this is a pretty big week of firsts here at dailybeatz. first of all, i wrote a little article about the cost aspect of pitchfork fest which was posted on the windycitizen blog yesterday. this marks my first time writing an article about anything using proper punctuation and capitalization. we’ve also got our first ever interview coming up later this week. and finally, we’ve got our very first giveaway coming up even later in the week. phew, thats a lot to look forward to all in one week, dont you think? that being said, im exhausted, and im going to repost the contents of the story i wrote below, as well as a song by the flaming lips, who closed out the pitchfork festival last night with a bang. you can see the original article here in all its glory.
The Price of Pitchfork Fun
Friday night began my second year at the ever-eclectic Pitchfork Music Festival at Union Park in the great city of Chicago. While I’m still deciding if I prefer this weekend’s sub-70 degree temperatures to last year’s intense heat and humidity, I do know that Pitchfork Fest has remained one of the most affordable festivals, especially relative to the caliber of its acts. At just over $80 for a weekend pass, its among the most affordable 3-day music festivals out there. But what about the costs when you actually arrive at the festival? After spending ridiculous amounts of money at last year’s festival, I decided to provide a list of good deals and things to avoid to keep your wallet in check.
Let’s start out with the good. Perhaps the best value at Pitchfork is the food. While a typical meal will run you $6 or $7, the portions are generous and the options are abundant. I had a messy and delicious $7 pulled turkey sandwich from the Robinson’s cart and will be indulging in a $2 corn on the cob tomorrow. My friends got a huge portion of tempura shrimp and vegetables from the Star of Siam booth that was pretty tasty too. Regardless of what you’re in the mood for, there’s probably a food stand for you.
Another place to hit up for a potential deal is the Threadless.com booth, located just to the right of the entrance next to the baseball diamonds. They are offering a wheel of deals for whoever wants to spin. You can win anything from a button up to a $25 credit on threadless.com, and I believe at the end of the weekend they’re going to pick a winner who will win 200 free t-shirts.
If you’re looking for more wearable goods, check out the Broken Cherry stand. This Chicago boutique offers a wide selection of t-shirts for as low as $5 and $10 each. For a little extra, they will even make a custom shirt with the design of your choice. Last year there was also an InCase booth making custom stenciled spray paint t-shirts that were a big hit with the crowd, but I didn’t see them this year.
Now on to the ugly. The good news is, there really wasn’t much that was very ugly this year. While some of the wares in the vendor tent may seem a little overpriced to some, there weren’t many items that my friends and I purchased that we felt were a ripoff. The most notable change from last year was that the price of beer increased from $4 to $5. While this price increase may seem small, it definitely adds up over the course of the weekend when you’re with a group of 8. The $7 Sparks drinks also seemed a little overpriced. The ice cream cone we got was pretty good, but not for $5.
Perhaps the most costly part of our day was the valuable time we spent waiting in long bathroom lines today. Either there were many more attendees than last year, or far fewer bathrooms, or a combination of both, but if you were a victim of long bathroom lines today, here’s a little tip to save you time on Sunday. Try the port-o-lets between the main entrance and the Connector Stage, and go to the line all the way to the right. We never waited more than 10 minutes once we found that spot.
All in all, our group was pretty happy with the selection of food and non-food vendors that were offered, and we were content with the prices for the most part. As we exited the festival grounds after a phenomenal set by The National, we got one last freebie: a large can of Venom energy drinks, thanks to the lovely lady pictured here (Sorry, I’m new to this whole reporting thing, and I really should have asked for your name, but hopefully you were able to find the article anyway). They came in very handy as mixers for our pre-bar festivities.
i hope you enjoyed my first foray into “journalism”. a few highlights from pitchfork friday and saturday include: running into my long lost friend angelina on the street in wicker park, yeasayer playing “sunrise” and the rains stopped and the sun came out for the first time all day, beirut being incredible live, and the national proving they were worthy headliners. on to todays song. i chose “ego tripping at the gates of hell” by the flaming lips. its one of my favorite flaming lips songs but i dont know why, i just like the way it sounds, so enjoy it. maybe ill update later telling you all whether or not they played this song during their performance if i am not too lazy. in other words dont count on it. [edit: they did not play this song. they did, however, utilize awesomely copious amounts of confetti and giant balloons. at one point, they blew up a giant confetti filled balloon with a leaf blower, the biggest balloon ive ever seen. i went to snap a pic and it exploded just before i took the picture, so i have a great pic of confetti in the shape of a giant balloon. but i wish the singer wouldnt have been such a chatty cathy and played a few more songs instead. and that they didnt play the yoshimi songs so slowly. but, m83 KILLED IT. i am obsessed with them now.]
flaming lips – ego tripping at the gates of hell
buy this track on itunes
buy this track on amazon
