Posts Tagged ‘Sasquatch’
Winnie Goes To Sasquatch Pt. 1
Sasquatch! is a music festival held in the Gorge Amphitheatre that started in 2002 and has now grown to a four day festival with over 25,000 attendees. My friends and I traveled to the desert this year, some of us for the first time and some of us for our seventh or eighth. Here is a recap of the debauchery and adventure that was Sasquatch! 2012:
On the first day we arrived and greeted everyone in line, driving the wrong way down the road past 100 cars before hearing the honks of our caravan of friends from Portland, Seattle and Vancouver. We waited for two hours in line, drinking and dancing and hugging and chugging as the anticipation built.
We got in, had the boys set up our tents and were off for Friday nights teaser shows, which set the bar high for the weekend to come. We missed Santigold and Girltalk but I heard she was crowd pleasing with crazy costumes and dancers, and he was up to the same old tricks- dancing and mixing live while teenage girls gyrated around him. He had the first Beastie Boys tribute of at least three that weekend.
Reviews:
Friday
POLICA – Wearing a full lace dress with jarring dance moves she was shifting her body in awkward ways that were super alien. There was something wrong with the sound and the volume was way too loud. She seemed in a trance but ended her set with a humble thanks to the crowd.
Explosions in the Sky – The crowd was mesmerized by this set, as most people stood in awe or danced uncontrollably. There was a huge area of people laying prone on the ground and staring up at the stars. It felt almost like a rock version of chamber music as it brought the vertical experience of a giant cathedral to an outdoor stage.
Beats Antique – This was wild. It started with two guys on stage and graduated to a dynamic production with tribal drums, layered beats, and a violin. A dancer in a black and white patterned gimp suit came out with royal blue showgirl feather fans.
Saturday:
Electric Guest – Bigfoot Stage
Lead singer Asa Taccone was pulling out soul-funk moves getting down on his knees and grooving across the stage while his band put on a magnetic show that had the crowd sweating and singing along in the sun to hits like ‘This Head I Hold’.
The Civil Wars – They were super mellow and had a good, clean set. It felt like very confederate style down home bluesy shit with a little bit of rock and roll. It was midday so everyone was just standing and bobbing their head.
Craft Spells – Darling buzzband, boring and bored-looking.
Thee Satisfaction – Super talented girls that I would like to party with. Minimal soul and R&B influenced beats with a black power vibe lost on the crowd of 20 something frat boys in neon clothing.
Alabama Shakes – Lead singer Brittany Howard has got soul. The audience held their breath waiting for her to belt it during ‘Hold On’. These guys played to a big crowd at a smaller stage and definetly made good on their recent hype.
Watch their video here.
Portlandia – We stopped in to see Portlandia in the comedy tent and laughed hysterically until they brought some audience members onstage for a gameshow and it went to shit.
Kurt Vile – Super raw grungy rock that only Kurt Vile can pull off nowadays. He and his band of lookalikes were ripping their guitars to shreds while looking dazed and detached, making all the girls panties melt. He kept throwing his hair all over his face. He looked really cool.
Childish Gambino – Donald Glover was wearing a made-to-look vintage shirt which said “fad” – which was fitting. This was awful, so bad. He’s an easy target because he has no cred whatsoever, but he’s like a black guy that all white girls will like because he seems non-threatening. He was referencing so much pop culture the audience was lost. As we left his set one of my friends said that he really missed the Beastie Boys.
tUnE yArDs – As soon as ‘Gangster’ came on the crowd went completely wild. Her voice carries so well especially at an outdoor stage. She had lilts in her voice and the crowd anticipated every drop. It was the most excited crowd all weekend apart from the e-tards at the electronic sets.
Purity Ring – This show was highly anticipated and they did not disappoint. The sound, stage and setting was perfect and the crowd twerked and sang along to singles ‘Lofticries’ and ‘Ungirthed.’ It was a hauntingly beautiful drug and alcohol fueled debauchery.
