Robyn / July 16, 2007 12:59 AM

I thought it was very good this year, although the lineup wasn't as attractive as last year's (ahem, Yoko Ono). As a nondrinker, I loved the $1 water and the $4 beer. Hit 'em where it hurts!

Stephen / July 16, 2007 6:52 AM

There were too many people this year - am I just imagining that it was WAY more than last year? And that whatever the difference in attendance from last year was, it was filled with people who spent WAY too much time getting dressed in order to look "cool"?

Also, the sound was terrible, especially for the quiet acts like Iron & Wine, and Cat Power... made most of the sets thoroughly unenjoyable. And the B stage was a nightmare to navigate on more than one occasion.

Having said that, Battles, Clipse, Menomena, Junior Boys, Of Montreal, and De La Soul all rocked my socks. And there was some pretty good food for vegetarians there this year!

Doyle / July 16, 2007 7:22 AM

Stephen, I think you are right that there were more people this time around. That said, I found it to be a very friendly crowd (e.g. the overly polite lines for the port-o-lets). Sonic Youth takes the prize as far as I'm concerned, with Califone and Battles doing a pretty phenomenal job as well. Cadence Weapon and Cool Kids completely turned the midday Sunday malaise around for me...and Mastodon was an interesting palatte cleanser in the midst of some really tremendous indie rock. Well done, Pitchfork. Well done, Chicago!

Leelah / July 16, 2007 8:46 AM

I would have liked to go, but I had a bachelorette weekend from hell instead.

Is anyone going to see Maximo Park?

fluffy / July 16, 2007 8:49 AM

I only went to see Sonic Youth and they were amazing, as expected. However, I was VERY annoyed by all the idiots talking very LOUDLY. Why do people go to shows if they're just going to talk REALLY loud? When the songs were over, they'd clap as if they'd been paying attention, but they weren't even looking up at the huge screens. Why go to a show so you can talk over the music? It ruins it for other people who care about the band and music.
I kept moving around so I could just listen and enjoy, but I could not. It was aggravating.

It was a great evening weather-wise and the sunset was beautiful.

Kelly / July 16, 2007 9:02 AM

I was pissed that Girl Talk was on the "impossible to get to" stage. Bad planning. I also walked out on the Klaxons after waiting for nearly an hour for them to set up the stage. Other than that it was amazing. Sonic Youth was the best.

jennifer / July 16, 2007 9:16 AM

I went on Friday, and for a few hours on Saturday. I found the sound to be too quiet, as compared to years past. Also, yes, it seemed like there were waaay more people this year. I was only there for a few hours on Saturday mostly due to the no re-entry thing, which is something that I think they really need to think about doing in the future.

softdog / July 16, 2007 9:17 AM

While the weather and people made it a fun event, if I'd come just for the music I would have been really pissed. Pitchfork increased in size, but not professionalism with the result being mediocre to poor sound, muffled most of the time unless you could get close to the stage.

Which should not have happened. Chicago has many excellent outdoor sound techs who have honed the craft from years of working city events.
Pitchfork didn't use them - I know people who worked stage crew and the organizers cut corners on tech and equipment, with the expected half-arsed results.

The worst part was the new third stage. It was set up in a terrible place - at the end of a long, narrow corrider between two largely immovable fences with few doorways, right next to the heavy traffic of the food vendors and the Renegade Crafts area.

How the organizers didn't realize this would create massive gridlock is beyond me. It was nearly impossible to get near the stage even harder to leave. And the sound was the absolute worst of all, so if you weren't within a few yards directly in front you couldn't hear enough to make it worth the hassle.

The Klaxons played a half hour late and their synths were nearly inaudible, which ruined the show.

The Pitchfork audience is to be commended for being so agreeable, because these factors - a confined, overcrowded space with few exits, poor crowd control and ripoff quality sound - could have easily produced an ugly incident.

Pitchfork organizers got lucky. If it had been any hotter or people any less patient - there could have been some serious issues with heat sick kids or violence at the third stage.

I really liked the Poster Fair and the food was tasty and since the weather was so good the overall vibe was pleasant. But I had to make a conscious decision to treat the main point of the festival - the music - as the background for much of the time.

