Concert Tue Aug 31 2010

North Coast Festival is Here! (and a contest)

By Lisa White

The summer festival season is drawing to an end here in Chicago. We sweated it out through Pitchfork and Lolla, spending a lot of our weekend hours in a field with a few thousand of our closest friends. Have forked over our $5 suggested donation to the plethora of neighborhood festivals, got a few nasty tan lines, and drank a lot of mediocre beer. But this year we'll get a few more weekends to laze in the sun and soak up great music, with the addition of two new festivals in September, Sonar and North Coast Festival.

North Coast Festival is the brainchild of a group of independent promoters in Chicago, who decided to collaborate and produce a festival "to celebrate the merging of all music and walks of life that enjoy it as much as we do." Those walks of life mainly being the jam band and electronic scene, with a good dose of hip-hop and local exposure thrown in. Over the news few days I'll be breaking down the festival by each day, so you're ready for the weekend. Haven't grabbed a ticket yet and now wishing you could spend one more festival weekend in the sun? You're in luck! The lovely folks at North Coast have given Gapers Blocks five pairs of weekend passes to the festival, which means 5 lucky readers will win a weekend pass for them and a guest! Just email us at contests@gapersblock.com with the subject "North Coast" and you might be spending your weekend in Union Park, enjoying good music as summer starts to come to a close. [Update: We've selected our winners and they have all been notified. Thanks to everyone who entered!] Now, on to the meat and potatoes of the festival.

First off, the basics that everyone should know. North Coast is located in Union Park, same place as Pitchfork Festival, so at the corner of Lake and Ashland. It's easy to get to by bus or green line. The set-up will be similar to Pitchfork Festival, except they will have the additional Red Bull locals stage located on the the far southeast corner, and there will be a second entrance to the festival, which is located closer to the will call box office at the Bottom Lounge. So the main difference is you pick up your tickets (starting Wednesday) at Bottom Lounge, and you have a closer entrance to the festival. Otherwise the main stages look about the same, as does the food and vendor area.

As always, bring sunscreen, water, possibly a blanket if you want to sit, and keep smart during the weekend. No one wants to find themselves or others wasted and puking in a portable toilet or OD-ing under a tree, so if you're going to indulge in some vices, know what you're doing. Enough with my mom rant, have fun, and here are my picks for Friday night.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Gates open at 4pm on Friday (to a mostly dance music bill for the night), and if you head over right away you'll be greeted by Chicago outfit Orchard Lounge. Can't make it in time? No worries, Orchard Lounge have a residency slot at Smart Bar, so you can catch them later if a mad dash from work isn't possible. I'll be starting my night with Pretty Lights, who bring a soul/funk essence to their electo beats. They're a good precursor to my main event, The Chemical Brothers.

The Grammy award winning duo from across the pond just released their seventh studio album (with corresponding videos for each track), and are one of the biggest names around in electronic music. Their music ranges from shimmering downtempo beats to frantic and maddening thumps-deep-in-your-chest tracks. Expect a sea of bodies all moving in time to some of the most well produced and crafted electro beats around.

North Coast Festival is this weekend, September 3rd, 4th, and 5th in Union Park. Weekend passes are sold out but individual tickets are still available. Check out their site for all the festival details and to purchase tickets, and keep checking back as we break down the weekend for you here on Gapers Block.