Several weather delays wreaked havoc with the schedule at Day 2 of Pitchfork Music Festival.
But before the park was evacuated somewhere around 4:30 p.m. there was music to be had.
Here’s a look at three sets from Saturday afternoon:
Vagabon
Vagabon, aka Laetitia Tamko, kicks off her Blue Stage set at Pitchfork on Saturday afternoon.
Owen Ziliak/Sun-Times
Only six minutes into her performance, the 30-year-old Cameroonian-American singer-songwriter’s set was postponed due to inclement weather.
But boy, did Laetitia Tamko (who goes by Vagabon) give it her all in those six minutes. Backed by a sultry saxophone and drums, Vagabon delivered beautiful, out-of-this-world vocals that perfectly matched her unique look.
Two days earlier, she dropped the video for her song “Do Your Worst.” Fans felt Vagabon’s rage as she sang about her relationship with somebody who only dragged her down — and the rage continued as she cut the song short and security started ushering fans out of the stage.
It was unclear if Vagabon would return to complete her set, but the little time that she was given was a great teaser of what could come.
Deeper
The Chicago indie-rock quartet Deeper delivered an unforgettable triumph on Saturday. The band was able to perform its set from 1 to 1:40 p.m. before festival officials halted music due to lightning strikes in the area.
The group delivered a set that was joyous, jagged, infectious and definitely musically memorable.
There were dark clouds but no showers during the kinetic set, which was a spirited way to begin Day 2 of this year’s festival.
Uncorking a sound influenced by bands like The Cure and Television, the band was mesmerizing, making a hot afternoon in the sun feel more akin to a sweaty club scene — in the best possible way.
Deeper inserted some feedback-drenched sonic sculptures that surely pleased fans who bought tickets to this year’s fest specifically to see The Smile, who closed the show Friday night.
Lead singer Nic Gohl and his bandmates — Drew McBride (guitar, keyboards), Kevin Fairbairn (bass) and Shiraz Bhatti (drums) — hit their stride with the potent tune “Sub,” which contains the grab-you-by-the-collar lyrics “Here you come in your large company/ Sever me for your dogs, I won’t bleed.”
Deeper stands out from the pack partially because of Bhatti’s incredible playing on a real drum set. He adds some muscle and tissue to the compositions, keeping the rhythms from ever sounding cold or robotic.
Yes, there are machines involved in the creation of Deeper’s music, but human emotions and human creativity ultimately triumph.
The members of Deeper offered almost no stage banter, other than to let the crowd know that the group is from Chicago. Then, at the end of the blistering set, Gohl said, “We’ll play another time.”
Considering the impressive nature of this set, and the quality of the band’s third album, “Careful!,” which will be released by Sub Pop on Sept. 8, it seems probable that the band will indeed return to Pitchfork for a future edition. —Bobby Reed
Black Belt Eagle Scout
Katherine Paul, who performs as Black Belt Eagle Scout, delivers an afternoon set on the Blue Stage at Pitchfork Music Festival.
Owen Ziliak/Sun-Times
The sound of Black Belt Eagle Scout, the performing name of Katherine Paul, is undoubtedly inspired by the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community reservation where she grew up in the Pacific Northwest.
And Paul and her band really know how to rock. Though many of their songs have a blissful, sweet melody, there is a fiery passion that they bring to the stage. Between Paul’s vocals and her musicians’ riffs, Black Belt Eagle Scout has a sound that can only be informed by the waterways, mountains, salmon and cedar trees native to the Pacific Northwest.
Paul’s vocals are soft and soulful, but her voice got a bit drowned out by the band accompanying her. Still, listening to Black Belt Eagle Scout’s music feels like a calm wave of water that can provide strength and healing.
Nature informs every aspect of Paul’s music making — and her versatility as a multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter really shone during her first-ever Pitchfork performance, especially on “Don’t Give Up,” as her voice finally carried throughout Union Park.
This song received the most applause from the crowd, and Paul told fans that the track is about “knowing that the land, sky and water will always be there” through all of life’s trials and tribulations. — Ambar Colon