Pitch Perfect
The date was July 20th, 2015, and I was riding a train, both physically and mentally. The Metra train in which I was aboard ferociously approached my home, but in my mind I was still stuck in yesterday's news. I knew that living in the past is never a smart thing to do, but man, this experience just seemed so important and so big that I could not help but revisit it. I had just spent the prior three days at Pitchfork Music Festival in Union Park, Chicago, IL, and it was honestly such mind blowing weekend in so many ways. Not only was I surrounded by such an immensely talented group of artists, but I was also surrounded by people who were all united and truly devoted to music. This felt absolutely incredible, and honestly having the ability to connect to so many people I was previously strangers with such such an enlightening experience. Above all of this, the best part of the weekend was perhaps my realization: your opinion is the only one that matters. Honestly, I've spent the better part of my life just worrying. I cannot seem to help it, and for some reason it has consumed me. school, my music, and my social life has always been hindered to some degree because I, for years, have been afraid. But, for whatever reason, my weekend at Pitchfork Music Festival changed my perspective on how I view the world around me. As I sang, danced, and jumped around I realized I have let my life control me. I am always too worried about messing up or making simple mistakes that I often do not let myself see my full potential. Over the weekend I observed many people just really going all out. People there seemed so carefree and very accepting in the same breath. It really just feels like a place you can be yourself. This environment was perfect for me because it allowed to really just have some important "me" time, and seeing everyone else enjoy themselves so much perhaps taught me to loosen up. Even if the bands I saw this weekend were awesome, and the camaraderie I felt was very enjoyable, I have to say the greatest part of this weekend was just getting to know myself better. Alright, enough with the sappy stuff! Let's get down to business.
FRIDAY
Wilco-Random Name Generator
After about two hours of train riding, my friend Matt and I arrived in Chicago. We were staying the weekend in an apartment a little bit out of the city with my brother and his girlfriend. On Friday, everyone staying in this apartment was going to the fest. This was interesting because we had people from all different kinds of festival going experience in our group. My friend was going to his first festival as was my brother's girlfriend's roommate, while my brother and I had been to the festival a couple times before in the past. This excited me a lot actually because it is always interesting seeing people go to their first festival. It really is a unique experience. Anyway after cups of coffee and brief meals we made our trek to the festival. The day began at the Red Stage with Natalie Prass. The weather was unreasonably hot, and so was Natalie Prass! The heat was really beating down on the fest goers, but man was my optimism high. This was going to be a great day, and I just knew it. Natalie Prass put on a nice show, but I really do prefer her album to her live show. Her live set up does not allow a lot of the arrangements that were written for her album to come out. Still, her show was pretty entertaining and I wasn't too upset. Next there was kind of a lull in the day, so my friend and I decided to just camp for Mac DeMarco. Unfortunately while we camped, we could hear the obnoxious ILOVEMAKONEN which I can honestly say was one of the worst shows I've ever seen. MAKONEN brought a lot of energy to the stage, but his DJ was lackluster and his tunes just don't have any depth really. The wait for Mac was one of the first painful parts of the weekend. My legs already started aching, so I knew I was in for trouble in that department. Despite the pain, Mac DeMarco's show was extremely fun. The man didn't sound amazing or anything, but he is such a goofball and he really knows how to interact with a crowd. His twangly guitar tunes kept me entertained his entire set, and overall it was a fantastic show. Next we moved onto Panda Bear. During this show I met up with my dad, who was waiting for Wilco. It was great to see him, and I hope he had a good time. Anyways, Panda Bear was a very cool show. Quite unlike anything I saw all weekend. Noah Lennox went from tune to tune with seemingly absolutely no bumps. It was a really cool set, but I can't help but feel it was maybe not catered to a festival. It is the type of show I'd much rather see in a venue in the dark. It was still very cool nonetheless. After Panda Bear we just stayed at the Green Stage and camped for Wilco. We could hear Chvrches and they sounded tight, but our seats for Wilco were well worth skipping out on them. My second time seeing Wilco was absolutely incredible. They played their new album Star Wars front to back, and honestly it was astounding. This band has been around for 20+ years and yet they still are putting out great fresh material. You Satellite sounded particularly amazing. Glen Kotche was absolutely destroying the drumset, and Nels Cline was a monster on guitar. After they played the new album, they rocked through some of their greatest hits. This show just constantly amazed me. Tweedy and company have a mastery of their craft that few bands can achieve, and honestly watching them just run with it is remarkable. If you ever get the chance to see this band live you NEED to take it! I think they are possibly one of the best live bands in the game right now, and I guarantee they won't disappoint you. Anyways, after the show was over all of us were really exhuasted, but it turns out that the next bus back to the apartment wasn't for 15 minutes so we needed to hold on just a little bit longer. Eventually we made it back and we spent the rest of the night eating ice cream and pizza, and watching movies from my brother's laptop. Overall it was an amazing day of music, but I knew I still had plenty of work left to do for the weekend.
