After three days some worried would be marred by a series of mini-monsoons and sweltering temperatures, the 2012 Pitchfork Music Festival is officially on the books.
The festival's final day, Sunday, saw the hottest weather yet of the weekend and, arguably, the least anticipated one-day lineup of the festival. That said, artists including Beach House and AraabMuzik turned in energetic, captivating sets that demanded the attention of the throngs of sweaty music fans and refused to let go.
Through some acts struggled with occasional equipment problems, including an apparently Chicago-cursed Danish punk band, Sunday brought the festival to a satisfying end.
Scroll down for our highlights and lowlights, winners and losers from the final day of Pitchfork 2012. Check out our day one recap here and day two notes here. Are we harshing on the vibe of your favorite act from the fest? Let us know in the comments.
2:30 p.m. Just arrived on the grounds, sad to have missed the day's openers, but ready for some good ole' Scandinavian punk via Iceage. -J.E.
2:56 p.m. Tina's rad 'do, styled by braid artist Cliff at Maxine's on the Gold Coast pic.twitter.com/ob6e0ZGw -L.S.
3:01 p.m. Iceage mosh pit looks pretty tame from my vantage point. Anybody getting punched? -L.S.
3:02 p.m. Couldn't see anyone get punched. Iceage dedicates a song -- "You're Nothing" -- to whomever stole the band's guitars in Chicago last week. Their set was plagued by two stoppages related to equipment problems, but still was appreciated by the small crowd gathered around the Green Stage. Were they cursed? Guitarist's "Suspiria" t-shirt is among my favorite onstage style for the weekend. -J.E.
3:11 p.m. See weekend's first shriner hat (you know, think of the cymbal-holding monkeys!) of the weekend, followed shortly by the first pair of matching couples' tattoos of the weekend at Thee Oh Sees' Blue Stage set. -J.E.
3:12 p.m. Impossible to miss that lovable pair of local curly-haired gingers White Mystery bopping along to Thee Oh Sees' set. They're killing it, by the way. -J.E.
3:24 p.m. I'm a shvitz machine. 90+ degrees today at the fest. (Rain's not looking so bad now, huh?) -L.S.
3:42 p.m. Ty Segall is good enough to get a mosh pit going in 90+ degree weather. Grunge has found a home at Pitchfork -B.W.
3:58 p.m. The Men are good at their southern/stoner rock with better haircuts thing, but Ty Segall might be covering another AC/DC song. Why did I leave Ty Segall? -B.W.
4:05 p.m. There's a good reason Ty Segall plays a Fender Mustang. Glad I returned. -B.W.
4:10 p.m. I'd like to check out what The Men are up to, but I'm enjoying a shady spot and a slight breeze near the media tent while listening to Segall's impressive, thrashing set. The shade is ruling this sunny Sunday so far. -J.E.
4:24 p.m. "You look so good. You should see yourselves." Thanks, Real Estate. Flattery will get you everywhere! -L.S.
4:37 p.m. Real Estate is moderately doing their moderate thing. -B.W.
4:40 p.m. I can't help but think of Oasis when I listen to Real Estate. Or that song "Hey Jealousy." That said, the low-key, mid-'90s-esque alt rock is a good match for still-blistering weather. -J.E.
5:00 p.m. Escaping the heat for a minute in Heineken's air-conditioned beer tent. They're playing "Sex and Candy." Yes, remember that song? The beer isn't free, to the disappointment of many. -J.E.
5:24 p.m. Checking out Kendrick Lamar at the Blue Stage. The volume sounds like it is turned way, way low and mostly all I can make out are the horn sounds that punctuate every jam's beginning and end. I missed out on the apparent cameo of Lady Gaga in the wings. She did not take the stage, but still initiated a barrage of speculative tweets. -J.E.
5:30 p.m. Gaga, likely in town because her boo is filming the new series "Chicago Fire" in town, must have disappeared. I'm giving every white blonde woman in an eccentric outfit a double take anyway. -J.E.
5:31 p.m. A BREEZE! Everyone at the green stage is either crying happy tears or sweating out of their eyes. -L.S.
