sasquatch

confetti, originally uploaded by neutralSurface.

If you know me, you know I like concerts. and what's better than a concert? How about fifty concerts?! In the past I've shirked my schoolwork for a weekend to drive down I-5 to the deadly heat of the Mojave for the Coachella music and arts festival for two or three days of 100°+ weather and nearly non-stop concerts. It's where I saw Daft Punk in their legendary return show and the debut of the now legendary digital pyramid and Justice in their first ever live (non DJ) set. It's also where I was introduced to, and frightened by, the Animal Collective and Hot Chip.

But this year Coachella's lineup looked a little less than inspiring and my attention turned northward to a similar, but smaller festival out in the middle-of-nowhere Washington state. Sasquatch has three stages to Coachella's five or six, but the venue is a natural amphitheater that overlooks a surreal gorge with visibility for miles around. There really isn't much to compare it to except for maybe the grand canyon (which is actually much, much larger). For me there were three reasons to make the cross-country trek to the gorge: The Flaming Lips, The Cure, and friends. The Flaming Lips don't play that many shows, but when they do they are supposed to be spectacular. The Cure, who is basically just Robert Smith is so old and drug addled that I'm in constant fear that he wont last much longer and I'll never see him live. But also I really wanted to see friends who have made it a tradition to go to sasquatch every year.

The first day of the three day festival was a little rocky as it rained intermittently throughout the day and really let loose during REM. But during a sunny patch MIA played a really great set which included pulling up tons of concertgoers onto stage. The second day started off slow as Trish and I waited in line to use the shower. The line, which wasn't extraordinarily long, ended up taking nearly two hours. But fortunately there was water left and we didn't miss anything noteworthy. That day we ended up seeing Rogue Wave, which hit a technical snag but was able to pull through, and the nearly forgotten, but loved, Presidents of the United States of America. But the highlight was definitely the Cure…For me at least. Having been thwarted at an earlier attempt at seeing the Cure in NYC late last year, I really wanted to see him before he finally kicks the bucket. They played some good songs and a lot of lesser known ones to start which would have left me okay, but perhaps not entirely satisfied. And then they went ahead and played six encores entirely from Boys Don't Cry. Those really made my night. The third day was the best weather-wise and it became apparent that I was developing a sunburn on my face from the high-altitude sun exposure. There were some good performances that day and near the end we went down to the stage level for the final acts to position ourselves for the Flaming Lips. The Mars Volta played second to last and I wasn't even sure what to expect even in terms of music. From the instruments they prepared it could have been a delightful mix of styles. But from the moment they started to play it was pure agony. There was no rhythm, no hook, no cohesion. Every instrument was competing with the next to be the loudest and the fastest. And then there was the vocalist who was strung out on something and thrashing around onstage throwing a cymbal and an electric fan out into the crowd and fighting a cameraman for his camera. The display crossed the line that separates theatrics into recklessness. So what did I do? I pulled out one of the complimentary magazines handed out earlier and began to read right down in front of some of the fans that were trying to push past. But all was forgotten when the Flaming Lips came on to close the three days of shows. It started with a descending UFO which the lead singer (Wayne) came out of and got into a clear plastic bubble which inflated around him and then walked down onto the crowd itself. Also, the whole time there were people dancing on the sides of the stage dressed as telletubbies, and at some point a giant inflatable sun and astronaut came out as well…for no apparent reason. Also, the generous use of confetti was much appreciated as were the enormous balloons put out onto the crowd. It was all very entertaining and satisfying in the end.

All in all I had a great time. I guess the next time I do anything like this though I'm renting a hotel where the shower line should be less than two hours.