Appleby / July 16, 2007 9:17 AM

I heard a lot of great music, and I enjoyed myself quite a bit. I only have two real complaints. First, some of the musicians weren't a good match for the venue. Sonic Youth played fantastic music, but they also knew how to generate some energy in a big, open field. That was not true of groups like Grizzly Bear or Stephen Malkmus -- a friend of mine called the latter "James Taylor for hipsters" -- though fortunately, that made me stroll off to hear the much more exciting Cadence Weapon.
[Oh, and note to fluffy: I saw people sitting with their backs to the screens, yakking through the whole Of Montreal set.]
Second, when I hear groups like Nomo, I think that the festival organizers should trust their audience more. We're ready for a wider variety of music on the big stages. Put the acoustic noodlers on the little stage; give the big stage to folks with big beats and a big sound.

Mikey / July 16, 2007 9:25 AM

Too old to jump on the Pitchfork bandwagon. I will, however, be at Lollapalooza which belongs to my generation (reinvented as it is)...

clodius / July 16, 2007 9:34 AM

Talking loud during Sonic Youth? The problem was that you could talk at all during Sonic Youth while standing within soundboard(sic) range. I was extremely disappointed with the mix and the volume during Daydream Nation. Suggestion for the organizers: new year poach the crew doing sound for the Old Town School festival.

Emerson Dameron / July 16, 2007 9:34 AM

I went on Friday. Not loud enough. Not loud enough at all. In the words of a pal, "If you go to see 'Teen Age Riot,' you expect... a riot." The food was splendid, but the portions were too small.

Did anyone actually pay for P'Fork this year? Every pissant scenester I know got in free, and about half of them had VIP access, which allowed them to stand around and talk to each other out of view of the bands.

@Fluffy: If you'd been closer, you might not have been distracted by the conversations, but you wouldn't have been able to move more than a few millimeters without getting someone's cigarette in your forearm.

@Appleby: Your friend, the one who called Steve Malkmus "James Taylor for hipsters..." Give that friend a hug for me.

Kyle / July 16, 2007 9:36 AM

Mikey...

You're kidding,right? Lolla has been playing second fiddle to Pitchfork for two years and counting. To Lolla's credit, their lineup is kind of formidable However,how and why the fuck did Yo La Tengo or the Black Angels get in on that mess!?!

jen / July 16, 2007 9:41 AM

Kot's article today claims 48,000 people. I feel like in years past it's been more like 15K? Far too many people, sprawled out on blankets, making it hard to navigate from one stage to the next and to the potties.

Sunday, the B stage was a full hour behind for Cool Kids, causing me to miss Stephen Malkmus which had me a lil' pissed. Cat Power was too quiet, and SERIOUSLY, WHY WERE DAN DEACON AND GIRL TALK ON THE SMALLEST STAGE?!? I would have loved to have seen a huge dance party out on the field, but maybe they learned their lesson with the collapsing fence. (Softdog, third stage isn't new, it was a tent in years past and contained mostly the dance/hip-hop acts.)

Favorite bands:
Mastadon, Of Montreal, Menomena, Cool Kids
(Junior Boys also sounded good from where I was lounging in the shade...)
I would've said De La, but the dicked me around by just playing the beginning of Ego Trippin'.

Sarah / July 16, 2007 9:46 AM

I went to Pitchfork on Saturday and Sunday and would second a lot of the things that other people have said. I was glad to find food that was tasty and cheap. My favorite was Urb Garden's coconut curry and fresh fruit smoothies.

I couldn't really deal with the crowd of people in the craft/record fair tent, but the poster fair was really excellent. Did anyone else pick up the cool 3 for $5 magnets of indie band posters by Leia Bell?

I tried to check out Fujiya and Miyagi on the third stage and couldn't hear anything even though I was like40 feet from the stage. Between the poor quality of the sound and the crush of people, I warned friends who arrived after me to skip that stage entirely.

I enjoyed Clipse and Cat Power on Saturday but the headlining acts last night all put on a great show -- I was maybe 10 feet from De La Soul and it was a really great party, although I was sad that getting close to the stage for that show meant that I couldn't hear the New Pornographers, right across the field, at all.

joan / July 16, 2007 10:13 AM

Yeah, outdoor sound kinda sucks, always. The addition of the two jumbotron-ish monitors was GREAT this year, really allowed everyone to see detail of what was going on on-stage.

De La Soul really pretty much saved the day on Saturday. The kept going all night, far-after most fans even left!

The food was pretty great, as most people pointed out. It was nice to see Chicago restaurants, and new businesses (Temptation) featured!

