I know what you’re thinking. “Uh, wasn’t PItchfork like a week ago?” Why, yes. Yes, it was. Better late than never, I suppose.

We went ahead and posted a review of the main event, The Flaming Lips, which you can read here. But now we’ve compiled a number of contributor reviews for a better overall look at last weekend’s highlight performances, which you can read after the jump…

Friday, July 19 – “Write The Night: Setlists by request”

Tortoise
If you read our interview with Tortoise drummer/other-ist John Herndon, you’d know that the band decided to go full on with the Write The Night democratic process and play only their most popular songs from the fan votes. This was something that Yo La Tengo and The Flaming Lips couldn’t completely deal with. But Tortoise did, and it made for an grand opening to the festival. Their slow building, vibraphone-driven psychedelic meets jazz-rock jams were a perfect way to open a festival on a cool, rainy July evening. They played a number of tunes from their debut, self-titled album, which elicited a strong positive reaction from the crowd. – Richard Giraldi

Yo La Tengo
How do you begin to choose a Yo La Tengo set? Stylistically, they are all over the map. This bore itself out when Ira didn’t even touch his guitar till the 4th song in. But his lurching and convulsing on “Cherry Chapstick” reminded everyone that, although they seem to be turning into a lounge act, there’s still a guitar freak waiting to unleash itself at any time. In a short set, the highlights really were the older tunes “Cherry Chapstick”, “Tom Courtney”, and “Sugarcube”, and, because of his excellent falsetto, James’s “Stockholm Syndrome,” which always brings me to the edge of tears. Much like the band these days, theirs was an uneven yet satisfying set. – Ross Meyerson

The Jesus Lizard
“Thanks for your support!” snarled Jesus Lizard front man David Yow after hitting a thin patch of fans while crowd surfing and inevitably falling to the ground. It was this sort of brash sarcasm in the air that made The Jesus Lizard’s triumphant Chicago return performance so visceral and entertaining. No doubt about it, this was pure, who-gives-a-fuck rock n’ roll – Booming bass, big drums, fist-in-the-sky riffs and a middle finger brandishing front man. As Yow leaped into the crowd with total disregard for the safety of the fans or himself, it was obvious age had no effect on these guys. The crowd – many of whom were middle aged men who had bought one day passes specifically for this performance – was completely enthralled and energized by every passing moment. Fan favorites from the 1991’s Goat such as Seasick, Here Comes Dudley and Monkey Trick sounded as fierce and menacing as they did 18 years ago. – Richard Giraldi

Built To Spill
This was the set I thought the crowd would get most right. But when they opened with “Liar,” I realized it was not to be. Maybe it’s because I think Perfect From Now On is, well, a perfect album and would have loved a set loaded with songs from it that hearing them play “You Were Right” and “Conventional Wisdom” felt like we were wasting our time. But, strong emotions aside, Built To Spill still sounded as good as always and tunes like “Kicked It In The Sun” and “Big Dipper” always bring a smile to my face. If i may sum up by quoting Built To Spill quoting The Rolling Stones, they were right when they said you can’t always get what you want. But Built To Spill has so much that you still get what you need. – Ross Meyerson

Saturday, July 18

Disappears
Chicago outfit, Disappears were the first to play at Balance stage on Saturday and expectedly, but regretfully, the crowd wasn’t too large. Fronted by guitarist/vocalist Brian Case (of locals The Ponys and 90 Day Men), the band, clad in tense, dark tones, bashed out their songs against a backdrop of daylight, trees, and fresh air. It was odd at first to see this gothy post-punkish group in such a setting but this is also why it worked. Playing in an open stage, Disappears’ music sounded clearer than it would in some cramped bar. That is not to say that Disappears’ no-bullshit songs won’t be able stand on their own, regardless of venue. “Magic” best showcased the band’s caliber with noise-y guitars and a catchy blues/kraut-rock groove punctuated by Case’s echo-y “Oh’s!” – Justin Aier

Cymbals Eat Guitars
Cymbals Eat Guitars got Saturday at the festival started off on the right note, running through roughly forty minutes of their straight-from-the-nineties indie rock without any hiccups. The set mostly featured cuts from the excellent Why There Are Mountains LP, which debuted earlier this year. Album opener “And the Hazy Sea” was particularly well done, featuring an awesome (extended?) guitar solo. Venturing away from the album proved successful also when they performed a beautifully melancholy rendition of their new single “Tunguska,” which came across well in a live setting. The sound was good with lead singer Joseph D’Agostino’s vocals coming through loud and clear and sounding very near to those on record. Smartly, the band closed with arguably their best song, “Wind Phoenix,” into which they seemed to inject an extra amount of energy with this live rendition. All told, it was a great set from a great band that proved to be just the energetic and catchy opening that Saturday’s proceedings needed. – Dan Henshaw

