Pitchfork Music Festival, Day 3 | Chicago, IL

The final day in Chicago definitely didn't disappoint, as most of the performers turned out great sets.

The day kicked off with Atlanta's Deerhunter. Lead vocaist Bradford Cox, who isn't anorexic, but suffers from Marfan Syndrome, sported a dress as he has been lately, and also had a glove on which little puppets dangled off strings from the fingers. It was quite strange, but the band put on a wonderful performance with Cox's looped, reverbed vocals a la Animal Collective, while the band's laid back punk feel was similar to Sonic Youth. A great way to start the last day of the festival, and it would only get better.

I stuck around the Connector Stage to see Menomena. I was startled to discover that the band is only a three piece, as Brent Knopf manned guitar, keys, and glockenspiel, while Justin Harris took care of guitar, bass, and saxophone. All three members share vocals, and the band played a great set, featuring songs mostly from its latest release Friend and Foe. It's quite amazing how much music the three Portland boys could make, as they rocked it with great piano lines, bass and guitar riffs and great drumming.

I then took a break to grab a bite to eat and check out the poster sale, as I had seen Junior Boys a few months back and their live show is pretty much just like the album tracks cut for cut, and I know nothing about The Sea and Cake. It would be the Aluminum Stage the rest of the day, as I staked out a spot for the greatest man in showbusiness, Jamie Lidell. I had seen Lidell about this time last year in Toronto, and immediately fell in love with his combination of soul singing and electronic noodling. This time around it was no different, as Jamie came out sporting his usual robe, and donning an unusual turban with strips of colored aluminum foil through which he was somehow still able to see and sing. Opening with "Game for Fools" which was almost acapella, Lidell then launched into his usual building of his beats live through beat-boxing and looping, and singing the original songs over it. He also debuted a new track which was quite catchy and wonderful, although the name of it escapes me. I'll say it before and say it again, Jamie Lidell is the best kept secret in music right now, but it may not stay that way after his wonderfu performance at the festival.

I immediately claimed Lidell's set the best of the festival, but merely an hour later I was proved wrong, when Of Montreal took the stage. Kevin Barnes and co. came with more crazy getups, three headed tigers, masked men in spandex, gold women serving strange red substances, and ballons filled with glitter than you can think of. Not to mention they played a fantastic set that pulled almost exclusively from their latest, Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?, save for a new song, "Softcore" which was prefaced with the band in football attire throwing passes to each other as well as the crowd, ending the set with "The Party's Crashing Us," and returing for an encore with a cover of The Kinks "All Day and All of the Night." Easily the my favorite performance of the weekend.

I then decided that I need to see the headliner, since I had not seen one at the festival last year, and skipped out on Yoko Ono the night before. I was barely familiar with De La Soul's 3 Feet High and Rising, but it didn't matter as the group blazed through songs spanning their nearly 20 year career. Getting the crowd amped with the unintentionally funny statements "give it up for the Pitchfork" and "give it up for the Pornogrpahers (referring to the New Pornographers), they doin' their thing" was forgiveable as they got the crowd enthusiastically involved throughout the set. If their was a roof, it would have nearly came down when the group brought out their special guest, 3 Feet High.. producer and hip-hop legend Prince Paul. Paul spun, and also did one short verse as the crowd went wild. De La Soul was a wonderful way to close out another fantastic weekend at the Pitchfork Festival.

More pics will be up in the coming weeks, keep it tuned.