Three Imaginary Girls - Sasquatch Festival

Sasquatch 2009 Wrap-Up: Day 3

Imaginary Shrie — Thu, 28 May 2009 17:50:29 +0000

24 May 2009

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MONDAY

Oh Monday! Dear third day of camping, hair unwashed, everything I own smelling like sunscreen. After packing everything up post-haste we hoofed it to see one of the two early shows that day, the Heartless Bastards. I'd heard scattered ruminations about them but didn't know much and I'm patting myself on the back for checking them out. The Heartless Bastards are a Cincinnati-by-way-of-Texas band fronted by Erika Wennerstrom, whose soulful Patti Smith/Chrissie Hynde voice unites with the rough and tumble southern sound of her Austin band to form a rich and raucous kind of alt-country that is anything but boring.

Deerhoof was as solid, angular and spirited as when I'd seen them at a MUCH smaller venue. Satomi Matsuzaki, bass and vocals, is a little firecracker, seducing you with her sweetness and then crushing you with her ferocity. They easily frenzied the crowd, and sustained them with their hardworking display. Easily one of the most fun bands to see live.

Black Moth Super Rainbow was my last stop on this Sasquatch ride. I've gushed over Dandelion Gum and was highly anticipating their live show. They were as I expected: quirky, loud, ambient enough to be interesting and pop enough to be engaging. The closer you got to the stage the better it sounded, the more the hazy sweet-tart noise enveloped you. Their sound translates impeccably live and really created a mini dance party near the front of the stage.

And there you have it, my Sasquatch 2009 Wrap-Up. Done and DONE. See you next year!

*a little taste of Tunde & Co.

Oh Monday! Dear third day of camping, hair unwashed, everything I own smelling like sunscreen. After packing everything up post-haste we hoofed it to see one of the two early shows that day, the Heartless Bastards. I'd heard scattered ruminations about them but didn't know much and I'm patting myself on the back for checking them out. The Heartless Bastards are a Cincinnati-by-way-of-Texas band fronted by Erika Wennerstrom, whose soulful Patti Smith/Chrissie Hynde voice unites with the rough and tumble southern sound of her Austin band to form a rich and raucous kind of alt-country that is anything but boring.

Sasquatch 2009 Wrap-Up: Day 2

Imaginary Shrie — Thu, 28 May 2009 17:25:37 +0000

24 May 2009

Sasquatch_2009.jpg

SUNDAY

I'm from Texas and all, but sitting on a rock in 85 degree heat with no shade, clouds or wind isn't my idea of completely awesome. Especially when after all that I walk back to the sticky hot tent to drink and then pass out in my sleeping bag, only to await the next day of the same. So that's my excuse for missing Calexico (but my amigo Sam caught them and wrote about it ). On with St. Vincent!

Annie Clark, aka St. Vincent, is a gem. She's cute, can write a ditty of a lyric and has the sweetest delivery. I also think she was amazed and incredibly appreciate of the large audience there to witness her set at Sasquatch. She seemed nervous and a tad unprepared, but her performance was anything but. I know her background is with Glenn Branca but I feel like that gets lost in her solo recordings. Her CDs make her sound like slightly grainy sweetness and light, but live her rocker alter-ego came out. She swayed and jerked her way through the more jarring songs while endearing herself to the crowd with her between-song banter and huge white sunglasses beaming happily outwards.

I've seen the Wrens twice before, and enjoyed them immensely, so I was really looking forward to their set, which is typically very high energy. The Wrens are a garage rock type of band. They drink a lot, wail on their guitars and hop around the stage like they aren't 40-somethings, which is exactly how it went down at the Gorge. The crowd was fairly thin for Sasquatch, and surprise surprise (!) they debuted two new songs! Lots of "we haven't been practicing" excuses (which is often admitted by them) and lots of good, dare I say old-fashioned, rock and roll.

TV On The Radio was my next appointment, and I knew they'd draw a whopper of a crowd. They played their less dancey, more introspective tracks around the first part of the set. It was going to be a hot and heavy set, so the slow transition was a welcome intro. Their sound was rawer, less fleshed out, than their records or their live performances at smaller indoor venues like the Showbox. I think the venue and space gave their sound an airiness that doesn't exist normally. Tunde Adebimpe was as animated as always, stiff-body stomping around the stage with conviction. "Young Liars" was a highlight, evoking much fist shaking and singing along.

