Oh Yeah, Captain Fudge and the Fantasies

Amy sings with Prince for Caroline – This is a found recording of a girl named Amy singing along with Prince’s “Kiss” at the start of a mix cd that she made for her girlfriend Caroline. Amy makes flirtatious comments throughout the track ranging from cryptic in-jokes and adorable come-ons to possessive (and very pushy) declarations of love. It’s a fascinating document of a person putting their heart on the line, and the most devastating thing about it is that it’s hard to imagine Caroline not being put off by Amy’s earnest intensity. When Amy says “you’ve got to love me, Caroline, because I love you so much, and you will never love me as much as I love you” on the bridge, I can’t help but feel that it was probably a very accurate assessment of their relationship. I hope for Amy’s sake that I am wrong! (Many thanks to WFMU’s The Professor for acquiring this track and broadcasting it on The Audio Kitchen.)

Pitchfork’s Intonation Music Festival ought to become the new template for outdoor multi-band shows in the United States. The park was set up very well, and ideal for a show of this size. The prices, even for concessions, were entirely reasonable. The audience was mellow and low key, but definitely put forth a huge amount of enthusiasm when the artists called for it. Everything ran smoothly, and everyone seemed comfortable and happy even in spite of some rather intense heat. The most encouraging thing about the festival is that it proves that a line up of artists who are either relatively unknown or smallish cult acts can be commercially successful and draw a few thousand people. Sure, a lot of it has to do with the Pitchfork brand name and that it happened in Chicago, but it’s a very positive thing no matter what.

The M’s – Amiable indie rock, probably didn’t get as much attention from me as they deserved. 6.3

AC Newman – It was great to hear all of those songs from The Slow Wonder played live, especially “Secretarial,” “The Town Halo,” and “On The Table,” which was actually played twice in a row at the beginning because Newman’s guitar was out of tune the first time. He also played a very good Tall Dwarfs song that I only kinda knew and can’t remember the title of – it’s the one with the line “I want to screw you” in the chorus. 8.7

Magnolia Electric Company – Not very compelling but a fine soundtrack for sitting in the shade and chatting. 4.9

Four Tet – Pretty good, even if it got to be a little much towards the end. Not much to look at, but it worked pretty well if you were on the other side of the park waiting on line for concessions, as I was at the time. 6.5

Broken Social Scene – I didn’t watch this, but listened to it in the shade near the other stage while waiting for the Go! Team. It was okay. 5.2

The Go! Team – So much fun! The audience loved them, and they seemed to be having a great time. The lead vocalist is extremely charming and charismatic, especially when she was dancing with all the little black kids (who had previously been dancing to Four Tet by the public pool adjacent to the park) they brought on stage at the end for “Ladyflash.” They played a few brand new songs, and they were just as good, if not better, than the songs from the first album. 9.3

Prefuse 73 – What I heard sounded pretty good, but I left during this set. 6.0

Dungen – They are much better live than on album. Stoner psychedelia always goes over well in the early afternoon at an outdoor festival. The bass player was particularly good, both in terms of playing, and in stage presence. 7.3

Out Hud – Oh. My. God. Out Hud were incredible. They only played five songs and skipped my favorite (“It’s For You”), but it didn’t matter, they were so on, and got a huge number of people to dance nonstop in the punishing midday sun. I can’t believe I’ve never bothered to see them play before. I need to do it again sometime soon. Wow. 9.5

The Hold Steady – Very enjoyable for about 15 minutes, and then I walked away and met up with some friends. 6.4

Andrew Bird – This was sort of ideal for sitting in the shade and taking it easy in the middle of the day. Very beautiful at times; I’m going to have to listen to the album again. 6.5

Deerhoof – I had intended to get closer to Deerhoof, but never got around to it. It sounded okay from across the park, but nothing really amazing. 5.6

The Wrens – I just thought they were alright. Apparently the front section for their show was packed full of superenthusiastic Wrens fans. Well, good for them. 5.1

Les Savy Fav – I’d always been okay with Les Savy Fav, but hadn’t ever bothered to see them. What a mistake. This set was intense, and I had a perfect spot for it, right on the line so I could view Tim Harrington’s over the top antics on stage as well as watch the front of the crowd sing along and flip out to every single song in the show. Harrington was an amazing thing to see, starting off in red short shorts and a tank top and eventually stripping down to a speedo and sneakers; making out with people that he brought on stage; setting up a slip n’ slide in the audience halfway through the show; getting a huge number of people in the crowd to squat down and make guttural noises through the middle of “She Believes You;” leading one of the most incredible call and response breakdowns I’ve ever witnessed in “ROME,” and dancing with a crazy Napoleon Dynamite-looking dude who got up on stage towards the end. I’m still overwhelmed by this show. Easily one of the best punk shows I’ve ever seen, and probably ever will see. 9.5

The Decemberists – I think I get the Decemberists thing a lot more live than on record. Their albums are so mannered and mellow compared to their performance, which is very driven by audience participation and silly stage antics. Very fun, even though they did not play “The Engine Driver.” 7.6