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‘Live’ Category

  1. SQUATCHING: Reptar

    June 19, 2012 by Dave

    Reptar at Sasquatch 2012
    After seeing them for the first time I’m not sure it’s possible to not have fun at a Reptar show.  It was definitely a situation of needing to live up to a pretty incredible “show energy” hype and have a really shitty timeslot to do so.  Scheduled as one of the very first bands on Saturday they were fighting the fan’s fatigue of a late night before and trying to get people motivated to move/do anything that early was rough.  It’s incredible that expectations were so high after having just released their debut album Body Faucets and even more so that they delivered.  If you get a chance to see these guys live, jump on it.

    Reptar at Sasquatch 2012


  2. SQUATCHING: StrFkr

    June 19, 2012 by Dave

    StrFkr at Sasquatch 2012

    Walking to the “I Break Horses” set I was a little surprised to see the Swedish Duo had become more…  there were far more members on the stage, and more importantly, they were StrFkr.  Due to a last minute cancelation by the planned indie rock group StrFkr took the stage again having just played at the Banana Shack the night before.   The music was completely different from what was expected and it was damn good.  Who could ask for a better opportunity to gain new fans than to play to a group of people that are decidedly someone else’s fans?  It didn’t take long at all to sell this foreign crowd on their music and we were all dancing in no time.

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  3. SQUATCHING: The Shins

    June 18, 2012 by Dave

    The Shins at Sasquatch

    The Shins looked very different at the Gorge this weekend from the last time I saw them a few years ago, the new line-up including Yuuki Mathews (bass), Jessica Dobson (guitar), and Richard Swift (Keyboards), which in itself changed the mood a little but not in a bad way, just a different one.  The atmosphere felt very “Shinlike” with the sun setting behind the stage lighting the entire gorge a soft orange.   This truly is one of the greatest venues in the world.


  4. SQUATCHING: Said the Whale

    June 18, 2012 by Hilary

    Said the Whale at Sasquatch

    The Yeti stage felt too small for Said the Whale’s soaring vocals and their faithful Canadians.  As the set moved forward it grew increasing crowded when their piano rock sound attracted new fans.  They accomplished a duality of stage presences during the set by switching vocalists and styles in Tyler Bancroft and Ben Worchester, which kept everything very engaging.

    Said the Whale at Sasquatch


  5. SQUATCHING: Alabama Shakes

    June 12, 2012 by Dave

    AlabamaShakes at Sasquatch 2012

    These guys can put on an incredible show.  I had heard of them a little bit before the festival from a co-worker as something that I had to listen to and I was not disappointed.   It looked like they were genuinely having fun up on the Bigfoot stage and that enjoyment of music was as infectious as the sound itself.  I found myself surprised that the southern rock was so enjoyable as quite frankly I am not usually a fan.  Way to make me a believer guys.

     

    AlabamaShakes at Sasquatch 2012
    AlabamaShakes at Sasquatch 2012
    AlabamaShakes at Sasquatch 2012


  6. SQUATCHING: Spiritualized

    June 7, 2012 by Marwood

    Spiritualized Sasquatch 2012 3

    Jason Pierce’s quasi-psychedelic, neo-gospel space-rock outfit are an odd choice for a festival seemingly populated by nobody over the age of 23. Set adrift from the oddly perfect pairing with Mogwai by the latter’s visa problems, Spiritualized instead have to follow up the entertaining Deer Tick and go head-to-head with headliner Beck. And Pierce doesn’t seem to mind in the slightest. Standing side-on to the crowd, there’s every chance he neither knows nor cares how few people are there.

    Spiritualized Sasquatch 2012 1

    Recent single “Hey Jane” both started and epitomized a set that rambled from pop hooks with gospel-tinged backing vocals to walls of noise and back again. New album Sweet Heart, Sweet Light dominates the show but there’s time for a song from Pierce’s former band Spacemen 3 (whom The Stranger’s Dave Segal makes a solid case for the importance of http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/the-lennon-and-mccartney-of-drug-rock/Content?oid=13740151) and glimpses of the band’s masterpiece , “Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space.”

