Chris DeLine

Though it’s far too early to even begin to estimate which performance can be deemed the wildest of the 2009 Pitchfork Music Festival, David Yow of the Jesus Lizard immediately notified the crowd that his band would be in contention as it took the stage Friday night. Prior to sinking his feet into his first real lines of the set Yow hurled himself off the stage headfirst into the unexpected crowd. Returning (shirtless, upon occasion) to the crowd a half dozen more times throughout the set, Yow never once stopped accompanying his squealing vocals with an equally menacing stage presence.

After a failed stab at Dr. Dre, Yow grinned and asked the crowd “Why was the dog licking his ass.” “Because he liked the taste of my sperm.” Though Yow’s antics overshadowed anything else on the stage, the evening’s performance was well grounded in the band’s powerful music. Later as the group played itself off the stage, each member staggering their exits, drummer Mac McNeilly signaled the last few heart-pounding beats of the set as he exited the stage last. And as fans began to furiously make haste to position themselves to better catch a glimpse of Built To Spill’s performance, the band returned to the stage (though Yow would again make his stage presence best felt from the crowd). Again, it’s too early to tell, but the bar has been set. Very, very high.

[This post was first published by Culture Bully.]