SNAVE'S SASQUATCH REPORT 2012
Here is my Sasquatch post for 2012, back here at the weblog after a two-year trip over to my Facebook page. This is a work in progress, and I will be back here to write more words about it during the next week as time allows. For now, enjoy the pictures!
OF MONSTERS AND MEN at the Main Stage
Mellow pop/rock group from Iceland. Some have referred to them as an Icelandic version of the Arcade Fire. Two lead singers, male and female, with nice harmonies and call-and-answer style singing. Good singalong stuff with lots of shouted stuff in the choruses like "Yeah!" and "Hey!" They are a fun band.
MARK LANEGAN BAND at the Bigfoot Stage
Lanegan has been around a while. He was in the band Screaming Trees for 15 years from 1985 to 2000 and was then with Queens Of The Stone Age through 2005. He has done solo work since then, as well as work with other artists such as Isobel Campbell. For his Sasquatch set he played material from his new album "Blues Funeral" as well as songs from a previous album "Bubblegum". He has a dark, rough, slithery voice and he sings in a baritone. He looks kind of like Tom Waits, and sort of sounds like him at times. The music is rock and roll. Great stuff!
I love this picture... the ray of light is a totally happy accident. I can't find any info as to who the guitarist is, but he is very, very good.
EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY at the Bigfoot Stage
One of my Sasquatch highlights. I have never seen a band that is this cohesive. They create gigantic landscapes (and mindscapes) of sound. No vocalist, but with their music, no vocals are necessary. It's like five minds all seeing something in the same way and simultaneously painting a picture of it. The music is gentle and full of space for a while, then it builds into vast mountains and valleys of harmonics, white noise and intensity until the wave dies, then it starts and builds again. Incredible stuff, and if you get a chance to see the band play, don't miss out!
PICKWICK
This young alternative R & B band from Seattle is exciting and fun. Galen Disston is one of the best singers I saw during the weekend, and the band is very capable musically. Here is their Facebook page link: https://www.facebook.com/pickwickmusic
Pickwick at the signing booth after the show
Katie and I got our Pickwick CDs signed!
The Gorge Amphitheater is a cool place!
ALABAMA SHAKES at the Bigfoot Stage
One of the best vocalists at Sasquatch was Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes. She has a great range, and emotes with the very best. The band plays a Southern style of rock and R & B, and it sounds like electrified porch music... a compliment, meant in the most positive way. This is simply wonderful music.
KURT VILE AND THE VIOLATORS at the Bigfoot Stage
Vile was not vile, but actually very good. About half the songs he played were from his album "Smoke Ring For My Halo", although he did not play the one song I wanted to hear ("In My Time", which I think is a classic). He also did not do "Jesus Fever" from that album, but he did perform "Freeway" from one of his earlier releases. He played a mixture of folk and rock, and kept the crowd going.
DUM DUM GIRLS at the Bigfoot Stage
All-girl band, led by singer and songwriter Dee Dee. The music was very propulsive, bordering on punk. I think punk/pop would be a good description of their sound. The drummer just kept going, and going, and going! Lots and lots and energy from this group. While I didn't find their music revolutionary or anything like that, they were fun to watch, and their energy was infectious.
ALABAMA SHAKES in the Acoustic Tent
Katie won tickets to a short acoustic set by Alabama Shakes. It was a real treat to be in the tent with the band. They did three or four songs, and sounded just as good acoustic as they did electric!
THE HELIO SEQUENCE on the Bigfoot Stage
Sorry, fans of White Stripes and Black Keys... The Helio Sequence, from Beaverton, Oregon is the best two-person band on the planet right now. Brandon Summers is the guitarist and vocalist, while Benjamin Weikel is the drummer. The keyboard and bass parts are recorded and used as background during live performances, which puts some people off... but they put out such an amazing sound. It's big, wide and full of space. Be sure to see them if you have the opportunity!
Between shows near the Bigfoot Stage
LORD HURON on the Yeti Stage
A beautiful Saturday evening
C'OUER DE PIRATE at the Yeti Stage
THE SHINS at the Main Stage
ST. VINCENT at the Bigfoot Stage
JACK WHITE at the Main Stage
THE STAVES at the Bigfoot Stage
REIGNWOLF at the Yeti Stage
TRAMPLED BY TURTLES at the Main Stage
HOWLIN' RAIN at the Yeti Stage
Some fun t-shirts are seen at Sasquatch...