S,Malkmus = James Taylor? Ridiculous. playing Pavement jams was kind of a weird choice, but the crowds sorta seeemed to love it. Any resemblance to schlocky singer-songwriter antics/attitude/actions was purely intentional. That guy is sarcastic and clever as-all-get-out!

bucky / July 16, 2007 10:15 AM

Just a friendly correction for an entry above - the craft fair was Depart-ment, not Renegade.

Merci!

Bill V / July 16, 2007 10:18 AM

It was a great weekend in a lot of ways. I liked the mix of artists, Menomena, Voxtrot, Twilight Sad, Of Montreal, Sonic Youth, Girl Talk were my favorites with plenty of other good sets. Echoing what has been said above, too many people this year, sound problems at many of the sets, late set times which kills your planning at a festival. Stage B way better than last year's tiny tent, but last year they didn't have the acts like this year. Great beer, nice people, overall had a very good time.

skee bop / July 16, 2007 10:20 AM

First off it has to be said that I had a really good time. People were super nice and friendly, considering the crowd and heat, and I thought the food rocked in comparison to the expected brats and pulled pork being the only options. I was pissed that I couldn't bring my own fare though. Also, I was REALLY sad at the iron and wine sound quality, and even califone's. They played well but the horns were way louder than anything else. I thought stephen malkmus was awesome, but he needed more backing to pull off the big stage. As for the B stage, that was where it was at. Nomos, Lightbox orchestra, Jeb Bishop sitting in on many sets, and that's just yesterday.

Also, per the sound issues, anyone who was there before 1pm on Saturday knows that the fest didn't open on time, and supposedly that was due to sound issues - wiring, faulty amps, whatever. I'm curious if this played a bigger part in the sound problems as a whole. Does anyone out there have any input on that?

Lizzy / July 16, 2007 10:33 AM

Yes, the sound was terrible, especially at the third stage. Nothing was loud enough, but the third stage suffered seriously from distortion and poor mixing.

I thought the merchandise tent was a waste of space which could better have been put to use with more trash cans, more toilets and more room to breathe.

jen / July 16, 2007 10:36 AM

attendance numbers from derogatis:

"Although the park could accommodate more, promoters sold out to preset capacities of 17,000 per day Saturday and Sunday and 13,000 Friday night to ensure a comfortable experience."

too many. please cap at 13K every day next year.

carrie / July 16, 2007 10:42 AM

I had fun! I mean, it was pretty crowded, but the weather was perfect so I’m not really going to complain. Things that made me happy/laugh:

1) the shadow puppet girl. Who got an awesome Yeti that I could make cheer for bands? Oh yes, this cat.
2) Out of toilet paper? That’s what a paycheck is for! HA, yeah.
3) I learned to stick to my guns and get a scalped ticket for the price I wanted. (Friday’s tickets were bought from someone more legit who just couldn’t make it to the show)
4) The fish and chips ruled.
5) Good beer for relatively cheap.
6) Seeing bands that I wasn’t really familiar with and liking them.
7) Leaving during Screeching Ono and being able to hear her ALL the way at Damen Avenue.

leah / July 16, 2007 10:44 AM

there were trash cans?

Poor Chan. :( And Iron & Wine can carry a larger setting if given the proper tools. He/they did a find job at Dorkapalooza last year. Could barely hear him at this weekend's show, though. Meh?

softdog / July 16, 2007 11:04 AM

skee bop: I know people who have worked both Intonations and Pitchforks, and the sound was a bigger problem this year because the organizers cut corners while increasing the number of people, which dampens the sound further.

The crew was hard working it didn't have the tools, time or enough skilled people to handle the size of the job.

If you go to Chicago city festivals, and even most street fairs, you will find decent sound for the audience size most of the time. This is because they use specific recommended groups. Pitchfork went cheap, which may not have mattered if they didn't spread that cheap over 3 stages and larger audience. At least the video screens made it possible to see what you were missing when you couldn't get near the stage.

Jen - The third stage was different from the previous DJ tents in location and logistics.

The DJ tent was located in a more open area, designed to limit crowds and had a simple PA system. The third stage was in an unsafe area and had inadquate sound.

Again, I enjoyed it because the weather was good, the crowd mostly well behaved and I came with enough cash for food and shopping. I was able to ignore the fact I paid $50 and spent most of my time looking at crafts and posters I usually see for less or free.

