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Written by Tony Van Zeyl and Adam Draper Tuesday, 03 July 2012 17:14

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Sasquatch 2012 | 05.25-28.12
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The 11th Sasquatch Festival took place during Memorial Day weekend at the Gorge Amphitheater, one of the greatest concert venues in the United States.

 

Zola Jesus. Photo: Christopher Nelson

“Picture This” (track 18, Hello Nasty, 1998)

A huge part of the venue’s magic is its clifftop location in one of the most awesomely beautiful places on Earth, the Columbia River Gorge. Four days of music, camping, and festival hi-jinks in south-central Washington, a few hours from Portland and Seattle. Let’s talk about what we saw this year.

“Dedication” (track 20 Hello Nasty, 1998)

In tribute to the recently departed MCA, aka Adam Yauch, we are reporting our experiences using song titles from The Beastie Boys (legends, Rock and Roll Hall of famers, and 2007 Sasquatch headliners). Speaking of tributes, these are the ones we witnessed:

• Blind Pilot mashes up Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” with their song “Tongue Tied.”
• The Roots get the crowd singing along to the Beasties’ “Paul Revere.”
• Deer Tick perform “Fight for Your Right (to Party)” while clearly exercising that right.

“To All the Girls”/“Hey Ladies” (tracks 1 and 8, Paul’s Boutique, 1989)

To look at the pop charts, you would think female artists are limited to a pretty narrow spectrum of styles. Fortunately, the Sasquatch Festival presented a number of innovative and talented ladies who expand the notion of a female artist. Each woman mentioned below is an exciting role model for a new generation of girls and boys.

• The Civil Wars – Joy Williams, half of this fetching husband/wife duo, joined her lesser half to weave onstage chemistry into beautiful folk harmonies. Their live performance far outshined their schmaltzy, vanilla-tinged studio work. Their lounge-y flavored version of “Billy Jean” was inspired.
• Alabama Shakes – The unassuming guitarist and frontwoman Brittany Howard screams and wails with a soulful power that must be seen in person to truly appreciate. Ms. Howard’s no-hold’s-barred live performance is putting this talented young Alabama band on the map.
• Tune Yards – Merrill Garvis’ innovative use of vocal and percussive loops is best enjoyed in a live performance. We got a celebratory air and a dance vibe that her studio work betrays.
• Dum Dum Girls – These reverb-drenched ladies who rock out melodically are all about the visual style, decked out like indie pinup goth-y girls. Each time their super cute drummer smacked the crash cymbal, she made a face that seemed to indicate she had a very scary side.
• St. Vincent – Annie Clark is a guitar goddess; I’ve never seen anyone work that whammy bar with such passion. In fact, she uses her whole body for every note that she plays.
• Thee Satisfaction – These two Seattle-based ladies use choreographed dancing, loops, and a laptop to bring an impressive blend of hip-hop, funk, and R&B.
• Wild Flag – This hard-rocking group of indie veterans have the most “traditional” rock sound of the female artists we saw. As veterans, they could be jaded to the experience; instead, they appeared to have as much fun as the crowd.
• Little Dragon – Singer Yukimi Nagano’s mix of vocal power, sweetness, and melody perfectly complimented her constant dance movements throughout her performance.
• Zola Jesus – The haunting operatic vocals that emerged amid a wall of keyboards, guitar, and electronic-sounding percussion gave us chills.
• Metric – If you have never listened to Emily Haines sing loud on a warm sunny day, you have not truly experienced Metric the way you should. “To believe in the power of songs/ To believe in the power of girls.”
• The Joy Formidable – Lead singer Ritzy Bryan is a tiny sweetheart of a little Welsh thing whose unbelievable vocal power, stage presence, and guitar work is punctuated by joyfully awesome psychotic expressions when she is making a rock ’n’ roll point.
• Feist – Leslie Feist knows what she is doing at this point in her solo career (which has spanned over a decade), and it shows. Her guitar solos are examples of the power of economical playing—using only the necessary notes.

