LIVE REVIEW: INNERVIEW AT PITCHFORK FEST, DAY TWO

With looming grey skies above, festival-goers turned up in glitter and ponchos for day two of Pitchfork. And for good reason. Saturday’s lineup was jam-packed with such stellar acts, it was a challenge to avoid running across Union Park in fear of missing out. Newcomer Paul Cherry warmed up the early crowd at the Green Stage with a lo-fi alt-rock set infused with bass lines, chimes, and hazy vocals reminiscent of ‘70s soul. Eventually the clouds temporarily parted and an obscured Zola Jesus took to the stage draped in a mass of red fabric, only to emerge for an enchantingly erratic performance featuring ominous, powerhouse vocals and visceral movement. By mid-day, Moses Sumney’s otherworldly falsetto lifted the audience to a higher place, only to be rooted again by the ground-stomping funk of Raphael Saadiq backed by A Tribe Called Quest’s Ali Shaheed Muhammad scratching records. (Saadiq’s set began with the entire band seated in a lengthy, instrumental-only jam, an unlikely move for a lively festival that mellowed the crowd.) The most aesthetically pleasing set came from a powerful and ethereal Kelela draped in an all-white wardrobe while shimmying around the stage in coordinated, subtle movements with her backup singers. Closing out the day was a cheerful Robin Pecknold, who graciously thanked the audience and played all the old Fleet Foxes favorites as the group’s tight harmonies proved to be all the more immaculate in real life. STORY + PHOTO BY JULIET CANGELOSI
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