SATURDAY
Sleater Kinney-Words & Guitars
After a long day of festival going, your body is bound to be tired. Perhaps this is why the 5 hours of sleep I got this particular night seemed to just obliterate my body and mind. All complaints aside, day 2 was an even more amazing day than day 1. Spectacular performances, good food, and ultimately surprisingly good seats really helped make this day fantastic. The day started out with coffee in the apartment again, and sadly I just cannot bear coffee. I am sorry, I like it just about as much as I liked ILOVEMAKONEN'S performance. Still, I am always down for a good bagel and egg breakfast, so I will keep my mouth shut. After breakfast we just chilled until we could catch a bus to the festival. The doors open earlier at noon on Saturday and Sunday, so that means we caught a lot more performances (YES!)! After being dismantled of all of our water by security (c'mon guys!) we finally were in the fest. Since we got there early we had plenty of time to fill up on water, and enjoy the record stores and accessory shops inside the fest. This was a pretty great experience, especially in a weekend so jam-packed with action. It was nice to just witness the culture of the fest for a little bit and just kind of look around. After we were done with this we headed over to the Blue Stage for the first time of the weekend. We caught Bully perform a short, but brilliant set full of energy and flair. Singer/guitarist Alicia Bogananno really brought so much to the table. She can scream, sing pretty, and her guitar playing is pretty badass too! Honestly this set was a real treat (if Smid is reading lol). After this set was done we stayed put and camped for Mr. Twin Sister, which was yet another spectacular show. Few bands at the fest had as unique of a sound as Twin Sister. They experiment with plenty of different synths, drum loops, wind instruments, etc.. Overall, it makes for a just a fantastic show. Their music really has a kind of airy and atmospheric feel to it, but it still feels dancey at the same time. Few bands can hit this balance, so it's really cool to experience this live. About half way into this set it started pouring. I'm not kidding, It was an absolutely menacing downpour, this was pretty cool seeing the band perform through this, but sadly shortly after Mr. Twin Sister the fest was post poned for about an hour. This was disappointing, but honestly it couldn't have came at a better time. It came at kind of a gap in the day, and it allowed my friend and I to see the posters and other accessories pitchfork had to offer. We weren't technically allowed to be in the park, but the security honestly just did not enforce the cancellation very hard, so many people just stayed in the back of the park kind of hidden. Things got started again around 4:45 and I realized that Kurt Vile's set was going to be cut tragically short, so we ended up just going to the Red Stage to camp for Parquet Courts. Kurt's performance was kind of muddled down by sound issues, which I completely understand because of the quick turn around after the cancellations, but Parquet Courts ruled! The crowd got really into it, and the band sounded great. There was energy coming from both sides, and honestly that is the way it should be. The mosh pits got pretty intense, and my body was pretty dehydrated at the time, so I decided against it, but the show was still pretty fantastic. Plus, my friend and I got extremely dirty during this show, which was pretty cool. I'm pretty sure he landed face down in the mud while he was in the mosh, which i've never seen happen. Anyways, you get it, very tight show! After PC, we saw a longtime favorite of mine The New Pornographers. Despite much of the band's live lineup being different than usual, they still brought the house down. A.C Newman and co. really still have it, and their setlist really made me happy. Lots of old songs from them, and you best believe I was singing every word. Shortly after my friend and I indulged on some delicious fries and pizza before we just camped out for Sleater Kinney. We heard Future Islands from a distance and they sounded good. Sam Herring really packs a ton of energy into his performances with the band, which I appreciate. After an hour of waiting, Sleater Kinney brought the house down! Carrie Brownstein was constantly going berserk on stage, which was both funny and badass. The girl really knows how to put on a show. Corin Tucker still has an amazing singing voice, and despite Janet Weiss' strange technique, she was rock solid on drums as well. Through all the struggles of the show (Carries fall, and a simple screw up during the encore) the band still managed to put on a fantastic show. Day 2 left me feeling more satisfied than a piece of sausage pizza, and although I was dirty, I really felt on top of the world. I encountered so many great people and artist, and I just couldn't wait to finish it out. After a short transit back to the apartment, we ended up washing our clothes and shoes out in a broken fire hydrant! If that's not life changing, I don't know what is. So yeah, when a day ends like that, you know it was worthwhile.
