[Chicago's Union Park]

Once upon a festival, Intonation was a flagship summer concert venue promoted and controlled by the likes of Pitchfork Media. But as their egos and repertoire grew, so did their vision and greed; as Pitchfork eventually severed ties with Intonation all together in order to fund their own festival. And while we are glad to see the tie that bound now gone, we can say with all honesty that Intonation has some distance to cover before it becomes a true platform for independent groups.

That's not to say the lineup wasn't diverse, because it was. You had heavy metal acts like High on Fire, radio friendly pop fence children like The Stills, classic rock icons like Roky Erickson, hip-hop favorite Ghostface and more. In fact, the lineups were so diverse that it was often times shocking to go from one genre to the next. And to it's defense, the festival had tents and venues set up for the crowd that it attracted. That is to say, it catered well. What was lacking was more in performance, than production.

Folk friend Juan Gonzalez did a fantastic job of making you relaxed - probably too much so. Perched atop his barstool with acoustic guitar in tow and dabbling through many songs, Gonzalez ultimately left me wishing he brought part of his home Sweden with him as he left much to be desired especially his signature sound.

High on Fire took the stage in the mid afternoon tearing into the guitar thrash they are known for and perfected. The stark difference between Juan Gonzalez and other earlier acts was apparent and appreciated by unsubtly kicking onlookers in the head and waking up the crowd - if not driving some away. While it was mocked by some, you could not deny the adrenaline it started to produce when fans started pumping their fists in the air filled with distorted guitar feedback. It rocked and it officially kicked off the festival in my opinion.

Although hyped by either its breeding ground of Canada, which has produced much loved acts of late (I'm talking about acts like Islands - not Bryan Adams, bitches) The Stills continue to leave us scratching our heads. They took the stage and produced lullaby notes that mimicked Death Cab For Cutie-esq sounds but with less polish. They played safe, they played simple. Maybe it was the fact that I was still throwing up metal signs from High on Fire, or possibly just the fact that they quickly yawned the crowd. Maybe it was the bassist sporting a Vice Records t-shirt that cried 'sell-out' (lets hope he simply spilled something on his previous garment instead).  And don't try to hype a crowd by talking about their city when you sound trite and not sincere. Regardless of the true reason, the result was unanimous, The Stills just did not live up to the hype. Pure studio at this point in their career.

The Stills could only put the crowd to sleep

Roky Erickson delivered a vintage sound, a love for music that since has gone the way of electronic edits and background manipulations. He belted through a powerful 'You're Gonna Miss Me' that aroused a crowd of part geeked out fans; it was his first time in Chicago, and part curiosity to a sound true to his 13th Floor Elevator days. While it was obvious the division line of music aficionados and those who wanted to see the overseas evening only, it was a grand experience to witness one of the guitar greats perform.

Roky Erickson powered through an amazing 'You're Gonna Miss Me'

The transition from dirty grunge rock to chaos unfolded when Boredoms immediately filled the park with their atmospheric drum fusion/mess that is impossible to describe, and produced an energy difficult to deny. What started as a confusion in tone turned into one of the most unique aspects Intonation had to offer. The Flaming Lips worship these guys and even went so far as to dedicated their award winning Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots to Boredom's lead Yamatsuka Eye. His leaping enthusiasm and chaotic drum chorus still resonate in my mind when I sleep at night.

Boredoms left everyone's minds numb

Ex-WuTang founder Ghostface Killah followed with mixed results. While he was easily the most connected to the crowd, he simply didn't perform up to par with his album's energy in music and beats. The spinner was sloppy, the entourage was weak, and Ghostface himself seemed unimpressed with the crowd in front of him and talked through his songs without style or his signature flip-style rhymes. And although he was able to get some 30 women on stage to help aid through classic Ol' Dirty Bastard cuts and grind his crew, it did nothing more than make me want more polish and respect.

Ghostface Killah spent too much time talking and not enough rapping.

Thankfully, that polish came from a five foot nineteen year old British MC Lady Sovereign. She shamed earlier acts with her vicious lyrical bravado and arrogance rarely found in someone so young to the profession. Whether blasting onto stage with 'Cha Ching', mocking her critics in 'Blah Blah' or pimping her soon-to-be released US single 'Love Me, Hate Me', Sovereign and her backup players were a juggernaught performance that showed the crowd a sample of what is to come later this summer when she blasts the US charts. While it's too early to tell, it sounds like she is changing her style a bit and going deeper into a dark hip-hop sound than previously heard on her first album.

The Streets ended Day One at Intonation with a hard hitting performance by channeling songs by The Arctic Monkeys into their rock/hip-hop fusion and even making the Pussycay Doll's their own in mocking fashion.

And what truly came of the entire day was progression instead of a steady dedication in music talent and performance. The Stills dragged because of their inability to connect to their wanting audience while acts like Ghostface simply did not perform to their ability. And while it was criticized last year that the festival lacked urban hip-hop acts, I'd venture to say the lineup suffered because there was uneven hip hop at night and not enough spread out in packets to keep the crowd and fans wanting more. The indie acts showed their immaturity in performance; often times unable to tighten their true sound oft times heard by the fans at home. The end result was most noticed when acts ended and the flock moved to the next stage instead of arguing for more. I'd have to agree with them, I simply expected more.