It’s been a long year. Scratch that, it’s been a veeerrrry long year. From social revolutions to the end of our occupation of Iraq, from the death of celebrities and dictators to a man who sneezes bullets and the mystery of planking, the world experienced a slew of emotions and all sorts of cultural and political upheaval in 2011. And that’s not even counting the plethora of music news that had the blogosphere abuzz this year.

So, as the question begs, what comes next? Well, 2012. If you were to believe certain factions, it’ll be the end of days. A more likely scenario, though, is that it will be another busy year, with people to meet, triumphs to celebrate, disasters to mourn, and a whole other set of memories to file away as we march perpetually onward toward the Great Unknown. A dreary prospect for sure, one that almost makes the impending Apocalypse sound warm and fuzzy. However, there is temporary respite in the form of New Year’s Eve.

New Year’s Eve is that magic night where one year is all but over. It’s the chance to stop worrying for a moment. It’s an opportunity to celebrate surviving the last 364. It’s the start of a whole new scheme or design for the upcoming 365. Rather than chugging cheap champagne and letting off fireworks, NYE should be commemorated with the one thing that makes any year bearable: music.

As we have for every other major celebratory occasion, CoS has your back with our handy-dandy New Year’s Eve 2011 Concert Guide. From the beaches of Miami to life in the City of Angels, and everywhere between, our guide has everything you’ll need to know to see your favorite bands live. Whether you’re planning to rock out with Patti Smith at New York’s Bowery Ballroom, get freaky with The Flaming Lips and Yoko Ono in Oklahoma City, or hit up BOTH of Kaskade’s NYE shows (in two different state mind you), our guide is the only New Year’s Eve accessory you need (save for maybe a noisemaker). Plus, if you’re not one to brave the weather and the sea of drunks, we’ll tell you what you should be watching on the old boob tube. The point is, if it’s happening on NYE, it’s in this guide. Your only concern will be how to get home and/or where to pass out at the end of the night.

If we’ve missed any gathering or shindig, please let us know in the comments below. Call this a cliché bit of writing, but we’d like to leave you with some parting words from the immortal Benjamin Franklin to guide you into what lies ahead: “Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man.”

See ya in 2012.

-Chris Coplan
News Editor

New York City

– AarabMUZIK, Balam Acab: 285 Kent

– Assembly of Dust: Mercury Lounge

– Avicii: Pier 34

– The Bad Plus: The Village Vanguard

– Charles Bradley, The Budos Band: Music Hall of Williamsburg

– Chuck Berry: B.B. King Blues Club

– Dark Star Orchestra: Wellmont Theatre (Montclair, NJ)

– Deadmau5: Pier 36

– Deer Tick, J. Roddy Watson and the Business, Dead Confederate: Brooklyn Bowl

– Fitz and the Tantrums: The Gramercy Theatre

– Gogol Bordello: Terminal 5

– Gov’t Mule: Beacon Theatre

– Infected Mushroom: Best Buy Theater

– The Knocks: Gansevoort Park Avenue

– Laidback Luke: Pacha

– Lee Fields & The Expressions: The Bell House

– Los Lobos: City Winery

– Matt and Kim, Super Mash Bros., Body Language: Hammerstein Ballroom

– Neru: Webster Hall

– The New Deal: B.B. King Blues Club

– New Kids on the Block, Boyz II Men: Roseland Ballroom

– Nick Catchdubs: Loreley

– Nosaj Thing: Glasslands

– O’Death: Spike Hill

– Patti Smith: Bowery Ballroom

– Phish: Madison Square Garden

– Steve Lawler: District 36

– Ted Leo and the Pharmacists: Maxwells (Hoboken, NJ)

Chicago

– Alkaline Trio: Metro

– Big Gigantic: Riviera Theatre

– Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears: Double Door

– Cage the Elephant, Sleeper Agent: Aragon Ballroom

– Cave: The Hideout

– Disco Biscuits, Future Rock: Auditorium Theatre

– The Hood Internet: Lincoln Hall

– Keys N Krates: Chicago Urban Art Society

– Local H: Bottom Lounge

– Murder By Death: Subterranean

– Old 97s: Intercontinental Hotel Grand Ballroom

– Rusko, Sinden, Switch: Congress Theater

– The Spits: Cobra Lounge

Los Angeles

– The Aggrolites: Alex’s Bar

– Benny Benassi, Paul Van Dyk, Kaskade, Dada Life: Anaheim Convention Center (White Wonderland)

– DJ Quik: Key Club

– Duck Sauce, Diplo, Chromeo, Felix da Housecat, The Bloody Beetroots, LA Riots: Oak Canyon Park (Together As One)

– The Henry Clay People, Races: The Satellite

– Give Up the Ghost: Ukrainian Culture Center

– Jenny and Johnny, Cults: The Standard Hollywood

– John Digweed: The Avalon

– Junkie XL: Detroit Bar

– L.A. Guns: Whisky A Go Go

– Lupe Fiasco: Hollywood & Highland Center

– Musiq Soulchild: House of Blues

– Wanda Jackson, Best Coast, Dan Sartain: Club Nokia

San Francisco

– The Fresh & Onlys, Thee Oh Sees: Brick and Mortar Music Hall

– Furthur: Bill Graham Civic Auditorium

– Kreayshawn: The Regency Ballroom

– The Limousines: Rickshaw Stop

– Maceo Parker: Yoshi’s

– Santigold, Amon Tobin Islam Live, Beats Antique, Claude Von Stroke,: Concourse Exhibition Center (Sea of Dreams)

– Primus: Great American Music Hall

– The Slip: Cafe du Nord

– Sonny & The Sunsets: Amnesia

– Talib Kweli: Sloane Squared

– Tedeschi Trucks Band, The New Mastersounds: The Warfield

– Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue: The Fillmore

– X: Slim’s

– Yeasayer (DJ Set): W Hotel

– DJ Z-Trip: Fort Mason Center

London

– The 2 Bears: XOYO

– Adam Beyer: Fabric

– Ferry Corsten: Brixton Academy

– Gabby Young and Other Animals: Royal Festival Hall

– Gary Numan: All Star Lanes

– Gross Magic: The Victoria

– Joker, Brekage, Roska, Plastician, Sigma: Electric Brixon

– Kasabian, Chase & Status, Zane Lowe: The O2

– Toddla T: The Nest

– The Wedding Present: Dingwalls

Elsewhere

Aspen

– Jane’s Addiction: Belly Up

Athens (Georgia)

– MartyParty, Dubconscious: New Earth Music Hall

– of Montreal: Go Bar

– Reptar: Georgia Theatre

Atlanta

– Against Me!, Fake Problems, Franz Nicolay: The Masquerade

– Cake: Fox Theatre

– JJ Grey & Mofro: Variety Playhouse

– Kylesa: The Earl

– Naughty By Nature, Ed Kowalczyk: Hyatt Regency

– Perpetual Groove: Center Stage

– STS9: The Tabernacle

– Zac Brown Band: Philips Arena

Atlantic City

– Brand New: House of Blues

Austin

– Big Freedia: The Mohawk

– The Black Angels, Wooden Shjips, Ume: Emo’s East

– Bob Schneider, Quiet Company: Paramount Theatre

– Designer Drugs: Austin Music Hall

– Gary Clark Jr.: Antone’s

– Groupo Fantasma: Beauty Bar

– Hayes Carll: La Zona Rosa

– Penguin Prison: American Legion Hall

– Russian Circles: Red 7

– White Denim, Royal Bangs: The Empire Space

– Willie Nelson: Moody Theater

Australia

– Arctic Monkeys, Crystal Castles, Dan Deacon, The Naked and Famous: The Falls Festival (Lorne)

