popwreckoning

I spent the second birthday in a row at Sasquatch – this year it was my 22nd birthday, on Monday. And this year I can clearly say was better than last year’s birthday when Kid Cudi fans started booing They Might Be Giants.

My day began at the Bigfoot stage for Givers, the Lafayette, LA natives with an insane amount of energy, and they all look to be about 18 years old. I’d seen Givers earlier this year when they toured with Ra Ra Riot, and when I saw them then, they out-shined both acts they played with. I was not disappointed seeing them the second time around, in the early afternoon of the last day. This band is full of a bunch of kooky hippies that was some of the most genuine people I’ve ever met. Givers played the Endsession tent later that day, and when I arrived, Taylor Guarisco came up to me and another photographer.

“So you guys are the ones who are taking photos?”

“Yep.”

“We don’t usually let strangers take pictures of us, so… I’m Taylor.”

“I’m Abby.”

“There, now we aren’t strangers anymore!”

And there were several other instances throughout the day that exemplified their friendliness and sincerity, but then this would get to be a really long post.

Noah and the Whale was next up on my agenda, the English folk rock band, whom I’d been anxiously awaiting to see. The whole band looked quite dapper on stage, with well-coiffed hair and sharp suits, and the sound that came from the band definitely didn’t match the appearance. They looked like New Order, but sounded like Mumford and Sons (in the simplest of analogies). I’ll gladly see them again, because they were pleasant, but not boring.

There were plenty of bands that fit into that category during the weekend – pleasant but boring.

Local dance rock band Head Like A Kite merely gained my attention when I was sitting in the media room right next to the Yeti stage. I’d completely forgot that they were playing, and when I heard the frantic dance music from outside, I had to run out. It’s a testament to Head Like A Kite’s persona. No matter how you feel about their music (which I quite enjoy), they put on a showstopper – with just two band members I might add.

Back at the Bigfoot stage was Black Mountain, a Black Keys-esque (not just because of the name) blues rock band, but with a female singer. I was rushing around like a chicken with my head cut off at this point, but from what I did see of Black Mountain, they had a lot of soul and a lot of edge. I’ll have to check them out again.

Stornoway also hit the Bigfoot stage that afternoon, but they couldn’t be more different from Black Mountain – English, alternative folk, and a majority of the band looked like squares. But they were equally as enjoyable. They were like Noah and the Whale, but more adorable, and I wish I’d seen more of their set, but like I said before – chicken with my head cut off.

I followed my fellow photographers over to the Yeti stage for Foster the People, as they were highly anticipated – and rightly so. I hadn’t seen a crowd for the Yeti stage bigger all weekend. I honestly thought they should have put Foster the People at the Bigfoot stage because the crowd was so big. But with how much radio play “Pumped Up Kicks” has been getting, I wasn’t surprised. The band was good, had plenty of energy, but to me, didn’t live up to the hype.

However, this next performer surpassed my expectations by miles (or kilometers for the Canadians at the festival).

Macklemore is amazing. I’ll just say that. If you haven’t heard his music, you may have heard his song “My Oh My” if you’re local. He sang it at opening day of the Mariners’ baseball season this year, and when I first heard that song it brought me to tears and gave me goosebumps. I didn’t know his whole performance would be that fantastic. The guy can put on a show, I’ll tell you. He had conversations with the audience, gave shout-outs to people born in the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s, crowd surfed, and jumped around the stage in a fringe jean jacket with David Bowie (circa Labyrinth) on the back. I cannot give Macklemore any more praise than anyone else can, but I will say that his album with his producer Ryan Lewis “VS” was the only album I bought for myself at the festival.

Seriously. Even after I was done shooting the first three songs, I went back in the media room to charge my camera battery for just a bit, but as soon as I heard the opening chords to “My Oh My,” I literally sprinted outside to listen. And again, I got goosebumps and I teared up. Thankfully I had sunglasses on.

I dare say that there wasn’t a greater moment at the whole festival, than when the huge crowd of his local fans screamed at the top of their lungs, “MY OH MY!”

I don’t even like hip-hop, and when Macklemore and Ryan Lewis did that Monday afternoon was perhaps my favorite performance of Sasquatch (except for the Foo Fighters). He’s just awesome.

So after that spectacular display of musical perfection (pardon the hyperbole, but it’s not all that hyperbolic!), the rest of the evening just paled in comparison.

However, I will say that !!! (Chk chk chk) is now my new favorite band to shoot. Not because I love their music (which I do), but after I thought I’d missed the first three songs, a friend of mine came into the media room and asked me, “Did you shoot Chk chk chk?”

“No, I missed the first three songs.”

“Get out there right now. He’s letting photographers in the pit the whole time. He said, ‘don’t let the photographers leave!’”

So I did, and I was glad I did, because he was strutting all over the stage, shaking his hips all which ways, going into the crowd multiple times, and loving the photographers. When a musician loves the photographers, we love him right back.

As I stumbled back to my computer and clean water, I saw the sky start to darken – and not just sunset dark, like storm cloud dark. Soon after, thunder and lightning. Lots of lightning. All I could think of was, poor Wilco. They were playing the mainstage last that night, and I didn’t even stay late enough to see them, to avoid the nasty storm coming our way on my three-hour drive home.

