* After those two scorching, afternoon sets by No Age and Off!, I was content to call it a day. I knew, save Kurt Cobain being resurrected on the festival grounds for a surprise headlining set, no one would come close to matching them. No one did.
* Do you miss 107.3 the Wave? I know a lot of doctors miss their smooth jazz sounds. I had my own Wave flashback at 6 PM Saturday as I wandered the festival grounds. First, there was the Kenny G, saxophone solo coming from the stage where Destroyer was playing. Then, trying my hardest to fight back the Kenny G induced hurl, I headed over to the side stage where Radio Dept. were playing a new-age, pop song. I wanted to get my blood drawn, or, to get feet amputed, or to have someone just pull the blessed plug.
* Nostalgia does have its limits. That’s what I learned from watching the Dismemberment Plan. Sure, their blend of DC-punk meets dance-rock was new and invigorating at the turn of the century, but on this day the people most excited to see The Dismemberment Plan were the band, The Dismemberment Plan. It was evident when you looked out at all those bored faces that no one wanted to hear Death Cab for Cutie with funky bass, and that’s exactly what they sounded like on Saturday.
* Zola Jesus looked great on the side stage, playing opposite DJ Shadow. She was sporting this big, black, and poofy prom dress while the two keyboardists and the drummer were wearing all-business, black. Still, as much as I love that voice of hers — It’s bold, billowing, and can seemingly hit multiple notes at once — She still needs more than one or two songs. Each number seemed to be made from the same dark and gothic, synth-pop mold, channeling Siouxsie Sioux, and lifting keyboard melodies from the more brooding parts of The Cure’s catalog.
* My favorite shirt on Saturday belonged to the young man who was rockin’ the Shawn Kemp, Team USA Basketball jersey. Someone has to rep the NBA’s all-time greatest, baby-making power forward, right? Ok, maybe not.
* Now, about that Saturday headliner who wasn’t No Age, or Off!, or a resurrected Cobain, but Fleet Foxes. I do have to give them some credit. They’re not nearly as sleep-inducing as they used to be and the rocking chair is gone. They’ve even brought a little jam-band instrumentation into their quiet, folk mix. And, you still can’t find fault those harmonies. Next to classic CSN&Y nobody does it better. Still, they have a ways to go before they can be considered headliners. You want the entire day of the festival to build to the last act. You want people to be jacked to see the that band. What you don’t want is for people to leave early (And quite a few did) before or during that set. With DJ Shadow and Fleet Foxes both misplaced in Saturday’s lineup, it makes me wonder if there was another band Pitchfork had in mind for the top slot, but couldn’t get to sign.
