The rains came to Chicago this weekend, but that didn’t stop Pitchfork from scratching the indie itch with a full slate of artists. How did it go? Check out some of these stories below to get a flavor of this year’s Pitchfork.
God and the weather cooperated for the remainder of Saturday, and the headlining acts almost universally thrived and bewitched the audience. California-based DJ Flying Lotus mixed samples of Lil Wayne and Kanye West into his own dirty, propulsive beats, setting a throng of captive sun-drenched — and, yes, almost all white — Pitchfork patrons dancing.
The next two hours leading up to Vampire Weekend’s main event were what I would describe as a beautiful snooze-fest, with lulling performances by British babyfaces King Krule and lo-fi bedroom pop A-listers, Beach House. I grabbed a Sriracha covered Viatnamese pork sandwich and wander back for more at the Blue Stage as King Krule throws out the jazzy to a tired, dreamy handful of fans.
Given the thoughtful pacing of the festival, it’s probably no surprise that Pitchfork saved the last two slots of the two main stages for Vampire Weekend and Beach House, acts central to the site’s appeal and popularity whose respective audiences easily eclipsed anyone else from Sunday.
Sleigh Bell singer Alexis Krauss was pretty much the coolest girl at Pitchfork, wearing a leather jacket in 90-plus-degree weather as she crowd surfed, all while singing in her familiar child-like vocals. If it’s Krauss you wanted to be your best friend/girlfriend/indie spirit guide, there was the equally hip and talented experimental artist Claire Boucher (a.k.a. Grimes) with her scantily clad backup dancers to check out.
We’ll start this off by saying that stealing a band’s gear is pretty shitty, and it’s always especially heartbreaking to hear about it happening on a festival weekend. Well that’s just how Danish punk rockers Iceage started their weekend, with someone swiping their guitars in Wicker Park on Thursday night (if you see something, say something). But this didn’t stop the group from playing Sunday afternoon.