Cymbals Eat Guitars @ Pitchfork Music Festival 2009
Saturday afternoon started off the same way it ended Friday night, with some good old fashioned indie rock guitar heroics. Cymbals Eat Guitars, a young four piece from New York City, took the stage at 1:00 p.m., less than 15 hours after Built to Spill had finished its Friday night set. In addition to sharing the same stage as Doug Martsch and company, Cymbals Eat Guitars also took a page from the band’s (as well as Modest Mouse and Pavement) mid-’90s alt-rock sound. Like the band did on its excellent debut record Why There Are Mountains, it started out with the blistering six and a half minute jam “…And the Hazy Sea.” The group, whose members could be mistaken for teenagers despite being in their early 20s, displayed a great sound for what was probably its biggest crowd to date.
Lead singer/guitarist Joseph Ferocious commented in a nervous manner how excited the band members were to be playing the festival, and he laughed through a few parts of the set where his voice was left alone in the mix. While he isn’t a polished frontman by any means, his powerful singing voice and amazing fretwork showed someone with an abundance of talent who I have no doubt will grow into a great performer. In addition to the set opener other highlights were “Cold Spring,” recent single “Tunguska,” and the one-two punch of “Living North” and “Wind Phoenix” that closed out the set. The band’s performance was a clear display of a highly talented young group which has a very bright future. While its live show undoubtedly has some kinks which need working out, with songs as strong as the ones on Why There Are Mountains this will no doubt be a band we will be hearing a lot more from in the future; likely with set times a little more prestigious than at one in the afternoon.
[Review by Josh Keller, photos by Jon Behm, video by Chris DeLine.]