Many great and wondrous things happened at the 2010 Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago. In its fourth year the festival continued its musical taste-making reputation and showcased a mix of over 40 stalwart and emerging bands in indie-rock, dance and hip hop. And with the help of headliners — Pavement, Modest Mouse, Broken Social Scene and LCD Soundsystem — Pitchfork’s three day passes sold out within a week of going on sale, a first ever for the festival. Toss in the addition of the new Friday night stand-up comedy stage, and the festival was primed to succeed, once again, as one of the today’s premier live music experiences.
Knowing Pitchfork’s reputation for being a haven for hipsters, it was no surprise to see a high amount of trendy beards, mustaches, skinny and rolled up jeans cruising around the grounds. Sure, that’s the scene every year. And, yes, there was the usual throng of teens and twenty-somethings cruising between the three stages, Flatstock market and on-site record store.
Beside the music, what makes Pitchfork such a great time is watching the fans respond to the music and noticing how each year reveals a new stage in the evolution of the Pitchfork fan and concert experience. And what stood out the most this year, was the increase amount of moms and dads carrying around babies in nylon chest holsters. Seeing the babies strapped to their parent’s chest was a fantastic sight to behold. And it always made me smile each time I looked over during a set and saw the little ones rocking out and sporting those ultra-cute protective headphones. With out a doubt, the increased babies sightings confirmed that the Pitchfork “crowd” has definitely grown older but still knows how to rock. And more importantly they’ve begin to spawn the next generation of indie-rockers.
During the weekend, over 54,000 fans packed into Chicago’s Union Park. And together, the masses collectively warred against the raging summer heat and looming dehydration which turned out to be the second most discussed topic besides the music. So much so that on Friday Festival organizers graciously and wisely announced that the price of bottled water was reduced from $2 to $1 and that fans in the first row would be given free water to avoid any dangerous situations.
But the 90 degree-plus temps didn’t stop fans from finding their groove or getting lost in the rock, rumble and thump of sonic pleasure that rolled through the weekend. Though it would be excellent if modern science could create a way to magically teleport music fans back and forth through time and across the festival grounds, so we can experience multiple bands at the same time and not worry about missing our favorite artist’s great set or the new buzz band. But the truth is, you can’t see all the bands. But you can see most of the bands if you try hard enough and don’t mind some minor speed-strolling between the stages.
Article comments
1 - Emm
Wow! What a brilliant review! And I love the accompanying photos too - it is my aim to take concert photography of such a god quality. I agree about the streaming. Bands often dig their own graves by getting a hump about the wrong issues entirely.