But I did stay late enough to catch all of Deerhunter‘s set at the Bigfoot stage, where I ran into Givers again, so we all stood in the middle of the crowd for our last performance of the night. I could not have thought of a better way to end the festival. All of Deerhunter was rocking hoodies with their hoods up, in case the rain decided to invade their stage, but it held out for the hour of moving ambient rock. The last time I’d seen Deerhunter was last April when they opened for Spoon, and this was so much better with the eerie color of the sky matched with Deerhunter’s sweeping melodies and Bradford Cox‘s lulling voice.

I wouldn’t have closed the night any other way.

I arrived at the Gorge around noon on Sunday. In fact, I think it was exactly noon, because I’d missed the first half of Wavves set (because for some reason they put them on the main stage at 11:30 a.m.). So Portland natives Typhoon began my lineup for the day, and to an epic degree. Typhoon consisted of everything from electric guitar, a mini brass section, and a prominent cello, and I loved it. Their set was so good (and not just for noon) that I caught their acoustic EndSession* around two hours later.

*Local radio station 107.7 The End was hosting acoustic sets throughout the day in a small tent that people had to win a game to get access to. I don’t really know how, I just knew that I would be hitting up Fitz and the Tantrums’ set in there later as well.

Typhoon was one of the best of the day at the Bigfoot stage, but the Yeti stage delivered exceptionally well on Sunday. Just to name a few – Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears, local “hipster-hop” (they made it up) group Mad Rad, and Das Racist all lit up that stage, one leaving a bit of carnage, but I’ll get to that in a minute.

A few other bands played great sets, and are definitely worth mentioning. Funk group Wheedle’s Groove was a little out of their element, but it was a breath of fresh fun air early in the afternoon. Seattle folk group the Moondoggies put on a lovely set, tailored perfectly to the overwhelmingly local crowd. One of the many Canadian acts that weekend, The Sam Roberts band, also on the Bigfoot stage, played a sleek set of easy and radio-friendly indie rock.

Speaking of Canadians – I don’t know why more Canadian musicians get wide recognition in the U.S. I like to consider myself a bit of a music geek, and I had never heard of Sam Roberts, and he and his band has won Juno Awards since 2004. It just makes me very glad that Sasquatch can offer than bridge over our northern border, metaphorically speaking. I can assure you that no other festival around has that many Canadian bands, and I welcome it. Have you ever met a rude Canadian? I haven’t.

Before the awesome evening of Yeti stage antics, I set myself up in the EndSession for Fitz and the Tantrums, because I’d only caught a glimpse of their main stage set. Honestly, I avoided the main stage most of the time. But Fitz and the Tantrums delivered spectacularly in that small setting. I’d heard good things from several friends, and I wasn’t disappointed. With such an odd mix of characters on stage, you wouldn’t think that the music would mix, but it’s like maple and bacon – it just tastes good. The funky stage presence of Michael Fitzpatrick and the soul that Noelle Scaggs brings makes Fitz and the Tantrums definitely not a band to miss. Thankfully, they’ll be back in the northwest in September for Bumbershoot.

I’m going to sound like a terrible person, but I’d never listened to Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears before Sasquatch, and now I want to see them again and again. While the set was obnoxiously late (which was still a theme on all the stages), it was worth the wait. It was a mix of soul and rock and pure energy that made filled that relatively small space in front of the Yeti stage. Personally I think they should have played in the Bigfoot stage with how big their performance was. At one point, someone from the crowd threw a roll of toilet paper in the air. Then another. And another. And soon it was an all-out TP frenzy. From what I heard, someone broke into the port-a-potty with all the extra toilet paper in it and went crazy. I’d hate to be anyone who had to clean all that up.

After Black Joe Lewis was Mad Rad, who is some hard to describe that I can just give you what they call themselves – “hipster-hop.” It’s hip-hop, with electro, and indie rock, and obscene lyrics, and maniacal stage performance, and I could keep going, but that might just confuse you. They are truly a band to be seen live, rather than heard on record, and I highly recommend staying out of the front of the crowd, unless you’re into being thrashed about. Mad Rad’s name is self-explanatory. They’re mad (as in crazy) but also rad.

Das Racist was on directly after Mad Rad, and the mood was still frantic and awesome at that point, and Das Racist fed off that energy from the crowd and it made for quite an interesting set. I’m not sure if the guys of Das Racist were at all drunk, but they were holding cans of beer and seemed really relaxed on stage. No matter, as they put on an entertaining show for another huge crowd.

I think they should have just switched all the Yeti/Bigfoot acts in the afternoon, because the crowd was much more receptive of the bands at Yeti, and Das Racist was no different. I don’t even like hip-hop, and they were one of my favorite sets of the whole festival.

As the sun started to set over the Gorge, the Flaming Lips took the main stage to their usual over-the-top theatrics, giant bubble and all. Sadly, I only stayed for about 15 minutes of their set because of scheduling, but from what I heard, the Flaming Lips only played about 8 or 9 songs in their hour set. I won’t pass judgment, since I wasn’t there, but that just seems weird.

