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Music

Pitchfork Music Festival: Day One

Chicago is known for its wet blanket summers. Last month was the city's hottest June on record since the 1930s, leaving 18 people died from “heat-related deaths." So it was no surprise that everyone at the Pitchfork Music Festival was a swampy mess.

End of day one.

Hot. Sticky. Thick. Wet. Chicago is known for its wet blanket summers, making even a short walk down to the local bodega for a pack of smokes the equivalent of jumping head-first into the deep end of a turtle tank. Last month even closed the books as the hottest June on record in Chicago since the 1930’s. Eighteen people died of “heat-related deaths” (hashtag whatthefuck). Remembering Pitchfork Music Festivals of years past, these blistering elements seemed to hold true to a large extent. Cold beer and shade being the most precious of commodities to festival goers in vintage sundresses and 90’s basketball jerseys, and especially so for the ironic assholes in leather coats and skullcaps. So, a year of meticulous production and prep is gifted with the shittiest shitstorm downpour we’ve more or less seen all summer.

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Swampy people. 

It was as if the clouds opened up and the Gods decided to take a long, gratifying piss on all of our eager faces, the kind of piss like when you stumble half drunk in the dark from the couch (or floor), find the toilet, and let it rip. Bumper-to-bumper, punching my steering wheel en route to Union Park, it was like I could almost hear thousands of tiny disappointed voices outside my window angrily whispering, “But why, God?! I saved this blunt for Big K.R.I.T.. Whyyyy…” In the end, I’m sure those blunts were smoked – the festival reportedly only postponed entry by about a half an hour, with Lower Dens and Outer Minds kicking things off. I actually almost collided with K.R.I.T. on Ashland right after his set on my way into the grounds, elbowing past the usual crackheads selling water and hundreds of fans who, just like me, were finally making their way in. Already caked in wet dirt slop, I find myself at the Red Stage to catch the start of Dirty Projectors' set.

Dirty Projectors.

Muddy baseball fields, deflated crowds, and rain-delay aside, Day one wasn't a wash by any means, catching sets by Dirty Projectors, Clams Casino, Purity Ring, and Feist. Dirty Projectors banged out a Swing Lo Magellan heavy set, with highlights “Dance For You” and “Gun Has No Trigger,” a single I couldn’t initially swallow, but hundreds of listens later, and  after hearing it live for the first time, could be my favorite jam of the summer. For those who’ve never caught these guys live, it’s hard not to be charmed by the Amber Coffman and Haley Dekle harmonies. Remember when “Stillness is the Move” was on every blog and XMU countdown?

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Purity Ring.

The real highlight of the day was Purity Ring’s performance. They played the Blue Stage opposite Feist to a flood of fans, packed in tight; anxious and stoned awaiting their first live exposure to material from the band’s upcoming debut Shrines. Heads up to vinyl nerds like me, 4AD is selling the LP in the Flea Market a couple weeks early, plus if you buy it you can spin a giant multicolored contest wheel and win things like a signed Grimes publicity photo. The Canadian electronic two-piece of Megan James and Corin Roddick held confident ground as they blasted out their eerie hip-hop undertone-d single “Obedear” and the rest of their set held that same sort of sexy, danceable vibe. A perfect end to the night in the heavily shaded corner of Union Park.

I ended the night mingling around all the awesome record label booths in the Flea Market. It’s sandwiched, as it is every year, between the side Main Stage and the Flat Stock tents, but if it’s your first year, you could miss it. A couple of Miller High Lifes  later, I ended up with every copy of Ty Segall on wax I could find, talked reissues with the Saddle Creek guys, and caught up with Chicago’s amazing CHIRP Radio Project.

Tomorrow’s plan of attack: Cloud Nothings, Atlas Sound, Cults, Youth Lagoon, Nicolas Jaar, Wild Flag, Sleigh Bells, Hot Chip, and Grimes.