The Fashion Beat
This year's trends: guys in full-body costumes (spotted: one guy dressed as a clown, another in a fleecy dog suit, and another dressed as Tanooki Mario), girls coating their cheeks in glitter gel like they've just stepped out of a Limited Too circa 1999, and lots and lots of patterned shirts.
the hottest new look in festival wear: the Clown Suit #p4kfest pic.twitter.com/Or9v0c2oc3
— Carrie Schedler (@carrieschedler) July 14, 2017
Patterns at @pitchforkfest, a case study: pic.twitter.com/33mi2IpQps
— John Hardberger (@JHardberger) July 15, 2017
We Remember the '90s
The generational divide showed up around 5:15 when, over at the Blue Stage, Frankie Cosmos held court among the twenty-somethings clandestinely smoking joints and ironically wearing vibrant 90s-inspired ensembles. Those who actually lived through that decade flocked instead to see Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore, patron saint of Fanboys Who Stand Alone At Concerts Nodding. Unsurprisingly, there was no overlap between the two—until Danny Brown, the great equalizer, bounded onstage.
An Exclusive Taste
Those who upgraded to the Pitchfork+ pass this year (for a mere $365) got, in addition to private bars and air-conditioned bathrooms, a first taste of Lonesome Rose, the Southwestern-slash-Mexican spot forthcoming from Land and Sea Dept. (Lost Lake, Parson's) opening this year in Logan Square. The menu includes cauliflower tacos and chorizo burgers.
Best Onstage Banter Goes to … Arca
At one point, the electronic artist brought a bottle of champagne onstage, then passed it off to an audience member, deadpanning: "Can you open this for me? I'm busy." He later admonished the crowd for not dancing enough: "I'm doing that again. This song is nasty. I need you to thrust and thrust, OK?"
Collaboration Watch
Wisconsin-native Phil Cook's had several noteworthy cameos: He played keys and guitar for William Tyler and Hiss Golden Messenger—and Dawn Richard's duet with Longstreth on their collaborative track "Cool Your Heart."
Don't Fix What Ain't Broke
This year, Pitchfork has forgone the traditional wristband system in favor of asking festival goers to keep track of their paper tickets all weekend, scanning them one-by-one at the gate. Not sure why they swapped to this system which all but guarantees congestion at the gate, as we spotted Friday
Bonus Shout-Out
Didya have fun at #p4kfest? Maybe not as much as this guy, our new hero, at the @DirtyProjectors set ( : @JHardberger ) pic.twitter.com/AvZ67n9moc
— Chicago magazine (@ChicagoMag) July 15, 2017
See our video recap: