That Pitchforkmedia must be doing something right; 19,000 people a day hit up their Festival for 18 hours of music over two days, despite some serious heat and humidity. Whether that’s a testament to the awesome lineup or the show-going tenacity of hipster nation, we heard the weekend was well run and chock-full of indie goodness.

Chicago Sun-Times music critic Jim Derogatis went so far as to call the Festival an “unequivocal success” before trashing Man Man, Chin Up Chin Up, repetitive band names and The Mountain Goats. He also minced the scene in one scathing sentence:

Too many of these bands lacked the charisma to captivate such a large crowd. They celebrated pointless quirkiness and uninspired amateurism, or they were dreadfully boring.

Ouch.

And though Jimmy D did throw some love at Yo La Tengo, Mission of Burma, the Os Mutantes reunion, and the well-tread antics of one Eddie Argos, his highest praise seemed reserved for Pfork’s organization and execution of festival basics, making for a pleasant, well-hydrated experience. (We heard something about $1 waters. Perry Farrell best be taking notes.)

We couldn’t be there (NYC weather was just too nice to leave!), but we did send Adam and his digicam over to Union Park in our place. Check out his pics and — if you were sweatin’ at the Chi town hoedown too — let us know where Derogatis got it right.

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