![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Almost two months after the event, I'm finally finishing this summary... In late May, I was invited on short notice to attend the 2009 Sasquatch Music Festival, a three-day event happening over Memorial Day Weekend at the Gorge Amphitheatre in central Washington state. My role for the weekend was to post updates to KEXP's Facebook account about all the great bands I was seeing; naturally, I also took notes to write up a review of the weekend. With so many bands to cover, I'll do my best to keep this short and sweet.
Read about Saturday at Sasquatch.
Read about Sunday at Sasquatch.
Monday
Monday was the day I finally spent a substantial amount of time at the Mainstage, starting with Deerhoof's early afternoon set. Deerhoof were last-minute replacements for another act that had to cancel, and they're offbeat enough that if they'd been scheduled normally, they'd probably have been on the Yeti or maybe the Wookie Stage. Still, although their edgy post-punk rock is quirky enough that they'll probably always be something of an underground act, they're quite good and the audience was very appreciative.
After Deerhoof, I had something of a dilemma, as the next two bands I wanted to see had overlapping sets. I headed back to the Wookie Stage to give the first band, Black Moth Super Rainbow, a try. They are a heavy synthrock band, but featured live bass and drums in the set. Their music sounded laid-back and psychedelic, and they accompanied it with videos of over-the-top gory horror and time-lapse decay, all of which is to be expected at times in a nighttime club setting but which felt very out-of-place in a field on a bright sunny afternoon. Although I liked the music, I wasn't feeling the vibe and really didn't care to watch the video, so after ten minutes I headed back to the Mainstage to catch the other band I'd wanted to see.
That band was Grizzly Bear, and while M83's set on Sunday may have been the performance of the weekend for me, Grizzly Bear proved to be the sound of the Gorge. Their expansive, open style was evocative of the Columbia River Gorge behind them and captured the grandeur of the setting. Where some music sounds urban, Grizzly Bear's music sounds like the wilderness, vast and gorgeous. They were a much better fit for the hot afternoon than Black Moth Super Rainbow, and I was pleased I hadn't missed them. I also thought it was a nice touch when at one point between songs they stated, "It's an honor to follow Deerhoof."
Over the whole weekend, I stayed through only one whole set at the Yeti Stage, but it was one of the best sets of the weekend: School of Seven Bells. This trio combines electronic dance beats, glam guitars, and ethereal vocals into modern goth/dreampop electronica, with some shoegaze touches as well. Their sound is dark but sweet—not quite dark enough to be darkwave—and sometimes cool, often warm. As their set went on, I felt the shoegaze influence more strongly, to the point that I felt with solid bands like this still around, it's not such a big deal that My Bloody Valentine were inactive for the past 18 years.
After a short break, it was back to the Mainstage for Fleet Foxes. They made an interesting contrast to Grizzly Bear: similar in style, with that "open West" spirit, but more folk-sounding. Whereas Grizzly Bear felt like the music of the wilderness, Fleet Foxes felt like the music of the pioneers in the Western frontier. Their sound was still as big as the Gorge but the scale felt human. They were almost more orchestral in a way: chamber music, for a very large value of "chamber". Fleet Foxes were a little less satisfying to me than Grizzly Bear, as their music never really built to a climax, but they made a beautiful finale to the afternoon.
As with the previous two evenings, I finished my day in the Comedy/Dance Tent, this time to see electronic musician Tobacco. I'd only learned that day that he's also a member of Black Moth Super Rainbow, and like them he played psychedelic techno, but this time the music fit the hour and venue. The music reminded me more of Meat Beat Manifesto, though it was mostly laid-back and groovy, not as hard-edged as MBM. Also like both MBM and BMSR, Tobacco used the requisite weird film loops made from old films and video, but without the emphasis on gore and horror. Although none of the music really stood out more than "Hairy Candy", the single KEXP had been playing, it was still good stuff and a decent end to the festival.
