0 [SASQUATCH 2010] Day 3 Recap: Saved the Best For Last

Words and Photos by Nik Christofferson

The final day of Sasquatch festival 2010 was easily the best day of the three. The frat-dick crowd seemed to have funneled out early, and the vibe was clearly one only concerned with music and amazing scenery. The folks who made it their mission to complete the rigorous musical mission were in high spirits and the bands responded with top-notch performances. The sun also peaked through the clouds which eased the gloom from Sunday, and it was quickly apparent Sasquatch saved the best for last.

Who I saw:

Past Lives, Phantogram, Fresh Espresso, Japandroids, No Age, Quasi, The Mountain Goats, Camera Obscura, Mayer Hawthorne and the County, The Temper Trap, Drive-By-Truckers, The New Pornographers, Passion Pit, Band of Horses, MGMT, Ween

The Highlights:

Past Lives:
Each and every time I see Past Lives they impress me further, and “Tapestry of Webs” being as good as it is, is even better live. Having just missed the other ex-Blood Brothers perform in Jaguar Love, and the rumored onstage snub by Johnny Whitney towards a couple ex-band mates. I would have to say it must have lit a fire under Jordan Blilie and co, because they were scorching hot. Ended up being an omen for how good the day would be? Certainly got things started right.

Past Lives | Photo by Nik Christofferson

Japandroids:
The noise Vancouver B.C. duo, were forced to use foreign equipment after their gear was misplaced by the airlines, while jetting over the pond to make the show. Sasquatch seems to be cursed for Japandroids as last year they were forced to cancel due to illness. This year they were determined to make up for the absence despite the setback. Brian King looked pretty uncertain as he strummed his borrowed instrument prior to beginning, but as soon as they began it was rock and roll time. Japandroids not only made the most of the situation but didn’t miss a beat as far as I was concerned. The crowd also totally had their backs and even attempted to push through the barricade as festival security did their darnedest to stop them. It was awesome.

Japandroids | Photo by Nik Christofferson

Quasi:
My favorite performance of day 3 belonged to Quasi. The veteran Portland based trio has a new fan, and I haven’t stopped listening to “American Gong” since. Just an all around energetic performance, with musicianship at an all time high, and ex-Sleater-Kinney guitarist Carrie Brownstein was on hand for the extent. Some bands you just don’t really “hear” the first time around. The Neumos performance I saw a few years back just didn’t grab me, but now I hear you loud and clear Quasi, and I’m stoked.

Quasi | Photo by Nik Christofferson

Band of Horses:
Band of Horses lit up the Gorge with soaring guitar work, and those beautiful ballads. The band is on a roll, since opening for PJ on the last tour, and they honestly gave My Morning Jacket a run for their money. There is more than meets the eye beyond all the “indie credibility” that their first record brought. I believe they are truly an awesome live band especially since rising to the task and putting on one of the strongest main stage performances of the weekend.

Ween:
I wasn’t really certain what to expect from the geek rock stoner troop as headliners, but to put it as simply and plainly as possible Ween blew my mind. So many amazing guitar solos, so many epic jam sessions, and that awesome green glow. Massive Attack was awesome, but Ween was Epic. I totally get it now, I do. Some bands must be seen in their native setting to understand fully. You can listen to Ween records all day and night scratching your head, but when you finally see them live you can do nothing but bow to their greatness.

Ween | Photo by Nik Christofferson

Lowlights:

None. Monday was the best day, and none of the performances I saw deserve to be tagged lowlight.

0 [SASQUATCH 2010] Day 2 Recap: Good Times, But Pavement Sucks Live!

Words and Photos by Nik Christofferson

Random Awesome Dudes | Photo by Nik Christofferson

After a mostly fair weathered first day, things took an ominous spin as grey skies and a chilly breeze threatened rain for a majority of day 2. Reality also set in early on that crowd energy and performance quality was certainly lacking. As a whole, I was not overly impressed with a few of the bigger names on the bill, and was just plain bored with a few others. A full day of live music is better than 99.999% of anything else I rather be doing, so I’m not complaining but was definitely a little bummed out that one band in particular pretty much sucked. I try to be mostly positive so here were the highlights, lowlights (again very few), and a few photos to boot.

