Pitchfork Day 1

Union Park, Chicago
July 29th
Heat index: close to 100 degrees.

We walked over from J & K's around 4:30.
"Ready, Art Brut? Bang Bang Rock and Roll!"
They aren't the most original band, but Art Brut are fun and they do a good live set.
Krista loves their choice of band name.
We watched them for a bit then wandered over to a little stage in a tent at the far south end of the park. Soren joined us there as we heard some of the frenzied, echoes of early Beastie Boys stylings of Spank Rock. I may have to pick up some of their stuff.
Then we stood in the long line for the Ben and Jerry's ice cream truck. Missed Ted Leo and nobody seemed to mind.
Wandered around the arts and crafts/music tent for a while. I saw about a dozen things I would have probably bought on any other day, but I didn't feel like carrying around a bag of vinyl for the rest of the day, so I abstained.
After standing in the water mister for a moment, we staked out a chunk of grass for the Walkmen. They were good. Jeff remarked on the lead singer getting more and more reminiscent of Bob Dylan, and yes, I can hear it, and I'm not sure if that's a good direction in which to go. The Walkmen are a bit of an acquired taste, sure, but they have a good style of their own that they should stick to.
Drifted out of that crowd toward the other of the two main stages to find a clear spot to sit down for a while before the Futureheads. They were good, though it took them a while to get to what I consider to be their better songs.
I should note that we didn't watch any set all the way through, but that was okay, I kind of like the notion of being in the midst of such a wealth of good music that you can just wander off to another stage and be just as happy with what you are hearing.
We finished off day 1 with A-Track, a turntable artiste known for his work with the Invisible Skratch Picklz. It was a solid, high energy way to end the first day.
Returned to J & K's and had a refreshing glass of limoncillo liqueur on ice, and went home.
Overall, a good day musically speaking, with no sunburns and no detectable signs of overheating.