Agenda: Your reason for living arrives
It’s finally here. Odds are, no matter what kind of nerd (movie, music) you are, your object of obsession is finally here this weekend after endless months and months of agonizing. Rory’s First Kiss The Dark Knight finally opens this weekend, and The A.V. Club was fortunate enough to attend an early IMAX screening last week—and not to give anything away (other than Batman meeting his untimely demise within the first 15 minutes of the film), but Christian Bale and Co. more than justify the hype. Chicago’s explicit prominence in the movie is a bit distracting, but it’s just as easy to pretend it’s really Gotham as it is for the cast to pretend Maggie Gyllenhaal is really Katie Holmes.
Hell, that’s even easier than pretending you read Pitchfork. At least in The Dark Knight you can silently feign familiarity with the movie’s subtle nods to the enduring franchise; it’s tougher being caught in a white lie while talking independent music at your favorite record store. This week also ushers in Pitchfork Music Festival (Friday through Sunday, Union Park), and in some ways, the fest might peak on its first day. A reunited Sebadoh performs Bubble And Scrape (coincidentally mere weeks after a deluxe version of the 1993 album has been issued), Public Enemy (featuring reality-TV star Flavor Flav) performs It Holds A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back, and Mission Of Burma performs Vs. That’s not to discount the other days—Spoon, Dinosaur Jr. (yes, not one, but two chances to see Lou Barlow), Ghostface, Les Savy Fav, The Apples In Stereo, and, of course, a beyond-rare performance from ex-Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker are all worth a look, but choose days wisely: three-day passes have long since sold out.
If none of that gets your goat, others probably will: Coldplay (Tuesday and Wednesday, United Center), Chris Rock (Saturday, Chicago Theatre), and the hip-hop-tastic Rock The Bells (Saturday, First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre)—featuring A Tribe Called Quest, Nas, and Mos Def. So no being a hermit and finally watching the director’s commentary on Click: There’s plenty to do this week.
