How loud were Sleigh Bells and their double six-stacks of Marshall amps during the early, Saturday evening set at Union Park? They were gut-rumbling and bone-crushing loud; Someone should have gotten Guinness out there to measure the decibels, loud; Get the lawyers and the lawsuits ready, loud; Let your toddler roam the grounds without ear production and you could be charged with child abuse, loud; If it was too loud, and you decided you would rather listen way, way, way back by the festival entrance, then that would be a perfectly reasonable response, loud. Yes, Sleigh Bells were loud.

How much fun were Sleigh Bells? Judging by the thousand strong pogo following the playground rhymes and punk-rock aerobics of vocalist Alexis Krauss and judging by the fist-pumping reaction to the combination of hair metal riffs by guitarist Derek Miller, old-skool hip-hop beats and totally, fucking obscene bass, one would have to say it was a whole hella, lotta fun.

All photos by Allisun Wunderland.  More shots of Saturday’s action can be found here.  Click here, for more coverage from the 2012 Pitchfork Music Festival.