The Bigfoot stage finally started to heat up after dark, with Yeasayer and Ratatat bringing out all the crazy hipsters. Neither band disappointed, except for the horrible scheduling. Both Yeasayer and Ratatat used wicked on-stage light shows to up the amp of their set, and both filled their hour with fantastic versions of some their greatest tracks. Ratatat even had an entire song with repeated creepy bird images on projectors behind then. I wasn’t even on drugs and it was trippy.

Sunday rocked. Hands down. Would I go as far as saying that it was the best day? Hmm. You haven’t even heard about Monday yet.

Foo Fighters on Friday at Sasquatch

Saturday of Sasquatch began a theme I noticed for the next three days. The smaller stages rocked this year. I’d go as far as saying that the acts that graced the Bigfoot and Yeti stages were better than the main stage.

My day began at with local band The Globes on the Yeti stage, who just released their debut album on Barsuk Records Future Self, and I can say that I do prefer them in a smaller venue, but they did attract quite a nice crowd for 1 o’clock in the afternoon. Basically, local bands ruled Sasquatch this year. It makes me proud to be a Washingtonian.

Speaking of locals – the Head and the Heart were at the main stage next. To be honest, they were one of only three bands I saw on the main stage that day, and the one I was most excited for. Not because I hadn’t seen them – because this was the fourth time I’d seen this lovely band play, but because they are so inspiring. At 2 o’clock in the afternoon, an amazing group of people came to the main stage to see them play – just over a year after they’d even started playing together.

Drummer Tyler Williams told a little story during the set about that very thing. He was wearing a wristband that he’d gotten at the festival last year, not from playing, but from attending. He said that last year he told himself that he wasn’t going to take that wristband off until they played Sasquatch. Lo and behold, a year later, the little band that could was playing the main stage of one of the biggest festivals in the country (certainly the most beautiful). I was in awe, and I can’t praise this band enough, so I’ll move on.

Not only was the festival full of lovely Seattle locals, but the Canadian crowd this year was surprisingly large. I haven’t heard so many “ayes” in one weekend. So naturally, Vancouver native Dan Mangan got lots of love during his set. But it was well deserved, because not only were his songs awesome live, his charisma was infectious and adorable. The folk rock crooner, with his Seth Rogan-esque curly locks can really get a crowd going – and only with some energetic acoustic guitar. You would have thought we were at a Matt & Kim show. Wait, that came later.

The Antlers graced the Bigfoot stage next, and they pleasantly surprised me. I hadn’t heard much of their music before hand, and I loved their set. It wasn’t just because the lighting was gorgeous either. This was when I started to see that the Bigfoot Stage would outshine the main stage. Jenny & Johnny played the same stage a little bit later, bringing a charming rockabilly vibe to the mid-afternoon sun.

Serial collaborator Jenny Lewis wore a retro red frock with an over-the-top pointed collar and some fashion-forward bug-eye sunglasses, and boyfriend Jonathan Rice sported some matching shades. I certainly hope Rice and Lewis don’t break up anytime soon, because they’re making some catchy summer tunes.

Before settling into the Bigfoot stage for the night, I caught Wye Oak and The Thermals back the Yeti stage, both of whom were fantastic in different ways. The duo Wye Oak brought an insane amount of sound between the two of them, and I wish my camera battery hadn’t died so I could have stayed at their set longer. I’ve seen the Thermals four times since September, so I knew exactly what I was getting, but they never cease to entertain. Seriously, their songs may be simple and many are quite similar, but seeing the Thermals is some of the most fun you’ll ever have at a show.

But the fun kept coming, as Matt & Kim were up next at the Bigfoot stage. The couple ran out on stage, smiling ear to ear, standing up on their seats hyping up the crowd – as if they needed any more hyping. I’m just thankful that there was a steel barrier between the crowd and me. The beauty of the Gorge didn’t fail to make any appearances during several sets that day, but Matt & Kim were the most insistent in expressing their excitement about being at Sasquatch. It was their first time here, and even I’m still in awe of it three years running. I can’t even remember what I thought the first time I went.

It was at this point where the schedule went out the window for all three stages. That was the only negative about this year’s festival. Timing apparently wasn’t on anyone’s mind, as Robyn was half an hour late to the Bigfoot stage. I’m not sure whether there was a legitimate reason why she went on late, or that she wanted to wait until the sun went down, but once she started playing I didn’t really care. That girl is crazy on stage.

I can remember when she had that one hit song “Show Me Love” in the 90s, and this is light-years away from the one-hit wonder pop princess of my childhood. If Lady Gaga gets this much credit for wild antics on stage, then Robyn should at least be close. Wearing some obscenely loud stretch pants and a sweater that looked like she literally just sheered a sheep herself, Robyn strutted all around stage, shaking her booty in equally as obscene platform shoes. It makes me wonder if people actually dress like that day-to-day in Sweden. After missing her club show in Seattle earlier this year, I was incredibly thankful that I finally got to see her at Sasquatch, because it was a show I won’t forget.

