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.
