Wolf Parade at Pitchfork Music Festival 2010: Live review

It might be hard to keep your wolves straight with all the animal-themed name bands competing in the indie rock world. Canadian troupe Wolf Parade (an indie supergroup of sorts, featuring members of Handsome Furs and Sunset Rubdown) marched its way onto the 2010 Pitchfork bill via three Sub Pop albums—including the most recent, Expo 86. Garnering a coveted 6:15pm slot, the Modest Mouse favorites (originally taken under the wing of Modest front man Isaac Brock) decided on a less is more strategy announcing early on in their set, “We don’t have a lot to say so we’re gonna try to just play as much as we can.”

Omitting any awkward small talk with the audience, Wolf Parade launched into a music lover’s dream set playing a diverse set of tunes which spanned its entire six-year song catalog and finding them realizing a full expansive potential through Connector stage's primed sound system. As sweaty fans danced and drank cheap Dutch beer under the burning hot sun, sunny songs like “Soldiers Grin” brightened up the already sweltering afternoon. Wolf Parade’s dynamic and well-orchestrated set only reminded us Midwesterners that it is still worth craning our heard towards the northern hemisphere to discover our new favorite bands.

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