I would have been happy going back to the house I was staying, but I did head down to the main stage to catch some of Death Cab for Cutie’s set, which started out splendidly. The first four songs – I’m not kidding – were all old. Two of them were actually from when Death Cab was still on Barsuk Records, which made me proud. It wasn’t the feeling all through the audience though, because the old songs, “Why You’d Want to Live Here,” “Photobooth,” and “We Looked like Giants,” weren’t particularly popular. It wasn’t until Death Cab started playing songs off Transatlanticism, Plans, and Narrow Stairs did people actually respond in a big way. And this was after they’d played a few songs off the new album Codes and Keys, which I liked on record, but was sadly lackluster live. I left before their set was even over. Maybe it was because the new songs aren’t that exciting or impacting, but after a nice and unexpected beginning, Death Cab’s set had a unfortunate case of dull.

After that, I stuck to the smaller stages for the rest of the weekend. Besides, I don’t think any band on the main stage could have outdone the Foo Fighters on Friday.

Check out Friday’s post.

You know those family reunions you hate going to? With the weird cousin that doesn’t talk and the uncle that gets way too drunk and that lady who you’re not even sure how you’re related – just that she married someone in your family at some point in time? The Sasquatch Music Festival is like a family reunion, only in this year’s case, there were 100,000 people that filled the Gorge for the tenth annual festival.

It was for good reason, too. The Foo Fighters headlined the newly-added Friday lineup this last weekend. Sadly enough, being a student, I couldn’t leave the west side of the mountains until about 4:30, putting myself in the worst traffic imaginable. However, the only band I really wanted to see that night was the Foo Fighters anyway, and I got my wish.

But, as I was making my way into the festival, I overheard Death from Above 1979 playing the main stage – quite loudly – and they rocked. I just had to put that out there, because Sasquatch marked the triumphant return from Death from Above.

Friday had by far the most diverse crowd of all the four days. Not only were there kids younger than me, there were people older than my parents on the floor of the main stage. When Dave Grohl introduced a song off their first album “Big Me,” he asked the audience if anyone had seen them tour for the self-titled debut in 1995. One guy up front raised his hand and shouted, and Grohl responded – “I’m with you dude. We’re some old motherfuckers.”

My mother was so jealous of me being there that she made me call her during “My Hero.”

Yeah, so the Foo Fighters are a band for many generations, and even though they have been rocking the stage for over 15 years, I can clearly say that they’re one of the best live bands in the world. They were definitely the best at this year’s festival.

“We decided to have an all-flannel line up front here,” Grohl began as he introduced his band members, mostly clad in plaid flannel shirts. It is the Pacific Northwest, after all. “But one person didn’t wear any flannel, and it’s that fucker back there,” Grohl glared at drummer Taylor Hawkins as his familiar grin lit up the jumbo screen.

The Foo Fighters started at 9:30 on the dot, and ended at almost 11:30 exactly. And not one ounce of energy was lost in those two hours on that glorious Friday night. So many of my favorite songs were brought to life with extra oomph and drawn-out verses that I almost didn’t want to listen to them on the record again. “Times Like These” was beautiful. “The Pretender” was epic. “Breakout” was hilarious, because I’m pretty sure that I was the only person around me singing along to it. It made me feel cool, that I knew the words to every song they played that night. Even though they aren’t my absolute favorite band, I haven’t liked a band longer than I have liked the Foo Fighters. I received One by One as a birthday present when I was in the fourth grade. I’m 22 now. Do the math.

As the Foos played through old classics like “Learn to Fly,” “Monkey Wrench,” big hits like “Best of You” and plenty of new songs off Wasting Light, the Sasquatch adrenaline kicked in and I was ready for the rest of the weekend. But it all came to a fantastic high point when Grohl started strumming the chords to “Everlong.” Several people had been shouting it from behind me that night, and I’d been waiting for it as well.

You see, about a year ago I made a list of bands that I wanted to shoot, a “photo bucket” list of sorts. In this short year, three of those bands have been checked off that list, and the Foo Fighters was definitely near the top of it. And as I stood in the cold wind with sporadic clouds of pot smoke floating above my head and Grohl’s ferocious growl coming through the loud speakers, I felt my eyes well up a bit. Not kidding.

The Foo Fighters skipped the encore all together, as to “maximize set time,” as Grohl said, and stilled filled up two full hours. It was completely surreal, and everyone around me shared the same sentiment. Making our way to the exit, I overheard a couple behind me reflecting on the show.

“That was the best show I’ve ever seen, and I haven’t been to a show since Tool two years ago. That was awesome.”

“But where would Gwar be in that?”

“They’re on a completely different level of awesome.”

“Yeah, you’ve either got blood spit on you, or Dave Grohl. I think this wins.”

I think so too.

Keep on the lookout for recaps from Saturday, Sunday, and Monday coming soon!



Mad Rad, Das Racist and The Thermals brought the house down at the free Sasquatch Launch Party at the Showbox at the Market last night, where the lineup to the now four-day festival would be announced.

Put on by Livenation and Sasquatch creator Adam Zacks, the launch party was MC’d by Comedian Todd Barry, who kept the crowd entertained between sets with dry wit and some fake teaser headliners.

“If you love me now, you’ll love when I play a set between headliners Elvis Presley and the Beatles, and tickets are only $7!” Barry proclaimed sarcastically to the less-than-attentive crowd. But I guess that’s what you get when you have a free show.

