Pitchfork day 2 review & pics (The Breeders, Swans, Savages, White Lung, KEN mode, Pissed Jeans, Julia Holter & more)

photos by James Richards IV & Cory Dewald
words by Zach Pollack & Milos Markicevic

Phosphorescent / The Breeders / fans
Pitchfork Festival - Day 2 - 7/20/2013
Pitchfork Festival Day 2 - 7/20/2013

On Saturday afternoon (7/20), it was back to Union Park for day two of the 2013 Pitchfork Music Festival. As we discussed in our festival previews, yesterday was absolutely stacked as far as heavier offerings go. In sharp programming though, Julia Holter, Phosphorescent, Low, and Belle and Sebastian were all great inclusions on the lineup. Check out our pictures and reviews from day 1 of the festival, and continue reading on for a recap of day two.

The rain that cut Bjork's show short last night had a positive effect today in that it brought on much cooler temperatures for festival goers. Canadian punk favorites White Lung kicked things off on the Green Stage at 1:00PM and played a ferocious set that sparked a mini-mosh pit. Frontwoman Mish Way sneered and yowled into her mic while festival volunteers scrambled to keep the crowd cool by spraying water bottles on them. (A great thing if you're anticipating it, but quite strange if you hadn't been paying attention.) Near the end of their set, Way introduced a new song called "Blow it South," the band's ode to Florida. Before finishing things off the sassy punk rocker made an apology to the on-deck band in the form of "sorry who has to play next, I think I ruined the mic with lipstick." She didn't sound that sorry though. -MM

Unfortunately, Winnipeg's pummeling KEN mode were scheduled to play directly against White Lung on the Blue Stage. Luckily (and unsurprisingly), there wasn't a damn unfortunate aspect to their set. A small early crowd gathered to hear intense frontman Jesse Matthewson yell "NO- I'M IN CONTROL" at them. The three-piece, who sound much larger than that, exhibit such precision during their live shows. The really awesome thing is that unlike many precise outfits, KEN find a way to achieve that without coming off as robotic. -ZP

Sub Pop act Pissed Jeans played the very first set on the Red Stage a few minutes after White Lung wrapped up their performance. The band's guitarist spoke to the crowd first and joked that they would need at least another half an hour to get ready, but started their set three minutes later. Frontman Matt Korvette was probably the biggest character to set foot on any stage at today's festival. Bursting with energy, he grabbed the mic and laughingly said "Sorry if I'm a little excited but I just found out how much we're getting paid for this." After that he yelled "Get that Bjork money! / That Belle and Sebastian money!" and jockingly mentioned a few other big name musicians in a similar fashion. The band were intense, especially Korvette, who made his way across the stage like a rabid animal, knocking over his mic stand, and later shredding two t-shirts. Korvette screamed into his mic with such force that it appeared his vocal chords would snap at any moment. Near the end of their set, the band told the crowd that they had reached their career peak with today's performance and that it would be best to retire "and pursue other hobbies." At one point, I believe Korvette may have been channeling "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, and ripped the stage clock off of the support structure. "Do you know what time it is?" he screamed, "It's 1PM, in case you didnt know." Though the sludge induced punk carnage may have left some people's ears ringing, the band's sense of humor and carefree attitude won even non-fans over. -MM

By the time Pissed Jeans were busy scrambling folks' brains over at the Red Stage, Los Angeles' Julia Holter was getting started at the Blue. Her output is enchanting and understated, but also hushed, which was maybe not the best choice to run against Korvette and co. Regardless, Holter seemed to make the best of the situation and played beautifully. She performed a bunch of songs from her forthcoming Loud City Song, as well as material from Ekstasis and Tragedy. After a bit of time in the shade spent with Ms. Holter, I headed back into the sun for Phosphorescent over at the Green Stage. -ZP

Phosphorescent really took me by surprise with the release of this year's Muchacho. I'd liked them prior to the album, but I've mostly just been thrilled that they were able to craft a new LP where every single song is great. Matthew Houck and co. were in top form yesterday afternoon too, providing a bit of solace from the heaviness of the day. Even though Houck sings of pain and anguish at times, the set was extremely feel-good and he seemed to be enjoying himself on stage as well. The biggest set highlight for me was the expertly-penned "Song for Zula." It's interesting in that it's more of an '80s take on what Phosphorescent have become so great at, but yeah, what a tune. -ZP

