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We have a confession to make: we've never been to Pitchfork before. Considering the festival's only been going on officially for two years, it's not all that surprising. Still, being music lovers, we wanted to shed the "Pitchfork virgin" connotation and take the plunge. The only other big music fest we've been party to was the Touch & Go 25th anniversary at Hideout last year, along with the occasional street fest. We picked Saturday for our coming-out, since we knew a whopping two bands on the bill that day. (We said we love music. We didn't say we were hip.)
Getting there wasn't so bad; our locale in Lakeview afforded us a trip entirely by train (well, a little on foot). Since we're the dorks we are and wanted to get there as early as possible, we showed right around noon. Staff was helpful and courteous while we waited for gates to open; one girl even comped us a water, as we were loathe to break the seal on the one we'd brought. As we trotted out onto the grounds, it looked as if Union Park had been carpet-bombed by Urban Outfitters and Threadless. We even spotted a Cameron Diaz-esque Chairman Mao messenger bag. Along with the prerequisite oversized plastic sunglasses and neckerchiefs, we couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting a guy in either a band or ironic/nonsensical tee. Some of our favorites included "I listen to bands that don't even exist yet" and an iconic representation of the little dude from Katamari Damacy.
We caught the Twilight Sad on the Connector stage, since we're huge suckers for a Scottish accent. Yum. We came up for air during Voxtrot; their energetic machinations were pleasant enough on stage and for the growing crowd, but it wasn't the kind of thing we'd listen to at home. Knowing we had a long day ahead of us, we rested our aching legs for a bit, then checked out the WLUW/Depart-ment vendor sheds. Hipsters hunched over stacks and stacks of CDs and vinyl. After scoping some ugly-cute stuffed animals and just-ugly purses, we came upon a table selling fancied-up CTA signage. We liked the look of the 8"x10" signs until we saw the $40 price tag. Anyone tell this guy we can get the same real shit off the Illinois Railway Museum site for half that, at the most? Despite our disgust at most tables' markups, we came away with two CDs for ourselves and some gifts for friends.
After a stopover in sponsor Fuze's misting tent (which could have used more mist, IOHO), back into the throng we went to see Battles. Apparently we weren't the only ones, as quite the crowd had bled from the main stage over to the Connector side, along with new arrivals. Battles kicked furious ass; we were loving the live looping and the band's fiery attitude. Knob-twiddling never looked so fun. Rocking out left us with hunger pangs, so we ambled over to the ATM to replenish our cash flow. Oh, how we wish we hadn't blown our money on those CDs! The enormous line barely moved at all, it seemed. After half an hour, we finally got our money on; the culprit seemed to be the wireless connection, and the shoddiness of the machine in general. One would hope a major festival would be backed by a bank of some sort. Something to work on, to be sure. At the very least, another ATM was needed somewhere in the park. Thankfully a basketball game broke out while we were waiting, prompting one guy in line to shout, "Are they fucking playing knockout?!" to his companion, whom he then abandoned to assert his manhood.
Food lines were no better than the ATM. Connie's took the prize for length in our estimation, while Goose Island 312 booths were plentiful and quick-moving. We were suckered in by the promise of coconut shrimp at Suzie's Funnel Cake stand, waiting another 25 minutes for five shrimp at $7 a pop. OK shrimp, great orange sauce. Temptation's soy mint chocolate chip ice cream washed down our meal with efficacy, though we wondered what the vegan chips were made of. We hate to say it, but by the time we got our frosty treat we were done for the day, pretty much as our Chicagoist companion was just getting settled. Although we really wanted to see Girl Talk, we couldn't imagine standing around until 8:30 with our legs already threatening to give out from under us. If we'd known more bands it might have been a different story, but claustrophobia was also setting in, with waves upon waves of people everywhere we looked.
Our verdict? Unless we're familiar with a larger number of bands next time (we did some serious AMG research for Touch & Go and knew more of what to expect), we'll just stay home. While the one band we were dying to see delivered, by the time we left, we never wanted to see another feathered hairstyle or tweed hat again. Chicagoist's main Pfork account did nothing to make us wish we'd stayed longer, especially with Girl Talk ending up such a mess. We're glad we went, in an oblique, now-I-know-what-I'm-missing way. We'll give up our admission to someone else more deserving next year.
Make sure to check out all our photos from Pitchfork on Chicagoist's Flickr page.
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Too bad you didn't wait for Girl Talk, even getting cut off short, it was the best show of the day. Course I'm the kind of guy who was weened on the mosh pits of the early 90s so maybe a packed crowd puts me off less than the average person.
...Shoulda chilled at home and saved up your energy for Gogol Bordello on Sunday night. That show was easily the highlight of my concert-packed year!