After Mad Rad and Das Racist played their sets, the lineup was announced in a video like previous years, which was played twice over, most likely so people could get a second look because they were freaking out too much over the Flaming Lips.

So far the lineup includes:

Death Cab for Cutie, the Decemberists, Modest Mouse, the Foo Fighters, Robyn, Wilco, Flying Lotus, Bright Eyes, Flogging Molly, Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Das Racist, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, Iron & Wine, The Flaming Lips.Black Mountain, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, the Head and the Heart, Mad Rad, the Moondoggies, Noah & The Whale, Sam Roberts Band, Secret Sisters, Twin Shadow, Wye Oak, Tig Notaro, Smith Westerns, Rival Schools, Foster the People, Alberta Cross, S. Carey, White Denim, Washed Out, Gold Panda, Dan Mangan, Axis of Awesome, The Globes, Cotton Jones, Jaill, Basia Bulat, Other Lives, The Bronx, White Arrows, Pepper Rabbit, Talkdemonic, Rebecca Gates and The Consortium, The Young Evils, Bassnectar, Pink Martini, Cold War Kids, Old 97′s, Ratatat, Wolf Parade, Chromeo, Guided By Voices, Yeasayer, Beach House, Local Natives, Matt & Kim, Deerhunter, Mstrkrft, Trailer Park Boys, Sleigh Bells, Major Lazer, Skrillex, Fitz & The Tantrums, !!!, Archers of Loaf, Against Me!, The Thermals, Best Coast, CSS, Surfer Blood, Jenny & Johnny, Bonobo (DJ Set), City and Colour, Reggie Watts, K-Os, Gayngs, Tim Minchin, The Drums, The Radio Dept., Young the Giant, The Antlers, Sharon Van Etten, Villagers, Stornoway, Aloe Blacc.

Tickets go on sale on Feb. 14th starting at $79.50 per day and $285 for three-day passes.

Go to http://sasquatchfestival.com/ for more information or to purchase tickets.

I woke up Monday morning to a thin layer of rainwater on top of my tent, hoping that the weather would still go our way that day.

What do you know? It did.

Determined to see more bands that day than I’d seen Saturday and Sunday, I went and stood in line at about 11:30, even before any bands started playing. We made our way onto the festival grounds to a small crowd watching local band Jaguar Love, which features one half of the former Blood Brothers. Let’s just say I didn’t stand there for very long. Instead I went to the Yeti Stage for Shadow Shadow Shade, a much more pleasant sound for that early in the day.

Shadow Shadow Shade sounded quite nice in the open air, with their multiple instruments and multiple vocalists to create sweeping harmonies fitting to both dance to, or just stand and listen to. I quite liked “Your Perfect Wilderness.” And even though they were playing at noon, they had a nice-sized crowd who had passed over Jaguar Love on the larger stage.

While waiting to head down to the main stage to see The Temper Trap, I caught a bit of Past Lives, also on the Yeti Stage. Unbeknown to me, Past Lives featured the other, less annoying half of the Blood Brothers. Literally, if you’d put Jaguar Love and Past Lives on stage together, you’d have the Blood Brothers. Past Lives weren’t bad. I’m not a big fan of hardcore music, but this was toned down a bit, mixing louder hardcore vocals with darker and subtler melodies.

Next, I went to see The Temper Trap, and I caught the last ten minutes or so of Mayer Hawthorne, who was quite fun from what I saw. I thought he was an odd choice for Sasquatch, but you really never know what to expect. The Temper Trap was about 15 minutes late to the stage, but it was worth waiting for. I have to say that they surprised me. In a good way. I expected a decent show for 2 o’clock in the afternoon, but they were awesome. Lead singer Dougy Mandagi’s falsetto mixed with the pulsating rhythms, and bassist Jonathon Aherne’s stage antics (and a glorious head of hair) made for a moving live show. At one point during “Drum Song,” Mandagi poured all the water out of his bottle onto the floor tom he was beating to create a cascade of droplets across the stage that went along with the light drizzle that had began. I didn’t even mind the rain actually, because at that time of day it was quite hot and the rain was refreshing. The Temper Trap’s songs also lent themselves to the crowd singing a long, like the repeated “lost, lost, lost” during “Love Lost,” and the “ooo-ooo-oos” during “Fader.” And especially for “Sweet Disposition,” which began with a drawn-out intro, everyone sang along. The songs have a driving tempo that’s just right for rocking out without looking like fools.

Looking like fools came later.

But I give The Temper Trap the honor of best performance (at least that I saw) of Monday. I was thoroughly impressed.

Following that great show, I went back to the Yeti Stage for a couple more shows, both starkly different from one another, but both local. First was Fresh Espresso, one of Seattle’s most promising hip-hop acts. Being so well known in the local scene, they drew a huge crowd for 3 o’clock, and I can see why. Mixing hip-hop, pop, and glam, they sure brought the energy. Also, during their set they brought this random guy out on stage, who then proceeded to propose to his girlfriend right now. That was sweet.