“Dramastically Different” (track 10, The Mix Up, 2007)

When you attend a festival, your perception of a band can completely shift, or you can discover a band that you have never heard of before. The following performers surprised and impressed us—and now we are fans.

• Grouplove
• Kurt Vile
• Explosions in the Sky
• Thee Satisfaction
• The Joy Formidable
• The Civil Wars
• Alabama Shakes
• Dum Dum Girls
• We Are Augustines
• Starfu*ker
• Gary Clark Jr.
• Dry The River
• Craft Spells
• Here We Go Magic

“Sure Shot” (track 1, Ill Communication, 1994)

Of course, there were those who we have already seen live, or whose expectations completely live up to—and sometimes surpass—what we hope. These performers continue to be, for us, must-sees.

• Jack White
• Zola Jesus
• M. Ward
• Cloud Cult
• Feist
• St. Vincent
• Girl Talk
• Metric
• Little Dragon
• The Cave Singers
• The Roots
• Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
• The Helio Sequence
• Blind Pilot

“The Maestro” (track 14, Check Your Head, 1992)

There are some musicians who require special mention. Of course, all musicians are something special...but these performers have some special superpowers that elevate them to another plane of existence, and watching them exercise their craft was an honor.

• Jack White
• M. Ward
• Gary Clark Jr.
• Kurt Vile
• Charles Bradley
• St. Vincent (aka Annie Clark)
• The Roots

Bon Iver. Photo: Kyle Johnson

“Transitions” (track 20, Ill Communication, 1994)
“High Plains Drifter” (track 5, Paul’s Boutique, Capitol 1989)

One thing that makes this festival awesome is that it is pretty easy to migrate quickly from one stage to another; someone committed to bopping around to different stages can easily do so in this venue. Plus, with all of the hills, you get an unintentional workout, and the beer flows through your body that much quicker.

“Don’t Play No Game That I Can’t Win” (track 7, Hot Sauce Committee Pt. 2, 2011)

Festivals can lead to some wacky misadventures. Or at least minor annoyances (otherwise known as “first-world problems”). For example, right outside the venue we got caught in a huge traffic snarl on Friday afternoon/evening.

Other festivals have had legendary traffic problems (Bonnaroo’s long trek into the venue is considered part of the experience), but this was new to Sasquatch, or at least new to our experience at Sasquatch. Many passersby theorized that since weekend passes were the only option (no single-day tickets), more people were showing up at the same time instead of staggering their arrivals over the whole weekend. Plus, this was the first concert of the season for the Gorge Amphitheatre, and the first day of work for many of the staff, leading to inefficiency. All we knew was that, with only two miles to go, we crawled along for over two hours, causing us to miss three (of the many) reasons we were at the festival (Santigold, Of Monsters and Men, and Mark Lanegan).

On the other side of the weekend, the need to get back into the city to, like, go to work and be with our families (Damn you, conscience! Maturity and responsibilities suck!) forced us to miss out on much-anticipated Monday night sets from Tenacious D and Beck.

When it comes to festivals and schedules, you just can’t win. Or lose. For every act you wish you saw, there are three you never heard of that rock your world. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.

“Sabotage” (track 6, Ill Communication, 1994)
“Putting Shame in Your Game” (track 9, Hello Nasty, 1998)

 “Hey guys, just put your bag down over here with mine by this fence,” Tony said. “No one is going to mess with your stuff. A couple years ago I dropped my wallet and it was turned in with money in it.” Said Tony’s friends, “Uh, that’s very Mr. Rogers (and stupid) of you, Tony; good luck with that.”

Two hours later: fence, grass…but no bag. Ever the optimist, Tony chalked it up to someone making a mistake and grabbing the wrong bag, and went to the lost and found. The next several hours were a depressing jumble of self-loathing and disdain for humanity. The cherry on top of the shit cake was that his friends had to go home even earlier than him (responsibilities and whatnot), allowing him to wallow silently in his own stupidity.

