As the group Liars droned on with their less-complicated-than-it-looks brand of noise rock, they repeatedly intoned the words “the weather is fierce.” It was a lyrical aside that would define the weather, if not necessarily the atmosphere, of the second Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago’s Union Park. Though Pitchfork was instrumental in creating last year’s Intonation festival, a split with some of last year’s organizers led to two separate events this summer. So the site... more ›

(Editor’s Note: Are you an out-of-towner preparing to make the trek to Chicago this summer and wondering how to spend your time? Then download Act Like You've Been Here Before: The Chicagoist Guide To Chicago, a compendium of the Chicagoist staff’s tips for getting around Chicago and our favorite places in the city to eat, drink, shop and rock) in convenient PDF form. Perhaps it’s not surprising that the lion’s share of the press about... more ›

We’re not sure if you noticed, but Greg Kot was a busy guy at the end of last week. On Friday, Kot reported that the Smashing Pumpkins will not be reuniting at Coachella this April. Over the last couple weeks, published reports created a veritable Hokey Pokey of information: you had your Pumpkins in, you had your Pumpkins out. Whether Corgan backed out or was never in it to begin with remains a cause for... more ›

UPDATE: Scott Plagenhoef, Managing Editor of Pitchfork, wrote us with the following: "Here is the info on the water situation: The Chicago Park District is providing extra water stations throughout the site. If people wish to purchase water, it will be available at a cost of $1/half-liter." When asked about restrictions on water at this weekend’s Intonation Festival during WXRT’s Sound Opinions radio program, Intonation Music Festival organizer and Pitchfork Media head honcho Ryan Schreiber... more ›