Telekinesis was next, who I also saw back in November opening for The Lonely Forest. Frontman Benjamin Lerner was very at ease in this large arena, even if it was the smallest stage at Sasquatch. His light power-pop drew a less energetic crowd than Fresh Espresso had before, but Lerner’s songs were just as enjoyable. One girl from the crowd shouted a song that she wanted to hear, and Lerner replied with, “You really did your homework, that isn’t even on the record.” And then she spouted out something else I couldn’t hear. “That’s your favorite song? Ever? Dang.” Lerner said, very flattered.

As the sun was starting to set, Dr. Dog started their set on the Bigfoot Solar Stage, bringing their bluesy folk rock to the festival. I would have liked to hear their great cover of Architecture in Helsinki’s “Heart in Races,” but their set was still really good. At times it almost had a hint of a gospel vibe along with their strong 60s-pop influences, which I liked, especially “Army of Ancients,” with its relaxed melodies and passionate vocals.

The Mountain Goats, who came next, were one of the bands I was really hoping to see at Sasquatch, and I was not disappointed. Of all the performers, I’m pretty sure John Darnielle had the most fun on stage. He said, “I know it’s corny, but I love playing music.” It wasn’t corny, John. Of all the places to make that declaration, Sasquatch is it. With how much joy they had on stage, evidenced my Darnielle’s wicked awesome facial expressions, The Mountain Goats fans had even more joy. “No Children” turned into a giant sing-along, about “hoping we both die.” No really. It was charming and hilarious and joyous, and perfect for Sasquatch.

After the Temper Trap, the Mountain Goats got my second best performance of the day.

I made my way back down to the main stage for the final time that weekend to see Band of Horses and MGMT, who I wouldn’t say disappointed me, but didn’t wow me either.

I couldn’t get close enough to see anything but what was on the jumbotron, so that could be the reason why I didn’t react to their performances as strongly. Band of Horses were fine, good ol’ southern rock. And I was glad to hear that they did play a lot of songs off their first two albums, because I personally was a bit under whelmed with Infinite Arms. By far the best part of Band of Horses’ set was during “Funeral,” when virtually everyone started screaming the lyrics along with them, which always makes a concert better.  A concert shouldn’t just be great music, but also a shared experience with the dozens, or hundreds, or thousands of people surrounding you. Lots of people went to go see Band of Horses, so at least they accomplished that much.

Figuring that it would be a mass exodus leaving the amphitheater after MGMT and it would take forever, I went and sat on the grassy hill for the first and last time that weekend to enjoy them. I wasn’t expecting crazy stage-hopping MGMT, but I also wasn’t expecting the glazed-over possibly high MGMT either. The third song in Andrew Vanwyngarden introduced “Flash Delirium,” the inexplicable hit from their new album Congratulations, but instead they played “The Youth,” from their first album. Hmm. And about a third of the way through, bass player Matthew Asti asked the huge crowd of people in front of him, “has the sun set yet? No, it’s still holding on!” Okay. But the one thing that I do enjoy about MGMT is that their music is so odd and entertaining that you don’t really need a lot of stage presence to pull it off. By the last twenty minutes of MGMT set, the rain began to fall. It was like the sky couldn’t hold on the precipitation any longer and had to let it go.

But the best way to end Sasquatch when MGMT played songs like “Electric Feel,” “Kids,” and “Time to Pretend.” When they came on, I had to get up off the grass and dance around like a crazy fool, because that’s just what you do.

Here’s hoping next year’s Sasquatch is just as good. Or better. That’s always an option.

For the final set of photos from Sasquatch 2010, visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/abbigshmail/sets/72157624191722284/

Sunday’s coverage: http://popwreckoning.com/2010/06/03/sasquatch-festival-sunday-with-local-natives-kid-cudi-dirty-projectors/

Saturday’s coverage: http://popwreckoning.com/2010/06/02/sasquatch-festival-saturday-with-ok-go-the-national-vampire-weekend/

Sunday morning of Sasquatch came for me with a hot shower and special birthday blueberry muffin at my campsite, as it was my 21^st birthday. Come to find out that day, it was several people’s birthdays. But I’ll get to that later.

The line getting into the venue moved a lot faster that day, and it was met with a bit more cloud coverage, so less burning sunlight directly overhead at noon when we entered the grounds. As the Bigfoot Solar Stage was almost directly inside the gates, I went into the crowd, not really knowing who was playing. As soon as the band got on stage, I checked my schedule, and it turned out that it was Local Natives. When I got there, it was far too crowded for me to get close to get any decent photographs, but I was close enough to fall in love with their sound. I’d heard “Camera Talk” off their album Gorilla Manor about a month ago, but as I stood through the rest of their hour-long set, there were so many more songs I liked. Gorilla Manor was actually the only album I bought at the festival, and I’m glad that I did. I’ve listened to it several times. The band’s soft harmonies work so well both live and on the record, and I can see why they had such a large crowd, even so early in the day. About halfway through their set came the first coincidence of the day. Prefacing their song “Who Knows Who Cares,” guitarist and vocalist Taylor Rice came up to the mic and said, “I’d like to dedicate this song to my special lady, Bethany,” (or something like that), “It’s her thirtieth birthday today. The golden year, 30 on 30.” And everyone in the crowd said “Happy Birthday Bethany!” in unison. Of all days – that was weird. After that, my sister told me that she was going to try to get Flavor Flav to wish me happy birthday. Sure, like that would happen. Anyway, Local Natives were awesome. I’d have to say that they’re my favorite discovery from Sasquatch.