Of Montreal doesn't put on a concert, they put on an honest-to-god SHOW. Their performance at Sasquatch wasn't much different. It was a little stripped down from the norm, instead of a jillion costume changes there were only a few, but they sounded phenomenal and the crowd loved them. "Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse" firecrackered off first and jolted the crowd into a dancing fever. The visuals onscreen were terrific, at times depicting Kevin Barnes in an almost pop-star like light. And per the usual, Barnes was dressed like a sleazy 70s porn wannabe, teasing in a slinky shirt and bare-chested. Towards the end of the set Kevin Barnes introduced the next song, which was a cover of Prince's "Computer Blue", citing him as a major influence.

I had waited all day to see Jane's Addiction. I expected a lot, and I guess that was my first mistake, but nothing could save them from Perry Farrell's geriatric antics. Their songs were verbose with Navarro guitar solos only interrupted by Perry gyrating like an out-of-touch old man. It was surreal how old he seemed all of a sudden. Dave Navarro is a very skilled guitar player but neither that nor his boyish good looks could give Jane's Addiction what they needed to seem relevant.

Sasquatch 2009 Wrap-Up: Day 1

Imaginary Shrie — Thu, 28 May 2009 17:17:26 +0000

23 May 2009

Sasquatch_2009.jpg

Sasquatch was a doozy. I wrote a lil bit o' news about a few bands I saw each day via my check-in's for days 1, 2 and 3. There were people having sex during the Decemberists right out in front of {supreme being} and everyone, and I met a TON of Canadians "eh". I saw a kid wearing a fleece pajama jumpsuit all three days (shower? yeck) and my toes have never been as dirty as they were after three days of music and camping. Verdict: sunburned, dehydrated, jolly good time.

The itsy bitsy press trailer was anything but cush, so I kept my ass out and about amongst the common-folk gorging themselves on the sweet sweet sounds of Sasquatch. Here is what I heard:

SATURDAY

The Doves sound is produced. They aren't garage rock or ramshackled indie... they're anthemic and full. Swooping in and out of lyrics and instrumentation and their sound was abso-freaking-lutely perfect for the Gorge Ampitheatre. Beautiful, produced and consistent, the Doves soared (tee hee). A swift walk up that damned hill and over to the Wookie stage set me up for Passion Pit, who I've become slightly obsessed with over the coming weeks. Having garnered much attention as of late, Passion Pit commissioned a fairly large crowd for their set. All the half-clothedgirlies were screaming their heads off, and being in the back I couldn't tell why until I inspected a bit further. Michael Angelakos, the head honcho/lead singer, is one hell of a charismatic individual. Swishing his curly, not unlike Wayne Coyne , hair from side to side and swaggering his tight hipster-jean across the stage and back again was causing a fever to break out amongst the ladies (and a few men, admittedly). Angelakos' high notes and range seemed a bit stunted, like he was holding back in order to hit the notes, but his strutting ways and their quirk-pop sound invigorated the crowd.

King Khan & the Shrines are a spectacle. Adorned in a feather headdress, wooden staff, gold cape, and itty bitty satin shorts King Khan strutted onstage, hands held high to the heavens. One part George Clinton, one part southern soul preacher, and one BIG part balls-out freak, King Khan knows how to put on a show and have a blast. They ran through their songs like a train and antics onstage got a little wacky when one of the band members droppedpantaloons and shoved his junk from front to back, leaving it that way for the entirety of the song. This band will take you in their uterus, jumble you up crazy-style and rebirth you fresh and anew!

Completing the one-two punch of awesomeness, I experienced Animal Collective next. AC are one of my favorite bands of the last few years, of which I've hailed their greatness before. I was expecting nothing short of awe-inspiring and I got it. Visually, they were simple: guy on guitar, two guys whopping on keyboards/synths and the stunning Gorge backdrop behind. They sounded rougher, less honed live, but that didn't take away one iota of amazement. I witnessed several people initially appalled at AC's ambient ways turn a kinder light towards them later on in the set. This in itself was a treat. Preened jocks nodding their heads hard to baby sounds and hazy echoes, as expertly emitted by AC... unbelievable.

