Sunday 9/21. The Hideout Block Party.

I amended my itin. last minute to catch the much-hyped New Pornographers/Ratatat closing set in a parking lot along the Chicago River, in front of The Hideout. By far the most expensive show, at $25 (!!), I allowed some relaxation of fiscal austerity for the final night.

New Porno played a longish set on the main stage. But, despite their tight harmonies, well-crafted tunes and punchy melodies, the performance flagged a little- it lacked that special sauce.

Then Ratatat, stealing the night. According to Wikipedia a duo from NYC, the Sunday show featured a trio- bass, electric guitar and synthesizers. The live performance was decidedly different from the Ratatat album I've heard- "Classics". Excellent live music no doubt; however, if the show were my first exposure to the band, I'd be shocked at their relative popularity. The live show was a mix of what could only be described as industrial dance + math metal + a splash of reggae + a splash of hipster cool.

Odd, but a winning formula. In the end, only two sour notes. The first: the mixing was poor. The set was disjointed and the song-to-song flow seemed carelessly planned. The second: all their fancy-dancy beats were pre-recorded. Now for sure in this day n' age one can't hold this against the performer ToO much since everyone from Radiohead to Sting has like 10,000 backing tracks going at their live shows. Nonetheless, there's dance music and there's dance music. And I can only be reminded of go-go shows back the District, between 4 and a dozen musicians packed on stage, creating EVERY SINGLE SOUND of the body-rockin'-est, booty-droppin'-est music ever right there, live, in front of your eyes and ears, magicians without need of props.