SUNDAY
Caribou-Our Love
The last day of a festival is always something special. We had made it through 2 days already, so what were we to fear? Nothing. It was just time to go out one last time, and really put an exclamation point on the weekend. Going into the fest I knew most of my hyped artists were playing on Sunday, so honestly I was beyond amped. The prospect of being able to Courtney Barnett, Jamie xx, Caribou, Todd Terje, and Chance all in row just absolutely blew my mind. And guess what...it didn't disappoint at all, in fact, it might have even exceeded my expectations. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, lets for one last time start at the beginning of this (even though no one is reading this...still). Another nice breakfast included eggs, toast with cream cheese, and an apple. My brother introduced me to some new music I've never actually heard before after breakfast which was definitely a much needed kick in the right direction (I'm going to try to do reviews again, I know I messed up). After that we pretty much discussed our favorite sets of the weekend, and found ourselves in sometimes heated arguments. After we finished this, we headed over to the fest for one last go around. We got there early again, so we checked out concessions and it turns out Topman was giving away free shirts. The shirts were being pressed there, so seeing the process was actually pretty interesting. Also, who could pass on free stuff? That's one amazing thing about the fest. They always seem to give a lot of stuff away, whether it is water, or just cool merchandise. After acquiring my shirt, we headed over to see Viet Cong. The band released one of my favorite records of the year, so my expectations were high. Overall the performance was at times just ok, but the sheer intensity made it a can't miss set. The band brought a ton of energy to the set, and hearing Matt Flegel just scream out his vocals made everyone in the crowd really hyped. The second guitarist did occasionally really mess up or just not finish his phrases, but honestly a good performance moves the crowd, and Viet Cong made the crowd go nuts! Death is seriously one of the best live songs I've ever heard, just pure bliss. After Viet Cong we saw Kate Crutchfield's Waxahatchee. This set was unbelievably tame compared to VC's. It wasn't bad, but it didn't really pack the excitement of the previous band. I'm not mad about it at all though because it gave Matt and I a great opportunity to sit down and rest our bodies before the day destroyed us. After Waxahatchee we moved on to Madlib & Freddie Gibbs. This show was ultimately very entertaining, and just a great come-home show for Freddie Gibbs. The man really knows how to connect with a crowd. He made us laugh constantly with his goofy antics. He claimed to be "drunk as hell" and I wouldn't doubt it, but still if that man can rap that well when he's "drunk as hell" then he's a legend in my book. Madlib is a legend, and his production was just cream of the crop as usual. It was refreshing to hear a great DJ after seeing the atrocious DJ of ILOVEMAKONEN. Perhaps Freddie talked too much, but honestly I still really enjoyed myself immensely. After this we just needed to eat. There was no if ands or buts about it. We filled up on water and enjoyed delicious pulled pork sandwhiches while also munching on some fries which sadly made us miss about 20 minutes of Courtney Barnett's set. We got back though, and at least I know I felt phenomenal. Better than I had felt in days. Courtney sounded amazing and honestly everyday my mind changes about her. That album that I gave such a low score is actually pretty amazing (sorry Courtney!). Her band, with just 3 people, blew the house out of the water. It was a set that was both moshable and just enjoyable from an observers perspective. After a little bit of CB we decided to head over to Jamie xx. His set was a DJ set, but he does things the old fashioned way. He has two record players and some beat boards that he is constantly checking and playing with in order to create his music, and it was honestly unbelievable work. Anyone who says being a DJ is easy clearly needs to see this set because Jamie was always busy. He is always playing with something or switching something up. Everyone really dug his set, and it was really the beginning of a non-stop dance party. Caribou followed Jamie xx in just a monstrous way. The band's four man set up is simply incredible when you consider how much noise the group can make. Dan Snaith is always toying around with synths and even often playing drums to tracks to spice things up a little bit. Caribou, in terms of precision, might have been the best band I've ever seen. They can switch the groove to seemingly any feel or meter and everyone will still be together. This was really shown on