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Festivals can be a truly polarizing experience. On one hand, there are a lot of unknown variables that can lend themselves to a bad time. Not so friendly weather, band cancellations, poor planning, and endless lines at food stands and bathrooms. On the other hand, there’s nothing quite like watching your favourite artists in the great outdoors, the freedom to be as much (or as little) part of the action as you like, and just the feeling of warm air and summer vibes that connect you with the rest of the attendees in a way you just don’t get inside a closed venue. While Pitchfork Festival has a history of strong line-ups and excellent organization, I still wasn’t sure what to expect, it being my first time attending. Happily, the 11^th edition of the festival, held at its usual spot of Union Park in Chicago, superseded my already high expectations.

What I noticed right away was just how much the festival was geared towards making the experience a pleasant, accessible, and inclusive one for all. The shows flowed smoothly into one another, minimizing travel between stages. Facilities were easily reachable and services were very quick. Kids in the audience had designated areas and activities to entertain themselves. There were even cooling stations for anyone to take a break in if the heat ever got too bad (luckily, it didn’t). Given how much waste is produced at festivals, I appreciated its focus on sustainability, with composting and recycling being integrated into the weekend.

The festival also promoted the important, and sadly, all too-relevant, #wearorange campaign. Partnering with Everytown for Gun Safety and Mothers Against Senseless Killings (MASK), Pitchfork encouraged concertgoers and staff to wear orange and raise awareness and support for those affected by the city’s gun violence.

Additionally, Pitchfork had a bunch of cool features, including the CHIPR Record Fair (where you could find pretty much everything the site’s ever reviewed on vinyl), Flatstock, an impressive band poster sale hosted in part by the American Poster Institute, the roving and integrative book fair, Book Fort, the Renegade Craft Fair (the world’s largest showcase of independent craft and design), and The Saint Heron House, a multidisciplinary weekend event presenting art installation, poetry readings, artist talks, and film screenings.

And now, onto the concerts themselves. Before I begin, I must disclose that my main task was photographing the event (a last-minute situation meant I had to also review), so my summary of the festival is limited to the shows I was able to attend and actively experience.

DAY 1

The first show I caught was Danny Brown, whose set began with a DJ pumping up the crowd. Once the opening of “Grown Up” started and Danny Brown jumped onto the stage, the audience was fully charged. Brown himself had a very large and playful stage present, totally basking in the performative aspects of the live show. He would make eye contact with the photographers and enjoyed posing for us and the crowd. His energy made for a really fun set and great festival opener for me.

I was glad to catch Dirty Projectors next. I’ve been a fan of the band’s distinct vocal play and experimental harmonies since their early album, Rise Above (a disjointed reimagining of Black Flag’s Damaged), and was excited to hear frontman and longstanding member David Longstreth live. He didn’t disappoint. While the band played mostly from their latest album (S/T) which is a lot more subdued than their previous records, the set as a whole, which included a brass section, sounded amazing live, and Longstreth put on a soulful, poignant performance.

Although there were delays setting up Jesse Kanda’s visuals, Arca took command of the stage the second he strut on wearing heels. He immediately interacted with the crowd, getting one of the photographers to open up his bottle of champagne and calling out to the fans holding his hometown flag of Venezuela. He started things off with a DJ set, which incorporated his unique blend of South American rhythms and experimental flourishes. He then integrated his operatic vocals (prominent on his new album) into the mix, all while maintaining a connection with the audience, which really brought the show to another level. I was already been a fan of his work, but his performance made me appreciate it even more.

The final act of the night, LCD Soundsystem, was the show I was most anticipating and it ended up being my favourite performance of the whole festival. From the moment the band got on stage, it was a non-stop party. Playing their most danceable tracks off all their albums, James Murphy and the rest of LCD exuded so much energy and passion onstage, it was impossible to not to feel elated. Despite knowing they would be fantastic live, I was still mesmerized by Murphy’s dynamically emotive vocals and blown away by drummer Pat Mahoney’s ability to maintain exact beats mixed with subtle embellishments all while engaging with the crowd. There was a great moment when keyboardist Gavin Rossum started off “All My Friends” on the wrong chord. When she seamlessly corrected herself, Murphy joked that they were playing jazz. This type of light-hearted camaraderie really exemplified what their shows were all about. Other highlights included an extended version of “New York I Love You,” the incredible power of “Dance Yrself Clean,” and a perfect performance of “American Dream.”

DAY 2

I wasn’t able to partake in as much of Saturday’s shows as I would have liked. PJ Harvey didn’t allow outside photographers, so I unfortunately missed her set. Conversely, A Tribe Called Quest was the only headliner that did allow us to shoot during their performance, but as I was stuck in the mayhem that was the media pit, I wasn’t able to view much of their show beyond noting their compelling presence and the amazing response they received from the crowd. The only set I was able to watch in full that day was S U R V I V E, who garnered widespread recognition with their score for Netflix’s Stranger Things. The set consisted of each of the four band members on synths doing what they do best: creating dark and bass-heavy cinematic music. Something, however, felt missing from their performance. The members themselves felt a bit removed, which isn’t surprising given their predominant soundtrack and recording work. Probably more problematic (and completely out of their control) was the fact that they were playing while it was still daylight out. This made it more difficult to fully be immersed in the mood they were trying to create, which was unfortunate, because I’m sure their sound would be do well in a darker venue.

