There are numerous Pitchfork reports and capsules on the various music blogs out there already, so I'll be brief. Had a great time in Chicago, despite the 100 degree heat and humidity. The festival was run extremely well and seemed to put the fan, and not the dollar, first. Prices were very reasonable, free water was available, beer wasn't any more expensive in a bar and was micro (Goose Island), no PBR. The music was essentially non-stop. Two adjacent stages made transitions between bands typically about 5 minutes. My highlights included The National, Art Brut, Spoon, Destroyer, Ted Leo, and Mission of Burma (essentially all the bands that I already knew and loved). I was really looking forward to seeing the Silver Jews, but their set was somewhat monotonous and essentially a downer. I guess that isn't terribly surprising given David Berman's mood disorders, but the song list could have been a little more upbeat given the large festival atmosphere. "Punks In The Beerlight" was a great opener, but it kind of went south from there.
Tomorrow night is the second to last Sleater-Kinney show. Of course, I got tickets before the second, and now final, show was added. They will be missed, but tomorrow night should be epic.