Then I took the familiar stroll to the main stage for the only time on Sunday to see They Might Be Giants. Of all the acts booked for Sasquatch, They Might Be Giants might be the most random. However being a fan of them myself, I was excited to see them on the lineup. As I expected, TMBG were perhaps the goofiest 50-year-olds I’d ever seen. At one point their broke out The Avatars of They, a duo of sock puppets who have been part of their live show since last year. Much to my delight, TMBG did play the hilarious “The Mesopotamians,” the one and only thing I like about the subject of Mesopotamia. The only buzzkill of their set was the fact that a large portion of their crowd was Kid Cudi fans waiting to get close for Kid Cudi’s set directly after TMBG. But that was poor planning. I felt bad actually, because the Kid Cudi fans were restless and a bit rude to TMBG. At one point during the appearance of The Avatars of They, I heard someone shout “Get off the stage, we wanna see Cudi!” Sure I wanted to see Kid Cudi too, but I wanted to see They Might Be Giants as well.

I regret that former statement, because I would have much rather seen Kid Cudi from afar, rather than being stuck in the insane pit of pain present throughout all of Kid Cudi’s set. The only reason I stayed in the pit was so I could get close to see Tegan and Sara after, and get some good photos. What I do for good photos, sheesh.

Now, I’m not much of a hip-hop fan, but I honestly enjoy Kid Cudi. He’s confident on stage without being too arrogant like some rappers can be. But I will never see him live again. Nothing against Cudi, but I feared for my life and my camera in that pit. It’s like they didn’t know the meaning of personal space. I just had to lock my knees and plant my feet. I didn’t really have to hold up my own weight, but I also couldn’t breath comfortably half the time. But regardless, Kid Cudi was really good. Toward the end of his set, he brought this guy out on stage. “You guys remember when I punched that guy in Vancouver? Here he is! Michael and I are cool now!” And Michael Sharpe, the guy whom Kid Cudi punched at his Vancouver show joined him for a man hug on stage in front of thousands of people.

As soon as Kid Cudi’s set was over, I scurried out of the pit to catch some air before venturing back in for Tegan and Sara’s set. But naturally, their fans wouldn’t be quite as insane. It was a nice cool down from the overwhelming body heat trapped in the mosh pit from before, and Tegan and Sara’s music was a nice cool down as well. As much as I like their music, it was bit lackluster for the venue we were in, but what made their set especially enjoyable was the sharp banter between the two of them. If they weren’t twins, you could still totally tell that they were sisters by how they acted toward each other. That was my time at the main stage that night, as I spent the next 2 hours at the Bigfoot Solar Stage and turned in early for the night to eat birthday cake and make hot dogs over a camp stove.

First on the Solar Stage that night was Girls, whose album I fell in love with last year. It’s still weird listening to them because it’s like Elvis Costello reincarnate, and Elvis Costello isn’t even dead. It was a mellow and groovy way to move the evening right along, and like the album, seeing Girls live made me feel nostalgic. I don’t know when I was feeling nostalgic about, but the music just sounds so aged, but not outdated. And the music actually fit quite nicely in the setting sunlight in the middle of a flat field. Peaceful, yet not exactly peaceful. It’s hard to explain, but that’s why I advise you to see them. They were good. You won’t be disappointed.

The last act I’d see Sunday night was the Dirty Projectors, and I truly only saw them because I felt like I needed to understand something about them. I listened to Bitte Orca. Several times. And I just didn’t get why everyone was so gaga over them, so I figured seeing them live would illuminate it for me somehow. I was right. I get it now. I’m not going to try and explain why I get it now, because the Dirty Projectors are one of those bands that you love or you hate, because they’re that weird, but the vocals that this band consistently produces is the most amazing part of their live act. During “Remade Horizon,” I swear Amber Coffman and Haley Dekle did this crazy vocal riffing for over a minute that sounded like nothing I’ve heard in a live show before. Also, with how many singers they have on stage at one time, David Longstreth, Angel Deradoorian, Coffman, and Dekle, there is a strange harmony on stage that is also unlike most bands.

This was where the second coincidence came in. Nearing the end of the show, after “Stillness is the Move,” Coffman told the crowd that it was her father’s 51^st birthday, and she wanted us all to sing happy birthday to him and record it for someone to put on YouTube for him to watch. Another birthday? So we all sang happy birthday to her dad Joel.

That was the end of day two for me. I’ll be right with you for the final recap shortly.

For more photos of Sunday’s festivities, visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/abbigshmail/sets/72157624067347657/

Saturday’s coverage: http://popwreckoning.com/2010/06/02/sasquatch-festival-saturday-with-ok-go-the-national-vampire-weekend/

Monday’s coverage: http://popwreckoning.com/2010/06/04/sasquatch-festival-monday-with-the-temper-trap-the-mountain-goats-mgmt/

Taking the three-hour drive to the Columbia River Gorge is a boring trip. You merge a couple times from state route 16, then from I-5 to I-90, over a mountain pass and through the eastern Washington flatlands. But when you reach the Gorge on Memorial Day weekend, it’s like a dome of awesome civilization in the middle of empty Washington wasteland. It was the second year in a row that I traveled to the Sasquatch! Music Festival, but this year I’d be spending all three days at the Gorge, camping about a quarter of the mile from the festival grounds, where one could still hear the music late into the night after tucking one’s self into one’s sleeping bag.

