...In which our heroine Pitchfork-s.

I have survived another music festival, no worse for the wear. Each one that I go to, it becomes easier to tolerate the drunk fools, the lackluster food, and the heat. But Pitchfork was very different, for lots of reasons. The crowd was decidedly older and hipper, and less intoxicated. It was downright chilly all weekend which was frustrating, but still better than 90 degree heat. The food and vendors were way better than Lollapalooza - I got some awesome pot stickers and a black bean burger, and the shops had awesome vinyl. 

And there was some music to be heard too. All together I think the list goes something like this: Fucked Up, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Women, Wavves, Beirut, M83, Pharoah Monch, Japandroids, The National, Ponytail, Grizzly Bear, The Thermals, and The Flaming Lips. I'm not even going to pretend to be hip enough to have known all of those bands going in to the festival, and to be honest, most of their sets were throughly lackluster. I think the issue was the music was too subdued for the setting.

Beirut and M83 did really fun sets, but there was no question that The Flaming Lips owned it. I've always read about their live show, but oh my dear lord. Aside from Daft Punk, definitely the most fun concert I've ever been to. Decider says it better than I can:

Perhaps the most anticipated gig of the entire weekend kicked off with what might have been the oddest band entrance ever: A door opened in the middle of a stage-sized screen, which at the time was showing video of a woman's bright white vagina, and out popped the Lips; oh, except for frontman Wayne Coyne, who was in a plastic bubble that rose from the stage floor and made its way out to the crowd. The rest of the set was punctuated with orange and yellow balloons, hordes of dancing fans in animal costumes, and (a rumored $5,000 worth of) confetti. That's not to say the spectacle distracted from the music—which hit the band's all-time audience favorites, including "She Don't Use Jelly", "Fight Test", and closer "Do You Realize??"—but rather it gave longtime fans, tired from standing for nearly eight hours straight, an invitation to marvel.

Yeah, it was pretty fucking rad. I will say that it was not show meant to be seen without being under the influence of something - the lights looked way cooler through the cloud of smoke hovering above the crowd. We were about fifteen rows back from the stage and that familiar crush was present, but not as bad as Modest Mouse or Rage Against the Machine. It was a good weekend with good company.

Adam Yauch has cancer, so I guess I'll be seeing Tool at Lollapalooza now, which is a good consolation prize. A Beastie Boy should not get cancer. 

I have lots to talk about in terms of the ArtUp intensive I mentored for, but that's another day.

Today we end with "Never Let Me Down Again," my favorite Depeche Mode song.