– Fleet Foxes, Beirut, CSS, CANT, Unknown Mortal Orchestra: The Falls Festival (Marion Bay)

Baltimore

– Carbon Leaf: Hyatt Regency

– SOJA: Baltimore Soundstage

Boston

– David Wax Museum: Lizard Lounge (Cambridge, MA)

– Lucero: Paradise

– New York Dolls: New England Conservatory

Charlotte (North Carolina)

– Widespread Panic: Time Warner Cable Arena

Dallas

– Girl Talk, Ghostland Observatory, MSTRKRFT, Neon Indian, Pendulum (DJ Set): Lights All Night

– The Polyphonic Spree, Centro-matic: House of Blues

– Quinton and Miss Pussycat: Zubar

Denver

– Flux Pavilion, Doctor P: Colorado Convention Center

– Gauntlet Hair, Pictureplane: The Larmier Lounge

– Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad: Cervantes’ Other Side

– Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, Orgone: Cervatnes Ballroom

– Ladytron (DJ Set): City Hall

– Pretty Lights: 1stBANK Center (Broomfield, CO)

– Railroad Earth: Ogden Theatre

– Truckasauras: The Summit

– Ween: The Fillmore

Detroit

– The Detroit Cobras: Magic Stick

– Greensky Bluegrass, The Macpodz: Majestic Theatre

– Maze featuring Frankie Beverly: Masonic Temple

Greenville (South Carolina)

– The Avett Brothers: Bi-Lo Center

Houston

– Blue October: House of Blues

– Christopher Lawrence: Stereo Live

– Young Jeezy: Reliant Arena

Lake Tahoe

– Bassnectar, Pretty Lights, Thievery Corporation, The Glitch Mob, Childish Cambino, A-Trak, Theophilus London, YACHT: Snowglobe Music Festival

Las Vegas

– Chris Brown: Pure Nightclub

– Guns N’ Roses, Sebastian Bach: The Joint

– John Legend: Pearl Concert Theater

– Kaskade: Marquee

– NOFX, Lagwagon: House of Blues

– Paul Oakenfold: Rain

– Steve Angello: XS Nightclub

– Stevie Wonder: Cosmopolitan

Louisville (Kentucky)

– The Pass: Butchertown Pub Studios

Miami

– The Heavy Pets: Tobacco Road

– Spam All-Stars: The Catalina Hotel

Minneapolis

– Dawes: Varsity Theater

– EOTO: Skyway Theater

Milwaukee

– Skrillex, Dillon Francis: The Rave

Nashville

– Bassnectar: Bridgestone Arena

– Moon Taxi, Apache Relay: Exit/In

New Orleans

– Big Sam’s Funky Nation: The Joy Theater

– Black Lips: One Eyed Jacks

– Dr. John: House of Blues

– Funky Meters: Tipitina’s French Quarter

– Galactic, Anders Osborne: Tipitina’s Uptown

— Rebirth Brass Band: Howlin’ Wolf

Northampton (Massachusetts)

– Josh Ritter: Calvin Theater

– Rubblebucket: Pearl Street Nightclub

Oklahoma City

– The Flaming Lips, Yoko Ono: Brickstown Events Center

Orlando

– Trivium, Sevendust, Black Tide: House of Blues

– Slightly Stoopid, The Expendables: Hard Rock Live

Ottawa

– Electric Six: Mavericks

Philadelphia

– Clutch: Trocadero

– Eternal Summers, Bleeding Rainbow: Level Room

– Good Old War, River City Extension: Theatre of Living Arts

– Lotus: Festival Pier

– Man Man (DJ Set), Dr. Dog (DJ Set), Sun Airway (DJ Set): Johnny Brenda’s

– Smoking Popes: North Star Bar

Phoenix

– Meat Puppets: Clubhouse Music Venue

Portland (Maine)

– moe.: State Theatre

Portland (Oregon)

– Leftover Salmon: Roseland Theater

– Nurses, Radiation City: Mississippi Studios

– Pierced Arrows: Ash Street Saloon

– Red Fang: Star Theater

– Reverend Horton Heat, Supersuckers: The Crystal Ballroom

– Talkdemonic: Misson Theater

San Diego

– Fedde Le Grand, Porter Robinson, Hardwell, Bart B More: Valley View Casino Center (OMFG! NYE)

– Kinky: 4th & B

Seattle

– Mustard Pimp: King Cat Theatre

– Starfucker, Champagne Champagne: The Crocodile

St. Louis (Missouri):

– Cowboy Mouth: Old Rock House

– Devon Allman’s Honeytribe: Blueberry Hill

– Excision: Koken Art Factory

– Umphrey’s McGee: The Pageant

Toronto

– Elliot Brood: Lee’s Palace

– Kyuss! Lives: Cherry Cola’s Rock N’ Rolla Cabaret & Lounge

– The Sadies: Horseshoe Tavern

– Steve Aoki, Thomas Gold: Kool Haus

Vancouver

– Tiësto: Pacific Coliseum

Washington, DC

– Animal Collective (DJ Set), Le Tigre (DJ Set), ANR (DJ Set): 1800 L Street NW (BYT NYE)

– Drive-By Truckers, Booker T, Alabama Shakes: 9:30 Club

– Gucci Mane: Love Night Club

– Morgan Page: Fur Nightclub

– Painted Face: Rock and Roll Hotel

On TV

– Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve (ABC): Lady Gaga, Florence and the Machine, Blink-182, Nicki Minaj

– New Year’s Eve with Carson Daily (NBC): Drake, The Roots, Cee-Lo Green

– NYE in NYC (MTV): J. Cole

– Coldplay New Year’s Eve: An Austin City Limits Special (PBS)

The sophomore installment of Ultra Music Festival Brazil hits São Paulo’s Sambódromo Anhembi on December 3rd, 2011. This year’s bill packs electro heavyweights like Swedish House Mafia, Duck Sauce, and 2manydjs alongside recently reunited post-punk outfit New Order and Canadian rock warriors Death From Above 1979.

Rounding out the bill are Laidback Luke, MSTRKRFT, Major Lazer, Soulwax, Diplo, Shit Robot, The Twelves, Nero, Alesso, DJ Marky, Life is a Loop, Renato Cohen, MIXHEII, Renato Ratier, and Rodrigo Viera. For any additional lineup news and updates, stay tuned to our Festival Outlook.

For ticket information and additional festival info, check out the festival’s website.

Given my current location, I’m not even sure I’ll survive to see next week. But if us Americans do manage to escape the wrath of Hurricane Irene and are around come New Year’s Eve 2011, here’s one one potential entertainment option. The first-ever Lights All Night music festival will round together such electro heavyweights as Tiësto, Girl Talk, MSTRKRFT, Benny Benassi, Ghostland Observatory, Diplo, and Pendulum (DJ Set) for a two-night party at the Dallas Convention Center.