Those who came just for the music and didn't have a lot of money for posters and eats were probably disappointed.

Spook / July 16, 2007 11:35 AM

No comment :-)

Emerson Dameron / July 16, 2007 12:09 PM

@Softdog: Sounds about right. Some of the Pitchfork-related parties around town were more interesting than the fest proper.

I saw (electro-funk manchild) Dan Deacon get electrocuted during his afterparty at Reversible Eye Gallery. Someone threw water at him, at which point he explained the nature of his gear and then stopped playing. It was far, far past capacity, and I don't think they'll be throwing any more parties there until they fix the floor.

Dutch101 / July 16, 2007 12:13 PM

I have to back up a lot of what softdog is saying. As someone who has worked in the concert, event and even specifically the festival business on the technical end, they really missed the mark this year. The whole setup screamed cheap. In particular, the set up at the B stage in the back (other than being nearly criminally ill-conceived) was laughably inadequate. I work with companies who bring more PA to 85 person marketing meetings at your average Hilton ballroom, how they thought that would fly outside, even for a crowd of 500 is beyond me.
That having been said, the festival is overall a good thing, I think if they maybe bump their ticket prices just a notch (say $5 or $6 on the three day), limit attendance to no more than 15K a day, and make a few other logistic tweeks, they will have a really top of the heap festival.

Dutch101 / July 16, 2007 12:24 PM

With the proviso, of course, that they spend the extra $5 or $6 on better production. If they have another year where they basically trash on the audience by saying that they are not important enough to warrant good sound, they will start losing the real fans, no matter what the price.
Also, I got it on what I consider fairly good word that the promoters know they f'd up this year, so we'll see if they take their medicine for next year. Here's hoping.
Also, the Battles and the Cool Kids rocked.

snuh / July 16, 2007 12:25 PM

I can't complain since I didn't pay for it. :p
It was enjoyable tho! Ditto the poor sound...I thought the overwhelming bass grumbles ('specially at the A stage) was really disruptive.
Sunday was WAY more crowded than Saturday, by double I thought. On Saturday, you could at least see patches of grass.
Nice, polite crowd...except for those brats next to us that stole my rolling papers. Those guys are crapheads.

jj / July 16, 2007 12:32 PM

I had a good time and I thought it was actually very well run overall, much better than I have experienced at any other festivals. My suggestions for the organizers for next year are the same as everyone else -
better sound system/engineers
more garbage cans and recycling bins
reconfiguration of the 3rd stage
try and do something about the dust from the field if possible, maybe wet it down overnight?

Did anyone else think there were way too many little kids there? I'm no parent, but even I have the sense to know that kids don't belong in that heat and sun and loudness and lack of kid stuff and gross portopottiyness all day. Surely there are babysitters available in a city of millions?

skafiend / July 16, 2007 12:32 PM

Man, I must be old. While some of the acts did sound interesting, I couldn't even BEGIN to work up the interest to stand in a crush of people on a hot day in the middle of a park to listen to music. But I'm glad most of the people here sound like they had a good time. Chicago needs stuff like this and not that corporate city sponsored crapfest in Grant park. Kenny Rogers and the Black Crowes?... gimmie a break.

kate / July 16, 2007 12:41 PM

It was awesome. So much fun.

My awesome list: Girl Talk, Junior Boys, Of Montreal, De La Soul, Clipse, Mastodon (they melted my face).

Glad the DJ tent was no longer a tent but very disappointed that there was so little space. Still can't believe Girl Talk was back there - boo on that.

Only paid for a few beers, thanks to a combination of a friend with a VIP pass and knowing beer workers, but $4 didn't seem redonkulous for Goose at a festival.

Glad it's over though.. partying for 3 days is exhausting.

I'm a little bummed that red mesh shirt guy wasn't sexyin' it up though. :-/

Sol / July 16, 2007 1:36 PM

I only went Saturday to see Beach House, Fujiya & Miyagi, and Prof. Murder - and Prof. Murder didn't play my favorite song. So that was sad.

Love Flatstock, as per usual, but yeah, definitely way more people there than last year, although since the weather was so fantastically tolerable compared to las year, I didn't mind much outside of the 14 year old baby hipsters who'd push their way to the front of the stage and then 5 minutes later leave again.

