Comments on: Pitchfork Festival :: Chicago, Day Three

By: Andrea

Andrea — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 22:30:43 +0000

The Very Best was a MUST-see for me, especially since I saw the Flaming Lips in 2004. I was front and center and not only did I see the best show of the festival but I got free liquor from the band! It was so amazing being up so close and looking around and seeing nothing but smiles. I love the Flaming Lips and they put on an amazing show but I definitely made the right choice!

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:04:34 +0000

I gave up on the Lips performance after it seemed like Wayne was doing more talking than singing, which kind of killed some of the energy I had going into their set. I’ve never seen them before, so I was really excited. Instead, I was just kind of put off by his explaining why they were sort of doing the Write the Night thing, but not at the same time.

However, I was glad I did give up because The Very Best was easily the best personal discovery of the festival for me. They were also the absolute best way to end the whole thing. Have to find a copy of their mix tape. In order, Pharoahe Monch, The Very Best, and Frightened Rabbit were my favorites of the festival, making Sunday the best all around day.

By: HN

HN — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 11:55:48 +0000

grizzly bear was a snore. but i knew i was going to say that before i was there. it’s really a throwaway argument, either side you fall.

the set list was a bummer. regardless, it can’t be denied that there are far more fans of ‘next generation’ flaming lips than otherwise, especially among a large festival crowd. ‘bad days’ was awesome, but i really didn’t like the feeling/attitude that i was being done a favor by coyne and his band. it’s what i paid for, actually.

By: j. neas

j. neas — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 07:02:47 +0000

@Joel – by the time I decided the Lips were disappointing me, I was way too trapped inside the large crowd to make an effective break for the Very Best. Believe me, I thought about it, as I had an interest in seeing them anyway, but just didn’t make it.

@Blaaaarg – I will admit that I was affected mightily ahead of time by a) seeing the set list and b) the on-stage antics while Grizzly Bear were playing. But I was, seriously, super excited to see the Lips heading up to those very moments. I’m a huge fan and always have been up until the recent albums. I still expected an awesome show and just came away disappointed. That probably did keep me from really participating in the celebratory mood of the show which, undoubtedly, sucked many a person in and I don’t blame them.

By: Cody

Cody — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 21:06:56 +0000

I watched a good majority of the Flaming Lips show on the feed, and it did seem like they ignored the Write the Night thing. Bad Days must have been fun to experience, but their older catalogue has so much more to it that they could have brought out. A year ago I was at one of their shows and had a lengthy conversation with drummer Kliph. He told me how the band has been mulling around the idea of doing a tour where they play smaller venues, tone down the theatricalities, and play longer sets of older material. That would be cool to see. Yet I’m afraid that will never happen, the casual fan doesn’t go to a FLips show for the music but rather the spectacle of their live show, to sing along to “Do You Realize?” while confetti is raining on them. So I could see if they did strip their performance down a lot of people would be disappointed.

By: Satisfied '75

Satisfied '75 — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 19:20:58 +0000

I’ve seen Grizzly Bear numerous times, and their show a few weeks ago at the Wiltern in L.A. was one of my favorite concert experiences of the past two years. I can see how it would be very different in an outside, festival, environment.

- AD

By: marty

marty — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 19:01:27 +0000

In defense of my colleague J Neas, and to second Blaaaarg, it’s been my experience that Grizzly Bear are better in a club than at a festival. I saw them about a year after Yellow House in a tiny bar in Baton Rouge, and it was one of the best shows I saw that year. At Bonnaroo, though, I ended up sleeping through the set after hearing “Two Weeks.” It may have more to do with the fact that it was a hundred degrees and I’d just sat in the sun for a less-than-brilliant Animal Collective set, but I just wasn’t feeling ‘em. Though, like Josh said re: the Lips, everyone else seemed to be pretty into it. I was saving my energy for the Beasties.

By: Blaaaarg

Blaaaarg — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 15:27:41 +0000

Whine, whine, whine.

1) In the right context, as you say, (both the Synagogue in DC and the 9:30 club packed with happy people where I’ve seen them) Grizzly Bear are mind-blowing. Truly splendid. The clarinet booms, the voices coalesce, things go completely fucking right.

2) I too caught the Earth Day Flaming Lips show… however, I was up front and enjoyed myself enormously. One’s enjoyment of a F’Lips show is determined largely by how much you are sucked in by the positive, celebratory vibe they aim to create. And that, in turn, might depend on where you are in the crowd, physically — who’s around you. I agree about the slowed-down songs, though. I hope that on their August Embryonic-backing tour, they bring things to newer, weirder places — the 3 released new songs are prrrrrromising.

By: Joel

Joel — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 15:03:54 +0000

Dude, you didn’t go see The Very Best??? I realize it was them or the Lips, but I found Esau Mwamwaya to be totally thrilling. He kicked things off on a bit of a weak note w/ Chalo, but after that the crowd swelled and people just ate it up. Everybody was waving hands and doing impressionistic, tropical-hula dances. Especially during the Paper Planes rendition, Tengazako. When they were done, that’s when I moseyed over to catch the Lips doing Fight Test, and- as you mentioned- it was basically underwhelming in every respect.

Also, Japandroids and Mew were both really solid. Mew was blasting from the B stage and messing w/ my ability to pay attention to Grizzly Bear, so I went over and got a nice spot by a tree to lean on.

By: ninespeed

ninespeed — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 14:16:05 +0000

Totally out of line for Wayne Coyne to be out on the stage egging on the crowd during Grizzly Bear’s set. I couldn’t believe it either.

By: George

George — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 11:38:00 +0000

Re: The Flaming Lips… I saw them, by surprise actually, at their Earth Day performance on the National Mall (had no idea it was going down, don’t even live in DC, but found myself there that weekend and went to kill some time downtown and there they were.) Anyway, felt the same way about “Fight Test” and “Yoshimi”…both versions were kind of unexciting a capella renditions. After being super excited about this spontaneous treat, I ended up leaving after six songs or so to go check out the National Gallery.