Other confirmed notables include Wolfgang Gartner, Laidback Luke, Flux Pavilion, Neon Indian, RJD2, Felix Cartal, Zeds Dead, Excision, Dada Life, Porter Robinson, Archnemesis, Sandro Silva, and The M Machine. Additional acts will be announced in the coming weeks, and you can stay up to date by bookmarking our Festival Outlook page.

Early bird single day and two-day passes, priced at $79 and $150, respectively, will go on sale Tuesday, August 30th via the festival’s website.

Because of the quality of headliners Osheaga attracted in 2010, it necessitated an expansion to three full days, a move that proved to be an unqualified success. (Just ask the beer and merchandise vendors!) It was an eventful weekend. The vibe was off the charts, the food was great, beer was literally brought to you, there were spectacular fireworks, and there was even a wedding presided over by Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips. Remember what they say: Whatever happens in Montreal…ends up on Consequence of Sound! And the best part of all? Looks like Osheaga is here to stay – The 2012 edition is already scheduled for August 3rd-5th next year!

-Gilles Leblanc
Staff Writer

Friday, July 29th

Sweet Thing – Galaxie Tree Stage – 4:00 p.m.

Photo by Gilles Leblanc

Toronto pop rockers Sweet Thing got the sixth edition of the Osheaga Music and Arts Festival off to a flying start – Literally! Charismatic lead singer Owen Carrier seemed determined to fire up everyone gathered at the scenic Tree Stage for the long weekend ahead. He let some patrons up front shake his streamer-laden tambourine, and he also took a swig from a unsuspecting festivalgoer’s beer. I don’t think he left a tip, but here’s one from me to you… Check Sweet Thing out, especially the song “Change of Seasons”, recently featured in the trailer for Crazy, Stupid Love. -Gilles Leblanc

Kid Koala – BlackBerry River Stage – 4:00 p.m.

Photo by Stewart Wiseman

After Kid Cudi’s cancellation, due to illness the morning of the festival, the festival managed to find another Kid…albeit in a koala bear costume. “I am not Kid Cudi,” Kid Koala announced through some booing from the audience before he launched into a light DJ set. Due to the last minute booking of his performance, he didn’t have his laptop with him, forcing him to stick to old fashioned record spinning at the turntable. Vintage yet unsuccessful, leaving much of the crowd to dissipate. Oh well. -Stewart Wiseman

Lights – Sennheiser Green Stage – 4:20 p.m.

Photo by Gilles Leblanc

Lights is the alias for Valerie Poxleitner, a lovely young girl from the same Northern Ontario town as Shania Twain. She plays cutesy electro pop with a tinge of guitar, which the young women not already at the main stage area for Eminem ate up. I don’t mean to accuse her of something like this, as she’s obviously talented, but it looked like her mic was on a bit too much of a fade at times, if you know what I mean (as in she MAY have been lip-synching). I caught her later happily posing for pictures at the artist’s entrance, so all is well as far as her fans are concerned! -Gilles Leblanc

The Knux – Budweiser Mountain Stage – 4:40 p.m.

Photo by Stewart Wiseman

After a short DJ set, New Orleans’ own The Knux were welcomed to the stage with the crowd shouting “Knux! Knux! Knux! Knux!”. Oddly enough, the fanfare died down and festivalgoers remained rather stoic, despite suggestions by an energetic Krispy. But, here’s an act that’s different than many in the highly contested genre. For one, the members can fill in on instruments when they’re not rhyming. During “Capuccino”, Joey laid some guitar solos down that worked behind Krispy’s flow. It was this versatility that brought the crowd up again, and by the time they reached “Bang Bang”, their closer for the set, the crowd knew they were seeing quality rappers with a bright future to come. -Stewart Wiseman

Uncle Bad Touch – Galaxie Tree Stage – 5:00 p.m.

Photo by Gilles Leblanc

No creepy, incestuous in-laws back at the Tree Stage, just some straightforward, honest-to-goodness garage rock by a band from Montreal titillatingly called Uncle Bad Touch. With a healthy dose of Led Zeppelin thrown in. Not only that, two of their four members are female, including a tambourine player named Julia who was making her debut with them. And I found out from singer/bassist ‘Mikey’ that they’re coming to Toronto in a few weeks to play a free show with Parlovr – Formidable! -Gilles Leblanc

Charles Bradley – BlackBerry River Stage – 5:20 p.m.

Photo by Stewart Wiseman

At 63 years old, it’s a wonder why Charles Bradley wasn’t discovered earlier. At Osheaga, the new legend performed one of the most beloved sets of the weekend, and songs like the soul stirring “This World (Is Going Up In Flames)” had the whole audience grooving along. The good vibes carried out until the end, when Bradley finished his set with a surprise cover of Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold”, reworked in an unimaginable soul comb over. That sent the Canadians over the edge – but also Bradley himself. The grateful look in his eyes hinted that he’s finally found his place in music: amongst the great soul voices of our time. -Stewart Wiseman

Broken Social Scene – Budweiser Mountain Stage – 6:10 p.m.

Photo by Stewart Wiseman

The Canadian indie-rock pioneers attracted the first big crowd of the day, and vocalist Kevin Drew thanked Montreal for how well they’ve been treated over the last 10 years, stating how the band can always depend on the city to be there for them. Opening with “KC Accidental”, Broken Social Scene bled out their trademark raw energy, issuing solid cuts of “Forced to Love”, “Texico Bitches”, and a cover of Modest Mouse’s “The World At Large”. A couple of surprises, though. For “Almost Crimes” (off 2002′s You Forgot It in the People), Brendan Canning invited local singer Arielle Engle to join in for the biggest rocker of the set. And while “World Sick” didn’t make the 50 minute set, they did throw in “Meet Me in the Basement”, performed by not so much a band but better yet a tight family that maintains a very healthy relationship. -Stewart Wiseman

Bran Van 3000 – BlackBerry River Stage –  7:05 p.m.

Photo by Gilles Leblanc

With Kid Cudi withdrawing due to illness, recently reunited Montreal collective Bran Van 3000 moved up a slot. It became somehow appropriate that they followed Broken Social Scene, as you could argue that they were the late-’90s precursor to BSS’ formation in Toronto, only more electronic. When telling other music fans that I was going to Osheaga, I was surprised to hear how many people not only remembered BV3, but wished they could come with me to hear songs like “Drinking in L.A.” (from their 1997 album Glee). Newer stuff from their 2010 comeback The Garden was very well received too, namely “Grace (Love on the Block)” and “Jahrusalem”, which incorporate rapping/hip hop along with costumes on stage. One girl dressed up like a peacock! -Gilles Leblanc

Joseph Arthur – Sennheiser Green Stage – 7:15 p.m.

Photo by Stewart Wiseman

So it didn’t draw the most, but Joseph Arthur held quite an intimate evening set. The Akron, OH folk singer started the block in nontraditional fashion – by painting. After finishing a modernist Picasso-esque piece, Arthur turned to his band of foot pedals, and swam about in his sea of loops. As much as the crowd asked him to play “Into the Sun”, he never touched it and stuck mainly to material from his latest effort, Graduation Ceremony. Lyrical lessons arrived in the form of “Black Lexus” and “Honey and the Moon”, the latter highlighting his essential strengths of providing words of wisdom via poetry. Where else would you see a spoken word piece involving oil paints? -Stewart Wiseman

The Rural Alberta Advantage – Galaxie Tree Stage – 8:00 p.m.