St. Vincent – I thought St. Vincent was going to be an indie songstress but she gave a flawless rock and roll spectacle that amped up the crowd at the Bigfoot Stage and drew people over from Wolfgang Gartner’s standard womp-womp. She seemed pretty wasted and she went to crowd surf and kinda bailed on her side but the crowd kept her up and she sailed into the arms of security guard and left the stage. We all wanted more.
Zola Jesus – meh.
Metric – Emily Haines is looking a little haggard. Everyone was disappointed that they played their new album and none of their hits. Dick move. At one point during their set she went on a tirade about how Metric had changed the music industry forever.
The Shins – The sound at the Main Stage was holding this show back from its climax potential. For some reason the secondary speakers, which carry up the hill, were not turned on. Which was bummer because they were playing their entire new album and all of their classics. The sound guy was getting fired that night. I cried during New Slang because I just broke up with my boyfriend.
Jack White – We went down in the pit at the Main Stage for his show, which went an hour over his hour and a half set time. Most of the crowd migrated to see the god himself in all his Edward Scissorhands lookin-ass glory and it was packed from the stage to the top of the hill. He played songs from The White Stripes, The Deadweather, and The Raconteurs but oddly left out “Love Interrupted” in what I suspect was a nod to the Sasquatch! Festival website’s playlist.
The Roots – It was the goddamn Roots! They were calling the guy playing the tuba “Tuba Gooding Junior” which was hilarious. They were rapping over guitar riffs from the backing band and the mix of rhythm and blues, hip hop and rock was supported by the pot smoke billowing from the crowd.
Stay tuned for Part Two of the Sasquatch 2012 Recap – Sasquatch! got even better on Sunday and Monday.
Coming up: Reviews of Little Dragon, Grouplove, Active Child, SBTRKT, Fun. and the 50 ft. inflatable penis at Tenacious D!
Writing: Dolly Compton
Photos: Miriam Thom
Posted by John
Sasquatch Recap!
Photos by Miriam Thom
Here it is u guyz… Winnie Cooper’s Sasquatch! 2011 review! Words by Dolly Compton.
TOP TEN SHOWS:
• MSTRKRFT
• Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings
• Sleigh Bells
• The Antlers
• Ratatat
• White Arrows
• Foster the People
• !!!
• Das Racist
• Matt and Kim
DAY 1 FRIDAY HIGHLIGHTS:
DFA 1979: I had to keep myself from headbanging too hard so my neck wouldn’t be too sore for the rest of the weekend.
Foo Fighters: Dave Grohl is a modern icon, and he brought out Bob Mould from Hüsker Dü who shredded like he’d risen from hell.
DAY 2 SATURDAY HIGHLIGHTS:
Aloe Blacc: I need a dollar…
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR6oYX1D-0w[/youtube]
The Antlers: Fantastic performance in broad daylight! The sunshine made their set more powerful and surreal than they’ve been at indoors venues in the past.
Washed Out: Ernest Greene tapped into the house market with a booming four-to-the-floor that overpowered the twinkling melodies and pillow-talk vocals.
The Glitch Mob: 3 iPad nerds geeking out on some heavy synth and drum machine apps and putting on a better show than Bassnectar (due2power)
Matt and Kim: They sampled every hip hop great and Kim did a handstand while shaking her booty like you would not believe.
Sleigh Bells: Alexis Krauss is the hottest bitch on the planet! Combining everything you could want: bangin’ beats and metal.
Robyn: Sasquatch! 2011 had so many amazing female performers. Robyn ate a banana on stage and, as one of my friends put it, was dancing “like she was from another planet.”
DAY 3 SUNDAY HIGHLIGHTS:
Beach House: Another female babe, Victoria Legrand commanded the hearts of every girl and the loins of every boy in the audience. It was sunny and beautiful during their set and I wept during “Take Care.”
