Sasquatch! Music Festival Day 3 Monday, May 31st at the Gorge Amphitheater
Well after two days of camping we decided to pack up this morning and head into Moses Lake for a hot breakfast. If there is one piece of advice I can share about camping at the Gorge… pay the extra to camp in premiere because it will save your life. This year was the first year we finally did everything right and camping was a breeze. Hot showers every morning, clean porta potty’s, a shuttle to camp, and a view of the Gorge. After divulging our cold tummy’s of hot food we parked the VW and headed in for day three!
Day three was probably the hardest out of all three because there were SO MANY great bands playing all at once. Twice we ran from the main stage after a few songs up to the Yeti stage for a few songs then back down to the main stage. A lot of moving but so worth it!
We started day three off with the Seattle Rock Orchestra. I am bummed I missed the end of Shadow Shadow Shade but hot food after a cool rainy morning is like winning the lottery. The groovy thing about the Seattle Rock Orchestra was that Spokane’s very own Kaylee Cole got to sing with them as they did an entire Arcade Fire set. Kaylee is a HUGE Arcade Fire fan and she looked like the happiest person on stage singing Arcade Fire songs to a big crowd at the Bigfoot stage. I have never seen her put so much energy into a set, she was so giddy and did a great job! It was a blast to sing along to No Cars Go, Rebellion, Neighborhood #3 Power Out and so much more! The one bummer to this wonderful set was we waited for the Temper Trap but they were late… any other circumstance we would of stayed to watch the Temper Trap BECAUSE I LOVE THEM… but dude Kaylee Cole rocks and we have to support our Spokane Artists, she killed it!
Heading down to the Yeti Stage we saw hundreds of kids with their hands up in the air singing along to Seattle’s Fresh Espresso. It was nuts. Their lyrics like … Pay Me… then the crowd would yell … Bitches Im Coming For My Money! Yah, it was awesome. They pulled in tons of kids by the end of their set including us; they had great energy and were having fun how could you not want to be a part of it. Plus towards the end of their set they had a special announcement. A kid walked up on stage and purposed and the girl said Yes! Marriage at the Gorge, at Sasquatch, on the Yeti Stage, with Fresh Espresso… who knew?!
After Fresh Espresso we stuck around to catch a little from Telekinesis and the first thing that stood out to me was the drummer is the main singer. Holy crap, that would take so much concentration I was blown away. He nailed it too. The second thing that struck my fancy about this band was how they had Gumby and Pokey strapped to the drum set, I love Gumby he also chills in our apartment on top of a book shelf. We ran from Telekinesis down to catch Passion Pit!
This time there was a pit of passionate dancers covering every inch of the floor. If there is one thing we learned from this years Sasquatch lineup is that kids just wanna dance! Security guards were holding the railing back to try and keep more kids get from getting into the golden circle, it was a bit intense. I was impressed with Passion Pit’s singer’s vocals he really can hit those high pitches perfectly. They were rock stars, played all of the hits and kept the crowd moving. During “Sleepyhead” he had everyone put their hands in the air and wave them to simulate an ocean, it lasted until the chorus then it was back to waving and dancing. Shamu even made an appearance floating across the sea of hands. The singer loved it so much he wanted Shamu on stage for a second, and then he made a point to let him get across to every kid. It was a blast!!
The security rails were a small problem again… at the Yeti Stage during Japandroids. Kids were getting so excited to see them they kept pushing forward and there were three or four security guards using all of their weight to keep the rail from falling forward. Japandroids said nothing against the photographers but I hope the rail clasps, all the photographers got out quickly. They rocked it for having gear problems and feeling sick. The two of them just got on stage and even said before then things weren’t working out but playing at Sasquatch made it better, they were having fun and put on a blistering set.
It was a little hard to go from the energy of Japandroids to She & Him but I had to see Zooey and M. Ward. They sounded just fine and Zooey looked adorable however it was a little bit of a buzzkill. They did play my two jams “Why do you let me stay Here” and “In the Sun” so that was wonderful. Towards the end of their set they bounced off and let their band have a showcase, I thought that was cool!
Band of Horses took the high horse and owned the mainstage for the third day. Best Monday band! Band of Horses walked out on stage to a Joe Walsh song, how awesome is that? They had everyone dancing which you wouldn’t expect since they aren’t that poppy dance music like Passion Pit, but to our surprise!!! They didn’t mess around either they took us back to the start of their band in 2004 to open up with “The First Song” and from there on out they played every song we wanted to here; “The Great Salt Lake,” “The Funeral,” “Is there a ghost,” “No Ones Gonna Love You,” and so many more! We have seen them before and were blown away but to see them own the Gorge like that was a spectacular experience. They kept the energy up, had fun (like the singer got down and sang on the metal barricades with all of the kids in the front), and sounded perfect. They had a stunning set.
After Band of Horses, MGMT came on stage and dedicated their set to all of the men & women who have lost their lives in combat because it is Memorial Day. I respect that a lot. MGMT sounded good, but it was kind of a let down because they had no personality. They didn’t smile a lot and had stone cold faces. Sure they played “the Youth,” “Time to Pretend,” “Electric Feel,” and dedicated “Flash Delirium” to the sunset but in between it was pretty mellow and kind of a downer. I did enjoy the balloons being let go during Flash Delirium, however we left to catch a bit of the New Pornographers.
Plus by the way what is it with Neko Case and the Gorge, every time she plays it rains. Rain aside the New Pornographers sugary pop was the perfect end to Sasquatch. We even got to hear one of our jams “The Laws have Changed.” It was meant to be, to have them end our 2010 Sasquatch Music Festival perfectly.
Our ten standout Sasquatch festival highlights included; Vampire Weekend, The National, Deadmau5, LCD Soundsystem, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, Band of Horses, Passion Pit, Mumford & Sons, Z-Trip, and the Seattle Rock Orchestra!
Overall Sasquatch rocked our ears, minds, and our legs (there are so many hills). We did the camping right, the weather wasn’t too hot or too cold. A little rain but in the end Mother Nature was friendly. Thank you miss Ashley for making a dream come true and allowing me to meet Matt the Ice Cream Man and for helping CIOM have media coverage! You Rock our WORLD! 365 days until the 10th Year of Sasquatch, see you there!
All photos taken at the Gorge Amphitheater by Matt Auclair.
Day 1 Post Here
Day 2 Post Here
