Sasquatch! Music Festival Day 3 Sunday, May 29th at the Gorge Amphitheatre
Thirteen was the number for day three, we danced and watched the following bands: Smith Westerns, Wheedle’s Groove, The Moondoggies, Fitz & the Tantrums, Reggie Watts, Beach House, Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, Mad Rad, Archers of Loaf, Flogging Molly, the Flaming Lips, Modest Mouse and MSTRKRFT.
My Highlights of Sunday:
We were running down the hill to the main stage early Sunday morning to catch the lovely Smith Westerns. If you haven’t heard their album “Dye It Blonde,” yet you are missing out! Throughout their entire set there were hipsters waving their hands in the air and singing along to songs like “All Die Young.” Not only did the Smith Westerns sound great but they were also funny saying some of their songs are real “wrist-cutters.” Under the sun and the disco ball we enjoyed every minute of their set.
I will admit I got super excited when we saw the main stage for the first time on Sunday because there was a huge disco ball and you could see some of the props for the Flaming Lips show later that night.
Wheedle’s Groove was definitely my favorite band of Sunday on the Bigfoot Stage; they were so much fun! Wheedle’s Groove talked about how they made music back when they were 18, and only one radio station in Seattle played their music; therefore they were excited to share their music with us today. I was way impressed with their energy and their six piece horn section on stage. Not to mention they were all dressed as sharp as tacks complete with fancy fedoras. One of the funniest parts during their set was when they asked the crowd if they knew what a 45 was, and a kid yelled a gun. They all lost it on stage and were like no man, a record! Oh my gosh, I am still laughing about that! Wheedle’s Groove brought the funk on Sunday with songs like “Chicken Tracks” and “Deep Soul Part 1.”
The Moondoggies looked great on the Bigfoot stage today, complete with one of the gentlemen from Seattle’s rock band SHIM. We didn’t get to stay too long during their set because Fitz & the Tantrums were on ten minutes after theirs started which was kind of a bummer.
Fitz and the Tantrums brought soul and pop to the main stage! When we were walking down the hill to the floor, all sorts of people were dancing to their music. Both Fitz & Noelle looked hot on stage, Fitz in a pinkish red suit and Noelle in a short black feathered dress. Their music appeals to all ages and they were really a perfect band to perform on the main stage because it set such a positive fun attitude for the rest of the day. Plus who doesn’t love their song “MoneyGrabber,” and to hear it live… too good to be true!
Reggie Watts is gorgeously funny. This was my first time seeing him in concert and granted I didn’t stick around to hear the whole fuck shit stack business, I was more sucked in by his ability to create music from start to finish. It is mind blowing how can change his vocals from such extreme levels. He would do this deep beat boxing kind of song and then talk like a thirteen year old drama queen. It was awesome. He also informed us that Sasquatch is the world’s largest Sasuage festival, I didn’t know that… did you?
Beach House was a mellow set where kids who just wanted to dance and party, were still intrigued by their music and totally in to it. Victoria ’s vocals are as pretty as the Gorge scenery. It was a nice way to chill out for a second and be swept away by their music. After watching Beach House for a while we went back to the Yeti Stage when all the sudden we look over and there is toilet paper flying everywhere as Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears were playing “Louie Louie.” It was incredible, I am now wishing I would have seen their entire set because they were just exploding on stage. The T.P. fun didn’t stop when the music did either, the crowd stuck around and got even bigger for Seattle ’s Mad Rad. Which was so out of control, to the point where I couldn’t even get close to see what was going on. I saw a lot of hands in the air and girls dancing inappropriately. Plus on our way down to the main stage i heard some kid say something along the lines of – was that Lil Wayne playing? It was “rad-diculous!”
Flogging Molly destroyed the main stage to the biggest crowd that stage saw for the day. We arrived early and got into the golden circle however at one point so many people were trying to get in to the circle 7 big security guards were pushed down and a rush of more kids got in. It was insane! However I don’t think anyone got hurt so that’s good. One of the best lines Flogging Molly had was how they didn’t ever think they would see an Irish flag and a Canadian flag flying in the air at the same time. Another really cool part of their set was turning around and seeing a huge line going across the hill of people doing an Irish jig with their arms linked together. The crowd cheered to Flogging Molly with beers in their hands and sang at the top of their lungs to “Float,” “Drunken Lullabies,” “Selfish Man,” “Salty Dog,” and “If I Ever Leave This World Alive.” However during “Salty Dog,” the song was interrupted to ask the most important question of the weekend which was, is there really a Sasquatch? The crowd was quick to yell back YES! Which is true because I saw not one but two of them on stage later in the night!
I am a huge Flaming Lips fan or as Wayne would say “freak” and for me getting to hear “The Soft Bulletin” in it’s entirety was genius, however I think most people who attend Sasquatch aren’t die hard Lips fans so for them it was a bummer to not sing along to “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots” and such. Though it does not seem like the band is slowing down one bit, so I know there are plenty more chances for those people to hear their Flaming Lips jams; tonight was all about The Soft Bulletin. The opening song on the album “Race for the Prize” is one of my favorite Lips songs so to be able to hear it live with the confetti, the balloons, and Wayne in his hamster ball was exhilarating and magical. I just looked around in complete amazement like I had never seen the band before, it was that wonderful. I will give the crowd props for being respectful even during the more mellow sad songs on the album because those were probably hard to sit through during a festival. During their set they took a quick break to do a very important task, wish Sasquatch a Happy 10th Birthday in which we all sang along too! Plus the coolest bakery ever, Charm City Cakes, from the TV Show Ace of Cakes made a badass Sasquatch cake and the lucky sons of guns in the front got a piece of it because Wayne ripped off the head of George who was on the cake and through it in the crowd. A little piece of heart died because I love cake and I love the show Ace of Cakes, plus WAYNE from the Lips served it… really I had to be in the back of the golden circle.
Modest Mouse took the stage on Sunday to a very full crowd on the floor. I thought for sure the place was going to clear out after the Lips but instead it did the opposite, people were flocking to the main stage to watch Modest Mouse. The two times I have seen Modest Mouse they haven’t had their horn section, but tonight they brought the big guns and made sure everyone and their instruments were on stage. Therefore when they played songs like “Dashboard” it was incredible! Having the entire band on stage made their set for me.
On our way out for the night we managed to catch the tail end of MSTRKRFT who had confetti “Flaming Lips” style blowing out of the Banana Shack. It was insane, there were so many people swinging glow sticks around and bouncing like Mexican Jumping Beans. I saw a lot of kids go back and fourth between the Modest Mouse set and the MSTRKRFT set too; people were constantly running from the top of the hill and down to the tent and so on.
MSTRKRFT must of really gotten the peeps going because as soon as we got back to camp, our old ass neighbors decided to throw a nice little party. You know I must admit this, every time I camp at Sasquatch it’s either been in premiere or close to the entrance. So I honestly have never experienced the crazy stories you hear about in the campground. I am so curious as to what the hell happens out there but I think I will just let my imagination run wild on this one. I like camping with the old folks and their boxed wine.
All photos taken at the Gorge Amphitheater by Matt Auclair and Andrea Williams.
