Pitchfork Music Festival Recap - Day Two
Written by: Josh Skarda, Jonathan Joseph | Sep 1, 2024
JOSH: We attended this year’s Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago as press, something that was a pipe dream for me until just a few weeks ago. This was the first live event that our station has ever covered as media, and we’re incredibly grateful to have been selected to attend such a prestigious festival. A thrilling weekend ensued of knockoff Brat merch, live music from all across the genre spectrum, and hours spent under the Chicago sun. Enjoy our recaps of the dozen-plus performances we caught, accompanied by photography from yours truly.
Hotline TNT
JONATHAN: After listening to Cartwheel, Hotline TNT’s latest record, I had to catch them live. Mixing slacker rock with strong shoegaze instrumentation is a classic combo, but it’s hard to make it stand out. Hotline TNT creates memorable guitar riffs that frontman Will Anderson builds off of with his vocals. Anderson’s voice reminds you of an average Joe listening to Steely Dan to make it through the day. Their live performance was exactly like this – not only did it sound similar to the studio record, but it brought that chill feeling to Pitchfork. Nodding my head along with hundreds of others and watching a couple of dudes shredding on stage was the perfect start to day two of Pitchfork.
JOSH: Because of scheduling conflicts, I only caught the first three or so songs of Hotline TNT’s set from the photo pit – but they were so damn good that I was kicking myself for double-booking my afternoon. In the weeks since the festival, I’ve had Cartwheel on repeat, a perfect blissed-out listen for the suffocating last few weeks of summer. Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot to report from the seven or eight minutes that I saw from the crowded photo area, but the two of us will be catching them again at Milwaukee’s very famous Cactus Club this October – and I can’t wait to see them in a more intimate setting after getting a quick glimpse at Pitchfork.
Feeble Little Horse
JONATHAN: Pittsburgh-based shoegaze band Feeble Little Horse brought their music to life at Pitchfork. Getting the chance to see them live was amazing, as Girl With Fish is one of my favorite shoegaze records. It’s witty, but it pushes the limits for what a four piece can accomplish. Live, Feeble Little Horse is reminiscent of most shoegaze bands, not a lot of movement on stage, just the music. I personally enjoy a show where the artist on stage is bobbing along to what they’re playing, but that doesn’t dissuade from just how good the band performed. They sounded exactly like the record, a testament to their technical ability. Being able to bring that wall of sound to Pitchfork was an impressive feat, and I am so curious as to how they pulled it off. The guitar pedals alone are a mystery.
JOSH: I started getting into Feeble Little Horse earlier this summer, and I’ve come to love their blistering, homespun approach to shoegaze and noise pop. Girl With Fish is one of my favorite rock albums in recent memory, so I wasn’t about to miss them at Pitchfork. They sounded amazing, but I quickly ran into a problem I have with a lot of shoegaze shows – the energy on stage just felt kinda lacking. I felt a very similar way when watching Full Body 2 open up for George Clanton earlier this year, in that it’s hard for me to emotionally connect with the music if the performers aren’t giving anything tangible to the audience. Again, they sounded incredible – I loved the contrast between the walls of fuzzy guitars and the deadpan vocal cheek of frontwoman Lydia Slocum. I just walked away feeling like it didn’t click all the way for me, especially considering the act that we saw directly afterwards.
Editor’s note: shout-out to Claire from WSUM for catching this set with us! Check out their Pitchfork coverage at wsum.org.
Wednesday
JONATHAN: I never delved into Wednesday’s discography before their set, but when the band walked on stage, I recognized frontwoman Karly Hartzman from her emo/pop-punk project Diva Sweetly. Wednesday was one of my favorite sets at Pitchfork. They brought such a great mix of music to Chicago, letting all of their influences shine. Hartzman’s past in Diva Sweetly could be heard through the melodious riffs prevalent throughout the set, alongside their North Carolina roots shining through the country-inspired rhythm section. The whole band is the epitome of punk music in the American South, it’s deeply dysfunctional to its core, but so American. I’m excited to see where this band goes from here.
JOSH: Wednesday is so goddamn awesome. I’ve been getting into them for a second now, and the more I sit with 2023’s Rat Saw God, the more I think it’s one of the best indie rock albums of the decade so far. Seeing them live has only bolstered my opinion of them, so much so that they’re earning a spot in my top three sets of the entire weekend. Frontwoman Karly Hartzman is a magnetic performer, and commanded the whirlwind of pent-up energy that their songs require. Watching the group through emotionally volatile highlights like “Bull Believer” and “Bath County” only served to reinforce the band’s mantra: finding glimpses of terror in the mundane. The sweltering heat only added to the atmosphere, and so did the guy next to me – who donned a camouflage bucket hat, smoked a single cigarette throughout the entire set, and absolutely lost it when they played a Drive-By Truckers cover. Just magical.
Carly Rae Jepsen
JONATHAN: Sometimes in life you just need to watch a pop star kill it on stage. Carly Rae Jepsen, dressed in a silver glittery dress, brought so much fun to Pitchfork. Hearing songs from all over her discography was ecstatic, but hearing “Call Me Maybe” live for the first time was simply amazing. Jepsen is the epitome of a pop star that has made it. I can’t say I’m her biggest fan, but I was moving my hips like it was my last day on Earth.
JOSH: After catching indie rock bands all afternoon, we had to queen out a little. I’ve been a Carly Rae fan for years now, E•MO•TION is one of my favorite pop albums of all time and I love the way she’s continued to progress as an artist since. Her performance was a true hit parade, celebrating the most anthemic heights of her decade-plus career. Highlights included the silky groove of “Psychedelic Switch”, the absolute firecracker “Run Away With Me”, the sultry “Kollage” and, of course, “Call Me Maybe”. Her bubbly, happy-go-lucky energy was contagious and undeniable, matched only by her wonderful backing band who played off of each other with ease. Unfortunately, I was out of the photo pit by the time a front-row fan handed her a cardboard sword which she wielded on stage – but it happened, and it was awesome.
Jamie xx
JONATHAN: Jamie xx is an electronic producer that I’m not the most familiar with. I listened to In Colour, his 2015 full length release (at the behest of Josh) and I liked it a lot, so I had high hopes. The performance was incredible, the lights were synced up with the music, making for a spectacle. Not to mention Jamie xx’s live mixing was so interesting to watch. Being able to watch these big headliners practice the art they’ve mastered live is something I’m eternally grateful for. Sitting on the grass and listening to a fantastic producer work his magic was the perfect way to end the day.
JOSH: By the start of Jamie xx’s headlining set, I was more physically and emotionally exhausted than I think I’ve ever been before. Nevertheless, we pushed through and saw an awe-inspiring DJ set with some incredible visuals. Jamie was one of the first musicians that really got me into electronic and dance music, In Colour is a genuinely perfect album to me and it was a full-circle moment being in that photo pit when he walked onstage. He spent the majority of his set paying tribute to Chicago dance music pioneers, playing classic house and footwork. This was a respectable move and led to some great mixes, but I did find myself wishing he would have worked more of his own stuff into the set. We got to hear the singles from his upcoming sophomore record In Waves, and tasteful inclusions of tracks like “Gosh” and “Idontknow” padded out the setlist, so maybe I was just expecting too much. In the end, Jamie’s sound design and mixing abilities remained unparalleled, making for a seamless set that kept the festival grounds rumbling late into the night.