Pitchfork Festival 2011, Friday | Recap

Pitchfork Music Festival 2011, Friday highlights: Slide Show

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  Gatekeeper at Pitchfork Music Festival 2011.

  Photo: Chandler WestGatekeeper3.jpg148551811
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  Gatekeeper at Pitchfork Music Festival 2011, Friday.

  Photo: Chandler WestGatekeeper1.jpg148551752
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  EMA at Pitchfork Music Festival 2011.

  Photo: Nick Foli333.mu.EMApitchfork05.jpg148551553
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  EMA at Pitchfork Music Festival 2011.

  Photo: Nick Foli333.mu.EMApitchfork13.jpg148551714
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  tUnE-yArDs at Pitchfork Music Festival 2011.

   

  Photo: Erica GannettPitchfork2011Day1.Tuneyards02.JPG148558495
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  tUnE-yArDs at Pitchfork Music Festival 2011.

   

  Photo: Erica GannettPitchfork2011Day1.Tuneyards04.JPG148558536
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  tUnE-yArDs at Pitchfork Music Festival 2011.

   

  Photo: Erica GannettPitchfork2011Day1.Tuneyards14.JPG148558737
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  Battles at Pitchfork Music Festival 2011.

  Photo: Rory O'Connor333.mu.Pitchfork2011battles07.jpg148552218
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  Battles at Pitchfork Music Festival 2011.

  Photo: Rory O'Connor333.mu.Pitchfork2011battles11.jpg148552299
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  Thurston Moore at Pitchfork Music Festival 2011.

  Nick Foli_MG_3573.jpg1485568710
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  Thurston Moore at Pitchfork Music Festival 2011.

   

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  Curren$y at Pitchfork Music Festival 2011, Friday.

   

  Photo: Erica GannettPitchfork2011Day1.Currency02.JPG1485576712
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  Curren$y at Pitchfork Music Festival 2011.

   

  Photo: Erica GannettPitchfork2011Day1.Currency03_0.JPG1485576913
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  Guided by Voices at Pitchfork Music Festival 2011, Friday.

  Photo: Rory O'ConnorPitchforkDay1.GuidedByVoices18.jpg1485570314
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  Guided by Voices at Pitchfork Music Festival 2011.

  Photo: Rory O'ConnorPitchforkDay1.GuidedByVoices20.jpg1485570715
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  Guided by Voices at Pitchfork Music Festival 2011.

  Photo: Rory O'ConnorPitchforkDay1.GuidedByVoices22.jpg1485571116
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  Das Racist at Pitchfork Music Festival 2011, Friday.

   

  Photo: Erica GannettPitchfork2011Day1.DasRacist08.JPG1485583517
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  Das Racist at Pitchfork Music Festival 2011.

  Photo: Erica GannettPitchfork2011Day1.DasRacist11.JPG1485584118
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  Neko Case at Pitchfork Music Festival 2011.

   

  Nick FoliPitchfork2011Day1NicoCase03.JPG1485579919
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  Neko Case at Pitchfork Music Festival 2011.

  Nick FoliPitchfork2011Day1NicoCase11.JPG1485581520
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  Neko Case at Pitchfork Music Festival 2011.

   

  Nick FoliPitchfork2011Day1NicoCase08.JPG1485580921
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  James Blake at Pitchfork Music Festival 2011.

   

  Photo: Chandler WestPitchfork2011Day1JamesBlake26.jpg1485589522
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  James Blake at Pitchfork Music Festival 2011.

  Photo: Chandler WestPitchfork2011Day1JamesBlake29.jpg1485589923
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  James Blake at Pitchfork Music Festival 2011.

  Photo: Chandler WestPitchfork2011Day1JamesBlake41.jpg1485591524
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  Animal Collective at Pitchfork Music Festival 2011.

  Photo: Rory O'ConorPitchforkDay1.AnimalCollective12.jpg1485594125
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  Animal Collective at Pitchfork Music Festival 2011.

  Photo: Rory O'ConorPitchforkDay1.AnimalCollective20.jpg1485595726
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  Animal Collective at Pitchfork Music Festival 2011.

  Photo: Rory O'ConorPitchforkDay1.AnimalCollective15.jpg1485594727
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  Animal Collective at Pitchfork Music Festival 2011.

  Photo: Rory O'ConorPitchforkDay1.AnimalCollective24.jpg1485596528

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Gatekeeper at Pitchfork Music Festival 2011.

Photo: Chandler West

It was a slow start to the sixth annual Pitchfork Music Festival. Indie fans trickled in to the Union Park field. Those that did arrive early were greeted by the biggest change we've noticed this year: increased marketing. Young women in black tank tops patrol the site, offering boys and men samples of Axe body spray. A team from Heineken asks if you'd like to take a survey on your beer consumption. Fake friendly folks with backpacks shaped like Red Bull cans offer up their little pistons of medicine-flavored candy water. Considering that Pitchfork's main defence for booking Odd Future is the group's "punk rock spirit," it all feels slimy.

The record fair is lighter. The dying market for tangible music product has even reached its choking fingers into the hipster vinyl market. One vendor tells me, "It's been a ghost town."

Fortunately, one thing unchanged is the music bookings. It's still a mix of fresh-out-the-box hopefuls, non-platinum rappers and solid veterans of the "college rock" era. The general consensus ranks Guided By Voices' set as the clear winner.

Here are our reviews and photo galleries of each act:

Animal Collective
James Blake
Neko Case
Das Racist
Guided By Voices
Curren$y
Thurston Moore
Battles
Tune-Yards
EMA
Gatekeeper