Git Branches missing from status bar after 2017.2 upgrade

After upgrading to 2017.2, my status bar no longer contains the Git Branches section, which means I have to navigate all the way through the VCS > GIT > Branches menu tree anytime I want to use the branches popup.  

I read this post, but it doesn't seem relevant to my issue, as I can still use the branches popup via the menu tree, and all operations are still functional, just cumbersome.