Do you know the worst music to listen to while undergoing an existential crisis? The heartbreakingly beautiful sounds of Bon Iver. One would think that the angsty self importance of Bon Iver’s tragic songs would provide a perfect soundtrack for torment and self-loathing, especially on a clear, starry night. But it’s hard to hear the music when the young wanna-be club kids all around him won’t shut the hell up. Plus, one of them was probably wearing Tony’s warm hat and long-sleeve shirt while keeping a glow stick and a quesadilla warm in his bag. Yes, Tony had turned into the “You kids get off my lawn!!!” guy.

“Something’s Got to Give” (track 10, Check Your Head, 1992)

Thankfully, the stolen bag experience ended up being a reminder not that all people suck, but that it only takes one person to screw things up for everyone. After returning defeated and dejected to the campsite, Tony told his story to neighboring campers, who didn’t mock him, but instead gave him an unsolicited hug. The next morning, he was able to interview members of one of his favorite bands (Cloud Cult) who happens to contain one of his musical heroes (Craig Minowa).

At another point during the festival, we noticed that one of the areas where veteran Gorge-goers go to have a quiet moment with the scenery was now a roped-off section for people with extra special tickets (they paid more). Since we had press passes we considered using that to get in, but decided against it when another person was being denied access and getting loudly indignant about it. Instead we asked the security guard, “What’s the deal with limiting access to this beautiful picturesque scene?” After convincing them that we were not interested in talking our way in, that we were just curious, they explained, “Last year, a drunk person fell over the edge into the Gorge and needed to go to the hospital. They were ultimately OK, but the powers-that-be decided to limit access. All it takes is just one stupid moron to ruin it for everyone else.”

“All Lifestyles” (track 10, To the 5 Boroughs, 2004)

Festivals bring out all kinds of people: the hippies, the hipsters, the frat boys and sorority girls, the Goths, the jaded children of the ’70s and ’80s, the club kids, the teens who don’t know who they are, the young couples inexorably in love who will hate each other in a month—they’re all there. One commonality for all the groups these days appears to be the “amusing t-shirt.”

I kept track of responses I got from random people while wearing four different t-shirts:

• Green Eggs and Ham (faded blue shirt)
• “Proud to be Awesome” (red with yellow letters)
• Ghostbusters (black T-shirt with Ghostbusters logo)
• “Awesome Meter” (green with Kermit the Frog’s face and the meter itself)

The biggest response? Far and away the winner (with over 30 different responses) was GHOSTBUSTERS! Lots of high fives, one hug from a smokin’ hot random stranger, and several groups of people yelling “Who ya gonna call?” followed by a chorus of people shouting “Ghostbusters!”

We Are Augustines. Photo: Christopher Nelson

 

“Gratitude” (track 4, Check Your Head, 1992)

Of course, all of the bands were thankful for people’s attention. Every band commented on the beautiful weather and incredible scenery. The Gorge truly is a majestic place.

One artist’s performance really underscored this feeling with his actions more than his words—or any words. This artist was Billy McCarthy, lead singer and guitarist of We Are Augustines, whose unabashed sincerity for the crowd and love of performance had echoes of Bruce Springsteen.

At the end of the band’s set, a 60-minute study in how to present arena rock on a small stage overlooking one of nature’s true masterpieces, McCarthy gave a primal shout of gratitude before he collapsed to the stage in satisfied exhaustion while wearing a gracious, goofy grin.

Thanks to all of the artists who continue to entertain and inspire.

Thanks to everyone who helps to make festivals exist.

Thanks to all the concertgoers who made us laugh and chatted with us.

Thanks to PLAYBACK:stl and the internet for the continued opportunity to cover live music and share our thoughts and opinions.

Thanks to the universe for the natural wonder that is the Gorge.

And thanks to you, the reader, for your attention. | Tony Van Zeyl and Adam Draper

 

Kyle Johnson Photos

Christopher Nelson Photos

Crowd Joy