- Carlie Armstrong
- Yo La Tengo
Literally every hip-hop act booked at Pitchfork is playing today: Tree, Killer Mike, El-P, Lil B. El-P and Killer Mike will almost certainly bust out some material from their recent collaboration as Run the Jewels, and Goose Island will definitely be pouring a beer it brewed with the two of them—also called Run the Jewels, it’s a dry-hopped Belgian wheat ale.
It’ll be worth dropping by the Yo La Tengo set at 4:15 just to see what those lovable indie-rock curmudgeons are going to do—though you will have to skip out on Waxahatchee to do it, which might be tough. And do stick around for the headliner; you’re not likely to get an opportunity to see R. Kelly like this again. I mean, you’ve already paid for your ticket, so it’s a little late to engage in another round of internal debate about the culpability shared by the audiences of artists who may very well be despicable in private. If it makes you feel any better, you can just refuse to enjoy yourself.
On the subject of R. Kelly, I’d like to briefly address some things Jim DeRogatis recently said about Kelly and the Reader. The cartoon young woman on our B Side cover who’s peed in her pants (and is giving cartoon R. Kelly the finger) is a visual pun on the name of the band Pissed Jeans. Thursday on WBEZ’s Afternoon Shift DeRogatis described a videotape Kelly made as the “document of a rape” and said “the Reader thinks it’s funny,” but the joke on our cover is at Kelly’s expense. Mocking someone who’s been accused of disgusting crimes is not the same thing as condoning those crimes.
Anyhow. Moving along! All 18 artists performing on Sunday are reviewed here. (The afterparty roundup is over here.) And if you’re looking for a little guidance as you attempt to navigate the festival schedule, you could do worse than consult the examples provided by Leor Galil, Tal Rosenberg, and contest winner Ireashia Bennett in their hour-by-hour itineraries. Throughout the day Reader contributors will be posting to Twitter (follow @Chicago_Reader or use this handy list) and Instagram (also @Chicago_Reader).
After the jump, Galil and Marcus Gilmer of the Sun-Times go on camera to talk about what they’re most looking forward to seeing today.