Crunching Pitchfork Fest's numbers

Crack out the abacus: Any true Pitchfork Media devotee knows there's simply no way to enjoy music without assigning it a numerical value rounded to the nearest tenth. Regardless of how you feel about the polarizing site, though, it's impossible to ignore the bands it advocates. Pitchfork invades Union Park in the West Loop for the third year in a row, from Friday, July 18 to Sunday, July 20, and like last year, after The A.V. Club tabulated review scores for the most recent full-length releases of bands performing at the festival. Also like last year, Pitchfork earned itself an 8.2 for this weekend's lineup (rounded up from 8.17). It may not seem like much, but considering the first year ranked an average of 7.7, at least the festival seemingly promises to be as good as last year. Maybe. Your mileage may vary; there's no proof numbers translate into an enjoyable weekend of music from bands you may or may not have heard of before.

For instance, Mission Of Burma and the oft-touring The Hold Steady earned the highest marks among all the 41 bands, with a 9.5 and 9.4 respectively. It makes sense, then, that Mission Of Burma kicks off the whole shebang on Friday performing its seminal album Vs., though The Hold Steady gets more prominent billing later in the night on Saturday. However, the number game seems screwier than ever at this festival: Sebadoh follows Mission Of Burma playing its 1993 album Bubble And Scrape—which was recently released as a re-mastered deluxe album (and not a double LP as mistakenly reported on the Internet)—but that album inexplicably nets a 9.2. No disrespect to Lou Barlow and his band, the album's good—but not that good. Curiously, opening night limps to a close with Public Enemy performing its equally notable It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back, but the group's most recent, How You Sell Soul To A Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul???, scored 7.1.

That night's a bit of an anomaly compared to the others: Saturday and Sunday start with higher-scoring bands, dip for a couple of hours, then finish considerably stronger. Still, for every tent-pole act, there are more than a few stragglers. This lineup's lowest-scoring group earned a 5.9, a hall-of-shame honor that goes to Elf Power and this year's gentle In A Cave. Other dawdlers include good-enough-for-Stephen Colbert The Apples In Stereo (6.5) and Melvins-inspired Boris (6.4).

Then there's the usual slew of "buzz bin" indie bands: Bon Iver (8.1), Fleet Foxes (9.0), Jay Reatard (8.1), Vampire Weekend (8.8), Fuck Buttons (8.6), No Age (9.2), Extra Golden (7.4), Atlas Sound (8.6), High Places, Times New Viking (8.4), and Cut Copy (8.8). There isn't much hip-hop action (probably because Rock The Bells has siphoned off most of the biggest names on Saturday at First Midwest bank Amphitheater), but Ghostface Killah (8.0) and Raekwon help shake things up a bit with a nice respite from the white-boy indie rock by performing the addictive Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…, as does the impossibly rare chance to see ex-Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker strut his stuff.

Though three-day and even two-day passes aren't available anymore, there are still other chances to see some of these bands—but admission prices are oddly discounted if you have a Pitchfork Festival pass. Boris hits Empty Bottle with Torche and Nachtmysium on Sunday, but Thursday, July 17 might offer the most enticing option: Fleet Foxes, Extra Golden, A Hawk And A Hacksaw (7.3), and Boban I Marko Markovic Orkestar all play a free show at Millennium Park's Pritzker Pavilion at a manageable time of 6:30 p.m. Jay Reatard plays Bottom Lounge on July 19 with King Khan And The Shrines, Cheap Time, A/V Murder, and The Dutchess & The Duke. L.A. noise-rock band Health (8.0), Aleks & The Drummer, and Mahjongg (7.9) all perform a Pitchfork After Fest set at Hideout at 10 p.m. on July 18.

By the numbers, it's a lineup as forward-thinking as its predecessors, and in theory should therefore be no better or worse than last year's festival (even without Yoko Ono). But, still, stay hydrated and save your strength and money: Lollapalooza's right around the bend. —David Wolinsky

2008 Pitchfork Music Festival

Friday, July 18

Connector Stage

6 - Mission Of Burma performs Vs.

7:15 - Sebadoh performs Bubble And Scrape

Aluminum Stage

8:30 - Public Enemy performs It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back

Saturday, July 19

Connector Stage

1 – Titus Andronicus

2 – Caribou

4 – Dizzee Rascal

6 - !!!

8 – Jarvis Cocker

Aluminum Stage

1:30 – Jay Reatard

3 – Fleet Foxes

5 – Vampire Weekend

7 – The Hold Steady 9 – Animal Collective

Balance Stage

12:30 – Boban I Marko Markovic Orkestar

1:25 – A Hawk And A Hacksaw

2:20 – Icy Demons 3:15 – Fuck Buttons

4:15 – The Ruby Suns

5:20 – Elf Power

6:25 – Extra Golden

7:30 – Atlas Sound 8:25 – No Age

Sunday, July 20

Connector Stage

1 – Times New Viking

2 – Boris

4 – Les Savy Fav

6 – M. Ward 8 – Dinosaur Jr.

Aluminum Stage

1:30 – Dirty Projectors

3 – The Apples In Stereo

5 – The Dodos

7 – Spiritualized

9 – Spoon 


Balance Stage

12:30 – Mahjongg

1:25 – High Places

2:20 – Health

3:15 – King Khan & The Shrines

5:20 – Occidental Brothers Dance Band International

6 – Ghostface Killah & Raekwon

7:30 – Bon Iver

8:25 – Cut Copy