I'm admittedly not much of a fan of the Decemberists or the Yeah Yeah Yeah's, but saw them for my readers' sake mostly (my friends also wanted to see them). Aside from the couple sexin' it up on stage right during the Decemberists, the highlight of the show for me was when of their female members came up and belted out a few tunes. And man, did she belt. A personal opinion, but they'd be much more interesting if she was at the vocal helm more often. Slightly raucous with devastatingly beautiful vocals but slightly lackluster energy-wise, the Decemberists seemed to really pull an adoring audience.

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs always struck me as being about show and fist-pumping energy more than musical complexity or engaging songwriting, and my experience seeing them live affirmed that. The crowd went absolutely bananas for them, and with Karen O. decked out in neon green tights and an electric-colored poncho, I can see why she'd draw a lot of attention. The vocals were almost incomprehensible from where I was sitting, but I commend them on their energy. They have the live performance thing down, and their fans count on that consistency.

Sasquatch was a doozy. I wrote a lil bit o' news about a few bands I saw each day via my check-in's for days 1, 2 and 3. There were people having sex during the Decemberists right out in front of {supreme being} and everyone, and I met a TON of Canadians "eh". I saw a kid wearing a fleece pajama jumpsuit all three days (shower? yeck) and my toes have never been as dirty as they were after three days of music and camping. Verdict: sunburned, dehydrated, jolly good time. The itsy bitsy press trailer was anything but cush, so I kept my ass out and about amongst the common-folk gorging themselves on the sweet sweet sounds of Sasquatch. Here is what I heard:

What did YOU think about Sasquatch 2009?

Imaginary Shrie — Tue, 26 May 2009 17:22:41 +0000

Man, Sasquatch really beat me to a pulp: an awesome music-filled, sunburned, exhausted... totally rad pulp! Highlights of my weekend musically were: Of Montreal, Heartless Bastards, Animal Collective, King Khan & the Shrines, among others.

There were some surprises, like Jane's Addiction performance (more on that later), Passion Pit's charismatic frontman and smaller bands like AA Bondy really proving their right to be there.

All in all, Sasquatch 2009 was a pleasant sensory overload. I think this is the first time I've ever said it, but I think I'm going to lay off the music for a day! Back in the saddle tomorrow....

So, what did YOU think of Sasquatch 2009? Any zany stories, opinions about performances etcetera? Gimme the scoop!

Big bad Sasquatch 2009 preview

Imaginary Shrie — Thu, 21 May 2009 16:25:56 +0000

Sasquatch 2009 is a mere two days away. Go see bands all three days, cheer your head off, drink some beer and/or smoke a joint. Get dirty campin' toes and sweat through your forehead bandanna (or brave kilt-lifting style winds like in 2007). Come back harried and skip out on work Tuesday. Recount every last moment, with positive embellishments, to anyone fool enough not to attend. Buy the tshirt and flaunt the shit out of it.

Here is your big bad SASQUATCH 2009 PREVIEW.

The weekend in music... tell us all about it

imaginary dana — Tue, 27 May 2008 05:03:54 +0000

If you have words/photos/links/hilarious tales of Honey Buckets and campsites you'd like to share, we'd love to hear all about it.

Flickr photo of the day: Sera Cahoone at Sasquatch

imaginary dana — Tue, 27 May 2008 04:53:27 +0000

Photo by Kyle Johnson.

Grand Hallway added to Sasquatch lineup

imaginary dana — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 03:41:19 +0000

As if the lineup at Sasquatch 2008 could get any better, local Seattle dreamy orchestral band Grand Hallway have just announced that they're joining M.I.A., Death Cab, R.E.M., and about a zillion other fantastic bands at the Gorge this Memorial Day Weekend.

Sasquatch schedule information

Andrew Boe — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 22:31:45 +0000

Day by day line up announced

Sasquatch 2007: Notes from the Yeti Stage

elle — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 14:40:13 +0000

26 May 2007

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When I headed over to the smallest stage of the Sasquatch! music festival, the "Yeti" stage, to catch The Blow's set, all the knowledge of the duo I came armed with was that they're fronted by one woman. I had heard of them, but I didn't know their aesthetic or set-up. I was really surprised by the group's performance. While I came away with mixed feelings about whether I had enjoyed their set or not, I must say I have much respect for singer Khaela Maricich.

