Sasquatch! Music Festival 2011

Karly, Brody and I doing the North Star sign - our group sign for the weekend.

The audience for Foster the People.

The view directly behind the mainstage. We had beautiful sunsets at night. The Gorge is seriously a spectacular venue.

I have recently returned from an epic four day weekend celebrating music and the great outdoors with a group of genuinely fabulous people. From May 26 - May 30, 2011 I was camping at the Gorge in the state of Washington to participate in the 10th annual Sasquatch! Music Festival.

This was my second year attending the festival, though this year's experience far exceeded the one of last year. Though I am all one for encouraging people to go to concerts by themselves, a music festival is definitely an event where you need to be surrounded by a group of similar minded people with good energy and a positive outlook on every situation in order for you to have non-stop fun.

I was lucky enough to tag along with two of my cousins that I have until now not been able to hang out with extensively, so the weekend was a much appreciated time to reconnect with family and meet some new friends.

Though I have a number of stories and memories that I will keep with me for years to come, the important part of the weekend was the music. In four days I saw an impressive 41 different acts (which may be about a third of the total acts that were present at the festival).

Here are the highlights (with band descriptions from the Sasquatch program):

Foo Fighters: American alternative rock band. Dave Grohl is a fantastic frontman as is drummer Taylor Hawkins. The Foo Fighters were certainly the most popular headliner present and their performance did not dissapoint. "Foo Fighters' recently released seventh album, Wasting Light, was recorded entirely on analog tape in the garage of Dave Grohl's home in California's San Fernando Valley. Nirvana co-founder Krist Novoselic makes a cameo, while lontime extended Foo Fighters family member Pat Smear now joins the permanent core of Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel and Chris Shiflett."

The Head and The Heart: This 2009-formed indie folk-pop group from Seattle, Washington was a pleasant surprise. We happened to be hanging out at the main stage when they came on and everyone was blown away by their melodies, vocals and instrumentals. "The Head and the Heart write and play songs that recall a folksy Beatles or Crosby Stills Nash & Young with more instrumental force. Catchy piano melodies stand side-by-side with a tight trio of harmonies, and solid minimalist drums, groovin' bass and plenty of hand percussion and foot stomps to make the live show inspiring and really goddamn fun."

Dan Mangan: Vancouver-based indie folk-rock singer-songwriter. "Brimming with subtle images and irreverent wit, Dan Mangan has a knack for making what is quaint seem universal and what is universal, seem quaint. His gravelled voice conveys a rare type of honestly, a gft that seems to transcend demographics. There's no facade; here's a talented, hard-working and unpretentious musician with a poet's way of seeing through absurdity." Listen to 'Robots Need Love Too'.

Wolf Parade: Indie rock band from Montreal, Quebec. Expo 86 is the name of Wolf Parade's most recent album. These boys seriously rocked their set and I don't think I've danced so hard in a long time.

Matt & Kim: Dance punk duo from Brooklyn, New York. This pair were a party. The program says that the band's live shows are legendary, and look more like dance parties than traditional concerts and blur the line between musician and listener. I would have to agree with this statement. I had so much fun watching their set because Matt & Kim were just so hyper and happy! At one point Kim, the drummer, comes out into the crowd (literally steps her foot out into the crowd for spectators can hold her up) to do a booty dance. The music was fabulous as well, though I am interested to see what it sounds like without being mesmerized by the performance of the pair in front of me.

Fitz & the Tantrums: American soul group from Los Angeles, California. "Since their first show at Hollywood's Hotel Cafe in December 2008, Fitz & the Tantrums have toured with Maroon 5 and played to thousands all on the strength of their stellar five-song EP, Spongs for a Breakup, Vol. 1. The recipe for meteoric success has been six killer musicians, five dapper suits, irresistible songs, some serendipity and one vintage organ." You definitely felt like you could be in the south listening to this group belt out gospel soul music.

Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears: Blues band from Austin, Texas. Possessing the kind of gritty attitude and deliciously greasy groove-consciousness that'd pass muster in the toughest juke joint, Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears have drawn attention from their hometown tastemakers - the Austin Chronicle marveled at Lewis' ability to "spit lyricas in short bursts of aggression like bricks at glass windows."

