{This is part two of our opening day coverage of this year's Sasquatch! music festival at the Gorge -- click here to take a peek at part one!}

Our first full day at Sasquatch! kept rolling strong, with a big-guitar kick-ass set from Sharon van Etten, which shifted flawlessly over to an intimate solo performance from J. Mascis on the Yeti stage. The noise kept coming with the simultaneously loud/pretty sounds of Wye Oak, after which we changed gears to take on the upbeat, alt.indie.powerpop-ish party of Matt & Kim -- what a blast! The fading sun brought a powerful, dusky mainstage set from Bright Eyes, and we welcomed the night with an impressive (albeit late) performance from Robyn on the Bigfoot stage.

Closing out the night with a local flourish, hometown faves Death Cab for Cutie took us out well into the dark with a killer mainstage performance that spanned an impressive portion of their current and back catalog. Photos below!

Sharon van Etten:

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It's high time we started scouring the schedule and getting that backlog of laundry done -- because this year's Sasquatch festival up at the Gorge is upon us, and we'll be heading up there for the long Memorial Day weekend (including Friday) to report back the best of what's good. Here's a blow-by-blow of what's really blasting some emotional sunshine into the damp, grey corners of our Seattle springtime:

Monday's main stage shows are going to kick serious ass. Starting with the finish line: the day will wrap up with a full frontal dose of Wilco on a stage warmed up by the Decemberists, a win-win for a variety of tastes. Prior to that, the throwback sounds of Best Coast will be assaulting us from the Yeti stage, and before that we'll shoot over to the Bigfoot stage to catch the sweet, smiling-but-melancholy sounds of Stornoway. All this and a bag of goodies after starting off our morning (at 1pm) with the Young Evils, and the first appearance at the main stage for the day to catch Mr. Miller and the rest of the Old 97's. Monday will be full of big guitars, upbeat jangle-pop, swoontastic harmonies, and hopefully, lots and lots of sunshine to go along with the vibe.

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{Sasquatch photo by asclepius6 from the Imaginary Flickr Photo Pool}

Do you hear that?

It is the sound of folks feverishly tweeting and posting about the amazing #Sasquatch line-up just announced. After weeks (who are we kidding, months!) of mathematically calculating probabilities based on tour schedules and record release dates, we finally have a firm answer of who's going to be at the Gorge this Memorial Day weekend, as well as explanations as to why certain folks don't have a Seattle tour date in the next few months.

Not to sound like everyone else every other year, but this year's line-up has left me speechless. The Sasquatch folks have brought together the best of the best of the best (except Allo Darlin, which I'm guessing will be begged to participate next year) to celebrate their 10th Anniversary.  I mean Wilco, Bright Eyes, Matt & Kim, The Radio Dept., The Thermals, Stornoway, and The Young Evils!?!?!?  You're killing me!!!

Are you headed that way? Who are you most excited about (mine bolded below)? Anyone else you think is going to be added to the bill before we pack up our roadtrip munchies and head Quincy, WA way?

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By now, you're heard the reports on Ben Gibbard's show at the Crocodile on Wednesday night: it was pretty much an epic event. The set list killed. The room was packed. Some people liked the hat, some people didn't. Yes, Zooey Deschanel made an appearance at the end. (And yes, it was basically the most adorable thing ever.) Since you've likely already seen the unauthorized video content -- the first three rows aren't texting in this photo, they're all taping the night for posterity on their iPhones -- and thus heard the details on the new songs (the one about the Smith Tower brought a tear to our respective eye -- we can't wait to see if it shows up on the new album!) as well as the Zooey-duets, we'd like to talk to you a little more about the benefit details, and what an amazing success it was.

If you'll notice there in the background, you'll see the Teen Feed banner -- that's the organization that Ben's performance was a benefit for, and at last count, the ticket and merch sales brought in over ten thousand dollars that went directly to the organization. Ten thousand dollars! To put that into scale, the Noise for the Needy benefits that ran for Teen Feed earlier this year wound up netting them twenty-five thousand dollars -- and with that amount of money, Teen Feed was able to go from feeding youth six nights a week to seven nights a week, meaning they could literally function three hundred and sixty-five nights a year. So, on the scale of operating an organization, while ten thousand dollars might seem like a drop in the bucket, the folks over at Teen Feed are able to take funding in that amount and basically turn it into absolute above-and-beyond amazingness. In fact, we're convinced that Megan Gibbard is made out of magic.