Plants and Animals
A decently sized crowd greeted Montreal trio Plants and Animals for their early-afternoon set on Saturday. The band responded with a solid set filled with several tracks from last year’s Parc Avenue album, as well as a couple new songs. The new material sounded good enough, but the set dragged a bit during these songs, not because of a lack of quality, but likely because of the crowd’s unfamiliarity with the new tunes. Predictably the band fared the best when they stuck to the Parc Avenue material that everyone had presumablycome to see. “Bye Bye Bye” was particularly great as the catchy album opener translated seamlessly to a live setting, and the crowd responded well, shouting the title along with the band during the chorus. Undeniably the best part of the set was an energetic and fun rendition of “Mercy” which the band plowed through with reckless abandon. It was a particularly fun performance that punctuated an otherwise solid-to-good set. – Dan Henshaw

Fucked Up
It’s a credit to frontman Pink Eyes that despite some sound troubles that marred catalog highlights and excellent tracks like “Twice Born” and “Son The Father” among others, watching Fucked Up’s 45 minute set Saturday never felt like a chore. Entertaining from start the finish, the band plowed through tracks from The Chemistry of Common Life such as “Magic Seal” and “Black Albino Bones,” as well as other highlights from their repertoire. Quickly losing his shirt, Pink Eyes grabbed and bit every beach ball that came his way, tossing the deflated plastic aside as he spit the pieces out, even as the he tore through the songs. Eventually donning one of the larger balls as a hat, it was his antics and banter that kept the set from being a loss. Whether the mics for the two guitarists weren’t on or they just weren’t audible, either way their vocals were sorely missing from the tracks mentioned above where their powerful yells provide the weight for the choruses in addition to Pink Eye’s strangled snarling. His stage presence and energy were incredible as he filled the time between the songs with some humorous banter, even baiting Pitchfork a bit when lavishing praise on the crowd, “I give you guys and 8.8”. – Dan Henshaw

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
After listening to TPOBPAH’s self-titled album repeatedly for the past 3 months I was hyped to see them. It was therefore a bummer when I realized that the sound system at their set wasn’t too great. Also, the singers were a bit off key at points. But of course, I only imagined their live show to live up to the pop-perfection of their studio album. High expectations aside, TPOBPAH really started to warm up mid-set, playing with a looser, yet more precise feel and with the vocals naturally falling into place. By the time the first notes of “Everything With You” started, I had forgotten about sound quality and was mesmerized by this talented, classy pop group. The band mentioned that Pitchfork was one of the bigger crowds they’ve played to. A few more shows and I guarantee they’ll be playing even bigger crowds soon! – Justin Aier

Ponytail
This band will not appeal to everyone via stereos or headphones, but man, what a live show! Not only was I was astounded by the energy and fervor of all four members on stage, but Ponytail ended up being a favorite at Pitchfork 2009. Granted energy and fervor were aplenty last weekend, but Ponytail was undoubtedly the most genuinely-glad-to-be-here-let’s-fucking-rock-out band in the festival’s bill. Being used to verse-chorus-verse structures with actual lyrics, it was surprising by how quickly the crowd was drawn to their music. Their hooks and riffs may not be as obvious, but are as catchy as you’ll find in any pop band. Siegel’s vocals sound as strange and enticing as Iggy Pop may have back in the 60s. And most importantly, the chemistry the band shares with itself and the audience will simply just make bop your head and grin uncontrollably. – Justin Aier

Yeasayer
One of the best sounding and most fun sets of Saturday belonged to Brooklyn art-pop outfit Yeasayer. After several hours of good to solid sets, Yeasayer’s forty minutes on the festival’s Connector stage stood out as a particularly well done and all around fun affair. It all succeeded so mightily because the sound was near perfect, with all parts coming through the speakers with great clarity and excellent balance. Of course that wouldn’t mean anything if the songs weren’t up to par. But Yeasayer really brought it, performing highlights from 2007’s All Hour Cymbals such as “2080” “Sunrise” and “Wait For Summer” as well as some new tracks from an in-progress second album. The set was further buoyed by a great rendition of the band’s Dark Was the Night contribution “Tightrope,” which sounded great live and dripped with the near-studio quality that permeated the rest of the set. – Dan Henshaw

