It’s Not The Heat, It’s The Jewidity
I’ll start off by saying I was mildly let down by the Silver Jews set. More on that later.
Saturday in Chicago was all about celebrity sightings.
The day started off around 10AM with a stroll across the street from our hotel to the Old Navy. I needed clean boxers. Don’t ask.
Anyway, once inside I noticed a familiar face browsing through some various plaid materials. It was none other than that nerdy kid from Wet Hot American Summer! You know, the kid who had the 20-sided die. He was shopping with his mom. It was him. He still had the same glasses. It was cool. He was buying a plaid shirt.
Then, Renee and I decided to walk around the city for a while. We ended up stopping for lunch at “the oldest Italian restaurant in Chicago” – The Italian Village. You would not fucking believe who was working the door. Yes that’s right, the guy who plays Pauly on The Sopranos! I had no idea this guy had such a passion for the restaurant industry. Turns out he’s as fine of a maître d' as he is an actor. When he gets done playing around in Hollywood he’ll have a fine career to fall back on. Very smart. Very Italian! That’s a spicy meatball!
After swinging back by the hotel for a little hot toddy and goose-goose we took the green line to Union Park. We were immersed in Pitchfork.
We were immersed in humidity. It was scorching hot.
But, it was still hipster paradise. I expected lots of the ironic facial hair, but not so much of the ironic hair in general. I just don’t get the rattail and mullet comeback. Especially if you’re a ginger (saw a couple ginger mullets today).
And all the guys in jeans and buttoned-up shirts wih ties!? And all the girls trying to look swank in their vintage polyester dresses. WTF were they thinking!? I dumped a girl one time for always choosing style over substance and in this case that would be heatstroke over some shorts or a comfortable tank/skirt combo. There is a time to impress your indie-rock clan and there is a time to survive 98 degree weather.
We know this. That’s why we always choose substance over style (well, almost always) and in this case that meant a shaded area under a tree lined with mulch over heatstroke. It was not quite as comfy as say, a down comforter, but it was nice to get out of the direct sunlight and conserve our energy for the rest of the night.
Before I could close my eyes for a quick nap the next celebrity sighting was upon us. It was none other than our very own Columbus Alive auteur Christopher DeVille. He reported that he “had adjusted” to the heat and was planning to go shoot some pictures of Art Brut or someone.
Speaking of Art Brut, they were pretty cool. They definitely made me want to give their album another shot.
What next? Oh yeah, more sun. More music.
More celebrities! Ryan and Justin from the Terribly Empty Pockets!! They were pleasant to talk to, very humble, they will never be accused of letting their celebrity status go to their head. We’re talkin’ real down-to-Earth guys here. They’re one of us. Or two of us, since there are two of them. Well, there were two of us also, now that I think about it. So, it’s all even. Anyway, they recommended a nice place to eat which turned out to be just as delicious as they described. Cool guys.
Walking to get ice cream I noticed the dude from the Walkman had a pretty sweet Eddie Vedder thing going on. <--- totally ripping on the dude (Vedder isn’t cool anymore!)
The Futureheads pulled off the harmonies live and that was downright impressive. Enjoyed their set. They may have had the “set of the day”, but I missed Man Man and I heard they had the best set at Comfest. So, you be the judge.
Last but not least, my beloved Silver Jews. When I said that thing earlier about being a little bit let down by the Silver Jews you have to understand the context. They were essentially the one band I came to see above all others this weekend (except maybe Os Mutantes). So, I was definitely looking for them to knock it way out of the park. Literally. They played a good mix of new and old stuff, but their delivery was a bit ragged and I thought they played too many slow songs. And they didn’t play the two songs I wanted to hear the most… “Tennessee” and “How Can I Love You (If You Won’t Lie Down)”. It was still a blast to see them and they ultimately won me over with “Slow Education”, “Animal Shapes” and “Horseleg Swastikas”. Good songs will always win over flavor of the month theatrics. Remember that kids. Substance over style.
The day was over and the line to get on the green line back to our hotel was pornographic. Not pornographic like homoerotic. More like just a really fucking long line. It kinda sucked.
But now we’re home, showered and waiting for the delivery of some real Chicago-style pizza and I am typing what I thought would be one or two paragraphs of drivel that has turned into like ten paragraphs of drivel.
Tomorrow, maybe we’ll see Pat Sajak? Or Oprah?
From Pitchfork, with donuts (it’s the next morning now)... off to see CSS, Mission of Burma, Devendra, Yo La Tengo, Spoon and Os Mutantes!
Saturday in Chicago was all about celebrity sightings.
The day started off around 10AM with a stroll across the street from our hotel to the Old Navy. I needed clean boxers. Don’t ask.
Anyway, once inside I noticed a familiar face browsing through some various plaid materials. It was none other than that nerdy kid from Wet Hot American Summer! You know, the kid who had the 20-sided die. He was shopping with his mom. It was him. He still had the same glasses. It was cool. He was buying a plaid shirt.