Cold War Kids: My friends were passed out drunk in front of City and Colour so I went to the mainstage where Cold War Kids were surprisingly great!
Flogging Molly: Everyone caught a second wind for this set and jumped around dancing to Irish punk.
Das Racist: They pulled off the best audience interaction all weekend, making people choose between laughing and dancing. A white girl in a red bikini flashed them and Dap told her to “Eat something.”
Gold Panda: Money set in the Banana Shack dance tent. Expected nothing less.
Flying Lotus: A huge crowd came for Flying Lotus and you could tell he was just as stoked as they were.
MSTRKRFT: #FrenchHouse! I felt like I couldn’t dance hard enough for how good this show was.
Ratatat: Amazing visuals. They had a giant 3-D parrot that was hanging out on the side of the stage. The audience all looked like they were having out of body experiences.
DAY 4 MONDAY HIGHLIGHTS:
Black Mountain: Vancouver’s own! Dark, dance-able rock. So so good.
White Arrows: All these guys are babes. The crowd quadrupled during their set.
Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings: Soul good on the mainstage. Sharon wore a royal blue flapper dress and had everyone on their feet getting down to soul jams like this or this.
Foster the People: Every Sasquatch bro’s summer anthem
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDTZ7iX4vTQ[/youtube]
!!! (“Chk Chk Chk”): Lead singer Nic Offer was gyrating like Prince, strutting into the crowd to ham and steal the audience’s clothing. Glad I saw it!
Skrillex: Dub-step sweetheart Skrillex opened the door from a room of brostep euphoria LFOs into some hallways of dnb roots, dancehall, and not enough French house.
Major Lazer: Diplo and Switch ended Sasquatch! 2011 with a rager in the dance tent, narrowly avoiding a bum-rush after inviting ten girls onstage, and telling the audience that they were going to “F*ck everybody.”
THE ONE TO WATCH:
DJ Anjali and the Incredible Kid: Portland bollyhood DJs who played an unprecedented all four days! Catch them in Portland before they get too big!
NAUGHTY LIST:
Yeasayer: Somewhere along the line these guys decided they wanted to be a boring indie rock band. They played mostly their new album with a neutered version of “O.N.E.” and you could tell they were bored. At least change your name if you’re going to be a completely different band.
Best Coast: Expectedly sarcastic, unexpectedly boring.
Sasquatch 2011 Survival Guide!
hey so check out the full lineup for the Sasquatch Festival this weekend. Crazy right!
If you’re one of the lucky people going, Winnie’s got some tips on making the best of Sasquatch weekend courtesy of guest contributor, and all access correspondent Dolly Compton!
Sasquatch Essentials:
- Pack a flask. They check bags but that’s it. Beers are $10 inside.
- Wear a watch and print your own schedule.
- Bring earplugs – your friends are going to want to dance next to the speakers!
- Don’t wear sandals. Having your feet stepped on sucks. The desert is dusty!
- Bring a jacket in a backpack. It gets COLD at night.
- Outside food is allowed in, so bring chips, trail mix and sammiches for dinner.
- Sealed water bottles are allowed in. There is a water refill station.
Don’t forget to bring:
- a towel
- shampoo
- sunglasses so no one sees your drug eyes
- sunscreen
Sasquatch Survival Tips:
- Pace yourself. There is no re-entry!
- Set up a base camp blanket on the hill as a meeting point
- Have a girl go first when throwin’ bows to the front.
- Bring your cell phone. The best coverage is at the ridge above the main stage.
- If you queue up 30 min before the main stage acts, they let a select number of the crowd into the inner sanctum – closest to the stage and in front of the barriers – where there’s lots of room for dancing!
Make sure to follow Dolly Compton on Twitter and stay up on who ruled and who stunk at this year’s Sasquatch Festival. She’ll have more coverage, photos, and reviews from the 2011 Sasquatch Festival so stay tuned! xo
Sleigh Bells – Run The Heart (Bassnectar Remix)