Who I Saw:

Massive Attack, Pavement, LCD Soundsystem, Kid Cudi, They Might Be Giants, Public Enemy, The xx, Dirty Projectors, The Long Winters, Midlake, Caribou, Vetiver, The Tallest Man on Earth, Avi Buffalo, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Fruit Bats, Local Natives, Martina Topley-Bird

Highlights:

Caribou:
Caught a partial Caribou set, and it was my first. Loved the way they circled up in the middle of the stage. Their poppy psych rock swirled in the early afternoon breeze, and their extended tribal percussion interludes echoed in the canyons. It was a great start to the day, and I almost started dancing.

The Long Winters | Photo by Nik Christofferson

The Long Winters:
John Roderick and friends proudly took to their mid-day main stage slot with delight and previewed a bunch of new material. I found the set to be a lot of fun, and it really opened my eyes as to why Roderick is so beloved locally. When I saw them a few years ago at Sasquatch, I was lukewarm at best. Turns out I may have misjudged them a bit or maybe I’m a little more open minded to the indie rock music than I once was. Either way, it’s always a good time watching musicians who seem to be thoroughly enjoying what they are doing. When they launched into a surprisingly faithful cover of the Grateful Dead’s “Touch of Grey”, they completed the task of winning me over.

Fruit Bats | Photo by Nik Christofferson

Fruit Bats:
The Fruit Bats played an inspired foot stomping set on the tiny Yeti stage. One of the best performances of the day. Period.

LCD Soundsystem:
Great live band and excellent festival act. James Murphy won me over immediately, not so much for his singing ability or showmanship. I was more amused by the fact that a guy that looked like someone’s middle aged Father or a high school English teacher orchestrated one the biggest dance parties of the festival. I’d go see these guys again for sure. Oh snap, Bonnaroo is next week, stoked for a late night second round.

Public Enemy:
Of course Public Enemy was a highlight, but the PA cut out at least 5 times during their set, leaving most of the audience in the drizzling quiet while the lucky folks in the front 10 or so rows continued to get the full experience. Boos turned to cheers each and every time the PA kicked back on, which actually became comical after the 3rd time. Luckily the outages didn’t affect some of their bigger hits, as both “Bring the Noise” and “Don’t Believe the Hype” put a charge into the large crowd. The only downside to the spectacle was I’m pretty sure half the folks who got their groove on during Public Enemy’s racially and politically charged performance had really no idea who the fuck Chuck D was, and were probably only excited to take iPhone photos of “that dude” from “Flava of Love”.

Massive Attack:
Wow! So it’s not just a clever name? MA was enormous, humongous, and MASSIVE! for lack of a better adjective. Sounding really nothing like their records, their headlining set has given me a whole new appreciation of the live power of electronic music. I wondered aloud for weeks prior to seeing them live, “why they would be slotted as the headliner over Pavement.” Turns out, Pavement is a terrible live band and Massive Attack is an amazing live music experience, so the jokes on me. With mesmerizing light show, theatrics, and deafening beauty, Sunday’s headliner put on the best performance of day 2 bar none. An achievement that I would say really isn’t all that common.

Lowlights:

The xx:
I still do not get The xx, even though it was fun to photograph the massively popular indie rock “fads”. While it’s true that the open-air festival atmosphere probably didn’t do them any justice, it’s also totally possible that they are just a boring band that some shitty indie rock blog promoted and now everyone thinks they are rock royalty. The jury’s still out.

The xx | Photo by Nik Christofferson

Pavement:
...was horribly sloppy, drunk, and boring. Not a way to make an impression on 20,000 people, though I suppose Pavement does have a reputation for sucking live and 19,999 people didn’t seem to care. I on the other hand stood there trying to figure out what they were attempting to do. Maybe they are genius’, and their grandiose plan all along was to reunite, get drunk every night, play shitty cause they don’t care, and cash the enormous checks while a bunch of indie rock drones in cut-off jean shorts and florescent “Risky Business” sun glasses sing along between sips of $14 non-alcoholic margaritas. Am I missing something? Maybe this should this be in the highlights?

Cymbals Eat Guitars:
Excruciatingly aweful. Shame on you KEXP! Shame!

0 [SASQUATCH 2010] Photos: Quasi @ The Gorge

Photos by Nik Christofferson

0 [SASQUATCH 2010] Photos: Past Lives @ The Gorge

Photos by Nik Christofferson