The annual Pitchfork Music Festival is an indie music summer festival organized by Pitchfork Media. Along with three days of music, spanning from rock and electronic pop to rap, the festival also hosts Flat Stock, an extensive and affordable poster sale, and two tents of vendors (mostly vinyl). The 2012 festival was held from July 13th to the 15th in Chicago’s Union Park, and was interesting, to say the least, given that it was either enjoyed in rain or ridiculous heat.
Friday admittedly started off a little rough; there was a phenomenal line-up of bands to look forward to, but there was also a phenomenal downpour in the early afternoon. I was apprehensive about how the following three days would go if the first was a bust, but Pitchfork went on rain-or-shine (mostly rain) and impressed me regardless. The first day was a good introduction to the festival, featuring a variety of genres and good shows, and, for me, very few scheduling conflicts.
TIM HECKER (kind of) and JAPANDROIDS | Arriving at the Blue Stage to catch Japandroids, we weasled our way into the crowd a bit and waited for them to begin. A man was on stage playing music off his laptop, and it wasn’t until he walked off that I realized it was not an act to fill time during set up, but a performance. No one could have said it better than the gentleman behind me: “I like Tim Hecker when I’m listening to him alone in a dark room, but just not here.”
Japandroids, though, were quite a contrast to Tim Hecker’s set. Due to the weather, the stage was running a bit behind, and you could sense anticipation building. Regardless of the delay, the crowd erupted as the two-person outfit took the stage and played a very energetic live show; jumping, moshing, and shouting lyrics immediately ensued. The two worked well on stage, each feeding off the others’ raw energy, adding drum fills, and improvising as necessary. Seeing as it was just one guitarist, he had a very full sound, playing through numerous amps. Pitchfork’s decision to put them on the smaller Blue Stage was questionable, but they drew a large and enthusiastic crowd, and then (here comes an understatement) rocked it.