The "we" thing I'd expect really digs under people's skin here, considering Chicagoist has obviously been to Pfork before (and is more like blatant lying, regardless of your Chicagoist's writing style).
Too bad nobody seems to see the festival just for what it is - great way to spend a day in a park meeting new and old friends while listening to some good bands (who can sometimes sound like shite - or sometimes sound amazing).
finally a pitchfork commentary that focuses on what really matters: ATMS, pizza lines, and shopping.
thanks chicagoist!
Now this shit really bothers me -- it's local, limited and handmade stuff. There's hardly a markup, dude. But if you prefer your art cheap, mass-produced and with no soul, so be it.
Along with the prerequisite oversized plastic sunglasses and neckerchiefs
Unngh,
Yeah no kidding it's becomming laughable how many young women you see with the same glasses and same haircut. Hopefully these unwitting victims of fashion marketing will realize it soon. I wonder what fashion statement they'll be sold next and how long until these things go the way of the Castro hat.
Yeah, I was there for the music myself. I don't go to festivals for the food, I make sure I bring some cash, and don't spend any time shopping (though I did look at some of the cool stuff that was available). I understand that some folks are not into the whole music and crowd thing, and it confuses me as to why these folks show up in the first place. Hope you had a least a little fun!
See I was(honestly) gonna hold my tongue because clearly Chicagoist has placed a high premium
on this event- with so many postings, - which would mean that to question it, would be like threatening the relevance of other sacred cultural cows like "da Cubs". But as this one post( hopefully the last) seemed to possibly suggest some deeper meaning,I think, earns a spook
the right to comment.
The thing that irks me about this whole cultural “happening” is that Pitch Fork,(a Pitch Fork denotes the symbol of revolt in the European county side),seems on the surface to be about “alternative” and
“Independent” culture in the face of Corporate Board Room Hegemony imposed on the intellectually weak vapid masses. But in fact is just another clear dose of strong mind numbing market tested consumer culture designed and force feed( like ducks) down the dumbed down Red Eye reading thoats of my ironic T shit wearing generation and the next, so that they will continue to be the “foie gras” of corporate America from the Gap, to Urban outfitter, Shell Mobil, Exxon, AT &T to Prada products.
I think about WoodStock and wonder what are they gonna say about us 50 years from now?
Wow. You sound like a lot fun.
NOT!
Have you ever been to ANY concert?
Jeez...
Spook: No shit. Thanks for today's reminder that alternative isn't really alternative. What's next, the irony of suburban "hippies" wearing expensive sandals? Or a rant against the Baby Boomers for wearing ties? Fight the power, whatever that means anymore.
Guest #6: So locally produced stuff, whether purses or earrings, never comes with an outrageous mark-up? Uh, OK. What fantasy land do you live in, and how can I join? I am sure plenty of Chicago crafters, good or not, are talented capitalists. I mean, do you really think a small wooden weed-holding box with a glue-on and faded picture of Bob Marley or Che or Jim Morrison really is worth $30? I call that ballsy, if overly optimistic, mark-up activity. (See, local crafters can produce crappy stuff just like the Chinese slave kids can.)
"Pitch Fork,(a Pitch Fork denotes the symbol of revolt in the European county side),seems on the surface to be about “alternative” and “Independent” culture in the face of Corporate Board Room."
Funny, I thought Pitchfork was a concert that people went to because they wanted to listen to music.
This is probably too late to be read, but the "Pitchfork" in "Pitchfork Music Festival" comes from "Pitchfork Media", the website, and the "Pitchfork" in the website is a reference to the movie Scarface. S no, not medieval Europe. Your premise is incorrect.
You are right, to some extent, about indie being the new alternative, but it might be better to think of it as the new documentary films. Documentaries are loved by a small and fanatic audience, so marketing to them is a guaranteed success. Indie rock, in case you hadn't noticed, is still generally not played on radio stations like XRT and Q101, There are some breakout success stories, but this is more like a tightly controlled microcosm, not a large-scale sea change like alternative. (Of couse, with the success of the Arcade Fire, who knows- it could be another Nirvana phenomenon.) Pitchfork Media's success is undeniable grass roots in its origins; the question is whether or not, now that they have their own (expanding) music festival and are focusing more attention on the mainstream, they're going through a Rolling Stone-ization. (And, curiously, in the mainstream, entrenched indie community they've already got more power than RS ever did.)
the vinyl was pretty decently priced, music direct didn't mark up at all.
Doing my part to talk about anything but the music:
Oh, I know! I know! Milk chocolate is make with milk, but many other kinds of chocolate--including popular varieties like dark chocolate and semisweet chocolate--are often, usually, or always made without milk or other dairy. Wikipedia has my back on this. So, in answer to your question, the vegan chips were made of... chocolate.
Sorry if that takes some of the magic out of it.