Pitchfork began on Friday with many claps (of thunder) and ended with applause in abundance for Leslie Feist, the first headlining performer at Pitchfork Music Festival 2012.

Feist continued to emanate the aura that she started with Madison audiences back in June. That show kicked off summer at the Overture Center’s Capitol Theater, moved last minute from its intended Orpheum Theater venue. (Feist was among many artists to get the short end of the stick in the Orpheum’s slow decline; poor business practices have led the theater to lose its liquor license and its eventual closing.) Many artists complain about the inevitable drawbacks of playing a large festival — long delays, being bustled onstage, temperamental weather conditions — but Feist’s energy did not falter. She began with a softer first tune than in Madison (where “Comfort Me” had jolted audience members to attention), which proved wise because many chatting Pitchfork-goers didn’t sidle over to the Green stage until songs two or three on the setlist — by which time uptempo favorites like “I Feel it All” and “Undiscovered First” were in full swing. Feist delivered a fun and vibrant finish to what had started as a soggy day for P4kers. Her off-kilter voice, coupled with folksy and sometimes tribal rhythms, brought a strength that could stand up to a venue like Chicago’s Union Park.

The full festival lineup, and map of the stages and vendors, can be found in PDF form here. This year, the VIP area and beer tent are clustered together with the handicraft and record vendors. Those are next to the tents housing an array of eye-catching concert posters: artistic originals by local designers. And, of course, the food tents carrying the best Chicago cuisine and standard festival fare like funnel cakes.

Musically, a highlight for me on Friday was Willis Earl Beal. Beal has a voice that makes it clear to any listener that he is someone who has known sorrow. Yet, all that he brought to Pitchfork attendees during his set was pure joy. His was a siren song for wandering souls, unsure of where to head before A$AP Rocky or Japandroids went on. And while the electronic beats of some other artists could barely be heard above the din of people, Beal’s singing carried across the grounds. In one of his last songs, he invited everyone in the audience to join in by clapping along. He assured us “Anyone who can cry can clap. If you’ve never cried, don’t clap.”

I think Friday was a unique day of the festival in that it was hardly a spotty lineup: The last six performers of the day were a solid block of artists well-worth seeing, and should definitely be looked up on Youtube/Spotify/wherever you test-drive music by those at home.

You can follow my progress here at The Beat Goes On each night, or follow my tweets @BH_Arts. I’ll be live tweeting about artists I see, gossip I hear, helpful festival tips, and afterparty info for our followers in Chicago. Also be sure to check out the #p4k hashtag; I’ll be contributing to that and will be retweeting helpful/funny tweets from artists and fans that are here, as well as @pitchforkfest updates. An in-print recap of the entire festival will run in either our mail-home issue or fall registration issue of The Badger Herald.