Lets Fork

For six years, Pitchfork Media has been putting on the best music festival that many people have never heard of.

Don’t let the big summer festivities fool you. Bonnaroo is expensive and Coachella can get crowded. Pitchfork is a festival that does things right by providing a top-notch lineup without putting too big of a dent in your pocketbook.

Set in Chicago’s Union Park in late July, this three-day weekend of up-and-coming artists and popular acts makes for an atmosphere that is both personal and overwhelmingly positive.  

I was at Pitchfork Music Festival this past weekend and witnessed all the cut off jeans, bandanas and ironic T-shirts it had to offer. But once you look past the hipster exterior, Pitchfork becomes an eclectic collection of music fans who are there just to see their favorite show.  

With only three stages to choose from, the festival can’t help but feel intimate. Music can be heard from all corners of the park and many attendees spend the day spread out in the lawn instead of getting up close and personal with the bands.  
Here are a few reasons why Pitchfork is one of the greatest music festivals ever.

IT’S CHEAP
You can’t beat Pitchfork for the price. However, beer is outrageously expensive, and it is difficult to find food for a good deal, but there is a fountain in the park that provides attendees with water.  

On the hottest day, Pitchfork provided free suntan lotion and bottles of water to help the fans on a budget.

EYE-CATCHING FASHION
Being at Pitchfork is like stepping into an American Apparel advertisement. Attendees in throwback jerseys and rompers cover the lawn and tattoos can be spotted on every other limb.  

As the weekend wore on and the weather got hotter, clothes became scarcer.
By Sunday, it wasn’t uncommon to see girls walking around in bikini tops and men cheering on bands in only their boxers.  

Face paint was a popular accessory for many of the attendees, too.

At the beginning of the day, people painted their cheeks with swirls of color. By the evening, most of the paint had sweated off.

And as you would expect, flannel still hasn’t gone out of style.
    
MUSIC FOR EVERYONE

Pitchfork may be criticized for being a hipster’s guide to music, but it certainly doesn’t discriminate when choosing the lineup for its festival.  

While the headliners are heavily dominated by alternative rock, the rest of the day is represented by almost all genres.  

Rap and punk had a healthy presence at Union Park this past weekend with artists Das Racist, Curren$y, Yuck and OFWGKTA performing.  

Reunion shows were also a trend at Pitchfork with bands like Guided by Voices and The Dismemberment Plan coming together for one last show. 

Here's a recap of some acts we saw:

Curren$y

Curren$y’s Friday set at the Blue Stage really took things to a higher level, mostly courtesy of marijuana cigarettes. The hot spitta took the stage to “Elevator Musik,” a fan favorite.
He littered his show with bits of acapella rap and crowd interaction.
Curren$y was probably the day’s most amicable performer. Whether he was complimenting the crowd size, “Wow, there are a lot of motherfuckin’ people here right now,” their demeanor, “I didn’t think ya’ll would be so trill,” or wearing a Michael Jordan 23 jersey in honor of Chicago, he got things popping in a big way on a hot Friday afternoon.
His performance wasn’t too bad, either.

The Dismemberment Plan

I came to Pitchfork not knowing who Dismemberment Plan was, but I certainly left a fan.
The indie-rock outfit was born out of DC’s hardcore scene, but brings along a sense of whimsy and fun. Their performance at Pitchfork was a long awaited reunion for many die-hard fans.
The show was lively with lead singer Travis Morrison trading jokes with the audience throughout the set. His candor helped to draw an enormous crowd.

EMA

Erika M. Anderson was one of the first acts to kick off the festival. The former member of the drone-folk band Gowns, EMA went solo this year with her debut album “Past Life Martyred Saints.” 
While the album has garnered critical acclaim, EMA’s live show left more to be desired. Her performance was lackluster, and it was difficult to tell if she was enjoying herself on stage. 
At one point during the show, she told the crowd she did not “want to wear them out before the day was over,” leaving many fans confused as to why they came out in the first place to see her. 
Hopefully EMA will become more comfortable with live performances as her solo career continues.

Animal Collective

Of the three major headliners, my expectations were lowest for this act, but the show blew me away. 
I had seen Animal Collective twice before and both shows had little enthusiasm and next to no energy.
At Pitchfork, however, Animal Collective made up for any past transgressions by giving the best performance of the festival.
A majority of the act was new material, giving rise to some speculation of a new album or EP. The classics that Animal Collective did revive were “Did You See The Words,” “Brothersport,” “Taste,” “We Tigers” and “Summertime Clothes.” 
The remixes were so good, I keep listening to the bootleg recordings from the show instead of the original versions.

Das Racist  
 
Having seen Das Racist before, I didn’t know what to expect going into their Friday show. I was hoping for a (slightly) more polished show than I witnessed in Indianapolis with all of about five songs and a lot of tiger noises.
At any rate, I was rewarded. The group came out a little slow at first, but eventually Dapwell’s energy spread to bandmates Himanshu Suri and Victor Vasquez, who threw down pretty hard, bringing out beers and looking more interested in performing than I had ever seen them before.
They rapped some classics like “Rainbow in the Dark” and the phenomenal “Rapping 2 U,” and even busted out some new songs like “Michael Jackson,” with the awesome hook of “Michael Jackson, a million dollars/ if you see me, holler.”
Detroit rapper Danny Brown even made an appearance, winning over an initially apprehensive crowd with some awesome lyrics and brutal stage presence.

tUnE-yArDs

Lead singer Merrill Garbus sounds like she has an entire tribe behind her when she sings. In fact when performing, she creates drum loops on the spot and then layers the beats with ukulele, electric bass, saxophone and vocals. The result was an upbeat and energetic performance that had the whole lawn jumping to the rhythms.
Garbus’ enthusiasm is excitingly childlike and the music finds its inspiration in tribal and electronic beats.
If you missed tUnE-yArDs at Pitchfork, you can catch her in Bloomington on Sept. 28 at Rhino’s.