We all know there's way more happening here than you can possibly witness. The 12th annual Sasquatch! Music Festival at the Gorge Amphitheatre features some 120+ artists and bands performing this Memorial Day weekend (Friday, May 24th through Monday, May 27th) on five stages (although one—Cthulhu—with only three acts per day hardly counts).
So, disregarding some the biggest billed names in popular culture right now—those who you either love or you hate, those you're either sure not to miss (insert: Mumford & Sons, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Vampire Weekend, The xx, The Lumineers) or sure to miss—OMN will attempt to distill each day down to three must-see acts (as well as a few honorable mentions) and then we'll make an effort to follow our own advice come Friday. Feel free to join if you fancy.
Friday, May 24th
ONE: The worst thing in the whole entire world is knowing Portland's RED FANGis melting faces on the Bigfoot stage (from 5-5:45pm) while you're stuck in a never-ending line of cars trying to get into the campground. Don't let that be you. Arrive early—that means early enough to polish off the six pack holstered in your Red Fang-branded, leather beer holder. Then, forget about setting up your tent and get your ass to the venue because there'll be lines there too. Until Sasquatch kicks off, get your air guitars warmed up with "Hank Is Dead"—a metal ode to a deceased cat:
TWO: The disparate MATTHEW DEAR will bring an hour of his dark-yet-dapper dance music to El Chupacabra (from 9:45-10:45pm). Full of murky emotions and beats that are both grinding and grindworthy, find someone to put your smell on because Dear's gonna make the tent sweat.
THREE: No stranger to the Northwest, FATHER JOHN MISTY's J. Tillman is a former member of Fleet Foxes and friend of mainstay, singin'/songwritin' Seattleites Damien Jurado and David Bazan. His indie folk and candid stage presence is sure to draw a crowd to the Bigfoot stage (from 7:30-8:30pm). Get spiritual with "Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings":
HONORABLE MENTIONS
You'll have to choose between the rapid, garage-y riffs of the Arctic Monkeys (Sasquatch at 8:30pm) or the psychedelic spirituality of Youth Lagoon (Yeti at 8:30pm).
It's hardly a secret that the popularity of electronic music is growing exponentially in the US. From new bursts of dubstep to archetypal, Midwest-born styles like techno and house to Euro permutations like trance and IDM, the overarching handle for all of the unclassifiable genres and subgenres is EDM, or electronic dance music.
Each year the Northwest's most stunning concert venue sees its fair share of electronic music grace its stages, but this summer the Gorge Amphitheatre looks increase its offerings with the first-ever Paradiso Festival, which is being billed as "the largest electronic dance music event ever staged in the Pacific Northwest," on Saturday, June 23rd.
The PacNW has a proud tradition of supporting electronic musicians, especially with Seattle's Decibel Festival now in its ninth year and the swelling numbers of electronic artists appearing on mainstream festival bills, including Coachella and the upcoming Lollapalooza. Last year, Bumbershoot had a Decibel-curated stage (which featured several PDXers) in the EMP Sky Church and the connection will continue again this year with the Bumbershoot After Dark series of electronic sets organized by Decibel.
Portland's MFNW includes more and more electronic acts each year, and this September Girl Talk will headline one of three coveted nights in Pioneer Square with Portlanders Starfucker and AU. Plenty of other homegrown fests are also in their nascent years, like Closer (also this weekend) in its second and What The Festival in its inaugural year.
The Gorge's Sasquatch! may have expanded its electro offerings with each year, but the Gorge needed its own dedicated electronic fest. In the absence of last year's touring Identity Festival—purportedly the first electronic touring festival, which skips the NW this year as it has five fewer dates than last—Seattle's United State of Consciousness, or USC Events, led by Chad Anderson decided to organize its own—with a little help from Live Nation.
Another year and another whirlwind weekend at the 2012 Sasquatch! Music Festival is now in the books. The amount of phenomenal talent on all five stages (including the new "Maine" stage that featured NW hip-hop) spanned genres, intensities, and states of mind and being.
