The and took over Emo s and Emo s Jr. yesterday afternoon with an 11-artist lineup that ranged from charming Swedish pop to bangin electro-house to face-shredding guitar. Eleven bands?
Yes, Crystal Castles never quite made it to the club for reasons still unknown. We stayed up all night worried sick about them-- kids, call us and let us know you re OK!
Pitchfork s hard-working reporters documented most of the rest of the day-- we didn t manage to take photos of Do Make Say Think s excellent set because our correspondants arrived late to their own party; they were still working hard .
That s dedication! UPDATE: Thanks to Do Make Say Think associate Amit Dahan, we have a couple behind-the-scenes shots of the band in action. Hooray!
(Thanks to the Windish Agency, Emo s, Ticketweb, At Pluto, Fuze, ReadyMade magazine, and Time Out Chicago for their help with the event-- we couldn t have done it without you guys.)
Do Make Say Think [Emo s; 12 p.m.
]
The Mae Shi [Blender Balcony at the Ritz; 8 p.m.] The Mae Shi changed once over the last year.
They haven t abandoned their glitchy noise, but now they re trying to write pop songs. Last night they changed twice, first into all-white sweatsuits, then back into unmatched regular Mae Shi clothing. Volume replaced a lot of the band s noise here.
Their excellent track became a handclapped singalong that band members sang to each other. Pretty endearing, but their louder moments made my pen shake across my notebook like an EKG.
Nellie s early evening set was rife with mysteries.
Such as: why did Nellie have a grand piano for her silly Blender party set (see Wednesday) and only an upright at her official SXSW showcase? Why did she start 20 minutes late? Why did the entire front row consist of asshole photographers who never once stopped taking pictures (says the asshole photographer, who swears he only took those you see here)?
And why the hell did folks who waited in a block-long queue outside Exodus get inside only to chat through Nellie s entire set? Surely they weren t waiting for..
.Peaches??
I won t harp any further on Nellie s talent and theatrical charm other than to remind the reader that she has both in abundance. Here, Nellie put those goods to work, playing tunes from across her two records, and debuting at least one new song. It s called Oversure -- a self-deprecating pun on overture-- and Nellie intends to open her next album with it.
The night s highlight, however, was the impromptu medley Nellie tossed at us when her stagetime ran nigh: Yodel plus the pet hat trick of The Dog Song , Pounce , and Ding Dong , weaved together effortlessly, with some hilarious ad-libbing from McKay when she forgot a few of the words.
Still, I can t help but think Nellie left this set feeling even more fed up with the confounded, doggone, ornery record business, as she might describe it, smile wide and teeth sparkling. All of it.
Yes, all of it. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath.
Count to 10. OK, you have permission to freak out now.
On July 13, at Chicago s Union Park, Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon, Lee Ranaldo, and Steve Shelley will perform their landmark 1988 album in its entirety, from Teenage Riot all the way through Eliminator Jr.
. Imagine the chaos of Silver Rocket , the majesty of Candle , the rollercoaster-ride of Eric s Trip , up close and personal, exploding beneath the starry sky. Will Thurston and Lee break out the screwdrivers for Rain King ?
Will Mike Watt show up to do the answering machine message in Providence ? Will Kim look incredibly sexy singing The Sprawl ? It s enough to make you write incredibly cheesy sentences extolling the album s greatness.
And did I mention that Daydream Nation is Pitchfork s favorite album of the 1980s?
, this is the North American premiere of ATP s Don t Look Back. And Sonic Youth isn t even the only artist performing a classic album at Don t Look Back at the Pitchfork Music Festival on July 13!
Stay tuned for the announcement of not one but two more. Not bad for a $15 ticket. Or, for $50, catch all three days of the festival, July 13-15.
Cat Power, Clipse, Of Montreal, Iron and Wine, Girl Talk, Jamie Lidell, Grizzly Bear, Professor Murder, and Ken Vandermark s Powerhouse Sound, among others to be announced, will take the stage on Saturday and Sunday. A Saturday/Sunday pass costs $35, while Saturday or Sunday individual passes go for $25. Head to now, or feel like total trash when it sells out.
The Besnard Lakes [Mohawk Patio; 8:30 p.m.]
the Mohawk was monstrous, and there were still more people outside than inside when the Besnard Lakes kicked off the night.
Frontman Jace Lasek used the linegoers misfortune as a chance to crack wise, first dedicating the band s set to the unfortunate ones and then saying, Actually, it s much better in here. There s a hot tub, the songs sound treated to a criminally short set of sublime, open sky, guitar hero music. In other words, they perfectly matched the early spring night in beauty and scope.
Future of the Left [Emo s Jr.; 9:15 p.m.
] It was overcast when we arrived in Austin yesterday, but a little machine, full of parties, pork loin, and so much music my ears are full and probably leaking. And since Pitchfork has yet to institute a Best New Barbecue section, let s get right to that music.
Two thirds of Mclusky (R.
I.P.) took the stage as two thirds of Future of the Left as the second band at the Beggars Banquet showcase, and after a short checking of the levels, they promptly made the transition from genial dudes to screaming maniacs.
Armed with mean riffs and Andrew Falkous barely contained rage, they played off-kilter, dissonant punk pop not unlike Mclusky. The distorted bass was deafening, the drums were furious and precise (which I chalk up to the lyrics were wry and violent. In between songs, he made sure to explain that going around punching cats is no way to spend an evening.
It s more of an afternoon pursuit. Cyann Ben [Day Stage Caf e ; 5:00 p.m.
]
Poor Cyann Ben came all the way from France and only got to play three songs to a seated Day Stage crowd. Wisely they pulled up some chairs as well, lending a campfire homeliness to a couple of Sweet Beliefs astral slow-burners. It was over all too soon, but pleasant enough while it lasted.
(Don t worry, they got to play a showcase show later that night, too.) The Ettes [Day Stage Caf e ; 5:30 p.m.
]
Los Angeles trio the Ettes pound out punchy garage rock, not unlike a lot of their Sympathy for the Record Industry kin. They ve got the looks and the spunk, but yet, as with their suffix of a name, there was just something missing from this brief Day Stage set.
Mew [KLRU Studio; 7:00 p.
m.]
Seattle s venerable KEXP takes over the gorgeous KLRU studios at the University of Texas for the duration of SXSW, broadcasting short sets from a bunch of festival favorites. This evening s subject was Mew, who dazzled a small gathering with a few tunes from And the Glass Handed Kites and the newly reissued Frengers.
If the lighted cityscape backdrop looks familiar, that s probably because you ve seen it on Austin City Limits , also taped here.
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