Photo by Stewart Wiseman

Another Canadian draw, The Rural Alberta Advantage (RAA) took to one of the festival’s smallest stages, which in turn produced the most excited (and packed in) audience of the day. Travelers from all over – Calgary and St. Johns, to name a couple – arrived to see the group. So appreciative this crowd was – the last time RAA performed at Osheaga was ’09 – that at moments, the die-hards sang louder than singer Nils Edenloff. Still supporting their latest effort, 2011′s Departing, the set was quite heavy with newer material, with one standout being “Tornado 87″, thanks to its irresistibly catchy chorus. A key to the band’s success is their wide range of sounds. From the beautiful “In the Summertime” in which Amy Cole and Nils Edenloff traded vocals, to the rocking finale “The Deathbridge In Lethbridge” where drummer Paul Banwatt was at his best. Because of this, the RAA are a band loaded with songs for every musical taste, and their performance on Friday night was only a glimpse into what’s to come. -Stewart Wiseman

Janelle Monáe – Budweiser Mountain Stage – 8:05 p.m.

Photo by Gilles Leblanc

Janelle Monáe didn’t just take advantage of the huge crowd waiting for Eminem; she knocked a home run right out of Parc Jean-Drapeau and into the Saint Lawrence River with a performance that had Montreal raving about her so much, she became a trending topic on Twitter. It was funky to the max, energetic beyond belief, and boundlessly creative. With her backing band sharply decked out in varying degrees of black and white, Monáe entered fully covered in a cloak accompanied by two similarly dressed “druids” before shedding her garment and launching into “Dance or Die” off her breakthrough album The ArchAndroid. We got her hits “Cold War” and “Tightrope” back-to-back, as well as an absolutely KILLER cover of “I Want You Back” by The Jackson 5. We even got to see her artistic side as she painted an impromptu picture in glitter during instrumental parts of songs. -Gilles Leblanc

Eminem – BlackBerry River Stage –  9:20 p.m.

One word heard all night Friday during Eminem’s return to Canada as a headliner was « malade. » Translated, it means sick, with a similar meaning to how English-speaking kids use it today slang-wise, only more amplified, more frenzied. Yeah, I’d say it’s a suitable way to characterize the Osheaga-record throng of 38,000 ‘hip hop heads’ who came to see Mr. Mathers before he hits Chicago for the 20th anniversary of Lollapalooza. Eminem sure wasn’t afraid to play up that we were witnessing something historic, from the dramatic opening video to the hard road he’s been on that led to his latest chart toppers Relapse and Recovery, pausing occasionally to remind Montreal how much he’s missed the city.

Photo by Bobby Foley

I don’t know about momentous, but there were an abundance of highlights – Royce da 5’9” made a guest appearance for “Fast Lane” and “Lighters” (Em even wore a white Bad Meets Evil T-shirt to commemorate the occasion). There were tributes to 2Pac and Nate Dogg. But the biggest cheers were saved for Eminem’s greatest hits medley, where he rapped a verse from each of “My Name Is”, “The Real Slim Shady”, and “Without Me”. That is until everyone lost their collective $#!% when they heard the riff to ‘Lose Yourself’ after a short encore break. An explosive finish to a stellar Day 1 of Osheaga! -Gilles Leblanc

Saturday, July 30th

The 222s – Budweiser Mountain Stage – 1:00 p.m.

Photo by Gilles Leblanc

The thing that was maybe most impressive about Osheaga in 2011 was how receptive the crowds were to so many bands, even The 222s, who were probably NEVER up this early back in their late-1970s punk prime. Hailed back then as one of the genre’s first ever bands from Quebec, they reformed last year for North by Northeast, but this was their debut at a fest like Osheaga. And it doesn’t look like this will be just another one-off, as they had people bopping their heads to their fun fun fun Ramones-indebted songs like ‘I Love Suzan.’ -Gilles Leblanc

The Midway State – BlackBerry River Stage –  1:30 p.m.

Photo by Gilles Leblanc

Montreal and Toronto aren’t always the best of friends, for reasons that extend far beyond music. The “Centre of the Universe”, as Toronto is sometimes called derogatively outside its borders, actually had quite a heavy presence at Osheaga 2011, including alt-rockers The Midway State. They just released their second album, Paris or India, a couple of weeks ago, and were in full showcase mode Saturday afternoon. By the reaction new tracks like “Alive”, “Fire!”, and “Lightning” got when they were played, it was as if a busload of Torontonians had made the 6+ hour trip to the festival…and encouraged everyone else to cheer them on! -Gilles Leblanc

Manchester Orchestra – Budweiser Mountain Stage – 2:00 p.m.

Photo by Stewart Wiseman

“I took French for seven years and failed every year of it,” frontman Andy Hull announced to an adoring crowd. Luckily, he didn’t need his French skills to communicate to the French speaking crowd; from the first strum of his guitar the crowd was already into it. Atlanta, GA’s Manchester Orchestra knocked out 40 minutes of catchy pop-rock. With vocals that ranged from soft-spoken to aggressive rage, Andy Hull made the crowd familiar with his music, which seemed fitting given that the first time they played in Montreal there were only 18 people in the crowd. “Shake It Out” turned things up a notch, building a chin dance from the crowd. All in all, a very surprisingly enjoyable set. -Stewart Wiseman

The High Dials – Galaxie Tree Stage – 2:10 p.m.

Photo by Gilles Leblanc

In need of some shade after being out in the open and exposed directly to the sun, I headed to the comfortable Tree Stage for the first time Saturday to take note of The High Dials from Montreal. They didn’t help cool me off much, as their psychedelic rock-meets-power pop got bodies working up a sweat, and when their saxophone-playing friend joined them for a handful of songs, forget about it! And I must say, they also had the most radical-looking amplifier case of anyone I covered at Osheaga, as it was littered with stickers of admirable bands like The Kills and Franz Ferdinand as well as places they’ve conceivably travelled to in the relatively short time they’ve been together. -Gilles Leblanc

Hey Rosetta! – BlackBerry River Stage –  2:40 p.m.

Photo by Stewart Wiseman

Hey Rosetta! has been receiving more and more attention as of late, and their set at Osheaga helped them win over many new fans. The folk-rockers from Newfoundland mainly played songs off their latest LP Seeds, and proved to the audience why they were put on the Polaris Prize short list. The crowd picked up “Yer Spring” relatively quickly, and echoed the line “I’m going up!” along with vocalist Tim Baker for the song’s entirety. Smiles were apparent on the faces of many in the crowd, and it seems that Hey Rosetta!’s music has a way of lifting the spirits of a whole audience. This was quite apparent when the band closed with a cover of The Constantines’ “Do What You Can Do”, an anthem about doing more to help others, which Hey Rosetta! definitely did on Saturday by helping make Osheaga a memorable event. -Stewart Wiseman

Mother Mother – Galaxie Tree Stage – 3:10 p.m.

Photo by Gilles Leblanc

After taking a quick beer break, I was amazed by how many more people were now at the Tree Stage in anticipation of Vancouver’s Mother Mother. Once mohawk sporting singer/guitarist Ryan Guldemond and the rest of his band got going, it was easy to see what all the fuss is about. I don’t know if the same holds true for the rest of the country, but these guys (and two girls, including Ryan’s sister Molly) are gaining a lot of steam in Toronto – Two songs from their 2011 album Eureka, “The Stand” and “Baby Don’t Dance”, have been getting significant airplay on modern rock radio station 102.1 The Edge, and they’re booked to playSound Academy this September. -Gilles Leblanc

Tokyo Police Club - Budweiser Mountain Stage – 3:20 p.m.

