Day two of Pitchfork Music Festival was crazy, in more ways than one. One one hand, the music was absolutely incredible. On the other hand, thunderstorms and intense rain were so bad at one point, event staff were forced to shut down the festival and evacuate the park about halfway through the day. Luckily, the weather cleared soon enough and the show was back on.
Crazily inclement weather was not the only surprise of the day. I got to the festival a few hours before I planned to start photographing, and on a whim decided to see Bully perform. They came absolutely out of nowhere, with such immediate noise and energy that the entire crowd was blown away. Their hard rock sound was heavily tinged with garage punk, and was a great way to start the day.
Mr Twin Sister came next, one of the most truly interesting bands I’ve ever seen. Their lead singer, Andrea Estella, performed vocals like I’ve never heard before, in an almost ethereal style. Soon after their set ended though, an announcement came over the speakers: due to circumstances beyond anyone’s control, Pitchfork Music Festival would be closing for the day.
This statement was met with general uproar, even as the storm grew steadily worse. The announcement itself was punctuated by a massive clap of thunder, and on cue the rain increased to a downpour. Soon, everyone in the park was running towards an exit and spilling onto the streets. Bizarrely but luckily, the festival resumed about half an hour later. Somehow word got around to the festivalgoers already on their way home, and by the time the rain cleared around 5 o’clock, the crowds had returned.
Some sets were cut short due to the unplanned break in music. Kurt Vile and Ariel Pink, especially, were forced to play abbreviated shows. That didn’t stop Ariel Pink from going all out in his own strange fashion. I had never heard of the LA native before this summer, but his show was simply fun to watch.
A$AP Ferg and the New Pornographers played as the festival worked to get itself back on schedule. The New Pornographers played good song after good song, but I was not impressed with Ferg’s performance. I had high hopes for such a prominent member of the A$AP Mob, but Ferg just didn’t pull through. His shortcomings have me looking forward to Run the Jewels and Chance the Rapper tomorrow, though, as I’m hoping to get from them what was missed today.
Shamir provided a quick interlude before the nighttime headliners. The 20-year-old artist was alternately peppy and serene, but always seemed to love the stage. He smiled after every song.
For the final show of the night, I decided to forego Vic Mensa in order to see Sleater-Kinney, one of my favorite live performances in existence. The riot grrrl act absolutely nailed it, with an immense amount of power and energy coming from the stage. As member Carrie Brownstein said during their set, “the rain seems to have washed away everything we wanted to forget, so thanks for coming out to see us.” That seemed to be a very apt phrase for the day as a whole.
