Pitchfork has become an annual tradition since my arrival in Chicago in 2007. I’ve worked behind the scenes as a volunteer, and mingled with the sweaty, snobbish masses in the fields.

I’ve done Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza (current version and mid-90s tour circuit), SummerFest and more. But these 3-days always feel better: More block party than manufactured spectacle.

It’s a must see for music fans. If you’re headed down this year, here’s what you need to know. As an added bonus, I’ve included my 6 favorite Pitchfork moments form the last 5 years.

Pitchfork Music Festival Grounds

Pitchfork Music Festival Grounds

Pitchfork Tip-Off:

What to wear: Mustaches, old NBA jerseys (bonus points for Charlotte Hornets, Detlef Scrempf), loafers, Ray Ban Wayfarers, anything neon, tight slacks cut into shorts, see-through tank tops, fedoras.

What to drink: its probably Goose Island 312, but really, anything besides that nuclear orange combination of caffeine and alcohol. I think it’s called NOS

What to eat: Chicken andoule sauage from Wishbone, a vegetarian dish from that one place, I think it has noodles, isn’t there an ice cream place?

After the show: I’m really hoping this is the year that the burgeoning Chicago food truck scene descends on the after-festival spill out. If it doesn’t, you can always cram into Cobra Lounge (hosting Sailor Jerry after parties every night), or go a little further an duck into Darkroom (hosting Dickfork with my personal favorites The Hood Internet). Otherwise, you can turn the walk home (because you ain’t getting on the train, that bus or in a cab) into a sampling of cuisine from local Food & Liquor stores.

My Picks for 2011:

Top Headliners:

Fleet Foxes – They cast a spell with their lush vocals last time out. Now, taking stage just as night takes the city, they should make for a sublime Saturday.

TV On the Radio – Which side of the multi-faceted group appears to close out the festival? They can do big, ambitious, funky rock with moments of quiet of intimacy. I hope they bring it all.

Non-Headlinig Must See:

Neko Case – Easy on the ears and the eyes, she’s an absolute gem. Chicagoan Kelly Hogan, worthy of her own slot on the bill, will join her too. Together, they’ll melt your heart.

Cut Copy – A perfect fit for Sunday night. Bring out your neon and your dancing Chuck Taylors. Plane troubles kept them off stage for their last scheduled Pitchfork engagement, but their back on the bill with a new set of soaring keyboards to get you moving.

Guided By Voices – I’ve seen them in dive bars and big stages, and Robert Pollard’s one-leg stage hop isn’t to be missed, regardless of which line-up is backing him.

Destroyer – Here’s a guess that 80s smooth sax will be a salve for a hot Saturday afternoon.

Superchunk – Veterans with big guitars do well (see Steady, The Hold), and bands lowr on the bill should take notes during this set.

Sounds Like a Band That Would Play Pitchfork:

Woods – Wooly guitars from Brooklyn!

Twin Sister – This is the second sentence of their Wikipedia entry: “Their music has been described as Chillwave, Indie pop, Dream Pop and Disco, and they have been compared to Cocteau Twins and Portishead.”

Twin Shadow – Lives in Brooklyn, hangs out with Grizzly Bear, has “Twin” in his name, and keyboards in his songs.

Yuck – Fuzzy guitars that sound Southern, but are really British.

Roll of the Dice (Because not everyone is good every year, right MF DOOM?):

Ofwgkta – Lots of hype, lots of controversy, little stage experience. This could be a train wreck.

Animal Collective – They were great their last time at Union Park, miserable the following year at Lollapalooza. Who shows up for their Jekyll/Hyde live show?

DJ Shadow – I’m not sure what kind of show we’ll get out of Shadow. It could be epic, but he’ll need more than a table and a laptop.

Six Great Pitchfork Moments

Or Why This Festival is Worth Making an Annual Tradition.

Girl Talk, 2007. This show broke festival gates, and broke GirlTalk into the mainstream. While Yoko Ono wailed and bleated on the mainstage, an DJ with a quickly growing reputation was tucked away on the much smaller side stage. Ahead-of-the-curve dance kids, curious music snobs and anyone fleeing Yoko’s audio slaughter poured onto a side street. By the time Grizzly Bear’s Ed Droste took the stage to sing his part of a remix the chainlink fences surrounding the festival were already waving the white flag under the assault of a record crowd. They would collapse moments later, and the set was cut short. GirlTalk’s audio acrobatics and his stage full of dancers had already left their mark. This would be the last show played on the stage in that location, as the overcrowding led the festival to alter its stage placement.

LCD Soundsystem, 2010. A band at the peak of its powers and influence. The anticipation and build-up for their finale, “This is Happening,” and the blazing success of “Sound of Silver” set the bar unrealistically high. But on the album and this masterful show that same summer James Murphy and the boys delivered. The only complaint were the Chicago noise laws that made the band stop playing. They could have gone all night, and we would have let them.

Clipse, 2007. “Hell Hath No Fury” was finally released the previous fall, and Clipse came out in the summer to fully flex. The Virginia Beach duo prowled the stage, dripping with sweat and drug-game tales, instructing Chicago to “put on ya white gloves” and ski masks.

Robyn, 2010. On a blazing day, the diminutive Swede burned hotter than a dwarf star. She would not be out-worked in a mission to bring throbbing pop music to the masses. Letting her body talk through dance moves designed for a cool nightclub, she left everyone unabashed pop fans.

King Khan and his Shrines, 2008. Gold sequins. Male briefs. Cheerleaders. A wild show of howling blues, Khan implored the crowd to shake $1 bills as he shook his bare legs and belly on stage, on top of the speakers, and on top of his fans.

Hold Steady, 2008. In 2008, Vampire Weekend was the hot young thing, surging from Schubas to Pitchfork’s mainstage in less than a year. But their set seemed like the JV game as The Hold Steady took the stage immediately following their set. The contrast couldn’t have been starker. Their bold guitar hooks were like a brick through the J. Crew storefront window that was Vampire Weekend’s set. It was just what the crowd needed: Pure rock music forged in the fires of experience.