This weekend was nothing less than glorious. The clouds defied the weather forecast, which told us that it would be cloudy and possibly raining all weekend. Only a couple bouts of rain didn’t damper the festival at all. In fact, the rain we did get was refreshing and added to the greatness of the Columbia River Gorge.

I’ll start with Saturday. After waiting in line for over an hour, I finally arrived on the festival grounds, and headed over to the newly renamed Bigfoot Solar Stage. It used to be called the Wookie Stage, but as a preemptive action against any sort of lawsuit from George Lucas, the Sasquatch organizers changed the name. Catching the second half of Mumford and Sons, I could tell that people were already crowding in front of each stage.

Following Mumford and Sons was Portugal. The Man on the same stage. I’m really glad I stayed to watch them, because the crazy psychedelic rock that you find on their record Censored Colors sounds even better live. And with such songs like “Lay Me Back Down,” the relatively large crowd could sing right along with the chorus. It was a good way to start the day. The very long day.

With my first of two steep treks down to the main stage, I was reminded how much I really love this venue. Actually, Damian Kulash of OK Go, the band playing on the main stage next, said it best:

“You know, we play a lot of these festivals, and most of the time the venue sucks and the bands blow, but this place is fucking awesome.” Or something like that. You get the gist.

As much as I love OK Go for their genius music videos, they were surprisingly good live. Fun and energetic, and it was only 3 in the afternoon. It was too bad their crowd was small though, because I’m pretty sure Kulash would have crowd surfed a lot further if he’d had the ability to. Playing through some oldies but goodies, like “Get Over It” from their 2002 debut album, as well as the funky “White Knuckles” off their newest Of The Blue Colour of the Sky, it was a joyful and satisfying set. One thing though – with how breathy and seductive Kulash’s voice is most of the time, you’d never expect him to bust out this gut-draining shriek. But he did. It was cool.

I headed back up to the Yeti Stage, the smallest of the three outdoor stages, to see one of my favorite local bands The Lonely Forest for the third time this year. What can I say? They’re really good. But I could tell that it was still a bit intimidating being at Sasquatch because they were good, but they weren’t as good as at the Seattle clubs. But that is one of the parts of Sasquatch that I really love – we get a lot of locals. Sasquatch doesn’t import nearly as many acts as other festivals do. The Lonely Forest did mention the new record they have coming out this year that they just finished recording with Chris Walla’s new label Trans. Hearing those new songs again was nice.

Back at the main stage, The National was getting ready to take the stage and the floor started to fill up. This was about when the sun started to set, and the smell of marijuana was inescapable, and the threat of sunburn in the part of your hair was no longer a worry. The perfect time of night at the Gorge. The National took the stage a bit late, making everyone in the pit incredibly anxious, but in the end it was worth it. Playing some of their best songs, including the haunting “Afraid of Everyone” off High Violet as well as a plethora of older songs, the crowd was clearly satisfied. Matt Berninger actually ventured out into the pit towards the end of their set holding up his microphone cord as to not get tangled in the jumble of fans. Some would find Berninger’s energy flat, because it is an odd stage presence. At times he seems a bit angry, but I enjoy his intensity. It’s a quiet intensity. I think without the jumbo screens adjacent to the stage, it wouldn’t have been suited for the giant amphitheatre, but this time it worked.

A stark change from The National’s energy, the lovely and adorable and so full of energy Vampire Weekend took the Main Stage at as on-time as they could have been. I was so thankful when they announced the lineup for Sasquatch this year, because when I saw Vampire Weekend back in December it wasn’t for but twenty short minutes. And that’s not nearly enough time to fully enjoy a band. It got a second chance to love Vampire Weekend at Sasquatch. Being shoved in that pit made it even better, because everyone around me was equally as excited. This guy, about 6’3”, standing next to me kept saying, “I’m so happy right now!” And that was the general consensus I gathered from the thousands of people in the amphitheater that night, as well as from the band. Frontman Ezra Koenig made the second declaration of the Gorge’s sheer awesomeness that day, and Koenig has enough energy himself to carry the entire place. It was the perfect way to follow The National, with a giant dance party to songs like “A-Punk,” “Walcott” and ridiculously quick and almost derailing “Cousins.” And it was quite magical to hear thousands of people singing at the top of their lungs “Blake’s got a new face!” during the song “One.”

It was as I hiked up the hill to the campground that I knew that this was going to be a good weekend.

Stay tuned for a recap of Sunday and Monday, which were equally as awesome.

For a full set of photos from Saturday, go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/abbigshmail/sets/72157624061143157/

Sunday’s coverage: http://popwreckoning.com/2010/06/03/sasquatch-festival-sunday-with-local-natives-kid-cudi-dirty-projectors/

Monday’s coverage: http://popwreckoning.com/2010/06/04/sasquatch-festival-monday-with-the-temper-trap-the-mountain-goats-mgmt/