the magnificent track Mars. The drummer's groove is completely arrhythmic to what the rest of the band is doing, but still he does not miss a beat. It's pretty incredible set. Two more highlights of this performance: Matt and I danced with a complete stranger for the last 20 minutes, and Dan Snaith played a pan flute on Odessa. Pretty amazing stuff. After this, we stayed back for about 3 songs of the badass, in your face hip-hop group Run The Jewels which was extremely enjoyable. We didn't have much time before Todd Terje, so we decided to stay back, but I mean even from far away, how can you not love RTJ?!? Soon enough we went to the Blue Stage to see the legendary Norwegian DJ Todd Terje (HOW DO YOU PRONOUNCE TERJE?!?!). His live set was sporting a full band, which was just incredible. It made the tracks groove so hard, and honestly if you didn't dance during this set you are inhuman. Todd Terje honestly was just a superstar up there, and to see the rest of the band was just icing on the cake. My mind was actually so ecstatic during this entire set. My life may have peaked during the just delicious performances of both Svenk Sas and Alfonso Muskedunder. The crowd was just unbelievably energetic, and I was so happy to be part of it. The music was on point, the energy was there, what else could have made it better. The day could have ended there and I would have been completely content, but thankfully there was one more act to cherish. Chance The Rapper gave me one last piece of "Sunday Candy" (laugh at my joke please) for the day and boy was I grateful. During the show Chance energetically bounced from his early to his more recent projects, and he really connected with all the audience. His live band killed it, except for you Donnie Trumpet. Stop playing your instrument so damn loud. The set was just a perfect goodbye to the weekend. As Chance told Chicago how much he meant to him, it was hard not to feel proud. I was just proud of my family, my peers, and my community. I felt so happy to in that moment at that time, and only special person can do that. Thank you, Chance!!! As the day ended, we encountered some more funny people, and kind of just reflected on the whole experience. We knew we had to leave the next day which was depressing, but honestly I was ok with it. I accomplished everything I set out to do and more that weekend, and I am just happy that it happened. After all, Dr. Seuss says.....you get what I'm trying to say. We've all heard that quote a million times. As the day winded down I really got to think about everything in my life, and how perfect it all is. I have great friends, great family, a great education, and a great community. Sometimes you need a little vacation to see what is so special in your everyday life, and although that may be ironic, it is certainly true. Pitchfork was my vacation. It was a release from all the pent up emotions I had faced in the prior months (lol teenage angst). And even though I know it's not always going to be peaches and cream, at least I can always look back on moments like this and just really feel blessed. Life can be crazy and sometimes illogically strange, but then again, so can Pitchfork Music Festival, so maybe life really is beautiful.
IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ THIS ENTIRE THING:
- Pitchfork Music Festival was on July 17th-19th and I found out a lot about myself during this weekend. I learned that ultimately my opinion is the only one that matters in my life, and that I should not be worried about what others want me to be.
- I stayed in Chicago with my brother, my brother's gf, and my friend Matt. We chilled hard lol. We ate some delicious food, listened to great tunes, and did not sleep well.
- FRIDAY HIGHLIGHTS: Wilco's amazing musicianship and overwhelmingly powerful show, Mac's audience connection, Panda Bear's unique show, Natalie Prass is really hot!, amazing strawberry ice cream after
- SATURDAY HIGHLIGHTS: Delicious Bagel breakfast, Bully's powerful yet quick set, Twin Sister in rain, Parquet Courts mud bath, New Pornographers still got it, Sleater Kinney prove women are bigger rockstars than men.
- SUNDAY HIGHLIGHTS: Burritos at end of day, Viet Cong's passionate performance, Chilling in grass at Waxahatchee, Freddie Gibbs & Madlib's hilarious yet impressive set, Jamie xx's old fashioned performance, Caribou's tight as nails sound/dancing with cool guy during this set, Todd Terje's crazy fun dance party in the dark, Chance's intimate and touching hometown show.
- Sappy line about me saying sometimes the only way to remember the great joys of everyday life is to take a vacation
- Sappy line about me comparing life's craziness and hectic nature to a Pitchfork Music Festival's craziness and hectic nature.
- I made a lot of jokes in here, so if you aren't reading, I'm sorry.