Photo by Stewart Wiseman

Over 40 minutes, vocalist and bassist David Monks’ high-energy antics kept the crowd in line, which happened to be the first great gathering of Saturday. Pulling from 2008′s Elephant Shell and 2010′s Champ, the Canadian outfit received the best response from earlier work, especially the tender “Tessellate” and “Nature of the Experiment”. In a smart move, they closed their set with the very fitting “Your English Is Good”, a song which united the voices of the French and English speaking people into one universal language. Much has changed here, and for the good. -Stewart Wiseman

John Butler Trio – BlackBerry River Stage –  4:00 p.m.

Photo by Gilles Leblanc

I learned at Osheaga that Australia’s John Butler Trio have some pretty hardcore Canadian fans. They were the only band I can remember where people brought handmade signs for them – One in particular was from a “Sheila” claiming she had trekked all the way from Vancouver (nearly 5,000 kilometres, or 3,000 miles) JUST to see them!  I also learned that the John Butler Trio were one of the more rocking bands at Osheaga; when Butler himself wasn’t getting’ down and bluesy with his lap slide guitar, he was kickin’ up a proverbial storm playing banjo-fuelled bluesgrass. An easy highlight of the entire weekend for me. -Gilles Leblanc

Sam Roberts Band – Budweiser Mountain Stage – 4:50 p.m.

Photo by Stewart Wiseman

When Arcade Fire headlined Osheaga in 2010, it showed how powerful the Montreal crowd can get supporting a major hometown act, and that’s exactly what happened when Sam Roberts and crew hit the stage. The much anticipated set started with the heavy hitting “I Feel You”, off his recent critically acclaimed effort Collider, and from there the crowd just continued to ignite. His first performance at home, at least in support of his latest LP, Roberts worked with a devoted following, which altogether felt more or less like a homecoming. As a result, he brought out some close friends, including Elizabeth Powell (lead singer of Land of Talk), who performed backup vocals on “Longitude”, and renown Montreal sax man Chet Doxas who joined Roberts’ brass section. To close out the set, Roberts shouted to the audience, “On va chanter ensemble mes amis,” before kicking into “Brotherdown”. In any other festival in the States, Sam Roberts might just be a second thought on a festival lineup; but in Montreal he was one of the most anticipated acts of the weekend. -Stewart Wiseman

PS I Love You – Galaxie Tree Stage – 6:30 p.m.

Photo by Gilles Leblanc

PS I Love You are rapidly becoming the type of band you don’t ever get tired of seeing live, as something memorable is always bound to happen. When I saw them a little over a month ago at NXNE, Paul Saulnier and drummer Ben Nelson blew out an amp by the sheer force of their rawk. At Osheaga, Saulnier ‘only’ broke a string off his guitar, but he hardly bat an eye as he was too busy trying not to bite his protruding tongue. He also showed a good deal of wit, saying things like, “Don’t cheer, I’m just the roadie,” and “We’re PS I Love You, and we only have 12 minutes left.” I foresee big, big things for these Kingston boys. -Gilles Leblanc

Lupe Fiasco- Budweiser Mountain Stage – 6:30 p.m.

Photo by Stewart Wiseman

After a day chock full of rap and hip hop, Lupe Fiasco had all of Saturday to own the genre. Chicago’s finer export kicked off with “Shining Down” which saw him parade around the stage in glory. Unlike some other acts, Fiasco didn’t need to try hard to pump up the crowd, as they were ready and willing to party. Where many rappers rely on beats to accompany their music, Fiasco’s band blended rock sounds with his rhymes in a surprisingly good combination. Things got weird halfway through his set, however, when Fiasco went on an anti-American rant that had many scratching their heads instead of cheering, but then again this is the same rapper who labeled President Barack Obama as “the biggest terrorist”.  Oh well. Closing with his biggest hit “The Show Goes On”, Fiasco brought the energy back and the party started once more. No new fans per se, but those who turned out had a blast. -Stewart Wiseman

Death from Above 1979 – BlackBerry River Stage –  7:25 p.m.

Photo by Gilles Leblanc

Having seen Death from Above 1979 less than two weeks before at the Quebec City Summer Festival, I didn’t think they could get much more intense, but they may have actually topped what drummer/singer Sebastien Grainger himself called the best show so far on their reunion tour. The mosh pit at the main stage bordered on the insane, but what was even crazier (yet infinitely cool), was how several of Grainger’s friends in music, such as Broken Social Scene’s Kevin Drew and Jimmy Shaw from Metric (who he owns a recording studio in Toronto with), came out to support him and Jesse F. Keeler from down in front, in the photographer’s area, as opposed to side stage. -Gilles Leblanc

Ratatat – Sennheiser Green Stage – 8:15 p.m.

Photo by Gilles Leblanc

A friend of mine who’s more well versed in electronica than yours truly insisted I see Ratatat, touting them as the “American Daft Punk.” I don’t know if I agree entirely with his declaration, but I’ll give Ratatat this: They know how to draw a crowd and throw a heck of a unique dance party, complete with a glassy, monolith-shaped projection system to add to everyone’s, um, trip! Dope, hand waving beats from mastermind producer Evan Mast were accentuated by bendy guitarist Mike Stroud. They were fun, but the festivities at the Green Stage would only get louder and more penetratingly pulsating as the weekend wore on… -Gilles Leblanc

Bright Eyes – Budweiser Mountain Stage – 8:15 p.m.

Photo by Stewart Wiseman

To follow Fiasco’s fiesta was a little unfortunate for Conor Oberst’s Bright Eyes. As a result, he arrived to a much smaller crowd, though this didn’t affect the band’s performance at all. Opening with “Four Winds”, the female-heavy audience serenaded Oberst with his own lyrics; a trend which continued throughout most of the night. “Poison Oak” started out soft and mellow, like the majority of Bright Eyes songs, but had an emotional climb towards the end of the song, building up higher and higher and making it one of the highlights from their set. “The Calendar Hung Itself” was a particularly dark and moody number, contrasting slightly with the other more upbeat songs. Performing closing duties, “One for You, One for Me” rang loud as a perfect anthem and one of the best of the night, leaving their many fans with a message of endearing hope. Much needed today. -Stewart Wiseman

Elvis Costello & the Imposters – BlackBerry River Stage –  9:20 p.m.

Photo by Gilles Leblanc

The second night of Osheaga was, er, a bit of an anomaly compared to the rest of the festival. Once the carnage had subsided following Death from Above 1979, it was time for Elvis Costello’s carnival to roll into town; he even brought a go-go dancer and strongman scale. (The “Hammer of Songs.”) Unfortunately for the 40 year music veteran, the assembled masses couldn’t have been more indifferent – At best, it was maybe a quarter of the size of Eminem’s audience from Friday. Not much of a ‘mass’ by any means. And that’s a shame, because it’s not like he didn’t belong there; his “Watching the Detectives”, “Everyday I Write the Book”, “Alison”, “Radio Radio”, “Bedlam”, “I Want You”, “(I Don’t Want to Go to) Chelsea”, and “Clubland” all form the basis of present-day alternative rock. And he gave it his all, too. Those who were there will tell you they had a rollicking good time. I felt bad for ol’ Elvis, but that said, I still left before his encore to see the end of Fucked Up’s set at the Tree Stage. Any guilt I may have been feeling went away rather quickly when Damian Abraham presented Sebastien Grainger as a special guest to ‘sing’ a F’ed Up song with him and do some crowd surfing among his francophone peeps! -Gilles Leblanc

Fucked Up – Galaxie Tree Stage – 10:10 p.m.

