If you know me you’d know that I’m a sucker for music festivals, so to say I had a great weekend at this year’s edition of the Sasquatch Music Festival is quite the understatement. Upon arriving home I did a final count to see how many acts I actually caught while trudging up and down the hilly landscape of the Gorge for 3 straight days. I was actually taken back a bit, but not overly surprised by the final count.
47.
That’s right I saw 47 acts in 3 days! Is that some sort of record? I’d say my perseverance was only a product of the fantastic 3-day line-up. Sure a few of those 47 were sought only out of modest curiosity (solo set by Massive Attack singer Martini Topley-Bird, Fresh Espresso -- still not impressed), and a few others just in passing (Avi Buffalo, Phantogram), but if you stay long enough to check out a couple songs you saw the band right?. Whatever the case, I was stoked about the workout that basically kept me from getting drunk off those $9 beers all weekend; my only regret.
This also marked the first year I attended the fest as a member of the “media”, with special wristbands and all. SRG hadn't quite been born this time last year, so it was a lot of fun to have access to photo pits, VIP balconies, and well ssshhhhh-- backstage for free Molly Moon’s ice cream and coffee to which I took full advantage. Isn’t that special.
Here’s a breakdown of who I saw on Day 1-- highlights, and lowlights (very few). Enjoy!
Who I Saw:
Minus the Bear, Brad, The Lonely Forest, Portugal. The Man, The Posies, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, The Hold Steady, Nada Surf, Broken Social Scene, The National, Vampire Weekend, My Morning Jacket
Highlights:
Minus the Bear:
I’m a fan of their live show, and this marked probably the 5th or 6th time I’ve seen them. The big unknown hanging over the band was how would the “OMNI” material translate live? Well, I’d have to say not bad, actually kind of fun. It was mixed in well with strong live staples from “Planet of Ice”, probably lessening the blow a bit. Overall, MIB churned out a fine afternoon performance and had the crowd eating out of their hand from what I could tell.
Brad:
I already touched on the Brad performance in a previous post, but despite the poor attendance they played a great set full of new material and give me a fucking break-- Stone and Shawn at the Gorge? Awesome! Everyone in attendance who slept on it should make an “L” with their right hand and place it firmly against their forehead for the remainder of the week. Losers!
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros:
What a fun, fun show, and a perfect band for festival atmosphere. I had no idea these guys were a bunch of Manson Family lookalikes, but damn did they throw out catchy sing-a-along after catchy sing-a-long, and the huge crowd was really into it. Half way through the set, I had my run in with “blacked out naked guy”. Yep, dude stripped and proceeded to “flaunt” his bits and pieces for any and all unsuspecting females while his buddies forcibly tried to clothe him. The one and only time I felt bad for the redneck beverage police all weekend was when they had to escort the guy out. Yuck!
Broken Social Scene:
I strolled up to the BSS main stage set a little late, mainly because they weren’t high on my list for day 1. Welcome first big “Ah-Ha!” moment of the festival. Broken Social Scene is an amazing live band, and boasted one of my favorite performances of the entire 3 days. Some bands just have the right ingredients for not only a setting such as the Gorge, but for festivals in general. When they broke into those full tilt jam sessions all I could do was lay back and bask in it all. Sometimes it’s all about the vibe and the moment, and man did they ever capture it.
Vampire Weekend:
For the record, I am not a fan of Vampire Weekend. Now that we are clear, I still cannot disregard the magnitude of their popularity in relationship to the epic dance party that ensued a minute into their set. From my perch it looked like no one was standing still—No One! I was then dragged into the fray by my lovely wife who insisted on my participation, I bowed to her wishes and joined the party. It was one of the more fun moments of the entire weekend, but following their set I went to the nearest port-a-potty to puke my fucking guts out in pure rebellion.
My Morning Jacket:
Some bands deserve to headline the Gorge and MMJ is one of them. They certainly did not disappoint with an awesome greatest hits set, plum full of the southern rockers and freewheelin’ jams that make a MMJ show such a great live experience. Jim James sported his signature moon boots and seemed to be having a blast according to the shit eating grin plastered on the large mainstage video screens. The only issue with MMJ headlining this year was the lack of new material to circumvent the popularity of Vampire Weekend. They delivered with gusto but the chips were heavily stacked against them before even taking the stage.
Lowlights:
- I had high hopes that Portugal. The Man would be a festival highlight, but something was off with the sound and therefore only ended up earning a “shoulder shrug” this time around. Bummer.
- Poor attendance for two veteran Seattle acts. Both the Brad and The Posies’ sets were poorly attended. OK Go of all bands stole The Posies thunder. Kids these days don’t know shit!
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