On November 2-4th, 2017, Pitchfork hosted their Paris Music Festival in their usual venue, La Grande Halle De La Villette. Originally an old slaughterhouse, it now hosts medium size festivals and conventions and has been the venue for Paris Pitchfork for the past few years they have hosted it.
Despite being their side festival, Paris Pitchfork was able to get some major bands to headline, including The National and Sylvan Esso.
Seeing The National was an amazing experience–I’ve been wanting to see them for the past five years. The set was one that stayed true to their tour for their new album Sleep Well, Beast, with dystopian imagery and Matt Berringer frequently making political commentary about Donald T****, a key inspiration for the album. Hearing the newest album live gave me a new appreciation for it and inspired me to listen to it over again.
Pitchfork Paris made it a point to support local artists– with merchandise including jewelry, clothing, ceramics on display and even local tattoo artists offering flash tattoos.
Another highlight of Pitchfork Paris was Sylvan Esso. The 40-minute set felt all to short and the crowd really got into their set. The lead vocalist, Amelia Meath had a bright enthusiasm to her and watching her interact with bandmate Nick Sanborn was really enjoyable to watch. It was also incredible to see how authentic her voice and instrumentals sounded for being an electronic based band.
Paris Pitchfork was tastefully decorated with an emphasis on local artists, and presented an incredible efficiency at meeting artists set times– truly a once in a lifetime experience.