{This is part one of a three-part Sasquatch! 2012 photo recap. Be sure to check out part two here, and part three here!}

It was an incredible long weekend at the Gorge again this year for the 2012 installment of the Sasquatch! Music Festival, which took place this past Friday {5/25} through Monday {5/28} out in the lovely, dusty, sunny town of George, Washington. After sitting through what felt like endless traffic -- three and a half hours from the highway exit to the parking lot! -- we finally found ourselves traipsing around the grounds, poring over the schedule to see what we could still catch a glimpse of before the night wrapped up. Our hopes were high for day one, but we wound up missing Yellow Ostrich and Allen Stone because of the backup -- however, we did manage to catch a litte bit of Santigold, all of Girl Talk's bright-light-infused, toilet-paper-gun-shooting, ass-kicking party set, and a good portion of Explosions In The Sky as they tore up the crowd with their wall-of-sound instrumentals before we packed it in for the night.

Here's a few photos from day one, starting with our multi-hour traffic front- and rear-view:

Girl Talk! Gigantic, awesome, and seriously -- TOILET PAPER GUNS:

Explosions in the Sky:

We started out day two {Saturday} with high hopes for some good times, and our girl Sasquatch! did not disappoint. From start to finish, the sets were full of funk, soul, beats, lady-power, and righteousness. There's nothing quite like having a big serving of Pickwick for breakfast, and we were front and center at the big stage when they took to it at noon, dropping a seamless set to a rowdy, happy crowd. It only felt right to stay on the soul boat for Charles Bradley immediately after that, soaking in all of his modern-legend-ness. We took it all to heart, especially and extra-very-so when Charles sang those lines about "you" right out to the crowd, implying that it wasn't a love interest, but the very people who stood there bearing witness to his set. "Without you, there is no me!" he called out, and meant every ounce of it.

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Attention all Blue Skies for Black Hearts and Young Fresh Fellows fans!!! My favorite Portland band sent me this brand spankin' new video and asked me to share it with our Imaginary readers first. The video shows BSFBH covering Young Fresh Fellows' "Aurora Bridge" -- with special guest SCOTT MCCAUGHEY!! Since YFF is one of the first bands I actually moshed to, and I am now a maniacal Blue Skies fangirl, I have an extra soft spot in my heart for this combination. Please watch the video. The vocals are glorious. 

Even better: Blue Skies for Black Hearts are playing The Comet next Thursday, June 7, and we have a pair of tickets to give away! Send an email to tig {at} threeimaginarygirls {dot} com with the subject line "Over There" between now and 6/4. We'll pick a winner Monday morning and put your name on the list +1 for The Comet show on Thursday. And in case I haven't made it clear before, YOU WANT THOSE TICKETS. Because Blue Skies for Black Hearts is so much fun live! 

{Blue Skies for Black Hearts w/the Knast, Hearts and Thugs, Gibraltar | The Comet| June 7 | 9pm, $7}

Video filmed and recorded at Perma Press Recording, Portland, OR.

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It might be an unofficial "day off" from the internet with all the Memorial Day goings-on out there, but we're hard at work here up at the Gorge documenting dozens and dozens of bands for you! (Yes, you! In the shirt! Hi!)

Keep an eye on our imaginary flickr pool for visual updates -- we'll have more detailed coverage highlighting the best of the fest over the next few days as we get closer to Seattle (and her bountiful, reliable wi-fi). Sasquatch! 2012 has been a blast so far, and we're super stoked to close it out today with a ton of great bands and friends.

Happy Monday, everyone! Don't forget your sunscreen!

We can't say enough about how much we heart this shot from the Margot and the Nuclear So and So's show at the Crocodile last week, by new imaginary contributor Beth Crook. On top of this lil' gem, there's more candy for your eyes over in our flickr pool -- if you haven't clicked there lately, you should definitely grab a cup of coffee and pop through some of our recent contributions! Bands like Flight to Mars, Allo Darlin', and events like the most recent 826 Seattle Fundraiser {featuring performances by Shelby Earl, Star Anna, Cristina Bautista, and John Roderick} are just a few things you can expect to drool over, from contributors Jason Tang, Steve Louie, and Victoria VanBruinisse, among others.

And PS, did we mention we just broke the 20,000 image mark? Holy frijoles!

True story!

The fine folks over at Daily Candy featured a playlist of ours, on the heels of Imaginary Victoria's what-you-can't-miss-at-Sasquatch post we ran last week. It's a quick drive-by of some local (and farther-reaching) favorites that we're excited to see this weekend, and includes tracks from Yellow Ostrich, Pickwick, THEESatisfaction, Hey Marseilles, We Are Augustines, Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside, Damien Jurado, The Cave Singers, and more!

Pop on over to Daily Candy's site to check it out -- there's even a playlist with (most) of the tracks that you can spin(?) on Spotify.

{Photo by Christopher Nelson.}

You guys. I think I found the opening track for my Summer 2012 mix! Summer Twins (who I saw open for Matthew Sweet just a few weeks ago) just released a video for "I Will Love You" and it's bursting with danceable indie-pop goodness that makes me want to jump around like crazy and spin in the sunshine and collapse after hours of laughing. Plus, the ending is all lilty-pretty-swooning retro beautifulness. Plus plus, the video is ADORABLE. Where can I get one of those polka-dot dresses? And hand-clapping boys to dance around me while I play musics? 

{Yeah, I have a crush. So sue me.}

Press play and start your early Summer dance party now!

