonnaroo. Man, did Malkmus come off badly.
well let me throw in my 2 cents:
i agree with both of you on many of the bands...GZA, Sonic Youth, Grizzly Bear, Battles, Mastodon!!, Clipse, Deerhunter, Menomena, Junior Boys, Of Montreal, New Pornographers and De La Soul (only caught 1/2 hr due to being way over tired) were all great.
now i have gone every year and the sound has notoriously sucked. i guess i just expect it at this point...but it shouldnt be that way. i think it may be a combination of having to keep it down (which i am not sure of because some seem really loud (Clipse, De La) and just sucky equipment/sound techs.
Now...Malkmus....this is totally what i expected with him being solo. i was nervous and figured it would be sketchy. but here's the deal...when the hell is the last time you got to hear a sh!tload of pavement songs live? it really didnt seem that bad to me...and it definitely was better when bob came out and played drums. I dont know...yeah it was disappointing a little but i prepared myself for it and truly enjoyed him busting out the old tunes.
so from all the bands i listed above, if i had to pick 5 i'd say:
Grizzly Bear Mastodon Clipse Junior Boys New Pornographers
Post by famousblueraincoat on Jul 16, 2007 9:21:48 GMT -5
Fair enough, I'll give credit where credit is due. It was cool to hear the Pavement tunes to some degree, particularly "Spit on a Stranger." But after seeing him with the Jicks (particularly Janet Weiss) in March, I just really missed the band.