The weather was blissful and while the Banana Shack dance tent was consistently raging and often packed during all four days with the likes of Nero, SBTRKT, Awesome Tapes Africa, Tycho, Beardyman, LA Riots, Wolfgang Gartner, Purity Ring, Araabmuzik, Beats Antique, and Portland's very own Starfucker taking the stage, the best spot at the fest was on the hill soaking up the sun, the action on the mainstage, and the ridiculousness of wine guzzling Waldos, pants off dance offs, and the general mayhem that ensures when thousands of Sasquatchers start freaking out simultaneously to everything from energetic and schizophrenic dance makers like Santigold, Pretty Lights and Girl Talk (who dropped several Beastie Boys cuts into his mix) on night one; to indie rockers The Shins and Metric on night two; to harmony-filled groups of singer/songwriters like M. Ward, The Head and the Heart, Beirut and Bon Iver on night three; to Canadians and jokesters and a musical chameleon with Feist, Tenacious D and Beck on the final night.
But back to the beginning. The truncated day on Friday, May 25th may not have started until 4pm, but the fest packed in 18 bands, including many of our picks. Beatsmiths Pretty Lights, Beats Antique and Little People set their stages on fire as did the epic and beautiful sounds of Poliça and Explosions In The Sky.
But most importantly, our local love Starfucker had the Banana Shack so crowded you couldn't see the stage and the kids bouncing not only their feet to the drops but also an army of au naturel blow up dolls above their heads.
Festivals around the nation are adding days—or in Coachella's case an entire, identical weekend—and still selling out faster than ever, all while streaming their performances live from the location. And new ones for EDM kids and bassheads, indie hipsters and rock'n'rollers are cropping up every year.
Sasquatch was proud in declaring the addition of a fourth day of music last year (Friday), and they'll continue the trend this year with what is a loaded half-day on Friday, May 25th. Plus, the Gorge Amphitheatre built a new stage, which is dubbed The "Maine" Stage, that now sits on the sloping hill behind the bowl. It'll feature 12 acts over the four days, primarily NW hip-hop. (KEXP has a nice roundup of the NW beats here.) Festival creator Adam Zacks explains the idea:
"Last year, there was a new, relatively modest sized stage installed at the epicenter of the Gorge property that we wanted to make use of. Since a lot of hip-hop uses minimal gear it seemed a logical use of the space, and a way to be more inclusive of Seattle’s hip-hop scene."
Celebrating a decade last year, the 2012 Sasquatch! Music Festival at the Gorge spans this Memorial Day weekend, Friday, May 25th through Monday, May 28th, and will bring more than 100 acts to its five stages including 10+ Portland-based groups.
If you didn't get your hands on tickets this year, check in with us on OMN as we publish daily updates and video interviews from the fest, and follow our stream of consciousness on Twitter. And speaking of streams, you can catch some Sasquatch from home as 94.7 FM will be broadcasting private performances and interviews with bands like Blitzen Trapper, Santigold, Metric, Greylag, The Head and the Heart, Joy Formidable, Fun., and more.
The first do-not-miss set of the fest comes at 6:30pm on Friday from the creative hotbed of the Midwest in the form of Poliça (pronounced po-lisa). Even with the names Bon Iver (Mike Noyce is featured on the record) and GAYNGS (Ryan Olson is the mastermind producer behind the beats) attached to the act, vocalist Channy Leaneagh (formerly Casselle) is plenty deserving of the attention she's been receiving. And although neither of the two aforementioned men tour with Poliça, she's found a more-than-adequate backing band to support her electro-R&B vocals, which are delicately manipulated and Auto-Tuned with mesmerizing effect. Just check out "Lay Your Cards Out" featuring Bon Iver's Mike Noyce on vocals:
The oft-Diplo-produced Santigold came back in 2012 with her second album, which also featured production from Q-Tip, Boyz Noize, Buraka Som Sistema, Switch, and Ricky Blaze—who contributed to the record's second single, "Disparate Youth"—watch it here.
The only Portland band playing on opening day will get the family-friendly, festival treatment on the billing: STRFKR. Proudly claiming as Starfucker as our own, check OMN's interview with bassist Shawn Glassford from last week and enjoy the vid for "Bury Us Alive" from 2011's Reptilians here.
See the 10th annual Sasquatch! Music Festival in photos here and read OMN's daily highlights from Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday at the Gorge Amphitheatre. Whoo hoo!!!