From the "duh, obvsies" file: you're not going to want to miss Father John Misty this Monday night at Neumos.

On the heels of a killer Letterman performance {above} and rave reviews for the new album, Fear Fun, FJM is in the middle of taking their show on the road. They'll be stopping in our fair city with the third show of the tour, which extends for much of the rest of the month and covers Canada, the northeast and a few stops down south -- and if you're lucky enough, they'll be stopping somewhere near you.

In case you have been living under a rock haven't heard about Fear Fun yet, here's a few snippets to start your landscape: first, our full album review, where Chris Estey describes the sound as "...a lot of reading Beats and bards and bohemian travel writers; writing reams of visions and observations and humiliating admissions; listening to a whole lot of great albums from the later Vietnam era created by PTSD-shaken troubadours; perfervidly working on demos with producer/singwriter comrade Jonathan Wilson, and bringing on board Phil Ek to help mix it. Also: treehouse living with spiders, Canadian Shamans who share a little too much intoxicant, Adderall and weed otherwise, a lot of funerals, fumbling drinks, and novels needing to be written as one lives life like a "You take your chances here, pal" roller coaster."

And our initial report, after my first sighting of "Hollywood Forever Cemetary Sings," and a trip around the soundscape of the leaked version of FF: "...over the last few days we've been wrapping our ears around the internet leak of the new album by Father John Misty, nee Josh / "J." Tillman {formerly of the Fleet Foxes}. Fear Fun will be out in early May on Sub Pop, and it's going to be one we pick up on vinyl in triplicate for sure: it's an incredible departure from anything we've ever heard J./osh Tillman involved in thus far, and a few of our first listens, it almost feel like a sampler of everything he's been waiting to play for the world, and everything we've been waiting to hear but didn't know we needed. Fear Fun is some kind of mad genius that we can't quite find the right adjectives for yet, as we're still waist-deep in absorbing both the lyrical content and sonic experimentation of it all: pure, clear vocals laden over with seventies-esque easy-listening key-change sensibilities and a side of jangly guitar twang, fused together with a full-frontal balls-out sound that takes time to digest and process. This album is smart, complicated, soothing yet uncomfortable, brash yet kind -- it doesn't sound like anything else we know, which leaves us with the overall feeling that Father John Misty just might be the Brian Wilson of the post indie rock set."

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I’ve been a fan of Jonathan Coulton ever since my own Jonathan put “Skullcrusher Mountain” on a mix CD for me. And, Hooray! He's coming to The Showbox June 22!!!

Moving between fun, poppy tunes and folkier ballards, Coulton's lyrics inject a sense of (nerdy) humor into every song. His live shows are full of adorable stage presence punctuated by witty commentary, making him beloved by legions of fans. (I’m not kidding about the legions, you guys. He’s like the official singer/songwriter for everybody who goes to Comic Con.) Check out "Skullcrusher Mountain" above, and listen to more of his songs for free here, plus get some downloads for only $1 a pop! Further proof that he is super awesome. Ticket buying is recommend NOW, because this will be sold out soon.

“I made this half-pony, half-monkey monster to please you
But I get the feeling that you don't like it
What's with all the screaming?
You like monkeys, you like ponies
Maybe you don't like monsters so much
Maybe I used too many monkeys
Isn't it enough to know that I ruined a pony making a gift for you?”

{Jonathan Coulton | Showbox at the Market | 6/22 | Doors at 8pm | 21+ | $28.50 adv, $30 day of} 

{Allo Darlin' photo by Steve Louie}

We always been in awe of David Schmader for being such an amazing talent; he's good at just about everything: writing amazing works of art, producing and performing one-man plays, and emceeing events (just to name a few). And, we've always loved him because he's a super generous and friendly guy... and now we have another reason to adore him: 

He shares our love of Allo Darlin' and heartily recommends their upcoming show, next Friday (5/11) at the Vera Project!!!

David astutely wrote in The Stranger's Suggests column: London’s Allo Darlin’, led by escaped Australian Elizabeth Morris, who plays ukulele, writes songs about diagnosing relationships via Woody Allen’s cinematic archetypes and making chili, and is brilliant.

We couldn't agree more! We also couldn't be more honored by his kind words about the Allo Darlin' / Wave Pictures show, which also happens to be the first show in our 10th Anniversary celebration series.

Next time anyone crosses paths with David, tell him how brilliant he is (and buy him a beverage, at the very least).

Don't forget, there's still a couple days left to enter to win tickets to the Allo Darlin' show! Enter to win tickets before noon on May 3!

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This has actually been lingering in my inbox for awhile (sorry guys!) but I finally had time to take a proper listen, and am ready to declare that Sweet Diss and the Comebacks is joining the list of my new favorite PNW bands!

Nathan Reinauer hales from Seattle and currrently lives in Portland - and also apparently created some of the best stuff I've heard in awhile by performing, mixing, and mastering every note on Emerald City Love Song himself. Bravo, Nathan. Bravo. It's sweet and danceable ad power-poppy and. Oh hey. I LOVE IT! 

I also appreciate this description from their bandcamp page:
Catchy melodies, soaring harmonies, and more key changes than your ex-girlfriend's apartment.

Yup. That about sums it up! Take a listen to "Twenty-Something" below (I also recommend "Indie Girl", "Never Stop Wooing You" and "Dear Small Town", and if you like - you can listen to the whole album on bandcamp here, buy it on iTunes here, or order it from Japan (what?) to get it with 4 extra tracks.