Pitchfork Music Festival 2008

This weekend some of the fastest rising stars in independent music shared stages with rock and hip-hop veterans for an unforgettable three days of live music. The 2008 Pitchfork Music Festival, held in Chicago's Union Park, drew tens of thousands of music fans eager to see the bands they probably learned about on Pitchfork, one of the top-read websites covering new music rarely played on radio.

Word of Mouth senior producer Andrew Walsh even rented a fancy camera lens to capture the occasion. You can view his slideshow here.

On Friday night, three influential bands of the '80s and early '90s reunited to perform their greatest albums. Two were Boston-area groups: post-punk outfit Mission of Burma pummeled through their genre-demolishing 1982 record Vs. with jawdropping force, while lo-fi indie rockers Sebadoh stumbled awkwardly through 1993's Bubble and Scrape. Then, revolutionary rappers Public Enemy dazzled the crowd with a song-by-song reconstruction of 1988's politically-charged It Takes a Nation of Millions To Hold us Back, with the aid of ace hip-hop producers The Bomb Squad, who opened the set.

Public Enemy hypeman (and reality TV star) Flavor Flav

Saturday morning brought some light rain and, with it, muddy festival grounds. It gave the festival a sort of Woodstock-y vibe - especially with an impeccable set from the Seattle five-piece Fleet Foxes, whose country-twinged, '60s-era harmonies have brought them comparisons to Crosby, Stills and Nash. And two bands that share Eastern European-influenced brass and strings, A Hawk and a Hacksaw, and Boban i Marko Markovic Orkestar, added a festive international mood.

Is Pitchfork Fest Gen Y's Woodstock?

Gloomy weather couldn't dampen the spirits of high-energy acts like Springsteen-esque Brooklyn bar-band The Hold Steady, English grime-rapper Dizzee Rascal, and the dance-punk outfit !!!. Meanwhile, Vampire Weekend fused African rhythms with clever preppy lyrics about Mansard roofs and Oxford commas, and Animal Collective finished off the night with a trippy light show set to bursts of hypnotic, pulsating noise.

Jarvis Cocker, formerly of Britpoppers Pulp, tries out some new material on the crowd

The sun came out on Sunday, making way for some unforgettable performances. Les Savy Fav's singer Tim Harrington barked into his microphone as he stripped out of his sparkly-red spandex suit, put on a Sherlock Holmes outfit, stripped again and smeared mud all over himself, before finally donning a Slim Goodbody-inspired skintight one-piece. Japanese metal-heads Boris ended with drummer Atsuo jumping from behind his kit and diving into the crowd. Spiritualized frontman Jason Pierce brought together gospel harmonies and psychedelic guitars, recalling Dark Side-era Pink Floyd, while Dinosaur Jr. brought J. Mascis back into the limelight for epic-guitar songs turned up to 11. The night ended with Spoon, who played an equally-tight set at Pitchfork two summers ago. This time, reverb-drenched vocals and a four-piece horn section made even their best-known songs sound new.

Britt Daniel of the Austin band Spoon, closing out the festival

Overall the festival was a great success over previous years, with better sound quality, the third stage moved further away, more merch tables and an increased food selection. It'll be a tough act for other summer festivals to follow.

(Photos by Word of Mouth senior producer Andrew Walsh)