My Weekend in Chicago

So I visited Chicago this past weekend, Thursday to Sunday, for a whirlwind first trip there. My only two plans were to stay with a friend of mine and spend some time at the Pitchfork Music Festival. (http://www.pitchforkmusicfestival.com/) Of the festival, I didn't know much except in regards to the few bands I had wanted to see. Of Chicago, I've heard various bits of hype over the years.

I was immediately conscious of being in a distinctly Midwestern city upon my arrival. How so, exactly? The streets, neither bustling with pedestrians nor cars, and marked by a mish-mash of uber-modern and retro stores, were the first and largest signal to me: you are no longer in NYC. And so I wasn't. And it was nice to get away for the weekend, as in love with NYC as I am, to a city a little more mellowed out. Taking in my fair share of culture while there, from a lovely drink inside the John Hancock Tower, to a sampling of the Chicago cuisine and beverages, to the Pitchfork shows, I left pleasantly satiated on Sunday morning. I couldn't have had a better host in the city for this kind of spontaneous adventure.


Of Pitchfork, I very quickly grasped that the event was not entirely focused on the music. Yes, it was the bands that had brought us (and me, specifically) there, from Public Enemy, to !!!, to Vampire Weekend and Animal Collective, but it was the ambiance that made the festival so special. Probably populated by several thousand festival-goers, the festival featured three stages and row of booths with food, show paraphernalia, and various commercial promotions and activities. This was definitely the largest and longest outdoor concert I have been to, and it has only whetted my appetite for more.

My appetite also now has a reawakened hankering for spontaneous travel adventures. But that, at least, will soon be satisfied again my by upcoming trip to San Francisco at the end of this week. Hopefully it will be as lovely as my Chicago expedition.