Beirut
As Saturday’s festivities began to wind down, Beirut took the Connector stage for a 65 minute set that drew from almost all of the band’s releases. While the material was strong, some sound troubles kept it from being an all-out success. Zach Condon’s voice came through fine, as did most of his sizeable backing band, but in the park the horns seemed to lose a lot of their impact, at least from where I was standing. Perhaps things sounded better to those stationed closer to the stage, but from farther away the sound was somewhat muffled. It’s the robust horn section that gives Beirut’s best songs their flavor and this particular weight was sorely missing from catalog highlights like “Postcards From Italy” and “Elephant Gun.” The normally powerful and swelling horns that give these tracks their potency came through the speakers weakly and the songs suffered. Still other tracks sounded good, weakened horns notwithstanding. – Dan Henshaw

The Black Lips
There is just something about four dudes who look like 1950’s greaser thugs playing a hybrid of edgy 1960’s brit pop and 1950’s American garage rock that gets you going. The Black Lips live energy is almost unparalleled. The crowd pushed and shoved their way to the front for an all-out thrash workout. The band, who were victims to a shortened set because of band backup from early in the day, never wavered or slowed down. Every song was pedal to the floor, maximum R&B carnage. At the end of the set during a rambunctious version of “Bad Kids” form 2007’s Good Bad Not Evil, a number of fans crowd surfed onto the stage and danced with the band. Really, it was more unorganized chaos than a concert. But it was fun, dammit. – Richard Giraldi

The National
With the sun setting on the festival’s second day, it was The National’s job to end the day with a rocking finale. And they did, delivering one of the best sets of the entire weekend. The sound was near-perfect as the band tore through 18 songs in about 80 minutes. There were hardly any lulls to speak of in a set that drew heavily from 2007’s acclaimed Boxer (all but three cuts from the album were present) and featured highlights from their previous album Alligator as well as some tracks I (and the rest of the crowd it seemed) didn’t recognize. The Boxer material sounds great two years later with “Mistaken For Strangers” still being a highlight that sounds great live. Bathed in blue light, frontman Matt Beringer delivered a particularly poignant version of “Slow Show” that ended up being one of the highlights from the set. It should be mentioned that Berginger is at this moment one of indie rock’s best frontmen. In addition to his excellent voice he is a great live performer with phenomenal stage presence. His aptitude for live performances was on full display during the set, especially as he shouted through the chorus of “Abel,” moving about the stage with great energy. Still the best moment of the set came when Beringer entered the crowd during “Mr. November,” and screamed the final chorus while being hoisted up in the air by the crowd. It was a spectacular moment that was not only one of the best of the amazing set, but of the entire festival. – Dan Henshaw

Sunday, July 19

The Walkmen
Just by looking at them, you knew The Walkmen were all business. Probably the only band all weekend where all the members wore collared shirts tucked into khakis, The Walkmen gripped the large crowd with their folk-tinged, rhythm-heavy indie rock. Front man Hamilton Leithauser’s almost Dylan-esque vocals and riveting stage presence recall R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe. Near the end of their set, the band offered the upbeat “Louisiana” from 2006′s A Hundred Miles Off as the sun broke through the clouds for the first time that day, which gave the performance a surreal and almost spiritual feeling. – Richard Giraldi

Japandroids
Vancouver two-piece Japandroids might not have been the best or most accomplished band featured at this year’s Pitchfork Festival, but their set was easily among the most fun and hard-rocking performances of the whole weekend. Japandroids spent the better part of an hour tearing through their fantastic Post-Nothing album. I simply can’t stress how much they just flat out rocked. The sound was good enough and the band played to its strengths by simply playing fast and loud and keeping the between-song banter to a minimum. “The Boys Are Leaving Town” got the crowd pushing and shoving immediately and the duo kept the energy level up the entire time with other thrashers like “Rocker’s East Vancouver,” “Heart Sweats,” and “Young Hearts Spark Fire.” The band matched the audience’s intensity as guitarist/vocalist Brian King jumped about, swinging his hair wildly and drummer David Prowse pounded away furiously. It was one of the most all out physical and satisfying sets of the festival. – Dan Henshaw

The Flaming Lips
Click here.