Photo by Stewart Wiseman

At a festival where most of the people could be labeled as pot-smoking hippies, the Fucked Up crowd of punks and hardcore fans was a rare sight. After Damian “Pink Eyes” Abraham brought out his son for an appearance, the band arrived too and wasted no time in getting the crowd psyched up, starting with “Queen of Hearts”. The song didn’t even start yet before Abraham was interacting with all his fans from the photo pit, and it only took two songs for him to lose his shirt, crowd surf, and join the romping mosh pit. Naturally, Osheaga sent their toughest security guards to work this set, and they were the busiest they had to be all festival. Admittedly, the messages in these songs can often be lost due to the loud nature of the show, but Fucked Up has put together some great love songs, which is often a challenge for hardcore bands. Of course, that’s the last thing anyone’s thinking about while they’re performing, but on record, especially their latest LP,  David Comes To Life, it’s something to always consider. There’s much more to this shirtless maniac than what meets the eye. -Stewart Wiseman

Sunday, July 31st

Elephant Stone – Galaxie Tree Stage – 1:00 p.m.

Photo by Gilles Leblanc

After everything that had happened at Osheaga over its first two days, it wouldn’t have surprised me in the least to have heard someone on the Montreal Metro say, “You know what this festival REALLY needs? A band to seriously rock a SITAR!” Enter Elephant Stone, the brainchild of Rishi Dhir, a former member of The High Dials, who of course played the day before. There are sonic similarities between the two competing groups, but where Elephant Stone takes psychedelia to a new level is when Dhir stretches barefoot on a raised area to jam with his Indian imported instrument. Groovy, man! -Gilles Leblanc

The Sheepdogs -Budweisier Mountain Stage – 1:00 p.m.

Photo by Stewart Wiseman

The Sheepdogs cracked open Sunday with some good old fashioned rock and roll. The Saskatoon natives have been making the rounds, thanks to their fame via Rolling Stone, but they back up the words on print. Ewan Currie is everything a rock and roll frontman should be: great voice, works with the country rocker look, and enjoys cold beer for breakfast. Musically, it’s just as picture perfect. Country rocker “I Don’t Know” sounds like it came straight out of the 1970’s, with Currie and bassist Ryan Gullen trading vocals, while a song like “Southern Dreaming”, specifically that guitar hook, kept the crowd awake and dancing. Good things to come. -Stewart Wiseman

Typhoon – BlackBerry River Stage –  1:30 p.m.

Photo by Gilles Leblanc

No, not every indie musical ensemble who prominently feature string and horn arrangements in the 2000s are Arcade Fire rip-offs. (Or is that Shark Attack now?) But when you play the same stage as they did the year before, in their hometown no less, there are bound to be comparisons. Portland, Oregon’s Typhoon didn’t make anyone at Osheaga forget who Arcade Fire is; however, they definitely won themselves some new fans with their determination to make it to the festival combined with outstanding musicianship. Anyone with dueling drum kits is worth a listen! -Gilles Leblanc

An Horse – Sennheiser Green Stage – 2:00 p.m.

Photo by Gilles Leblanc

Seeing all these different instruments producing such great sounds, I was taken aback somewhat to discover Australia’s An Horse are only a two-person band who probably would have fit in better yesterday. At first glance, I guess you could call them a “reverse White Stripes,” as there’s a girl named Kate Cooper on guitar and Damon Cox on drums (Sex = Male). I found them slightly underwhelming; if anything, they made me yearn for The White Stripes even more…or at least The Raconteurs. Sorry to digress, but I’d like to ask the Osheaga organizers to book Jack White, Brendan Benson and company for next year’s festival. Now! -Gilles Leblanc

Eels – BlackBerry River Stage –  2:50 p.m.

Photo by Gilles Leblanc

The enigmatic Mark Oliver Everett brought his bearded Eels to Montreal for one of the more anticipated slots of the Osheaga Festival. He looked to be ecstatic to be there, high fiving bandmates after songs and yelling nonsensical things like “We did it!” Focusing mainly on his recent Eels album trilogy (Hombre Loco, End Times and Tomorrow Morning), I’d say it was a triumphant return to Canada for the man simply known as E – It rocked, it was soulful in a Blues Brothers kind of way, and it was plenty weird, but we’ve come to expect that from him since Beautiful Freak introduced us to E’s world in 1996. And I think he was the only artist to express his love for poutine. And maple glazed donuts, apparently! -Gilles Leblanc

The Sounds – Budweiser Mountain Stage –  3:30 p.m.

Photo by Gilles Leblanc

Does anyone reading know the Swedish equivalent for “Damn?!”As in “Damn, are The Sounds ever awesome!” Considerably more rocking than ABBA, but not quite as punkish as The Hives…I think the majority of people at the Budweiser Stage would concur with me that their “new” New Wave was just right for Osheaga. I KNOW a lot of red (and white)-blooded males in the audience were transfixed on sexy Sounds lead singer Maja Ivarsson. And I know it got awfully hot in Montreal that weekend, but those little black bicycle shorts she was wearing? All I can say is…DAMN! (Or is that jävla?!) -Gilles Leblanc

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Sennheiser Green Stage – 4:15 p.m.

Photo by Gilles Leblanc

As luck would have it, my feet were hurting pretty bad by the time New York City’s The Pains of Being Pure at Heart took to Osheaga’s Green Stage. It didn’t take long for them to be joined by my ears, but in the best manner possible. Their driving, all-out guitar assault was pure bliss to me. I can see why their album Belong has been so highly regarded this year. I must look into this “Nu Gaze” movement more, as I definitely heard echoes of NYC’s own Sonic Youth, Gish and Siamese Dream-era Smashing Pumpkins, and My Bloody Valentine. I especially found it cool how singer Kip Berman even stopped at one point to acknowledge someone wearing a MBV T-shirt. -Gilles Leblanc

Cypress Hill – BlackBerry River Stage – 4:20 p.m.

Photo by Stewart Wiseman

Sunday saw a fun, nostalgic site: Cypress Hill. Whether it was intentional or not remains to be seen, but the veteran hip hop stars performed at 4:20 p.m. and naturally the smell of weed was inescapable near the stage.  With the exception of The Flaming Lips, the West Coast rappers attracted the biggest crowd of the day and they were definitely the most adrenalized. B-Real started the set with a short freestyle before calling on Sen Dog to join with him on “Shoot ‘Em Up”, which had fans making finger guns in the air. “Are you fucking high right now?” B-Real asked the crowd to mass applause, edging them on to smoke more and more. By the time the set ended with “Rock Superstar”, it was hard to find one person in the front row whose eyes weren’t bloodshot, a mission accomplished for Cypress Hill. -Stewart Wiseman

Viva Brother – Galaxie Tree Stage – 5:00 p.m.