Somehow, after a very long three days, I still had enough energy left to want to stay and dance for the final set of the evening by DJ Chromeo, which was rocking, but I only listened to a little before I had to catch my ride home.
See my Sasquatch Music Festival 2009: Monday photo set on Flickr.
Read about Saturday at Sasquatch.
Read about Sunday at Sasquatch.
Monday
Monday was the day I finally spent a substantial amount of time at the Mainstage, starting with Deerhoof's early afternoon set. Deerhoof were last-minute replacements for another act that had to cancel, and they're offbeat enough that if they'd been scheduled normally, they'd probably have been on the Yeti or maybe the Wookie Stage. Still, although their edgy post-punk rock is quirky enough that they'll probably always be something of an underground act, they're quite good and the audience was very appreciative.
After Deerhoof, I had something of a dilemma, as the next two bands I wanted to see had overlapping sets. I headed back to the Wookie Stage to give the first band, Black Moth Super Rainbow, a try. They are a heavy synthrock band, but featured live bass and drums in the set. Their music sounded laid-back and psychedelic, and they accompanied it with videos of over-the-top gory horror and time-lapse decay, all of which is to be expected at times in a nighttime club setting but which felt very out-of-place in a field on a bright sunny afternoon. Although I liked the music, I wasn't feeling the vibe and really didn't care to watch the video, so after ten minutes I headed back to the Mainstage to catch the other band I'd wanted to see.
That band was Grizzly Bear, and while M83's set on Sunday may have been the performance of the weekend for me, Grizzly Bear proved to be the sound of the Gorge. Their expansive, open style was evocative of the Columbia River Gorge behind them and captured the grandeur of the setting. Where some music sounds urban, Grizzly Bear's music sounds like the wilderness, vast and gorgeous. They were a much better fit for the hot afternoon than Black Moth Super Rainbow, and I was pleased I hadn't missed them. I also thought it was a nice touch when at one point between songs they stated, "It's an honor to follow Deerhoof."
Over the whole weekend, I stayed through only one whole set at the Yeti Stage, but it was one of the best sets of the weekend: School of Seven Bells. This trio combines electronic dance beats, glam guitars, and ethereal vocals into modern goth/dreampop electronica, with some shoegaze touches as well. Their sound is dark but sweet—not quite dark enough to be darkwave—and sometimes cool, often warm. As their set went on, I felt the shoegaze influence more strongly, to the point that I felt with solid bands like this still around, it's not such a big deal that My Bloody Valentine were inactive for the past 18 years.
After a short break, it was back to the Mainstage for Fleet Foxes. They made an interesting contrast to Grizzly Bear: similar in style, with that "open West" spirit, but more folk-sounding. Whereas Grizzly Bear felt like the music of the wilderness, Fleet Foxes felt like the music of the pioneers in the Western frontier. Their sound was still as big as the Gorge but the scale felt human. They were almost more orchestral in a way: chamber music, for a very large value of "chamber". Fleet Foxes were a little less satisfying to me than Grizzly Bear, as their music never really built to a climax, but they made a beautiful finale to the afternoon.
As with the previous two evenings, I finished my day in the Comedy/Dance Tent, this time to see electronic musician Tobacco. I'd only learned that day that he's also a member of Black Moth Super Rainbow, and like them he played psychedelic techno, but this time the music fit the hour and venue. The music reminded me more of Meat Beat Manifesto, though it was mostly laid-back and groovy, not as hard-edged as MBM. Also like both MBM and BMSR, Tobacco used the requisite weird film loops made from old films and video, but without the emphasis on gore and horror. Although none of the music really stood out more than "Hairy Candy", the single KEXP had been playing, it was still good stuff and a decent end to the festival.
Somehow, after a very long three days, I still had enough energy left to want to stay and dance for the final set of the evening by DJ Chromeo, which was rocking, but I only listened to a little before I had to catch my ride home.
See my Sasquatch Music Festival 2009: Monday photo set on Flickr.
