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• Pitchfork Music Festival 2009: Day two

Despite transportation mishaps including last-minute emergency repairs on the bridge next to the train station and a 2-hour lull between trains, Day 2 of Pitchfork Music Festival was a successful venture. Though the issues with the train caused my friend and I to miss our first anticipated act, Cymbals Eat Guitars, we made it to the Festival with plenty of time to enjoy the rest of the day. Read on for a brief breakdown of the acts I checked out:

Fucked Up

-If any of Saturday’s acts best summed up my personal musical tastes it would have to be Fucked Up. My most anticipated act of the day, the band played an hour of (insert any synonym for intense) hardcore punk led by vocalist Damien “Pink Eye” Abraham.

-I’m a huge fan of performers who react to the crowd; tell stories, create interaction, rip countless beach balls with their mouths to wear as a hat…

-Fucked Up was definitely a “love ‘em or hate ‘em” band to the audience as there were no passive attendees, but a definite distaste from more than one person walking past.

Final Fantasy

-I’ve learned that 4:15 p.m. is roughly the time my body wants a nap from a 12-hour day and Final Fantasy to fulfill this with sitting in the grass and enjoying the sights.

-While the act was perfect for my personal mood at the time, I feel like Final Fantasy would be a much greater catch at a smaller, more intimate venue where the sound of violin is not lost amongst thousands of people and competing stages.

-As predicted by my friend earlier in the day, Final Fantasy’s Owen Pallett made a later, secondary appearance as violinist for Beirut—a beautifully orchestrated, winning combination.

Yeasayer

-After catching experimental rockers Yeasayer at last year’s Pygmalion Music Festival, I was definitely anxious for how the group’s sound would translate to an outdoor festival setting. (Wonderfully, for the record).

-Despite a quick, (cold!) rain, Yeasayer revived the remaining crowd with an energy-filled performance of the fan-favorite “2080.”

-Next to Fucked Up, Yeasayer was one of my favorites of the day for the ease with which they held the crowd’s attention through a slight bit of unpleasant weather and an unfailing energy.

Matt & Kim

-The first performance I caught at the B Stage was almost half-an-hour behind schedule. I’m fairly sure this was the only issue with time I have seen all weekend thus far. Not bad, not bad at all.

-The duo’s entrance to Dead Prez was not lost on the audience who reacted more than enthusiastically.

-If I were giving out awards, Matt & Kim would get “Bubbliest” in a second. Regardless of how they sound, I love when performers don’t seem to take themselves too seriously.

The National

-The much-revered the National closed out the night (as did Black Lips on another stage) with a set pushing an hour-and-a-half filled with crowd favorites from "Abel" to "Fake Empire" and "All the Wine."

-Bros love “Mr. November;” the “unofficial theme song for Barack Obama” according to the gentleman behind us.

-For the first time all day, (at least that I witnessed), the crowd maintained a self-inflicted aura of honor for the act with general silence between songs and a lack of screaming song title after song title in hopes that the band would play "their song."

Check back tomorrow for an update on Day 3.