OK, so I might have been wrong yesterday when I said !!!'s lead singer Nic Offer could be the most entertaining frontman around. After witnessing my first Les Savy Fav show Sunday afternoon, I think Tim Harrington, the bald-headed, beer-bellied wild man who fronts this legendary punk band, takes the cake.
During "Patty Lee," Harrington made his way deep into the packed crowd as he sang (and screamed) his way through sweaty fans. Not only were his antics fun to watch, he was also quite the comedian in between songs. After just about every tune, Harrington walked back to his bandmates to find out what they'd play next. 'Cool, I love that song,' he'd respond.
Harrington had fun spouting water, aka "magic dream juice," into the crowd.
A couple times, the band would have to start playing the first few riffs of a song to get Harrington back to the concert at hand. He went through several costumes including a Sherlock Holmes get-up, his tight red spandex (with one legged completed ripped-off) and a black mask with a red cape (see the photos below). But antics aside, the music rocked. "The Sweat Descends," "Yawn Yawn Yawn," and "What Would Wolves Do?" proved that it's the music (not the wild man) that has made this band. I had always heard Les Savy Fav was notorious for their live show, and it was very entertaining. But, in my opinion, the music sounds even better on their albums. After all, it must be hard to nail a song when you're barrelling through a sweaty crowd.
The other band that really made a positive impression Sunday was Cut Copy. It may have been a 25-minute teaser, but it was 25 of the best minutes of the weekend. The Australian dance-music gurus were supposed to begin at 8:25 p.m., but 30 minutes passed and the crowd was getting antsy. Finally, someone announced that Cut Copy was running late, so the show was being postponed (that would've been nice to know at 8:25 p.m.).
Since it was 9 p.m., we decided to go check out Spoon. With only an hour left until the curfew, there was a good chance Cut Copy might not be playing. We headed over to the main stage in time to catch "My Mathematical Mind" (now starring in an Acura commercial) and "Rhythm & Soul."
Then, Spoon played a few low-key songs and we were able to hear some dance music coming from the Balance Stage. We rushed over to discover Cut Copy playing to a much smaller crowd. We got there at about 9:40 p.m., so we only got about 20 minutes. (I'm not sure what time they actually took the stage). It was a complete dance party. Cut Copy had the normally sedate Pitchfork crowd going nuts - people were jumping in the air and throwing their fists. I actually felt the earth shake at Union Park. And unlike some of the other bands this weekend, I thought their music translated even better in a live setting. The bass was pumping and the band was instigating the dance party with some moves of their own. During their final 20 minutes, they ran through great renditions of "Lights & Music," "Future" and set closer "Hearts on Fire." (To get an idea, check out this Youtube clip).
Overall, Sunday was hotter and seemed a lot more crowded than Saturday - even though Saturday was the first to sell out. A few other highlights were Raekwon and Ghostface, who played some Wu-Tang classics including verses from C.R.E.A.M., and Spiritualized, who played its laid-back rock to a massive crowd on the Aluminum Stage.
The many looks of Les Savy Fav's Tim Harrington:
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Jim Collins
Jim Collins follows Chicago's live music scene for the Windy Citizen with his Live Wire blog. He recently graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a master's degree in new media. Prior to that, he worked as a reporter for one of the Sun Times News Group's suburban newspapers and a small daily in southwestern Michigan. Jim's also a music junkie, who appreciates a wide range of musical tastes. From hipster to hippy, raver to rapper, he likes it all. More
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