These Tattoos Will Make You So Jealous Your Flesh Will Tingle

by Brenna Ehrlich 17 mins ago

Photos by Radhika Marya

Chicago, IL – I may be biased, being a tattooed person currently hitting up Pitchfork Music Festival, but I’m going to go right ahead and say it – bias be damned! – the ink at Chicago’s most alt fest is pretty much the best to grace the flesh of any music fan.

During the first day of the fest, I wandered among the masses with my trusty photog, Radhika Marya, rudely interrupting folks while they grooved to Sharon Van Etten and The Haxan Cloak to ask them about their ink (which is a major faux pas, but now they’re on the Internet and therefore kind of famous so whatever!).

Check out our 8 favorite tats from day one and book an appointment with your local ink slinger ASAP because you’re jealous now, right?

1. Dolls And Tea

Christine from Buffalo, New York, is here to see Neutral Milk Hotel (aren’t we all?) but in the meantime she’s gracing passersby with her eclectic and glorious collection of adorable tattoos.

2. R2D2

Shawnedese, from Carbondale, Illinois, has an amazing array of “Star Wars” tattoos. He’s here to see Beck and also kind of looks like Beck (at least around the hair area).

3. Red Pepper

Shari hails from Durham, North Carolina, and is really stoked to see Perfect Pussy. We were really stoked to see that she had a pepper tattooed on her leg because what?! That’s some serious commitment to a seriously maligned veggie.

4. All Of These Things

Rez, from New York, has… all of these lovely tattoos. He also makes the amazing, glorious posters he’s posing in front of. Hopefully he’ll be able to take a break from selling them to see Danny Brown.

5. ‘The Wizard Of Oz’

Jacquie came all the way from Boston to see St. Vincent – and to show off her amazing “Wizard Of Oz” tattoo. Maybe she’ll travel back home via ruby slipper?

6. J. Mascis From Dinosaur Jr.

Stephanie from Brooklyn’s J. Mascis tattoo just captures his essence, don’t you think? Maybe next she should get ink of Kendrick Lamar, who she is way excited to see.

7. A Tribute

Chris told us this little tat is something his grandmother used to say. The Chicago native is here to see Beck. We wonder what Beck’s grandmother used to say.

8. Cat!

Radhika Marya

We basically ran up to Jamie, from Grand Rapids, Michigan, screaming “cat!!” And guess what its name is? Mr. Lady Gaga. She wins. Let’s all go home.

Brenna Ehrlich

Brenna Ehrlich is a reporter for MTV News as well as the senior writer/editor for the O Music Awards. In the past, she served as associate editor at Mashable, penned a netiquette column for CNN and co-authored the blog and book “Stuff Hipsters Hate.” She likes trying not to die in moshpits and listening to songs on repeat. Follow her on Twitter @BrennaEhrlich for news on cats and punk bands.