    Spiritualized Sasquatch 2012 5

    Time hasn’t been especially kind to Spiritualized -fifteen years on from that album the hints of redemption in “Stay with Me” are long gone, and these days it’s a rather ravaged-looking Pierce repeatedly howling “don’t go” into a flurry of feedback, but there’s still something life-affirming about the experience. Pierce’s invocations of Jesus and the Devil may always sound like he’s signing about himself but, audience or not, he can still put on a hell of a show.

    Spiritualized Sasquatch 2012 4

    Spiritualized Sasquatch 2012 2


  7. SQUATCHING: Damien Jurado

    June 7, 2012 by Marwood

    Damien Jurado Sasqutach Festival 2012 2

    Seattle’s Damien Jurado drew a healthy crowd for a dose of expansive, classic rock. His high, sweet voice soared gracefully over shimmering organ and unexpected iPad accompaniment. He appeared to show admirable restraint by not milking any local feeling in his eloquent, Washington-name-checking ‘Working Titles,’ but that lack of crowd interaction was to sour the end of the set. As the performance went on, sections of the crowd (myself included) were surprised as his high, keening falsetto gave way to gravel-voiced rock heroics from a most unlikely Jim Morrison wannabe. But they were even more surprised when the set simply stopped and the band left the stage.

    Damien Jurado Sasqutach Festival 2012 3

    And, while the vagaries of festival timings might be beyond Jurado’s control, trying to explain to or even communicate with the audience isn’t. ‘Are you fucking kidding?’ was the response one particularly aggrieved female listener insisted I note down.

    Damien Jurado Sasqutach Festival 2012 1

    *UPDATE* As you can see in the comments below, Damien Jurado kindly explained the sitch:

    “the set time being so short, was beyond our control. we were originally given 40 min. however, due to other bands before us going longer and careless sound engineers, we had a half hour to play our set. i wish it could have been longer. on a side note: i interacted as much as time would allow. beyond, “thank you for coming out”, and “how is everyone doing” there wasn’t time for much of anything else, than to play. .. what the fuck indeed.” – Damien Jurado

    Note From the Editor:

    This is a HUGE problem at festivals and maybe something for another post, but how can we stop this? When other bands run over their time allotment or show up late, the next band gets jipped. And the next. And the next. What the eff?

    Any ideas on how to deal with this? Or if you work in festival (or venue) production, tell me what I’m not getting!



  8. SQUATCHING: Vintage Trouble

    June 7, 2012 by Marwood

    Vintage Trouble Sasquatch Festival 2012 1

    Hollywood’s Vintage Trouble deserved better than a Yeti Stage appearance, opposite the fun. juggernaut. The immaculately-attired four-piece put on a fantastic show to an audience of almost no-one, shaking hands with one another before blasting into a polished collection of up-tempo barroom RnB. Utterly unperturbed frontman Ty Taylor puts on a good show – exhorting a response from the crowd at every turn. ‘I can’t even hear you!’ was less and less true, each time he teased the growing crowd.

    Vintage Trouble Sasquatch Festival 2012 3

    Electric blues played at full pelt, by a band with very different ‘classic’ reference points to the rest of the festival’s lineup. Taylor is the kind of soul-showman who can win over any crowd. One of the highlights of my time at the festival.

    Vintage Trouble Sasquatch Festival 2012 2


  9. SQUATCHING: Little Dragon

    June 6, 2012 by Marwood

    Little Dragon Sasquatch Festival 2012 3

    It’s hard not to see Sweden’s Little Dragon as the backing for vocalist Yukimi Nagano, whose temper supposedly inspired their name. It’s certainly her vocals that make the band stand out. Delicate and accented, it’s the most distinctive element of the band’s indie-electronica. She was also the focal point of their performance – energetic around stage and striking expressive poses.

    Little Dragon Sasquatch Festival 2012 1

    A remarkably large crowd took well to the up-tempo, danceable set with more than a hint of early Madonna and 80’s synth grooves which served as a welcome relief after much of the day’s male-dominated multi-instrumental seriousness.

    Little Dragon Sasquatch Festival 2012 2