Celebrating a decade in action, the 2011 Sasquatch! Music Festival at the Gorge Amphitheatre adds a fourth day, albeit short, of music making on Friday and sold out in record time. Spanning Memorial Day weekend, Friday, May 27 through Monday, May 30th, there are more than 100 acts lined up to grace three stages plus the newly dubbed (and freshly sponsored) Banana Shack tent–check out the fest map here–including a handful of comedians and some of OMN’s favs from Portland and the greater NW.
If you were too slow to get your grubby little hands on tickets, we’ll tell you where in Oregon you can catch these acts on their way to and fro, and if you’re watching from home, follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the weekend since internet coverage can be shaky from the great expanses of the Gorge.
Here’s how we’ll be spending out weekend:
FRIDAY
Playing a two-hour set: The Foo Fighters are hot to trot with their seventh studio album, Wasting Light, and a five-man line up that includes Foo forefather Pat Smear back in the fold. The album, which clocked in at #1 in twelve countries and marked the first FF album to debut at the top spot in the US, is nothing but pure rawk with Grohl channeling all that under-used rage kept aside from their last several efforts. Expect a heavy set, both with new material and rocking oldies, and if you’d like a 110-minute preview to prepare, watch the Foos live from the Ed Sullivan Theater on Letterman performing the new record in its entirety followed by the classics–just don’t expect the Fab Four trib at Sasquatch.
Foo Fighters rock the Sasquatch stage from 9:30 – 11:30pm.
PDX pick:DJ Anjali & The Incredible Kid are spinning an even longer set than the Foos from 9pm to 12:30am in the Banana Shack, and they’re the only act at Sasquatch performing more than once. Really, the PDX club mainstays hit the Banana stage all four days! Immerse yourself in the infectious, jangling rhythms of their Bollywood and Bhangra beats and catch them around Portland at the long-running monthly parties Andaz and Atlas or their new Thursday residency in the Crystal Hotel’s Al’s Den.
See DJ Anjali & The Incredible Kid in the Banana Shack from 9pm – 12:30am on Friday, from 6:05 – 6:50pm on Saturday, 6:30 – 7:15pm on Sunday, or 6:00 – 6:45pm on Monday.
Tantalizing treat, try for yourself: Five years since the band broke up, the Toronto dance-punk duo of Jesse F. Keeler and Sebastien Grainger is reunited and excited. As Death From Above 1979 readies their collaborative “collision of two different worlds,” according to Grainger, you can catch an electronic Keeler incarnation in MSTRKRFT on Sunday night.
Get your fix of Death From Above 1979 on the Sasquatch stage from 8:00 – 9:00pm.
Band you can skip: Biffy Clyro. But really, we can’t get too huffy about these mediocre Scottish rockers with lame lyrics because there’s not much competition for your attention on Friday night. Hey, they are big time in Europe and opening for the Foos on a few dates (same goes for Mariachi el Bronx who you can see on the Yeti stage) so if you must have a listen we won’t stop you. They also hit the Doug Fir in Portland on 5/30.
Also appearing in Portland: Rival Schools will be at Peter’s Room in the Roseland on 5/26.
SATURDAY
NW picks: In the definitive indie-folk tradition of the NW, Seattle’s The Head & The Heart are instant classics. Delicately placed vocal harmonies alongside piano and violin melodies make for heart-wrenching stories told by a band that has grown into a sextet which genuinely cares for their craft.
They’ll also hit the Crystal in Portland on 5/31 opening for Iron & Wine (who play the Sasquatch stage from 6:45– 7:45pm).
The emotive Sub Pop signees play the Sasquatch stage from 2:10– 2:55 pm.
On the other end of the indie rock spectrum are Portland’s The Thermals. With punk influences, indelibly poppy songwriting and energy galore, we wouldn’t miss them for the world… neither should you.
Catch The Thermals on the Yeti stage from 6:45– 7:45pm.
The reason why Canadians call it Samsquanch: Trailer Park Boys. The comedy highlight of the fest, expect rumblings of chips and kitties from Bubbles, Ricky and Julian. Officially dubbed The Drunk, High & Unemployed Tour,“Cory, Trevor, smokes, let’s go!”