5:40 p.m. Re: The Gaga ordeal: I wish I hadn't wasted the time and cell phone reception trying to figure out what all the fuss was about. If she's not climbing out of a space ship shaped like an egg, I don't need to switch stages. -L.S.
6:09 p.m. It's record-shopping time, apparently. Tents are packed--don't come here to cool off. pic.twitter.com/yWHQ2CiT -L.S.
6:10 p.m. Chavez just turned in one of the best sets of Pitchfork to one of the smallest crowds. Is this the end of nostalgia acts? Maybe it's just too hot. -B.W.
6:11 p.m. I'm not loving Chavez's set. This is reminding me of the pop punk I listened to in high school. Maybe those bands listened to Chavez for inspiration? I'm all for nostalgia acts, but not nostalgia for nostalgia's sake. -J.E.
6:12 p.m. Ice necklaces--invented by 7-year-old Ava at Glean Design. $1 apiece, 26 sold so far. GENIUS! pic.twitter.com/8HTpHXdj -L.S.
6:15 p.m. Just watched yet another fence jumper attempt to avoid the price of admission. This time, an incredibly fast runner who headed directly toward the red stage from near the main gate. Security still managed to catch him. -J.E.
6:28 p.m. Pretty impossible to hold still right now at AraabMuzik. In the thick of it, in a pool of sweat and melted faces. Watching Araabmuzik almost set fire to the equipment with such inconceivable speed and dexterity is pretty impressive. -L.S.
6:40 p.m. AraabMuzik bringing the energy up for the sun drenched crowd. The opposite of Chavez. Crowd is easily three-times bigger but the heat remains the same. This appears to be the future of the festival. -B.W.
6:45 p.m. Watching AraabMuzik from under a shady tree. It's incredible to watch the massive crowd's arms move in unison to the strong beats. This is resonating in a way unlike any other act that played the festival all weekend. Beautiful. -J.E.
7:20 p.m. If King Krule were from America I'd hate them. Since they're not I'm just walking away. I wanted to love this band. At least AraabMuzik is still performing. -B.W.
7:40 p.m. Got my mood read at eMusic's very cool photo booth, which had long lines all weekend but a short break at the moment. Really cool promotion! -J.E.
7:54 p.m. Beach House sound great. Like listening to the record, but live. Finally understand why people lie down on blankets at festivals. I still don't understand why anyone would come to a festival to lie down on a blanket. -B.W.
7:58 p.m. I keep expecting some sort of magical creature to slither out from the giant striped boxes on stage with Beach House. Their entrancing, dreamlike songs feel like an incantation. The audience is completely transfixed. When Victoria calls it "breeze o'clock," it feels so accurate. -J.E.
8:08 p.m.Loving Beach House's (artificially) starry sky. Victoria Legrand's voice (and seeing her and the rest of the outfit dressed up for us in SO MANY LAYERS) transported me away from the hot, sticky, muddy reality of the end of day three. Perfect night-ender for me, planning to duck out before Vampire Weekend. -L.S.
8:25 p.m. The Field are doing a good job closing out the blue stage. Dance party with real drums and bass. Also, people seem to enjoy taking drugs and dancing like they're on drugs. -B.W.
8:27 p.m. The Field are masters of the slow build. This is great, great stuff I'd love to see in a smaller, dark club some day. -J.E.
8:30 p.m. The Whole Foods tent is giving away their flowers for free and all of their fruit for $1. It's ransack time, folks! -J.E.
8:38 p.m. Vampire Weekend is doing a great job at reminding folks "Graceland" exists. This isn't a new observation, but it still needs to be said. -B.W.
8:40 p.m. A surprising amount of oomph kicked off Vampire Weekend's set and they are carrying that energy through the set. Such an improvement over their last appearance here when they were more buttoned up. Digging on this much more than expected, a really nice note to end the festival on. -J.E.
8:59 p.m. Love 'em or hate 'em, "A Punk" sounds great live. -B.W.
9:58 p.m. Best Pitchfork story: a volunteer told me a teenager buried two vodka bottles in the baseball field two weeks before the festival. He was ejected on day one while digging them out. -B.W.
Want to relive more of the Pitchfork Music Festival action? Highlights from many sets are being posted to the festival's YouTube channel.
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