HERE WE GO MAGIC at the Bigfoot Stage
THE WAR ON DRUGS at the Bigfoot Stage
Waiting for Deer Tick
DEER TICK at the Bigfoot Stage
TYCHO in the Banana Shack (dance tent)
WE ARE AUGUSTINES at the Yeti Stage
BEIRUT at the Main Stage
A beautiful Sunday evening near the Main Stage...
Katie
THE SHEEPDOGS at the Main Stage
WALK THE MOON at the Bigfoot Stage
GROUPLOVE at the Main Stage
DAMIEN JURADO at the Bigfoot Stage
CLOUD CULT at the Bigfoot Stage
THE JOY FORMIDABLE at the Main Stage
FRESH ESPRESSO at the Maine Stage (smaller stage for Rap and Hip-Hop)
"fun." at the Bigfoot Stage
FEIST at the Main Stage
JOHN C. REILLY AND FRIENDS at the Yeti Stage
THE CAVE SINGERS at the Bigfoot Stage
TED LEO AND THE PHARMACISTS at the Yeti Stage
TENACIOUS D at the Main Stage - the "fenix" is starting to rise...
SPIRITUALIZED at the Bigfoot Stage...
My favorite act of the festival was the last one I saw, on Monday night. Jason "Spaceman" Pierce creates music that is deep, emotional and transportive. He had the band arranged in a semi-circle, which is something I haven't seen before in a show. His lead guitarist was directly across the stage, and their eyes were locked for a great deal of the show. He played songs from several of his albums, and about half the set from from his new one, "Sweet Heart Sweet Light".
MOGWAI would have been the last band on Monday night for me, but they canceled.
MY FAVORITE BANDS of SASQUATCH 2012
1. Spiritualized
2. Explosions In The Sky
3. St. Vincent
4. Mark Lanegan Band
5. Here We Go Magic
6. The Helio Sequence
7. Feist
8. Tenacious D
9. Deer Tick
10. Alabama Shakes
11. Bon Iver
12. Reignwolf
13. The Staves
14. Pickwick
15. Kurt Vile and the Violators
16. The Sheepdogs
17. Of Monsters And Men
18. Beirut
19. The War On Drugs
20. We Are Augustines
21. The Cave Singers
22. John C. Reilly and friends
23. Jack White
24. Damien Jurado
25. The Shins
26. Fresh Espresso
27. Gary Clark, Jr.
28. Trampled By Turtles
29. Walk the Moon
30. Lord Huron
31. Dum Dum Girls
32. Couer de Pirate
33. Cloud Cult
34. Grouplove
35. Howlin Rain
36. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
37. The Joy Formidable
38. Wild Flag
39. fun.
40. Said the Whale
FAVORITE VOCALISTS
1. Mark Lanegan
2. Jason Pierce of Spiritualized
3. Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes
4. Galen Disston of Pickwick
5. All three singers from The Staves
6. Jack Black of Tenacious D
7. Zach Condon of Beirut
8. Leslie Feist
9. James Mercer of The Shins
10. John McCauley of Deer Tick
11. John C. Reilly
12. Ewan Currie of The Sheepdogs
FAVORITE GUITARISTS
1. The guy from Mark Lanegan's band
2. Jordan Cook aka Reignwolf
3. Jack White
4. All three guitarists from Explosions In The Sky
5. Annie Clark (St. Vincent)
FAVORITE DRUMMERS
1. Benjamin Weikel of The Helio Sequence
2. Arnar Rosenkranz Hilmarsson of Of Monsters And Men
3. Matt Thomas of The Joy Formidable
4. Peter Hale of Here We Go Magic
5. Dennis Ryan of Deer Tick
FAVORITE BASS PLAYERS
1. Bassist for Spiritualized
2. Jennifer Turner of Here We Go Magic
3. Bassist from The Cave Singers (Morgan Henderson?)
4. Malia of Dum Dum Girls
5. Garrett Parker of Pickwick
FAVORITE KEYBOARDISTS
1. Those who played for St. Vincent
2. The keyboardist for Spiritualized ("Thighpaulsandra"?)
3. Nicholas Petricca of Walk The Moon
SNAVE, YOU'RE KIDDING! YOU MEAN YOU DIDN'T SEE:
Portlandia
Beck
The Roots
Pretty Lights
The Head And The Heart
The Civil Wars
Santigold
Metric
tUnE-yArDs
M.Ward
Little Dragon
Feed Me (With Teeth)
Starfucker (aka STRFKR)
Silversun Pickups (I had seen them before, and they're good)
Shearwater (I had seen them before too)
Nope! I DIDN'T see any of those bands... maybe next time! 8-)
