Pitchfork Music Festival attendees were treated to a mellow day of music in Union Park for day two. Avoiding mud from the previous day’s rain, they swayed to sets by Mitski, Low, Karate, and more.
Friday recep
Sunday recap
While I intended to arrive in time to see Jeff Parker and the New Breed, a flat bike tire foiled my plans. Luckily, Working Bikes was on hand at the Pitchfork bike parking lot to repair it and save the day!
CupcakKe
Rapper CupcakKe kicked off the afternoon, amping the crowd up on the Green Stage. The Chicago native’s sexually explicit verses had fans singing and dancing along. “This is my home city, y’all gotta fuck this up,” she said before commanding the crowd to moan along with her. Fuck it up she did.
The Linda Lindas
The Linda Lindas’ set earned a place among my all-time favorites at Pitchfork. What’s better than watching talented young people share their art? The LA quartet ranges in age from 11 to 17, and their youthful energy infected the crowd. Their punk songs tackle everything from racism to their cats. The super fun set saw the Lindas doing some choreographed dancing before closing with a cover of Bikini Kill’s “Rebel Girl.”
yeule
Over on the Blue Stage, yeule was casting their own spell. Singaporean artist Nat Ćmiel combined ambient glitch with expressive movement in a mesmerizing performance.
Dry Cleaning
London post-punks Dry Cleaning led the Red Stage crowd in spoken word show on the Red Stage. While vocalist Florence Shaw took a slam poetry stance, her three bandmates thrashed around her on the stage.
Iceage
Danish punks Iceage got the crowd jumping again in the shade of the Blue Stage. Elias Bender Rønnenfelt vamped on vocals wearing a black lace shirt while his stoic bandmates delivered post-punk licks.
Karate
In one of their first shows in 17 years, 90s indie rockers Karate proved that they still have the goods. The trio offered tracks like “Operation Sand” and “No Small Fires” before Geoff Farina shouted out his students at DePaul, where he’s currently teaching.
Low
It’s always a treat to see Low live. Given the band’s deep discography, you never know what the set might include. It’s incredible that spouses Mimi Parker and Alan Sparhawk have been making music together for nearly 30 years, and lucky for us they aren’t letting up anytime soon.
While some people in the crowd may have found the day’s offering too mellow, others were amped up.
One man was stopped by security after streaking naked across the field!
Mitski
The last time I saw Mitski live, she was playing guitar on the Blue Stage. I wasn’t prepared for her Björk-inspired, theatrical brand of performance art, using the mic to mock slit her throat and then pleasure herself. Nor was I prepared for the mob of young fans screaming for her every expression. Mitski showed how artistic a headlining set can be, and her rabid fans emphatically agreed.
Jessica Mlinaric founded Urban Explorer in 2010 to inspire curious travelers by highlighting history, culture, and hidden gems in Chicago and beyond. She is the author of ‘Secret Chicago’ and ‘Chicago Scavenger.’ Jessica has visited 20+ countries and 30+ U.S. states. She has more than 16 years of experience as a marketing strategist and works as a freelance writer and photographer.
