Sasquatch 2009: Day 1
King Khan and the Shrines- Where do I begin…? King Khan and the Shrines was one sexy beast who put on a hell of a performance. They were the first band we saw of Sasquatch 2009! The Wookie Stage was packed full of boys and girls getting ready to see the King himself. He came out on stage wearing a shiny cape covering his shoulders, a speed-o with a sparkly triangle on his package, and a feather head piece that made him look like a super hero warrior. It was magical. The whole band had tons of energy, the horns sounded awesome, and the female dancer with the pom-poms and silver flapper dress worked it. She was a blast to watch, I am surprised she did not pass out from heat exhaustion. They opened with the Check It Out Music former Song of the Day "Land of the Freak" and it was the perfect way to start out the festival. The only bummer…we had to leave before their set was done to check out Mt. St. Helen's Vietnam Band.
Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band – These Seattle kids should have been playing the Wookie Stage. They killed it and had one of the bigger crowds on that stage the whole day. Full of spunk and liveliness they were once again a blast to see. The chic gave one of her shakers to a kid in the front row and let the crowd help spread the madness. Best part was that we got to hear both of Matt and my jams. In addition, they remembered who we were from us making them one of our top five shows in April. That is kind of badass. Good for them for rockin' a festival but I prefer seeing them in a small venue with a bunch of my friends. However, I would prefer that with any band. Who doesn't want to be in the front row at every show?
Animal Collective – Why weren't they in the dance tent? We imagined seeing Animal Collective in a smaller club with the light show and disco ball, so it was a mix-up to see them play outside as the sun was setting. We still got the video effect to go along with their electronic jungle sounds. I thought they sounded good; it was cool to see that many people were watching them play. For all the bells and whistles that are in their songs, they managed to pull it off and sounded perfect live. Who wasn't going to be excited to see Animal Collective with the recent release of the killer album "Merriweather Post Pavilion," it was one of the best albums we have heard all year. Can't wait to see them in a club!
Ra Ra Riot- We got to watch Ra Ra Riot as we were waiting in line to get a 1/2 pound German sausage with the works – burped it up all night. Nothing like chowing down on some grub with a bunch of indie kids dancing on Yeti stage. For as many people there were watching them, a riot didn't break out. Everyone said they were boring at the Death Cab show a few weeks ago but they seemed to be rockin' it outdoors at the Gorge.
Mos Def – Mos Def was running late so Matt and I left to check out The Decemberists. When we left the Decemberists to come watch Mos Def we were so far back that it was a little hard to see and hear. Because of all the beer I had to go tinkle and I don't know if it was the pee-dance or Mos Def but everyone in line was dancing. Jason on the other hand who is a Mos Def fan….
The Decemberists – It was pretty hard to have the Decemberists play after Animal Collective. The Gorge went from dance music to a melodramatic indie rock opera (in a sense). The Decemberists were perfect for the Gorge though, something about the chilling lyrics and the beautiful backdrop that was serene. The harmonies gave me goose bumps. They almost sounded better live then on the CD and I love the CD. They were fantastic, not a single beat off. I was truly in awe after hearing them play a single song. A little sad that we devoted our time to Mos Def and missed the start of their set.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Karen-O looked hot in her rainbow butterfly jumpsuit with neon green tights. Her vocals were a bit stronger then the band but I thought it was still a badass set. They had a giant eye ball on their stage (like the one on their myspace) and played a set of new and old songs. The new songs rocked live and sounded great just like the album. We only stayed as long as we could then left to catch Bon Iver.
Bon Iver – Bon Iver peacefully rocked the Wookie Stage on Saturday at Sasquatch making it one of the best performances of the day. His silky vocals and guitar playing were more then perfect for an evening outside at the Gorge. We were more then happy that he played at night on the Wookie Stage verses playing early in the day on the main stage. The only downside was not getting to see him play to the backdrop of the gorge, maybe next year. Other then that Bon Iver had the complete package for a perfect set. From the sound to the crowd it was flawless. There was only one thing that got in the way if you were standing in the back. That would be James Pants at the dance tent.
James Pants – Of course, we had to check out the dance tent! One, it was the first year Sasquatch had one. Two, someone from Spokane was playing in it and opening it up for the weekend. James Pants was a blast; the Sasquatch Dance Tent was more fun then my senior prom. For as much as he plays in Spokane, I have never seen him before. If we did not see James Pants play we probably wouldn't have known how cool the tent was or left Kings of Leon to get jiggy with Crystal Castles. James had the lights, the band, and the personality to get the tent moving for the first night of Sasquatch. It was exciting to see a local boy play to over 1,000 people. We are not going to miss him at Elkfest this weekend! He will be playing on Sunday, be there or be square.
Kings of Leon – There are two sides to Kings of Leon. Side one would be that they sounded good and people were diggin' them. It's not every night that you get 15,000 people singing "Use Somebody" as you are leaving the Gorge. Side two would be that it was boring compared to Crystal Castles who were playing in the dance tent at the same time. It was hard to choose between the two because we were standing at the top of the hill and you could hear the bass of Crystal Castles and see the lights and that was just more enticing. Therefore, we bounced between the two and concluded that Kings of Leon would be a better arena show. They are the perfect two-hour rock band, which is different then the artistic music you can get at Sasquatch.
Crystal Castles – That was the most fun I had on the first day. I loved it, I heard both of the songs I wanted to hear (didn't miss any of them even when I was watching Kings of Leon). It was a tad-bit loud but, her vocals were ear-drum bursting but it still was a blast. We were on the right side of the soundboard in the back and I could not see the stage or see either one of two from Crystal Castles – but it did not matter. I danced my ass off. I would see them again in a heartbeat. I am bummed I did not have any glow sticks… next year. They had Matt, Brad, and I dancing our way out of the gorge for the night like a bunch of white kids on E.
Best and worst performance of Sasquatch! Festival Day 1 Recap
Best Performance – Bon Iver
Bummer we missed their set because we did not get into the venue on time – Passion Pit
Best keeping an eye on everything better then the hired security – Yeah Yeah Yeah's giant eye that was their stage backdrop did a way better job keeping an eye on the Gorge than the security staff did. When the Decembrists were playing it took them forever to bust the people having sex over the fence.
Went to get a beer in the middle of a set and missed out moment -Mount St. Helens Vietnam Band – we left to get a beer real quick and missed them throwing tennis balls off a drum into the crowd.
Most fun performance – Crystal Castles
Biggest Disappointment- Mos Def for starting late, and being just average for the largest crowd that the Wookie stage saw that day.
Andrea@checkitoutmusic.com
checkitoutmusic.com 2007-2009