As the rest of us dance around like nerds in the privacy of our bedroom, she is courageous enough to do it on stage. And while we all might not have the best vocals while dancing around, Maricich definitely has fantastic vocal range. Her songs are easy to relate to, with topics about falling in love with one-night stands, break ups, and never hearing back from that amazing boy you hung out with once. The everyday familiarity of her lyrics, plus the catchy synth-beats produced and played by accomplice Jona Bechtolt, prove to draw a rabid following, as the crowd was filled with many dancing girls singing along, and erupted into cheers after each song. Although I'm not personally into performers just pushing play on their laptops, their music was very poppy and fun. What really stood out about Ms. Maricich's performance more than her quirky dancing and great singing ability, was her in-between stories. Before each song, she shared a short memory about what the lyrics were about, all of which were very humorous; if she decided to leave music, Khaela should definitely consider stand-up comedy.

Later on in the day, I headed back over to the Yeti stage to catch Mirah's set. After being misled into watching a set of children's songs instead of Mirah's own repertoire a few weeks back, I was definitely looking forward to her Sasquatch! performance. However, I would again leave unsatisfied, although not by Mirah's own doing. The lovely Portlander put on a wonderful set, with her own full band as back up. She played all the fan favorites and charmed the crowd with talk about the beautiful Gorge and sunset.

The only thing I felt could have been better was closing song, "Cold Cold Water." On CD, it's an epic, theatrical crescendo, but during this performance it was half as long, lacking the climatic instrumental interlude. Otherwise, Mirah performed wonderfully, as expected.

The stage and venue was the downfall of the show. The sound crew poorly mixed her vocals, to the point where horrible feedback occurred throughout the set. Somehow, perhaps by not muting the extra mics when not in use, the crowd was picked up so that you could hear talking projected through the speakers in-between and even during songs. The talk consisted of, "Who is this? What stage is this? Is this that chick Mirah?" and other various loud conversations by people who obviously were not fans. Between an incompetent sound guy and inconsiderate festival goers, a perfect opportunity to catch a great local fixture in an amazing outdoor setting turned into an almost unbearable event.

Between an incompetent sound guy and inconsiderate festival goers, a perfect opportunity to catch a great local fixture in an amazing outdoor setting turned into an almost unbearable event.

Atmosphere is Everything: A Sasquatch 2007 Manifesto

Phil Duncan — Wed, 30 May 2007 19:44:19 +0000

26 May 2007

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Having grown up within throwing distance of the Gorge, I have always felt a sort of familial connection with the venue. I have walked the streets of George and Quincy in November, when the amphitheatre is silent and the campground only echoes the Dionysian decadence of the summer months. I guess you could say I’m a little protective.

The Sasquatch festival is permanently etched in red ink on my calendar every year. The combination of having the music I love played in a place that I grew up holding sacred is bigger than Christmas for me. Seeing the bright colors of the Flaming Lips’ live show splayed on the mammoth, glacier-cut rocks or witnessing Death Cab for Cutie destroy their equipment at the climax of “Prove My Hypothesis” at sunset are memories that are engraved forever in my mind. Moments like those are why I love music.

And I believed that this year would be no different. With arguably the biggest and best Sasquatch roster ever, I truly felt that this year could possibly surpass anything I had ever seen in the Columbia valley, even better than the hydroplane races I grew up watching in the Tri Cities.

But, I was wrong. Not only was I wrong, but the Sasquatch festival and the Gorge in general might be tarnished for many years to come, well, to me at least.

The first indicators that this year’s Sasquatch was going to be different than years past began before I even stepped a foot through the gate. The line was much longer and more unruly than ever before, which caused me to miss the Saturday Knights, a group who I had purposely avoided seeing in Seattle, just so I could see them for the first time on the Gorge main stage.

The demographics of the line were also different. In years past, even in years when the Gorge was more sweltering than it was this year, the line was made up predominantly of spectacled, blazer wearing music geeks who passionately discussed the events that were to unfold. It used to be a small club that had its huge region-wide meeting and celebration once a year in the number one potato growing county in the nation. However, while small islands of that group were still gathered in the line, they were undoubtedly overwhelmed by shirtless, backward-capped gorillamen, who instead of debating the influences of Grizzly Bear or speaking of their anticipation to see a rare U.S. Manu Chao performance, grunted in monosyllables about how much they had drank last night, how much they were going to drink today, or about how bangin’ all the bikini-clad college girls were.