Cold War Kids: American indie rock band from Long Beach, California. "Cold War Kids began with friends, jangly guitar, hand-claps and a Harmony amp in a storage room atop Mulberry Street restaurant in downtown Fullerton, California. The band strives to make honest songs about human experience. They love the songs of Bob Dylan, Nina Simone and the Velvet Underground and make their own, which the band likes to think, are pretty original."

Yeasayer: Experimental rock/psychedellic pop band from Brooklyn, New York. "Last year's Odd Blood found Yeasayer playing at a blistering pace, yet never sacrificing depth or content. It is immediately evident that the Brooklyn band has advanced in songwriting as well as sonic craft. One thing is certain: Yeasayer are accomplished audiologists who are willing to pilfer decades of pop sensibilities and cultural history to create something that is uniquely their own."

Ratatat: New York City electronic duo. "For its latest album, LP4, Ratatat incorporated even more sounds and instruments into the mix, working for the first time with a full string section which they recorded at Glassworks Studios in Manhattan. The band has also watched its hip-hop production develope from a hobby into mainstream commercial success, with two tracks featured on Kid Cudi's debut album." This concert was a late-night performance and could only be described as 'trippy'. The duo both rocked their electronic guitars to unusual beats and electronic sounds that forced you to move along to the rythms. In the background, they showed a number of 'psychedellic' images that had you mesmerized. I don't think they acknowledged the crowd once, but they certainly had everyone captivated and moving.

Chromeo: Montreal-based electrofunk duo. "Chromeo is slick . Chromeo is dripping with reverb. Chromeo is Moog riffs, luxurious harmonies, macho guitar solos and real-deal songcraft. Chromeo is Pee Thug and Dave 1, best friends since adolescence, virtuoso musicians, walking hip-hop encyclopedias and the only successful Arab/Jew partnership since the danw of human culture. The duo's latest, Business Casual, is quite simply the most smoothed-out, hook-heavy, unabashed lovers' funk since...Chromeo's last album, actually." Definitely a festival highlight for me.

Foster the People: Indie pop/indie rock band from Los Angeles, California. "Almost immediately upon forming last October, Foster the People gained a critical mass among regulars of West Hollywood's notorious Viper Room, National Public Radio subscribers and even Mark Ronson. Blessed with a knack for melody, boogie-time beats and an ornate electronic detail, Foster the People crafts a sound ideal for a fantasy backyard barbecue with the Strokes, Vampire Weekend, MGMT and Daft Punk as guests."

The Decemberists: Indie folk rock band from Portland, Oregon. "With their sixth album, The King is Dead, the Decemberists illustrate the power that comes from this creative call-and response, performing mostly-acoustic arrangements that showcase a bandt hat is just as glorious in simple, concise compositions as it is in teh elaborate structures that have defined it for years." The Decemberists were my festival favourite and who I was most excited to see. Their music is moving and emotional. Plus, one of the musician dressed up as a russian Sasquatch and ended up scatting - it was glorious.

The complete list: Mariachi el Bronx; Bob Mould; The Bronx; Death From Above 1979; Foo Fighters; Seattle Rock Orchestra; Alberta Cross; The Radio Dept.; The Head and The Heart; Aloe Blacc; Dan Mangan; Wolf Parade; Wye Oak; The Antlers; Iron & Wine; Matt & Kim; Robyn; Death Cab for Cutie; Bassnectar; Smith Westerns; Wheedle's Groove; Fitz & The Tantrums; Tokyo Police Club; Sam Roberts Band; Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears; Cold War Kids; Flogging Molly; The Flaming Lips; Yeasayer; MSTRKRFT; Ratatat; Twin Shadow; Old 97's; Chromeo; White Arrows; White Denim; Foster the People; Rodrigo y Gabriela; !!!; The Decemberists; Deerhunter



Living in Cawston, I opted to meet my fellow festival goers at the Gorge - especially since the drive is only about 4 hrs from Cawston including the border wait while it is significantly longer from Vancouver.

On the way, I had the pleasure of seeing beautiful landscapes along a series of backcountry highways in the state of Washington. Included on this travel was a dried out waterfall which has carved out a beautiful canyon valley through which I drove south. Above is a picture of the head of the waterfall which, according to the tourist information, would dwarf Niagara Falls if it were still in commission.