Pitchfork: Photos: Thrill Jockey 15th Anniversary [Chicago, IL; 12/14-12/15/07]

Photos: Thrill Jockey 15th Anniversary [Chicago, IL; 12/14-12/15/07]

Photos by Sanchez and Kitahara
Pictured above: Trans Am

Some bands you fall in love with. You catch every single show, memorize the lyrics, decorate your personal items with their buttons, patches, and stickers, and-- more often than not-- break up with them as your tastes evolve or something new comes along.

Other bands are best kept as friends. Your heart may not skip a beat at the mention of their names, a missed show here and there won't make you cry, and perhaps you haven't quite gotten around to hearing that latest album, but that's okay, because you can commit to bands like this for life. They're consistent, reliable, and, as with any true friend, they have nothing to prove; the respect and admiration you and these bands share for one another is implicit. They've sorta always been there, too, and you get the feeling they always will be. These are the kind of bands, by and large, that populate the Thrill Jockey roster.

So you won't find many MySpace profiles gushing OMG I <3 SEA+CAKE x 1000000!!!!!11, but you can, it seems, always count on a sea of serene faces at any Sea and Cake show. It was just this vibe-- communal, comfortable, and decidedly low-key-- that marked the 15th anniversary celebration for Bettina Richards' Thrill Jockey Records, held this past weekend at the Logan Square Auditorium in Chicago, the city in which the label has operated for most of its decade-and-a-half.

The Sea and Cake were there, of course, as were label stalwarts Trans Am and Eleventh Dream Day, both of whom provided most of the reserved evenings' showiest moments. Tortoise served as the not-so-surprising surprise guest, kicking off Saturday's festivities. Califone went surround sound, briefly positioning their horn section up in the balcony behind the audience.

The Fred Anderson Trio and Frequency flew Thrill Jockey's jazz flag high, and ADULT. stood in for the label's strong electronic contingent, doing what they could to rattle us out of our state of comfort. Thalia Zedek covered Freakwater's "Flat Hand", while an un-billed Sue Garner appeared to help Eleventh Dream Day through a cover of her own "I Like the Name Alice". (Both covers appear on the recent Plum box set). The band returned the favor by backing Garner on a few tunes.

Recent Thrill Jockey signings were on display the first night: Arbouretum capped off a fine set with "Pale Rider Blues", one of the finest songs heard all weekend, while the Fiery Furnaces plowed through much of their latest album Widow City. Amid the Windy City-centric proceedings, School of Language's David Brewis came all the way from Sunderland, England to make his U.S. live debut. How appropriate that he was joined for the occasion by drummer Ryan Rapsys (Euphone, Ambulette) and Zincs bassist Nick Macri, two Chicago music scene regulars whom Brewis claimed to have met barely a day prior. This is a label community that embraces its own, in a city that has always embraced kindred spirits.

As with any gathering of friends, these nights were as much about the chummy moments between songs as they were about the music: Tortoise's Dan Bitney asking audience members how they traveled to the show and marveling at how many folks had walked; Sam Prekop and Doug McCombs playfully heckling Archer Prewitt from the balcony during his set ("Look! It's the two old men from the 'Muppet Show'!" cracked Prewitt's keyboardist); Califone's Tim Rutili ad libbing a silly conversation with his horn section, who responded the way the off-screen adults do in Charlie Brown cartoons.

Later, when Rutili noted the unceasing snow outside and suggested we all might have to have a sleepover, no one really laughed. Given this friendly, like-minded company, that wasn't such a ridiculous idea at all.

Here's to 15 more years and then some, guys.