Justin / July 16, 2007 1:38 PM

Skipped Pitchfork, hit the Old Town School's fest, which kicked ass in its hippie parent kinda way-- no suffocating crowds, no sound problems, no tired ironic T-shirts, no long lines, and no Yoko Ono!

aj / July 16, 2007 2:14 PM

Had a great time - loved the turkey/sundried tomato sausage and tahini from Big Bite catering. None of the acts wowed me, probably because I couldn't fight my way over to the side stage.

Somehow was amazed at the amount of smoking - I didn't think this would be a big deal at an open-air festival, but it really bothered me. Probably just super sensitive because I know people struggling with lung cancer now, but come on kids, those things'll kill ya!

annie / July 16, 2007 2:44 PM

I'm waiting for news of the E Coli outbreak from the lack of toilet paper & water for hand washing. Seriously, that was unbelievably nasty. Someone please tell me that the food vendors had their own washing stations?

madachode / July 16, 2007 3:11 PM

The words "military draft" would have sent the hoards of dissatisfied youth milling around running for cover like cockroaches exposed to a sudden kitchen light in the middle of the night.

Kelly / July 16, 2007 3:20 PM

"The words "military draft" would have sent the hoards of dissatisfied youth milling around running for cover like cockroaches exposed to a sudden kitchen light in the middle of the night."

... um ... yeah.

haha! what??

Xmas / July 16, 2007 3:37 PM

Sweet Matty Choad. If only someone had loved you for your Hipster Republican schtick, they could have spared us one of the least interesting trolls in GB history.

carrie / July 16, 2007 4:02 PM

Annie, I'm pretty sure I saw sep hand washing stations in/around the food vendors...whether they actually used them is another question. Hopefully next year they'll realize that people do like toilet paper and washing their hands and will hire someone to restock/refill. That or I'll remember to bring my own tp and a bottle of water or hand sanitizer.

fluffy's cat / July 16, 2007 4:09 PM

all the toys a cat could want...and yet, i raise my paw to the west, and salute my owner's missing shadow.
Alone.
all the kibble a cat could want, and yet, I speak a silent meow, and hope the girl will come home soon from the place she calls 'work'.
I raise my paw to the south, and deem that place 'hell'.

From: "Why can't she take me to work?/PTTP"

Spook / July 16, 2007 4:12 PM

Xmas its still early for this thread........
perhaps Madachode is just warming up for the real rescue?
And of course Annie's contribution should not be over looked as well!

Dan M. / July 16, 2007 4:14 PM

Hey jj -

Yoko actually complained about the dust during her soundcheck, so the workers were litereally dousing the diamonds in water bottles to try and keep the clouds to a minimum. How's that for a fun job?

Also, I've heard some abrasive comments about the Fuze people, including someone getting arrested for climbing on top of their van.

SR / July 16, 2007 4:53 PM

I was there only on Friday night... the sound problems really detracted from what was an otherwise fantastic set from Sonic Youth.

I was hoping that Liquid Swords would sound more like Liquid Swords... it didn't really though... more like "standard" Wu-Tang fare...

I'd rather that people didn't bring lawnchairs or blankets to camp out at these festivals. It's about the music people! You wouldn't take your lawn chair to the Empty Bottle...

Dutch101 / July 16, 2007 7:52 PM

The complaints about the bathrooms are valid too. While I think they sort of had enough, it was just barely enough. Also, there was logistically no way to service them. If you have better access, you can drive down the line with a truck, pump 'em, clean 'em and restock them while the show is going on. Otherwise, you just simply need more terlets. Yeah, just a lot of detail stuff that they missed on. It frustrates me because I used to do festival production for a living, and I know that it CAN be done better. If they need any help, I only charge $600 a day, plus OT . . .

charlie / July 16, 2007 10:22 PM

Bitchfork....what is that?

Is Sonic Youth really still a band?

I'm old

Kevin / July 16, 2007 10:26 PM

Man, I don't know what festivals you people have been to, but I thought it was incredibly well run. I only went Friday night, so maybe the "porto-lets" didn't have a chance to get nasty yet. And my wife loved the fact that there were actual options for vegans. Not just french fries.

I did think the sound was a little funny for the first few minutes of Daydream Nation (like maybe you couldn't hear Thurston's guitar), but it seemed to get fixed.

I thought Slint was bad. So did my wife. Actually, her words were, " I don't remember this record being so boring."

