popwreckoning

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/