pitchfork 2008: day one

pitchfork 2008: day one

it rained. fuck it rained. see below.

i made my way on the cta belmont to cumberland bus, getting off at ashland/lincoln. this is a crossroad i became accustomed to while in chicago, 'cause everywhere i had to go by buss passed this intersection, and i usually went onto damen. the wonders of a grid system.

after a little trouble getting in i wandered around. best to say now that i spent the first and second day on my own. though i tend to prefer going to gigs solo and have spent festival or two the same, being in a different country company would of been welcome. my friends had to work, or i didn't want to impose on close-knit groups.

at pitchfork there are the usual concession stands -- or vendors. but being the first day with only three actsm not all of the vendors were set up. flagstock, which is pitchforks annual gig poster fair wasn't to be set up till tomorrow. chirp (chicago independent radio project) record fair, which took up two large tented area's to the right of "a" stage, is where you'd find the label vendors (sub pop, k nine, polyvinyl, jagjaguar...), as well as vinyl stands, second hand cds, and a collection of handmade jewellery, figurines, clothes...  you had to queue at a supermarket-like check-out to buy even one small thing. there's a huge sigh when you notice something you like after you've just queued and bought some trinket.

the three acts for tonight were: mission of burma, sebadoh, and public enemy. all performing the albums that had made them known. i'll passively mention my disappointment  in the sound for mission of burma and sebadoh. it was horrible. the bass washed over the park with it making it hard to differentiate the instruments and vocals. only half-way through sebadohs set could you everything clearly. the bass turned down, and now a lo-fi sound. it preferred it. i hadn't listened to either bands music before. mission of burma's "vs." ('82) was a varied album of metal and punk sounds. it could of been an era spanning record, but the lads gave a helluva show.

sebadoh. i've known hte name for a long time, and though their gig was good i couldn't feel myself drawn to it -- performing their '93 album "bubble and scrape".

public enemy though, once their announcer/big-upper/whoeverthehellitwas was on stage i got very excited. i'd been standing since bomb squad did their lil set to get the crowd going.

to use up space below, here's public enemy's "bring the noise" as their first song -- off their album "it takes a nation of millions to hold us back" (flavor flav doesn't show up till the next song) for pitchfork 2008. it's taken on my digital camera from a fair distance. you get the idea.

below is "terminator x"

people left the grounds surprisingly quick. not something that could be said for the rest of the weekend.

Gareth