I decided to get a Sunday one-day pass to this year’s Pitchfork Festival when it was announced that the Flaming Lips would be closing the three day festival in Union Park on the west side. The ticket was $35 plus some minor ticketing fees – a cost I would have paid had the Lips been doing one night at a venue that was within my reach.
Due to an unfortunate evening with tequila and cherry vodka, I started the day off a little later than anticipated. In route I realized that the frustrations caused by owning a car in Chicago is easily solved by owning a Smart Car:
Solution to Parking in Chicago
Red line south to Lake, Green line to Ashland – I found myself in Union Park amongst a copious amount of local hipsters. Freaked me the fuck out. I was with my gentleman friend, so we were able to get in via the VIP entrance and benefit from a mild security search which helped me since I had packed my hangover kit of Toosie pops, water bottles, some mauw and a few little liquor bottles. The park was laid out as such:
Map of Pitchfork 2009
The walking wasn’t awful since the park was so small. The park was laid out in a manner that the landscape and greenery created the barrier between the two sides. I hate to say this, but they shouldn’t have released the extra 300 tickets each day the Thursday before the festival. I’m pretty sure that Saturday and Sunday were sold out and tickets were only available for Friday prior to release of the extra tickets. There was no place to sit, there was no place to groove, and I’ll argue that mass amounts of hipsters aimlessly walking around is much worse than hippies. Actually, the difference between Pitchfork and festivals like Bonnaroo or Summer Camp, is at the later you CAN actually move. One thing you have to say about hippies is they are down with personal space. I didn’t bring a blanket to Pitchfork, which was a huge mistake on my part. Pitchfork is more like the nightly concerts at Grant Park than your typical outdoor music festival. People bring lawn chairs, set up blankets and others obey the boundaries of the blanket. Every time I sat down anywhere, the space in front of me automatically became a walking path – and this happened where ever I tried to sit. Imagine the annoyance of trying to smoke with judging hipsters all up in your shit.
The crowded park took away from my desire to walk around. They had mad eats there, but the lines for food were sorta lame. You basically had to choose one vendor because you had at least a 10 minute wait to get your order in. Beer lines were equally annoying, however, I didn’t get my 21 wristband. We hit the few bottles we brought in and I was in no condition to be drinking again, so it didn’t really effect my day. Threadless was there – giving away gift certificates and merchandise if you stood in line to spin a wheel. That line was probably the worst line in the park. Worse than bathrooms, beer lines, and food vendors – the fucking Threadless promotional tent had the longest line. I judge you hipsters, this is bizarre.
The coolest part of Pitchfork was Flatstock 21. The row of screen print artists that create concert posters. There were 44 artists featured. The only one I had heard of before was Daniel Danger – he’s raw. I got this postcard. It was free.
Viewing posters via a festival, rows and rows of various posters took away from the specialness of the poster hunt. I know I was a huge pain in the ass at the Phish show at Alpine in June about getting the Pollock prints. I wanted the posters and it became obsessive, but whenever I get a poster, it comes with some sort of story – buying it from the show, hunting it down on e-bay or espresso beans. The ease of the purchase, turned me off. I liked being able to see what was out there and I liked picking up business cards here and there so I had new sites to check out, but nothing turned me on enough to purchase anything that day.
The sets started at 1:00pm. Due to the previous night’s activities, I got there around 4pm. I regret not being able to see Frightened Rabbits or Blizten Trapper. Here’s the full schedule:
Sunday Pitchfork Schedule 2009
Who I saw:
Pharoahe Monarch
Pharoahe Monarch - Pitchfork 09
DJ/Rupture
DJ/Rupture Pitchfork 09
The Walkmen - didn’t get a pic, I never got very close
M83
M83 - Pitchfork 09
Mew
Mew - Pitchfork 09
The Flaming Lips closed the day perfectly; from what I read from others, they closed the entire festival perfectly. The Lips stage had served as the background to all the bands on the A-Stage throughout the day. It was obvious as the Flaming Lips did a few minute pre-show tease that the show was going to be a great spectacle. They are so weirdly wonderful. Wayne Coyne walked on stage via a digital vagina before climbing into his balloon ball – his signature move. He gets the crowd revved up by screaming “COME ON, MOTHER FUCKERS!” to the audience – I love that, I’m trying to use the phrase more in my own life. I thought the mocking of the “Write the Night” list got a little preachy, but I can’t say I wouldn’t do the same thing. The Flaming Lips are not the band you need to dictate a set list to. They played everything you wanted to hear as well as introduced two new songs. The spectacle was cool despite being at festival – which usually allows for limited production. Great show and made the day for me.
Flaming Lips - Pitchfork 09
Flaming Lips - Pitchfork 09
Flaming Lips - Pitchfork 09
Posted by frumpyali 
