Here is what the schedule for this weekend's Sasquatch Festival at the Gorge Amphitheater looks like, in regard to what I will probably be seeing and when I'll see it. My daughter Katie and her friend Kirsten are almost as excited as I am about the festival. We will be leaving tomorrow morning about 7:00 a.m., for the 3 1/2 to 4-hour drive to the show. There are three stages (Mainstage, Wookie Stage and Yeti Stage), on which all kinds of artists will be playing. The times are taken from the website's lineup and schedule:
SATURDAY
12:00-12:45 Blitzen Trapper – Yeti Stage
1:30-2:15 The Hold Steady – Main Stage
2:30-3:15 check out Ozomatli, Two Gallants or The Blow
3:15 check out Viva Voce for a few minutes at the Yeti Stage
3:30-4:20 Electrelane – Wookie Stage
4:40-5:30 Ghostland Observatory – Wookie Stage
5:50-6:40 Grizzly Bear – Wookie Stage
6:45 check out Aqueduct for a few minutes at the Yeti Stage
7:15 catch first half of Beastie Boys special “instrumental show” at Wookie Stage
8:15-8:50 catch last half of Manu Chao set at Mainstage
9:15-10:30 Arcade Fire at Mainstage
11:00-? Bjork at Mainstage
The weather is supposed to be mid-70s and partly cloudy, and by the time of the evening performances the temperature will probably be down into the mid-60's. We'll have hats, light raingear for just in case, plenty of sunscreen, a camera or two, our cell phones (in case the kids don't want to follow my schedule or I don't want to follow theirs, or in case we lose each other) and money for souvenirs. I mostly just want an Interpol t-shirt, and/or maybe an Electrelane shirt, but I will wait and see what all the shirts look like and which I think are "coolest". I'm guessing a couple of CDs might also jump into the ol' daypack here or there!
I will likely miss seeing Neko Case on Saturday, but those are just the breaks. When a festival has this many artists, it is inevitable there will be a collision at some point... I will be choosing to see Electrelane instead. I like their primitive sound, and they are one of my daughter's favorites, so I will go see them with her and her friend. For Saturday's fare, I am most excited about The Hold Steady, The Arcade Fire and Electrelane, but Katie and I have been listening to a lot of Grizzly Bear and Ghostland Observatory downloads lately, and I'm excited about those bands as well. Bjork? That depends on how late we want to stay up. Our motel is about 40 minutes south of The Gorge, so if we don't mind getting a little less sleep we will stay for Bjork. I understand she is a good live performer.
SUNDAY - probably no need to get up until around 9:00 a.m.
12:00-2:00 Relax, check out various artists from among St. Vincent, The Blakes, Stars of Track and Field, Blackalicious, Patrick Wolf
2:10-2:55 Minus the Bear – Yeti Stage
3:15-4:00 The Helio Sequence – Yeti Stage
4:20-5:20 The Polyphonic Spree – Mainstage
5:40-6:40 Spoon – Mainstage
7:00-8:00 catch first half of Michael Franti and Spearhead at Mainstage
8:00-8:40 catch second half of Dandy Warhols set at Wookie Stage
8:45-10:00 Interpol at Mainstage
10:30-12:00 Beastie Boys at Mainstage
No real hard Sunday choices to make here, other than missing Bad Brains at 3:00 in favor of seeing The Helio Sequence. J. Marquis sent me a disc of theirs a while back, and I am more familiar with their material... so despite the fact that Bad Brains are somewhat legendary, I'll go ahead and check out something a bit newer. The same kind of weather is expected for Sunday as for Saturday; it may be slightly warmer. We will be very tired, but we will continue having a blast seeing great music. I'm curious to see how my still-somewhat-sore back handles the weekend...
After the end of the Sunday schedule, we face about a four-hour drive home. If the kids want to head home around 10:00 once Interpol is done, I won't complain too much because I have never been much of a Beasties fan. We will get home around 2:00 a.m. on Monday if we leave after Interpol, and about 4:00 a.m. if we stay for the Beasties. I'll sleep until about noon on Monday, and then Kit and I will take my mom to the cemetery in Wallowa, OR where my dad is buried. The cemetery is about an hour's drive from home, and the drive is scenic. We will take some flowers from Mom's garden for Memorial Day, and it should be a fairly relaxing way to end a busy weekend.
I will provide a report on Sasquatch, hopefully with some interesting photos, sometime next week!