I thought the GZA was great. Especially when they did one song over because one guy was pissed that they'd cut his part out.

The only other thing I can think of is that probably 3 ounces of pot must have gotten smoked within a 10 foot radius of me, as I seemed to be standing in a green cloud throughout the entire Sonic Youth set.

Kevin / July 16, 2007 10:28 PM

Also what's that BS about age being a factor for going to Lollopalooza instead? Kim Gordon is fifty four fucking years old. Represent.

Cindy / July 16, 2007 11:24 PM

I did. There were too many hipsters trying to outdo eachother, but i'm not sure what i was expecting.

Califone and Iron and Wine were both amazing though.

All i left with was a bad sunburn and a headache from Yoko Ono's vocals.

Oh, and the bathrooms were disgusting.

Jarvo / July 16, 2007 11:35 PM

Oh is this the way they say the future's meant to feel?
Or just 20,000 people 'standing in a field.
And I don't quite understand just what this feeling is.
But that's okay cos we're all sorted out for E's and wizz.
And tell me when the spaceship lands 'cos all this has just got to mean something.

In the middle of the night,
it feels alright,
but then tomorrow morning.
Oh then you come down.

Oh yeah the internet radio told us what was going down.
Got the tickets from some fooked up bloke in Old Town.
Oh and no-one seems to know exactly where it is.
But that's okay cos we're all sorted out for E's and wizz.
At 4 o'clock the normal world seems very, very, very far away.
Alright.

In the middle of the night,
it feels alright,
but then tomorrow morning.
Oh then you come down.

Just keep on moving...
Everybody asks your name,
they say we're all the same and it's "nice one,"
"geezer"
but that's as far as the conversation went.
I lost my friends, I dance alone,
it's six o'clock, I wanna go home.
But it's "no way," "not today,"
makes you wonder what it meant.
And this hollow feeling grows and grows and grows and grows,
and you want to phone your mother and say,
"Mother, I can never come home again,
cos I seem to have left an important part of my brain somewhere,
somewhere in a park in Chicago."
Alright.

In the middle of the night,
it feels alright,
but then tomorrow morning.
Oh then you come down.

What if you never come down?

Steve / July 16, 2007 11:41 PM

I turned down free tix again this year. Doesn't mean I'm too cool for school; just means that I'm old and boring.

Oh, and that I owe Malkmus 50 bucks, and he threatened to sic the Jicks on me to collect if I dared show my face.

jennife / July 17, 2007 9:48 AM

SR said: "I'd rather that people didn't bring lawnchairs or blankets to camp out at these festivals. It's about the music people!"

I can hear the music just fine camped out on my blanket, thanks, without having to stand or walk around for 10 hours.

skafiend / July 17, 2007 10:04 AM

Also what's that BS about age being a factor for going to Lollopalooza instead? Kim Gordon is fifty four fucking years old. Represent.

Kim Gordon is getting PAID to be there. Pay me and I'll be sure to show up next year...

Chris / July 17, 2007 10:07 AM

I broke my own prinicples this year. When other commitments interfered with my plans to make it all three days, I sold my Friday and Saturday tickets on craigslist, and I succumbed to the temptation to take more than face. I didn't ask for more, but when someone OFFERS you a lot of money, what can you do? So, I was essentially paid $70 to go on Sunday.

I didn't end up making it out there until late, so I didn't even buy any food or experience any midday crowding. I really think that if Carl Newman's going to tour with his sister instead of Dan Bejar and Neko Case, he really shouldn't be allowed to bill himself as the New Pornographers. Still decent, though. And I can't believe it took me this long to see De La Soul- they were great, and worked the last little bit out of the crowd.

Spook / July 17, 2007 10:56 AM

"De La Soul, from the soul, black medallions, no gold"

De La Soul, from My Buddy

Anon / July 17, 2007 7:48 PM

Yeah, Kim Gordon is getting paid to be there because she didn't decide she was too old to play rock 20 years ago when the record came out and she was 34. Are you older than 34? Get over yourself.

jenna / July 18, 2007 3:48 AM

Couldn't have been better...except i lost my shoe and my foot got stomped at the Klaxons. But Deerhunter, Dan Deacon, The Field, and Girl Talk were all shows i'll never remember...i mean forget. yea. And real food at a festival? how great is that? Lots of really nice people too. One girl gave me a purple shirt and a water gun. One guy admired my camera and directed me to this site.