Photo by Gilles Leblanc

A music festival just doesn’t seem complete without some flair and flavor from the UK. Thank goodness latest buzz band Viva Brother made the trip to Canada. They describe their sound as “Gritpop”, or a grittier version of mid-’90s Britpop as practiced by Blur and Oasis. Speaking of Oasis, if you were to tell me Viva Brother frontman Leonard Newell was a relative of the Gallaghers, I’d probably believe you. His eyes also seem to have a bit of a Thom Yorke ‘droop’ to them; if that’s not a perfect pedigree for rock ’n’ roll success, I’m not sure what is. If that wasn’t enough, they had someone in a full-blown gorilla suit (and Viva Brother T-shirt) show up at their Osheaga set and bounce nonstop with their arms in the air! -Gilles Leblanc

Beirut – BlackBerry River Stage – 5:50 p.m.

Photo by Stewart Wiseman

“It’s great to be back in the land of poutine,” vocalist Zach Condon joked early in the set, before speaking to the crowd in surprisingly good French. Beirut’s music was able to put all the festival goers under a trance, creating a relaxing atmosphere for the evening set. “Nantes” had the entire crowd clapping and cheering along from the moment Condon raised his trumpet. Zach Condon’s a talented multi-instrumentalist, but bad luck hit him when his ukulele’s sound failed to be picked up across the speaker system. After trying a few times, he decided to give up and move onto “Scenic World” which literally moved the audience. Overall, the combination of poetic lyrics and rousing horns won over the crowd, and Beirut’s set was spoken about for the rest of the evening. -Stewart Wiseman

City and Colour – Budweiser Mountain Stage – 6:35 p.m.

Photo by Stewart Wiseman

City and Colour started their performance with “Sleeping Sickness”, welcomed by cheers from the crowd, which only grew louder when Dallas Green invited Tragically Hip vocalist Gordon Downie to the stage to sing a verse. Alexisonfire and City and Colour could not be further apart musically, and the introspective music had the crowd pleased and clapping on songs like “Weightless” and “Fragile Bird” from this year’s release, Little Hell. The set wrapped up not long after that with “Sometimes (I Wish)”, leaving fans disappointed as the band only played 30 minutes of the 50 that they were supposed to play before the delays. (Fans that caught Toronto’s critically acclaimed rapper Shad’s set at 8:00 were treated to a surprise in his opener, as he brought out Dallas Green to sing the chorus to his song “Live Forever”.) To make up for their short set, City and Colour promised to be back in Montreal soon for a full length concert; leaving their many faithful waiting for the day where they can enjoy Green’s poetry once again. -Stewart Wiseman

White Lies – Sennheiser Green Stage – 6:55 p.m.

Photo by Gilles Leblanc

White Lies’ Harry McVeigh struck me as having an amazing beautiful ‘alternative’ singing voice, reminiscent of Dave Gahan from Depeche Mode. They have some downright gloomy sounding songs and lyrics (i.e. “Holy Ghost”, “Death”, and debut album To Lose My Life), yet I found them fairly pedestrian, almost gentlemanly, especially compared to the rougher-around-the-edges Viva Brother. I loved how they joked about this fact, saying how while it may have looked like they were crying occasionally, they were actually sweating. Polite like Coldplay, but with more underground indie credibility…for now! -Gilles Leblanc

The Tragically Hip – BlackBerry River Stage – 7:25 p.m.

Photo by Stewart Wiseman

It’s hard to watch The Tragically Hip and not solely focus on Gord Downie running around the stage with odd-ball antics, apparent right from the start on opener “Grace, Too”. Too much time is often spent watching Downie, that the guys behind him actually making the music are left under-appreciated, but guitarists Paul Langlois and Rob Baker were superb at their craft and were critical in the great performance The Tragically Hip put on. Songs like “Bobcaygeon” and “New Orleans Is Sinking” had the entire crowd roaring the lyrics back at the band; a true testament to how influential The Tragically Hip have been for almost three decades in shaping the sound of Canadian music. The band closed with the rocker “Little Bones” that lifted the spirits of the entire crowd, many of whom came to the festival for the sole purpose of seeing the Hip; and by the end of the set everyone knew why The Tragically Hip will go down as Canadian legends. -Stewart Wiseman

Crystal Castles – Sennheiser Green Stage – 8:15 p.m.

Photo by Gilles Leblanc

It’s not that I don’t or can’t appreciate club-style electronica at a rock festival – I think it’s brilliant that Osheaga has the Piknic Electronik as a place for people to dance or chill out. That said, I don’t think I’m the only one who doesn’t ‘get’ Crystal Castles’ strobe-flashing, seizure-inducing live show. Seriously, why does Alice Glass have a mic? It’s not like we can ever make out what she’s singing, and she doesn’t really add much else other than inciting crowds even further by jumping into the sea of bodies to surf. Security didn’t like how her actions inspired some to climb trees either. They did end with their cover of The Cure’s “Not in Love”, even though it took us all a minute to recognize it because of all the distortion. -Gilles Leblanc

Death Cab For Cutie – Budweiser Mountain Stage – 8:25 p.m.

Photo by Stewart Wiseman

For a band coming out of Washington state, the pressure is always there to match up to other local greats like Nirvana, Jimi Hendrix, and Pearl Jam. For 10 years and counting, Death Cab for Cutie has managed to rise to fame without the roaring rock ‘n’ roll, commanding a devout legion of fans, all of whom can recite any of their lyrics in their sleep. This extends out into Canada, of course. After an extended intro that saw Ben Gibbard go from guitar to piano, “I Will Possess Your Heart” launched the group into a slightly erratic set. Two songs into their performance, Ben Gibbard’s guitar started acting up on him, and after replacing it with another guitar that wasn’t working, he showed his professionalism when he sat down at the edge of the stage to serenade his loving fans instead of stopping the entire song. Favorites like “Soul Meets Body or “The Sound of Settling” worked well, but so did new single “You Are a Tourist”. Technical problems aside, the gig was a joy. -Stewart Wiseman

The Flaming Lips – BlackBerry Stage – 9:25 p.m.

Photo by Stewart Wiseman

Before The Flaming Lips started their festival closing performance, frontman Wayne Coyne advised the audience about his strong strobe lights and to be careful with his giant space bubble; but what he should have warned the crowd about was that his performance may induce acid trips. Right from the very beginning with the band members walking out of an illusionary door in an LED screen, the audience knew they were experiencing perhaps the most jaw-dropping rock show they’ll ever see. Coyne eagerly anticipated this performance and told the crowd that he last played Osheaga in 2006, and that Osheaga is not just one of the greatest festivals in Canada, but is one of the greatest in the entire world.

Photo by Stewart Wiseman

Alongside a cast of characters dolled up a la Wizard of Oz, Coyne & Co. rolled out their 1999 masterpiece The Soft Bulletin in full (with the exception of “Buggin’”) to a crowd that may not have been familiar with their work, but who knew theatrics when they saw it (this is the city where Cirque du Soleil was born after all). Halfway through the performance, however, Coyne (looking truly emotional) told the crowd that sometimes this album has the power to “fuck him up” and that this may be the last time that anyone ever sees it performed in full live. This would be a shame, especially since it builds to quite the climax. The end of the album is just electric, and on Sunday, “The Spiderbite Song” attracted cheers from all who were there to witness the end to a great weekend at Osheaga 2011.