After Phosphorescent, I stuck around that side of the park waiting for ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead to take the Red Stage at 3:20PM. Trail of Dead just don't fuck around, and their Pitchfork Fest performance didn't stray from that notion. It's no-frills rock in the same way that Queens of the Stone Age are incredibly badass, and the large crowd they drew really ate it up. ToD was a nice precursor to the block of Savages / Metz / Swans that would soon follow. -ZP

Tampa Bay natives Merchandise returned to Chicago to play at the festival's shaded Blue Stage around 3:45PM. The band have an additional member this time around, Elsner Nino, who has permanently replaced the band's old drum machine. The addition of a live drummer did wonders for the band's overall sound, adding a louder, more organic style to their already tight post-punk songs. The outfit played a few songs from their most recent Totale Night EP but the highlight of the show for this writer was "In a Nightmare Room" from Children of Desire, a song that made Merchandise a personal favorite of mine last year. -MM

Female post punkers Savages were probably the most hyped band announced to be playing at Pitchfork Fest this year, and they absolutely did not disappoint. Not only did the band deliver, they even got nods of approval from Swans' Michael Gira, who mentioned them during his set later in the day. The ladies performed a tighter-than-tight set -- each member's contributions stood out but they performed in such unison with no overshadowing. Frontwoman Jehnny Beth looked slightly possessed while she swayed her hands in rhythmic motions, cocking her head back and forth in synch with the drums. -MM

I left Savages a bit early in order to get a great spot for Swans at the nearby Red Stage. (I also went to see Savages at Sound Opinions Live on Thursday.) "What's your favorite band?" has always been a very tough question for me, but over the past year I've just realized I love and want to listen to Swans more than anyone else. I am not a psychopath... I promise. Michael Gira are co. began their set with "new" song // recent live staple "To Be Kind." At times, it's often hard to be able to tell exactly what tune Swans are performing, and there's also a plethora of unreleased material they play on the regular. "Oxygen" is one of those, which came a bit later in the set. Gira bellows, "I steal all the oxygen" as he spins a tale of his own death and ascent to heaven. Basically, it rules. "Oxygen" is also fairly funky/psychedelic, a somewhat new territory for the outfit. I'd be quite satisfied if that's the direction things are heading on their planned next album. They also ripped out the 32-minute "The Seer" from 2012's excellent LP of the same name. Swans performed four-songs yesterday, including "Toussaint Louverture Song," whereas many other festival acts were able to hammer out roughly ten. -ZP

Fresh from announcing her departure from The Pixies, Kim Deal played Pitchfork Fest with her reunited Breeders as the original 1993 lineup. Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the band's sophomore album Last Splash, they performed the album in its entirety to a crowd of excited and nostalgic fans. There were some minor technical difficulties at the start of the show with Deal's vocals being barely audible over the speakers, but the problem was quickly nipped. Deal was in good spirits as well, constantly talking up the crowd with some behind the scenes stories that included sampling a mini Moog. Now if Deal would just join up with The Pixies at Riot Fest... but I'm not holding my breath. -MM

Next up after The Breeders were Low, over at the Blue (best) Stage. In our festival preview, I spoke about the Duluth trio as maybe not being the most obvious choice for a festival act but that it would work out nicely. Well, I'd even go so far as to say their set yesterday was fantastic. The setlist was perfect -- quite a few numbers from this year's excellent The Invisible Way, "Monkey" and "Pissing" from The Great Destroyer, and "Stay" off of Long Division -- and it felt like one of those performances that stitches together all in attendance with an emotional bond. It was one of the best sets I've seen so far this weekend. -ZP

Soft spoken indie rockers Belle and Sebastian were a reprieve of sorts to festival goers who had spent the day seeing abrasive rock bands and the eardrum-shattering Swans set earlier in the afternoon (I forgot to bring earplugs...). A slight drizzle started around the band's fourth or fifth song but did not cut the show short like yesterday. Frontman Stuart Murdoch charmed audience members with his kind words, stating Chicago is much more relaxing than New York. Murdoch also engaged with audience members, inviting fans on stage, and even letting one fan draw on his face with mascara. Despite performing in a large festival setting during the headlining slot, the band managed to play one of the most intimate shows of the day. -MM

More pictures from day 2 below...

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White Lung (by James)

Pitchfork Festival - Day 2 - 7/20/2013