The Canuck crew will also be around Portland at the Aladdin Theater on 5/27 and 5/29 but both are already sold out!
Bring your liquor and jerky to the Banana Shack from 3:45– 4:45pm.
“Nothing gets me out to Sasquatch at noon,” said a concertgoer after witnessing the soulful, bluesy grit of UK rockers The Heavy who kicked off the final day of Sasquatch on the main stage. It’s an endeavor to stay inside the The Gorge Amphitheatre for 10 to 12 hours of music, and often festival goers neglect a few early acts for a later start. But numerous fans continued to gush praise for The Heavy, remarking that the quartet, plus guest brass, should have replaced Pavement on the Sunday night bill.
MCing a solid mix of tracks from their debut as well as their most recent release, The House That Dirt Built, The Heavy’s lead singer Kelvin Swaby told the crowd, “I think we need to make some more noise,” as they mixed reggae with souled out horns in a blend of anthemic blues rock. The crowd that was filtering in and filling the pit was treated to blazing energy and immediately threw up arms and swung hips to “Sixteen” and “No Time.”
Guitarist Dan Taylor and bassist Spencer Page were impressed not only by the “outrageous setting” but also the response, especially from all American audiences, saying that they prefer playing the USA to Europe. “The American crowd is not reserved about enjoying themselves.” Always letting loose, they did so in a riotous manner as The Heavy closed the first set of the last day with “How Do You Like Me Now?”
Posting up on the side stage was the thin-mohawked Kelvin Swaby to witness an utterly different breed of soul-inspired grooves. Yellow tambourine in hand, a carefree Mayer Hawthorne brought his timeless, white boy Motown to the main stage. Bopping and clapping on sugary tunes like “Your Easy Lovin’ Ain’t Pleasin’ Nothin,” the sun peaked out to shine on his sunny soul music. The audience screamed when asked and smiled at his cheesy, endearing interludes. From the jazz club to the open air, Mayer Hawthorne and The County soaked up the adoration with funky basslines and a few bars of Snoop Dogg’s “Gangsta Luv,” a track which Mayer Hawthorne remixed for the Top Dogg.
Sasquatch! Music Festival creator Adam Zacks has put together a show that rivals its natural surroundings. For those artists that failed to mention the magnificence of the venue while they were on stage, they were damn well thinking about it as they rocked one of the four breezy stages. But diversity is the draw as Sasquatch combined reunited acts with the blogosphere buzz, and those same artists were also awed by their contingent.
In its ninth year, the Memorial Day weekend festival at The Gorge Amphitheatre brought together indie rock and hip-hop, electro dance tents and down tempo trip-hop to a sold out sward of 20,000+ concertgoers. And in its third year as a three-day event, Saturday was lovely, Sunday was dance-y, and Monday threatened to rain but instead shone with sunny giddiness.
Indulging in ridiculousness, Sunday’s middy pageantry was typified by They Might Be Giants’ geeky adult rock on the main stage. Replete with a raunchy puppet show, their sparse comical rock was fun, even for “Your Racist Friend,” as TMBG showed the crowd some stompin’ and clappin’ jams from their back catalogue while making it obvious, through their stupid antics, just how easy the transition to kiddie tunes has been for the duo of John Flansburgh and John Linnell, who’ve been together for more than 25 years, and crew.
With over 75 performers on three untamed stages–dubbed Sasquatch, Bigfoot and Yeti–and inside the Rumpus Room, the ninth annual Sasquatch! Music Festival takes place on Memorial Day weekend–Saturday, May 29th through Monday, May 31st–at The Gorge Ampitheatre in George, WA.
2010 features headliners My Morning Jacket, Massive Attack, Pavement, and Ween alongside indie and electro combos, hip-hop, DJs and dance acts from around the world, and OMN is here to help navigate the offerings.
Sorry kids, this year’s festival is sold out (check C-list for last-minute buys), but we’ll also tell you who’s coming through town before or after the fest and where you can catch them.
And don’t forget the Ice Cream Man (aka Matt Allen) who will be handing out thousands of free frozen treats from his 1969 Chevrolet Step Van. To date, he’s passed out around 400,000 ice creams, and he’s shooting for a million, so there should be no shortage in sight. Hooray!
