Wicker Park Fest

NOMO

Photo: Doug Coombe

Of the countless neighborhood weekend fests offered throughout the summer, none compares to Wicker Park’s annual throwdown. Rather than relying on traditional street-fest shtick like rehabbed retro-rockers and cover bands, local promoters Silver Wrapper and House Call Entertainment always serve up plenty of indie stalwarts to go along with all the corn dogs and beer.

House Call, booker of Subterranean and Beat Kitchen, deserves a pat on the back for having landed the newly reunited Polvo for a headlining slot Saturday night. In the ’90s, the beloved North Carolina foursome made its name playing haunting indie tunes defined by guitars that sounded more like sitars. Tim Kinsella’s avant-pop collective, Joan of Arc, also appears, supporting its latest album—the postromance reckoning Boo Human (Polyvinyl). Up-and-coming indies Ra Ra Riot and Bishop Allen round out the North Stage lineup, along with local stalwarts the 1900s and Brighton, MA.

Meanwhile, the South Stage offers a ton of club-friendly fare such as Bassnectar and Daedelus, as well as former Chicagoan Guillermo Scott Herren—reprising his glitch-hopping alter ego, Prefuse 73, in a follow-up to his appearance on the same stage last year. Be sure to catch Michigan Afro-pop futurists NOMO, who hit early at 3:15pm.

Sunday promises to be ear-crushingly heavy, featuring a headlining performance by reigning postmetal masters Isis, in addition to similarly punishing Isis-offshoot Red Sparowes and the confoundingly named (and far-from-dub) Dub Trio. California shoegazers Film School and Ontario pop outfit the Most Serene Republic keep the North Stage abuzz, while the South Stage spotlights frat-friendlier fare like Austin singer-songwriter Bob Schneider and the jamcentric Charlie Hunter Trio. The Wicker Park and Bucktown Chamber of Commerce requests only a $5 donation per day, making this grab bag of talent the best bargain of the year.