My suspicions of a possible Sasquatch degeneration proved correct once I got in the gate. It was like every fraternity house in the Western states had exploded into the mighty Columbia and washed up in drunk, misogynistic chunks on the shores of the Gorge. At a little after one in the afternoon, one would be hard pressed to find a hand that wasn’t firmly cemented to a tallboy of $10 Coors.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m no tightly corseted Puritan in any sense. I had few of the ten-buck brews myself, but when it came down to it, I was there for the music. However, it was quite evident that 90% of the attendees weren’t.

Case in point. I was extremely excited when I saw a few days before the festival that the Long Winters had been added to the bill. I remembered the fantastic show they put on at the Gorge a few years back, and licked my lips in anticipation to see what John Roderick and Co. would have in store this year. I was confused when I walked down to the floor level and basically made my way almost to the stage unimpeded. Where was the frenzy of people? Why wasn’t anyone singing along? I was dumbfounded by the apathy. The floor level, the level where the die-hards risk being kicked, pushed, and jumped on to see their favorite bands up close and personal, was as energetic as a Lutheran liturgy. People stood around talking amongst themselves and sending text messages on their phones. The scene could have easily been mistaken for after school at the mall food court. Didn’t they realize the greatness that they were witnessing? Here is a snippet of a conversation I heard while trying to enjoy the performance:

Guy with Tribal Arm Tattoo: Who are these guys?
Guy wearing a “Tough Love is in the Butt” T-shirt: The Long Winters.
Tribal Arm Tattoo: Who?
“Tough Love” T-shirt: I don’t know. The radio said they were good.

But it thankfully wasn’t all like this. Pockets of true fans still flocked to see bands on the smaller stages. The Aqueduct performance was superb, and the living room-sized crowd was energetic and knew what they were getting. And David Terry fed off this energy, and gave everyone the manbear-meets-piano performance that we’ve all came to expect. The same could be said about Grizzly Bear and Gabriel Teodros, who both gave polished and energetic shows to their loyal fan base in attendance.

Manu Chao also put on a great performance and was definitely the strongest of the day. You could see the showmanship that he has gained from years and years of touring every nook of the world. He could have easily played the Roman Coliseum, and wouldn’t have seemed dwarfed at all by the grandeur of the venue. Everybody – from the hipsters, to the drunken frat boys – leapt, yelled, and howled with him – even though most people couldn’t understand a word that came from his mouth.

But this camaraderie between the different factions of Sasquatch goers was short lived. By the time the sun had gone down and the Arcade Fire was preparing to come on stage, the day had taken a turn for the messy. We have all been to parties where one guy, who has been boasting all evening about how much he can drink, ends up vomiting recklessly and uncontrollably. Now imagine that this one guy has multiplied by a couple hundred, and you can get an idea of what the scene was by the time that the Arcade Fire had fired up the light show and started belting out “Black Mirror.” I saw all of the tried-and-true types of vomiting, all at basically the same time. The walk-and-puke. The calling-dinosaurs puke. The I’m-not-puking-I’m-just-spitting puke. I saw it all. It was hard to keep my eyes on the grand and emotional performance by the Arcade Fire while I was fearing that at any moment we all might be swept into the valley by a river of yark.

The day took a pleasant turn, however, during the long break between the Arcade Fire and Bjork. Everybody who said “fuck water” all day and had filled their body with nothing but barley and hops, were done. They had destroyed themselves. After the climax of team vomiting had ceased, the gorillamen slowly crawled out the front gates to their cars, tents, wherever. I’m sure that most of them couldn’t even pronounce Bjork, let alone did they care for her music. So as our favorite Icelander took the stage to put on a great show, we the few, the proud, the dedicated got the lay back and enjoy our victory – the victory of music. You just had to be careful not to put your hand in a puddle of puke.

When it came down to it, I was there for the music. However, it was quite evident that 90% of the attendees weren’t.

The Good, The Bad and The Wind: A Sasquatch Story

Tim Hanken — Wed, 30 May 2007 16:07:15 +0000

A Few Brief takeaways from this weekend's Sasquatch Festival.

Updates for your Sasquatch spreadsheet

Tim Hanken — Mon, 21 May 2007 20:44:08 +0000

It looks like The Long Winters are now playing Sasquatch on Saturday. The Sasquatch website lists them in between Citizen Cope and M.I.A. on the Saturday line up.