PAPERMAG correspondent Justin Goncalves packed a toothbrush and a dream and headed Midwest-ward to check out the indie rock wet dream that is the 2007 Pitchfork Music Festival. Here’s his report from the front lines.

Saturday's lineup brought with it a more conventional festival experience, including a marathon lineup of acts and an eccentricity of genres unique to this Pitchfork Music Festival (last year's was a very heavy, concentrated dose of indie rock). With sets from Grizzly Bear, Battles, Iron & Wine, Clipse and Girl Talk, Saturday had the potential to rock my socks off.

The day started with a relatively straightforward set from Glasgow-based band The Twilight Sad. Singer James Graham had no qualms about his accent as the quartet played tunes from their April Fat-Cat Release Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters.

I missed the very beginning of Califone's set to check out Ken Vandermark's Powerhouse Sound. One of the least discussed -- though perhaps most valuable -- facets of the festival was the Balance Stage, the smallest of the three and the definitive side stage. It was here that curators took the liberty to showcase some great Chicago talent. Ken Vandermark played to relatively small audience -- most concertgoers probably didn't know Vandermark is a MacArthur "Genius" Grant Recipient, I certainly didn't -- but his funk-inspired jazz certainly raised eyebrows, in a good way.

Ken Vandermark

I cut my time with Vandermark a bit sort in order to head over and hear a few tunes by sunny hometown act Califone. Maybe it's the name, but these guys really sound like California, providing a great soundtrack to the rising temperatures and increasing humidity with an infectious mixture of horns, banjo, and acoustic guitars.

Califone

Because I've been on a free jazz kick of late (and I think Voxtrot sucks), I trekked back over to the Balance Stage to catch some of the William Parker Quartet's set. The group had just played at the Vision Festival here in New York and definitely delivered, especially Parker himself.

William Parker Quartet

If it seems like I didn't stay for an entire set yet, it's probably true. With a pretty large crowd in attendance, you really had to save your spot early to even think about having ocular (and sometimes aural) access to your favorite band. For that reason, I was standing in front of Grizzly Bear's stage a good half hour before their set started and boy was it worth it.

Ed from Grizzly Bear

After some technical difficulties with Chris Taylor's clarinet set-up, the Grizzly boys tore through tracks from one of last year's best albums, Yellow House. I hadn't seen the band live and there were moments where the combination of harmonies, loops, and lyrics literally sent chills down my spine. At times, as the layers of sound thrusted themselves into the crowd, Chicago's signature winds began to tornado in what can only be interpreted as otherworldly approval. Once their set ended, I knew their set would be the set to top (something that never did happen).

By staying for the whole Grizzly Bear set, I sacrificed any chance of getting close to Battles, which, unbeknownst to me at the time (I was a bit miffed) was not a bad thing. The alien sounds that make Mirrored so interesting don't translate well live. Sure it sounds cool, but after seeing Grizzly Bear, Battles seemed dead to me.

Four hours into Saturday's sets I needed a little break, so I headed over to the press tent, got some water, complimentary Fuze, and a photo of Girl Talk with Grizzly Bear!

Grizzly Bear and Girl Talk

I spoke with Chris Taylor for a bit about a few things. Here's what you need to know: (can we do bullets?)

They're going into the studio in a few days to record their much-anticipated follow-up to Yellow House.

Chris produced Dirty Projectors' upcoming record, Rise Above, which comes out September 11.

He loves Justin Timberlake and was most excited for Deerhunter and Beach House, the last of which I missed because of a conflict with, of all bands, Grizzly Bear.

Because of this, I was only able to catch the last part of Iron & Wine's set, and from way far back at that, but, by the sound of things, I didn't miss much. As a big fan of everything Sam Beam has released thus far, I was disappointed to hear him trade in the rustic, acoustic minimalism for some kind of Phish-y thing. Blegh. So instead, I went and prepared, both mentally and physically, for Mastodon.

I don't really listen to metal, but Mastodon is presently one of the genre's most respected acts. It was pretty intense, with lots of growling and guitar riffs. It didn't really do much for me personally, but I can see how you might be into that kind of thing. During their set, the wind gods came back, this time bringing up sandstorms, bringing another unexpectedly supernatural tinge to the set.

Mastadon

Next up on menu were Virginia Beach's Clipse. After a disappointing set by GZA the night before, my faith in live hip-hop was at an all-time low. But, not unlike Liquid Swords, Hell Hath No Fury is a great album, with its slick Neptunes' production providing the background to these former crack-slinging MCs. When Pusha T and Malice took the stage, the crowd (mostly white and wearing skinny jeans/short shorts) did their best to be gangsta though I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared shitless. As smooth as Clipse is on record, these two dudes brought frightening ferocity to their live set and it was incredible (and almost as good as Grizzly Bear).

Clipse

At this point, it was getting dark, so I couldn't take any more photos, but I did get to see Girl Talk. Well, I guess it depends on how you define see. With the set on the smaller Balance Stage (I don't think I'll ever understand the logic behind that decision), both the stage area and the sound system couldn't support the crowd. The set that had the potential to be one of the festival's most enjoyable ended up being a flop. On a happier note, Grizzly Bear did come out and do live vocals for the Girl Talk remix of "Knife." It probably would've been awesome, but I couldn't tell you, having not been able to really see it or hear it.

So for Girl Talk, I missed Cat Power and most of Yoko Ono. From a friend, I was told that Cat Power a) looked amazing (no surprises here) and b) had some trouble with sound (ditto). I'm not really sure why Yoko was headlining, but we got these free mini-flashlights.

For more Pitchfork Festival coverage click here.
And stay tuned tomorrow, for Justin's final installment of "Stick a Pitchfork in Me."