The annual Sasquatch! Music Festival, located once again in the pastoral Gorge Amphitheater, is poised to be another year filled with great music, stunning magic, awesome scenery and, yes, naked men.
Testing the waters, maintaining the crown
If you were in attendance last year, and you were from Portland, then you probably attended The Shins’ set. The Portland transplants and adoptees, who will arguably make an even higher profile appearance this year, were accosted on stage by an anonymous streaker. Streaking, as many of us are aware, has grown exponentially in popularity over the past few years, and last year, with the Gorge’s arid weather and hippie atmosphere, it seemed natural that someone should shed all articles of clothing and go say “Hi” to James Mercer.
The bands that have signed up to play this weekend are a testament to Sasquatch’s growing popularity and reputation, not only as a premier festival to test out new bands, but also as a perfect place for bands to reclaim their positions as number one indie music gods.
And that is really what the line-up is composed of: indie music deities, be they minor or major. Some are more mainstream; others have just sprouted up this past year but have already garnered a holy following of dedicated sheep dressed in Converse high-tops, goatees and faux-hawks. Wait – can sheep have faux-hawks?
Your time is precious!
With so many bands playing, often at the same time, the name of the game is time management (as well as substance abuse).
There are three stages: the Mainstage, the Wookie and the Yeti. I’ll give you the choice pick of the day for each stage; after that I’ll have to leave it up to your musical discretion.
Let us begin with Saturday’s Mainstage performance (let’s face it, Friday is not worth your time: Nine Inch Nails and …And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead? Come on, I would sooner sit through a four-hour-long performance from Avril Lavigne and Kelly Osbourne teaming up to cover the songs of Art Garfunkel).
And the first-round pick goes to: The Shins. These classic guitar pop peddlers are returning for their second year, and as some of you may be aware, the boys have a new album in the works and have been playing new songs at live shows across the country.
On the Wookie stage, the band most deserving of your eyes and ears (as well as your pants if you’re into that), is Architecture in Helsinki. The Australian indie-pop octet is arguably the closest thing to The Arcade Fire that you’ll come by this year. But don’t go just for your daily fill of Fire, go because Architecture in Helsinki released their strongest album to date, In Case We Die, last year and the songs on the album will fill your head with a catchy potpourri of whirlwinds, wishbones, coffins and tiny paintings.
Lastly, on Saturday, head over to the Yeti stage to see Common Market, because as much as you might deny it, you need some intelligent hip-hop flavor to spice up your life. Common Market is a lyrically conscious, quirky and passionate Seattle hip-hop duo that released their very respectable debut last year to accolades and comparisons to groups like The Pharcyde, Blackalicious and Dilated Peoples.
For Sunday’s Mainstage performance, you really can’t go wrong. Every Sunday act is well deserving of your undivided attention, but I’ll be spending most of my time at the Nada Surf show because: 1) Nada Surf’s 2005 release was more than just a comeback of monumental proportions, it was one of the best releases that the indie-rock community saw in 2005, 2) I’ve seen Beck on tour for Guero already, 3) Colin Meloy pisses me off, and without Rachel Blumberg The Decemberists just aren’t as cool, 4) the Arctic Monkeys are awesome but they do not deserve all the uncritical and hyperbolic praise they’ve received, 5) I caught up with Death Cab for Cutie once already this year, and once was enough, thank you, 6) while I can appreciate the good quality of music they make, I simply don’t like Matisyahu, Queens of the Stone Age and Pretty Girls Make Graves, and 7) who the fuck are the Blue Scholars?
Jumping back over to the Wookie stage – if you pick one of the following I can assure you that you’ll hear some of the most energetic and mind-blowing live music all year. Each band is distinctly different from one another but each packs it’s own brand of savory, earnest and compelling music. So, for those reasons and others, head over to either: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, We Are Scientists, or Jamie Liddell.
To end your weekend on the best note you can, it would behoove you (and those you’re riding home with, because I know how cranky you get when you pay money to see a shitty performance) to listen in on Laura Veirs’ set. Yes I know how underappreciated Rocky Votolato is, but Laura simply released a much stronger release this past year.
And most importantly, booze
There you have it. Whether you have a stronger preference for wookies or yetis, we are all strung together by a single thread of love for Sasquatch. And booze. Let’s face it, the Gorge is in the middle of Nowhere, Wash., and without the proper supplies I can guarantee your weekend will remain two-dimensional. Sure there’s roaming security that is tighter and more ruthless than a pirate’s asshole, but get creative for God’s sake. You’re from PSU! Break out your flasks and your duck tape. Break out your army boots with secret compartments large enough for a hotel bottle of Jack Daniels. Whatever you do, make sure you have a kick-ass time and make sure you check out the Vanguard next week for my recap of what happened to you, me and Sasquatch.