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Odds are, if you're here at Three Imaginary Girls poking around, you've heard of Ben Gibbard. And if you're in the greater Seattle area, you've definitely heard about the sold-out show coming up this Wednesday at the Crocodile. (And if you're like us, you might be acting half your age and figuring out just how early you have to get to the venue to secure a spot up front.) But what you may not be as familiar with is the beneficiary of the night, Teen Feed -- so, we thought we'd sit right down with their Executive Director and find out all about it for you.

Imaginary Victoria: So, let's have a little background on the who-what-and-where...

Megan Gibbard: Of course.  Teen Feed is a 7-night-a-week meal program for homeless youth ages 13 – 25.  Every single night, from 7-8pm, we serve up to 70 youth a healthy and safe meal – it very well may be the first time that day they’ve been safe.  Teen Feed is more than just this meal, however. Present at every Teen Feed meal are our Case Managers (we call them Support Coordinators) to build relationships with youth, share a meal, and help with resources and encouragement.  Our Street Talk Outreach Program (STOP) meets youth directly on the streets, in their environment, before they're even ready to ask for help.

Teen Feed works with the community to offer basic needs, build strong relationships, and ally with homeless youth as they met their future off the streets. We achieve our mission through three main initiatives: meals, outreach, and case management. It is difficult to go to school when you’re hungry. It is difficult to succeed at work when you aren’t sure where your next meal will come from. So, the food always comes first at Teen Feed – then, we get down to the business of working alongside youth as they find that path from the streets.

I recently spoke with a woman who was homeless on the Ave in the early 1990’s at the age of 13.  She said that she had a moment, a watershed, when she realized that she needed to get off the streets and start pursuing college.  Teen Feed was right there to help her when she needed it.  Teen Feed is important because all people need to be fed – and every youth on the streets needs safe adults right there with they’re ready to ask for help.

This same woman spoke in front of 150 Teen Feed volunteers recently and said:

“I look at my husband, and he’s a lot like his parents.  I look at my children, and they’re a lot like him and I. I look at myself, and I’m a lot like all of you.”

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If you find yourself home this Friday night (January 15), tune into the Critics' Choice Movie Awards on VH1. The awards show is going to feature a much-deserved John Hughes Tribute and our very own Death Cab for Cutie will be one of the bands participating. Word on the street is that they will be covering the Simple Minds song, "Don't You (Forget About Me)" {The Breakfast Club}.

What song do you want to hear covered? Something from Ferris Bueller's Day Off would be so choice.

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{Long Winters photo by Trickshot Photography}

Because I'm some kind of masochist and a total nerd, I've been slaving over this list, keeping it brief (harder than you'd think!) at my favorite 20 albums of the decade without duplicating a band (even harder). Side note: I've probably forgotten something I really, really love, so let's just call this how I feel right this minute. These are the albums I know every note and breath of by heart and I love as complete albums with all of my soul. These are albums that in my humble opinion have no skipable track and are works of beauty in their entirety. I'd also like to point out that these are my favorite albums, as I tend to shy away from calling them "the best", as really, it's just my opinion, and who am I to tell you that you're wrong for not liking these records? (Though, if you catch me in a potentially altered state, I may completely negate that and call any number of these THE GREATEST of all time and call you wrong to your face if you disagree.) I digress. Here they are!

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at Marymoor Park

Combine the gorgeous summertime drive to Redmond, the grassy knolls, the impeccable soundsystem, and the energy of these spectacular bands -- and you've got a one-of-a-kind warm-weather blissy magic night that concert postcards are made out of.

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Four previously unheard tracks are on the way! Soon-ish!

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Merge has done it again! For their 20th anniversary, a part of the brilliant subscriber only compilation series SCORE, the Chapel Hill label (run by none other than members of my favorite indie rock band, Superchunk) is releasing a compilation of covers of Merge bands by a ton of non-Merge artists.

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