Paint the Town Orange

Pitchfork Music Festival Day 3 - July 20th, 2008 - Union Park Chicago, IL

The second day of Pitchfork started slowly, mainly because Stage B (the best stage at the fest) was pushed back a half an hour. So while waiting for High Places to come on I was nearly put to sleep by The Dirty Projectors.

I was not sure what to expect with High Places, I love their homemade beats and noises, but how would that translate to the live stage? Beautifully of course. Standing in front of a table full of electronics and homemade instruments they filled the crowd with tropical grooves. You felt like you were on vacation, with thousands of your closest friends.

Staying at Stage B, I decided to catch HEALTH again. I had seen them open for Crystal Castles earlier this summer, but I wanted see what they could do with a bigger stage and a bigger audience. Their sound, movements, the multiple drumming, and uncontrollable dancing it was both manic and brutal. I was so impressed that they could continue to play at such a frantic pace for the entire set. They almost seemed to be in pain as they thrashed and danced and screamed.

Next up is King Kahn! Here are my scribbled notes during the most wild show I have ever been to. King Kahn... dry ice... cape... blue Darth Vader mask filled with water... go-go dancer... key board to the crotch... pubic hair... crowd jumping... I Wanna Be a Girl... dirty inked Chucks... Soul Power... King Kahn! What more do you need to know?

After King Kahn I couldn't take the bath that I felt I needed but I did grab a refreshing bottle of water and some fried ravioli and headed over to watch The Dodos. This San Francisco duo have such a great sound. Pounding drums and up beat acoustic guitar, it was perfect. Perfect, until my camera died!

Heading back out at 8:00 for my all-time favorite band Dinosaur Jr. I had a regular camera, but the digital was still dead. I went into the press pit, and stood infront of the 6 marhshall amps. In awe and snapping extreme close up photos, they launced their set with "It's Me" from last years relese Beyond. What impressed me the most is that they actually expanded their playlist to include songs from all of the albums of Dinosaur Jr. Unlike their reunion tour in 2005, they played "Out There", "Feel the Pain", and "Wagon" this time around. It was very cool even though I did get trampled by a security guard trying to catch a crowd surfer who was about to enter the pit. In my opinion it was a very successful weekend. I also found some new artists and other random items and vendors that I will be sharing in the near future.