Kurt Vile + Raekwon + Jon Spencer Blues Explosion + Bear in Heaven + LCD Soundsystem at Pitchfork Music Festival 2010: Live review

Has anyone figured out what the difference is between Heineken Light and Amstel Light? No doubt there are more important questions to be answered this weekend, but my light beer allergy hasn't permitted me to mete the difference. Regardless, the imported suds flowed, indie rock surged and the sun bore down relentlessly throughout Saturday at the sixth edition of Pitchfork Fest. I caught the tail end of Kurt Vile’s set this afternoon, and as a native Philadelphian, I was thrilled to see the City of Brotherly Love representing in full force. Not only did fellow Philly rockers Free Energy open earlier on the Aluminum Stage, but the world-famous Phillies clobbered the Cubs four to one across town at Wrigley Field. An acid-rock troubadour in the vintage mold, shaggy long hair and all, Vile pulled out all the stops for his Balance stage set, enlisting harpist Mary Lattimore of Espers satellite the Valerie Project, and later chugging through psych-folk rockers like "Freak Train" off his addictive Matador debut LP Childish Prodigy. Backed by a sympathetic cast including longtime collaborator and War on Drugs frontman Adam Granduciel on guitar, Vile delivered in spades.

Last year the Aluminum stage brought a rumor-laden set from rapper DOOM, née MF Doom—Was he really hiding in the trunk of a Dodge Charger parked behind the stage? (No, he was in the passenger seat.) Was that even him behind the trademark metal mask (Pitchfork Fest cofounder and producer Mike Reed insists it was). Fortunately, that kind of ambiguity was absent this year. Still, rapper Raekwon's set got off to a shaky start following DJ Symphony's long-winded introduction. "How many people bought 36 Chambers?" Symphony asked before hilariously imploring the crowd to "Buy it again!" A painfully awkward silence ensued for several minutes, but once the Shaolin chef hit the stage all was forgiven. Half his set was spent big upping the Wu-Tang crew, unsurprisingly, but Rae fit in some freestyle a cappella verses, with dazzling b-boy support from the agile youngsters in Chi-Town Finest Breakers. "I love this hip-hop shit,” bellowed the Staten island MC, before wrapping up his second Pitchfork appearance in as many years.

One of my most anticipated acts this year, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, commanded attention on the Connector Stage, despite disappointingly few high kicks and nary much twangy blooze-rock shtick. That said, lanky guitarist Judah Bauer sported a straw cowboy hat, suggesting a breezy laid-back demeanor and with good reason. It was only a few years back that Bauer backed Cat Power on the very same stage. Just as it was then, this crowd was impressively thick, especially considering many audience members likely weren't even conceived when the band debuted two decades ago. A spate of Shout! Factory reissues have recently been released in tandem with the trio’s comeback, and though Spencer doesn't have the umph of his glory days—remember, this is the same guy whose old band Pussy Galore covered Exile on Main Street front to back in an indulgently lo-fi and grotesquely art-punk reimagining—he still kicked it harder than many contemporary headlininers would on their best day. Drummer Russell Simins nestled into the funky pocket of "Bellbottoms" after Spencer drawled "That’s the stuff/The Blues Explosion." It was self-aggrandizing, soul-dripping rock & roll at its best—swagger heavy and for today at least, ego-sustaining.

My only regret today was having missed Freddie Gibbs' performance. From what I’m told, the Gary native and LA transplant absolutely destroyed the Balance stage with a face-melting set. The Pitchfork-hyped mixtape rapper hit like he had something to prove, and apparently did so, leaping into the audience and taking advantage of the most intimate of the three stages. That he was killing on the same stage that had just seen the likes of glammy local garage brats the Smith Westerns and the head-bobbing prog jams of NYC's Bear in Heaven speaks volumes about the diversity coursing through this three-day festival.

Tonight's centerpiece was the club phenomenon known as LCD Soundsystem, the brainchild of singer, drummer and engineering ace James Murphy. 15 years ago the NYC-based audio geek was recording niche postpunk by the likes of June of 44 and bashing away behind the kit in his own band Speed King. Tonight, he seemed just as comfortable as the spotlit frontman peering over a rapt audience from the lip of the Aluminum stage, in what may be his last ever tour as LCD if we’re to take him at his word. Maybe because of that, Murphy and his impressive backing band were on fire, playing a crowd-pleasing set of electro-pop anthems like “Drunk Girls” and All My Friends.”A mirror ball hung from the rafters like an energy drink–infused cherry topping a disco-punk sundae, momentarily making all of us forget that we were on Chicago Park District property and instead occupying some glow stick–lit middle ground between Studio 54 and a rave tent.

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