Then, Renee and I decided to walk around the city for a while. We ended up stopping for lunch at “the oldest Italian restaurant in Chicago” – The Italian Village. You would not fucking believe who was working the door. Yes that’s right, the guy who plays Pauly on The Sopranos! I had no idea this guy had such a passion for the restaurant industry. Turns out he’s as fine of a maître d' as he is an actor. When he gets done playing around in Hollywood he’ll have a fine career to fall back on. Very smart. Very Italian! That’s a spicy meatball!
After swinging back by the hotel for a little hot toddy and goose-goose we took the green line to Union Park. We were immersed in Pitchfork.
We were immersed in humidity. It was scorching hot.
But, it was still hipster paradise. I expected lots of the ironic facial hair, but not so much of the ironic hair in general. I just don’t get the rattail and mullet comeback. Especially if you’re a ginger (saw a couple ginger mullets today).
And all the guys in jeans and buttoned-up shirts wih ties!? And all the girls trying to look swank in their vintage polyester dresses. WTF were they thinking!? I dumped a girl one time for always choosing style over substance and in this case that would be heatstroke over some shorts or a comfortable tank/skirt combo. There is a time to impress your indie-rock clan and there is a time to survive 98 degree weather.
We know this. That’s why we always choose substance over style (well, almost always) and in this case that meant a shaded area under a tree lined with mulch over heatstroke. It was not quite as comfy as say, a down comforter, but it was nice to get out of the direct sunlight and conserve our energy for the rest of the night.
Before I could close my eyes for a quick nap the next celebrity sighting was upon us. It was none other than our very own Columbus Alive auteur Christopher DeVille. He reported that he “had adjusted” to the heat and was planning to go shoot some pictures of Art Brut or someone.
Speaking of Art Brut, they were pretty cool. They definitely made me want to give their album another shot.
What next? Oh yeah, more sun. More music.
More celebrities! Ryan and Justin from the Terribly Empty Pockets!! They were pleasant to talk to, very humble, they will never be accused of letting their celebrity status go to their head. We’re talkin’ real down-to-Earth guys here. They’re one of us. Or two of us, since there are two of them. Well, there were two of us also, now that I think about it. So, it’s all even. Anyway, they recommended a nice place to eat which turned out to be just as delicious as they described. Cool guys.
Walking to get ice cream I noticed the dude from the Walkman had a pretty sweet Eddie Vedder thing going on. <--- totally ripping on the dude (Vedder isn’t cool anymore!)
The Futureheads pulled off the harmonies live and that was downright impressive. Enjoyed their set. They may have had the “set of the day”, but I missed Man Man and I heard they had the best set at Comfest. So, you be the judge.
Last but not least, my beloved Silver Jews. When I said that thing earlier about being a little bit let down by the Silver Jews you have to understand the context. They were essentially the one band I came to see above all others this weekend (except maybe Os Mutantes). So, I was definitely looking for them to knock it way out of the park. Literally. They played a good mix of new and old stuff, but their delivery was a bit ragged and I thought they played too many slow songs. And they didn’t play the two songs I wanted to hear the most… “Tennessee” and “How Can I Love You (If You Won’t Lie Down)”. It was still a blast to see them and they ultimately won me over with “Slow Education”, “Animal Shapes” and “Horseleg Swastikas”. Good songs will always win over flavor of the month theatrics. Remember that kids. Substance over style.
The day was over and the line to get on the green line back to our hotel was pornographic. Not pornographic like homoerotic. More like just a really fucking long line. It kinda sucked.
But now we’re home, showered and waiting for the delivery of some real Chicago-style pizza and I am typing what I thought would be one or two paragraphs of drivel that has turned into like ten paragraphs of drivel.
Tomorrow, maybe we’ll see Pat Sajak? Or Oprah?
From Pitchfork, with donuts (it’s the next morning now)... off to see CSS, Mission of Burma, Devendra, Yo La Tengo, Spoon and Os Mutantes!
4 Comments:
yeah i never understood wanting to look like a complete fucking dipshit to gain some sort of hipster cred. Ironic facial hair and mullets are for assholes. Thanks for the cool update bobby. Have a safe trip back to C-bus.
the best dressed dude at the whole festival was one of the guys from Matmos. he had a crew cut, dress pants, a tucked-in short-sleave white dress shirt, a skinny black tie and some MIB sunglasses. he stuck out like a sore thumb... looked like a complete narc. it was sweet.
TMI about the boxer shorts, bobby. i won't ask.
yah the second day was the best. banhart, spoon, liars (even though it was a subpar liars set), spank rock, matmos, os mutantes and more i'm not remembering.
we ran into about 20 clevelanders while i was there including sam..
the heat and crowds prevented me from taking many band photos but i got a few of the crowd/lawns. i also shot a 5-frame panoramic of the lawn that encompassed about 280 degrees of the park so not all was lost.
i'm interested in seeing photos of others while they were at pitchfork, maybe they can send the links here.
BTW: i'm envious of that plush hotel you stayed, the 2 of us had a single bed and a room that was only slightly larger at a hostel without AC!
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