DAY 3

The third and final day was a solid and satisfying end to the festival. I got to watch two of the other acts I was eagerly awaiting, Ride and Nicolas Jaar. Ride’s show started off the day for me and it was amazing. Opening up with new track “Lannoy’s Point” and playing both classics and new releases, they touched on a sense that was both nostalgic and current. The band’s vocal harmonies were on point, elevated by the beautiful sunrays that were shining on them. I had questioned whether or not their recordings would translate well to a live setting, and happily, each song did.

Next up was Jamila Woods, who due to a cancellation from The Avalanches, was moved up to the larger Green Stage. Without missing a beat, the Chicago-based R&B artist captivated the audience with her bright presence and her poetic performance. She played an inspiring set, culminating in the significant song “Blk Girl Soldier.” I was glad to have been part of the crowd.

My night was capped off with a phenomenal set by one of my favourite artists, Nicolas Jaar. The experience was one that was visceral, as he managed to capture his signature disjointed electroacoustics along with his beautiful, broody melodies exceptionally well. Surrounded by synths and his laptop, he perfectly layered drum kicks and sub-bass with his vocals and looping saxophone, revving the crowd into dancing. He played tracks off of Sirens, as expected, but also pleasantly surprised me with songs off of his EPs Fight and Swim/Mistress. In general, his performance reinforced the fact that he is an impeccable producer and a master of texture.

Overall, my experience at the Pitchfork Festival was a memorable one. In addition to the fantastic bands I got to witness and the user-friendly nature of the event, the spirit and charm of Pitchfork was further emphasized by its audience. Though the crowd was no doubt made up of both tourists and locals alike, I could not help but be enamored by the people of Chicago during my stay. Whether at the festival or roaming the city, they exuded a sense of belonging that anchored Chicago as a home away from home in my mind. I look forward to making my way back for next year’s festival.

As much as all of us hate to admit it, summer is drawing to a close, but we at CJLO 1690 AM want to help you end it off right in the most rockin' way possible. That's why, thanks to evenko, we're offering you a chance to win tickets to see Guns N' Roses at Parc Jean-Drapeau on August 19th with Our Lady Peace opening.

"How do I win?" I hear you asking. Because we like you, we're giving you two options:

1. Tune into shows! Listen to the mélange that is Hot Chaud (normally Sundays from 11 a.m. - noon) at a very special time, Monday, August 14th from 2 p.m. - 3 p.m. As well as giving you a chance to win tickets for Gn'R, host Devon will be talking to three-time Grammy nominee and YouTube singer Charlie Puth. If YouTube singers don't float your boat and you want some straightforward, no nonsense rock and loudness, BVST on Wednesday, August 16th has you covered. Angelica will be giving you your chance to party at the Parc from 7 - 9 p.m., so don't miss out. 
2. Check out our social media starting Monday where we'll be giving you the chance to enter to win.

Best of luck and rock out while summer is still here!

Normally, by the final week of the Fantasia Film Festival, I am trying to catch up on everything that I have missed in a long marathon run of the festival. Sadly, with work and the real world being a demise to my film viewings, I only got around to seeing two viewings. These are probably the two biggest Hollywood fare films that the festival offered up this year.

Atomic Blonde

Let's cut to the chase, Atomic Blonde has to be one of my favourite action films in a while, with a stylishly cool soundtrack of European synthpop hits. This is no surprise, as the film comes from director David Leitch, who was part of the directing team behind John Whick. Right away, I am going to have the John Wick 2 and Baby Driver soundtrack fans coming after me. The film stars Charlize Theron as a spy agent sent to Berlin Germany, against the backdrop of the East and the West divide, in order to retrieve information that left an agent dead. Her only contact is portrayed by James McAvoy, part of the British spy team stationed in Berlin. I could not get enough on how this action film was sleek, stylish, and had great performances, all set to a killer soundtrack—I saw it twice in one week. 

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, from director Luc Besson, has to be the richest CGI visual film seen on the big screen in a while, truly ambitious as the world that Besson has been tasked to recreate. Based on the French bande dessinée of the same name, we follow Valerian (Dane DeHann) and his partner Laureline (Cara Delevigne) as they undertake missions in means to restore order to an ever-expanding universe. As with anything, expanding the universe could mean wiping out another one, henceforth the strong colonialism overtones as seen in other science fiction films like Avatar. The world that Besson has created is extraordinary rich with characters, and the colour palette that demands to be seen on the big screen. 

As for this year’s dive into the film festival, I wish that I could have seen more, especially with the Fantasia audience that cheers on these films. The big highlights for me this year were the great films to come out of the documentary section, which is where I spent most of my viewing time. Another big highlight for me was seeing Terminator 2: Judgement Day for the first time ever, alongside of the Fantasia audience members. There are going to be some small and big roll outs of the festival in the coming months hitting theatres, that I hope to catch up with. In closing, thank you to the CJLO 1690 AM team for sending me to the festival again this year, and to the great staff at the Fantasia Film Festival that recommended movies. 

Remi's Fantasia 2017 full selection list 

Follow Remi's Film Viewings

Follow Fantasia film reviews as they happen!

Hosted by Patricia Petit Liang

Stories by Karl Knox and  Patricia Petit Liang

Produced by Patricia Petit Liang