Photo by Stewart Wiseman

Before finishing his set, though, Coyne called upon one of his many Dorothy’s and another man dressed as the Cowardly Lion for a wedding ceremony. Coyne announced that the two were from Calgary and that they met at Osheaga that morning, took 10 hits of acid each, and then decided to get married. “With all the power vested in me by the universe, The Flaming Lips, Montreal, and LSD; I now pronounce you man and wife!” Coyne proclaimed for the new happy couple, before launching into “Do You Realize??” -the last song of the set. Now, how were you planning to get married again? -Stewart Wiseman

MSTRKRFT – Sennheiser Green Stage – 9:50 p.m.

Photo by Gilles Leblanc

There’s no use trying to review MSTRKRFT’s DJ set other than they altered the entire space near the Green Stage into the biggest rave I’ve ever seen! Standing side-by-side at an oversized steel table, donning headphones occasionally but always with a smoke in their mouths it seemed, DFA 1979’s Jesse F. Keeler and his longtime friend Al-P pushed the sardine squished crowd to a veritable fever pitch with their high-speed, aggressive, bone-rattling rhythms. It was an unconventional way for anyone with leftover energy to get themselves tired and ready for a long sleep after a weekend unlike any other, but hey, it worked for me! -Gilles Leblanc

The Culture of Osheaga

Gallery by Gilles Leblanc and Stewart Wiseman

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The film, which is directed by Kevin Kerslake and airs 9:00 p.m. local time, will feature performances and interviews from the event. Performers include Deadmau5, Kaskade, Will.I.Am, Swedish House Mafia, Above & Beyond, Benny Benassi, Moby, Fedde Le Grand, Laidback Luke, Steve Aoki, TRVS x A-Trak, Duck Sauce, MSTRKRFT, Afrojack, and a special tribute to DJ AM.

The film will be shot at a private July 26th event at the Music Box in Los Angeles before hitting silver screens nationwide. Check out a PDF listing all theaters showing the film, and a teaser video here.

Do you remember that scene in Men in Black where Will Smith’s character Jay is informed that he is, in fact, not alone in the universe and that aliens populate a sizeable portion of Manhattan? And Tommy Lee Jones’ character, Kay, proceeds to give a moving speech about the progression of human knowledge? As Tommy Lee Jones walks away, Will Smith asks him, “Is [joining the Men in Black] worth it?” Kay replies, “Oh, yeah. If you’re strong enough.” (Writer’s Note: if you haven’t seen Men in Black, the mid/late 90s were probably a bummer for you, and here’s the scene I’m referring to.)

This scene is a microcosmic example of what went on at 2011’s installment of Electric Daisy Carnival. Upon arrival, I felt like Will Smith’s character. As I descended the innumerable steps from the bleachers to the racetrack, I had to concentrate very hard on not tripping and falling. My eyes kept getting stuck on the bedazzling display encompassing the thousand-acres of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway –  massive stages, glimmering neon art installations, full on carnival rides, and lights and lasers galore. It was a world I didn’t know existed. I’ve been to my fair share of raves, but this was different. Just looking out across the raceway, I knew that this was the rave to end all raves.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have a Tommy Lee Jones to explain the situation to me in detail. I was lost in an endless sea of neon and glitter, and I’ll be honest, I hated the first three hours I was there. But once I got acclimated to this bizarre world, I asked myself the question: “Is it worth it?” And the answer was the same as it was in Men in Black – “Oh yeah. If you’re strong enough.”

It was definitely worth it in the end. But that doesn’t automatically pardon all the hurdles it took to reach the end. Strength was absolutely a factor both physically and mentally. The festival ran from eight pm to six am every night to avoid the scorching daytime desert heat, which was only effective to a point as desert nights are only slightly cooler than the days. After three days of uncomfortable heat, immense overcrowding, complete sleep deprivation, and poor organization on the festival’s part, even the hardiest candy kids were pretty worn out. But it was all worth it. Electric Daisy Carnival successfully pulled off throwing the largest dance festival outside of Europe (you know, because Europe festivals > US festivals), and they did it without much public scrutiny.

After last year’s debacle involving the death of a 15-year-old girl and dozens of hospitalizations, and the ensuing blame game with the city of Los Angeles, EDC decided it was best to pick up and leave the city entirely to find a new home for what would be its 15th installment. And they couldn’t have landed in a better place – a city founded upon lavish consumerism and bright lights – Las Vegas, Nevada. Financially speaking, it was a mutually beneficial situation for both the festival and the city. The festival brought in an average of  80,000 attendees a night, all of whom needed hotels to stay in and food to eat, leaving the city of Las Vegas with pockets even more full than they’d been before. And Vegas provided a haven for the festival, a place where they could throw the largest dance event in the United States.

No move is easy. But this particular move proved to be a complete nightmare, logistically speaking. Traffic flow was the worst I’ve ever experienced – an hour long wait to get parked, and two hours to get out of the parking lot after the festival due to absolutely no guidelines, staff, or regulations. It was a glimpse into what might happen on the roads if there were absolutely no rules; people cutting each other off, honking and scowls galore, and people creating their own lanes, both on and off the street (I watched a man in a Scion XB high center his car on a small dirt berm in an attempt to break free from the line and head for the exit). Traffic flow was complete anarchy. In addition to that, the security line took well over an hour to get through each night, mainly due to heightened security in attempt to avoid a re-visitation of last year. Each individual was thoroughly ID-ed, then checked so scrupulously it took two minutes per person to be checked. It’s a wonder any drugs made it in at all (because they certainly did) after such thorough screening. And then finally, once you’d made it through the hell of parking and security, there were no festival grounds maps to be found. I mean, they were around, but probably under-printed by about 40,000 each night, so it was up to the festival-goers to get acquainted with the grounds themselves by wandering aimlessly through the sea of lights, people, and heavy bass.

So there are some minor tweaks that need to be done before next year’s installment. But overall it was worth it and a complete success for the festival-goers, the organizers, and the city of Las Vegas. It will undoubtedly be returning next year. Oh, and did we mention how great the music was? Here’s the part where we give you the day by day breakdown.

Winston Robbins
Senior Staff Writer

Friday, June 24th

The Bloody Beetroots Death Crew ‘77 – Neon Garden) 12:30 a.m.

Venom masks have never looked more cool, not even on Venom himself. The Bloody Beetroots (touring under their Death Crew ’77 moniker with a third member on drums), have been something of an enigma in years past. Where do we classify the Italian duo? They certainly have a knack for club beats, but we’d never call them house, they’re too good at electronic melodies. But we’d never call them electronica because they’re a little too in your face. And they have a keen sense for hip hop samples and the occasional orchestral arrangement that further complicate a good classification. Regardless of how you want to classify them, they stomped their set at EDC, and looking back, they played one of the best sets of the entire weekend. It’s a shame that over half the crowd left the raging party halfway through to go see Tiesto, because those who left completely missed stunning renditions of “Cornelius”, “Warp 1.9”, and a very unexpected but very welcomed remix of the main score from the 2007 film, 28 Weeks Later.

Tiësto – Kinetic Field – 1:00 a.m.

They don’t call this man the best DJ alive for nothing. Drawing the majority of the Speedway’s attendees, this crowd was beyond packed, in excess of 50,000. And Tiësto delivered as one would expect him to. From a ridiculously awesome remix of Adele’s “Rolling In The Deep” to one of his signature Kaleidoscope tracks “Feel It In My Bones” which features vocals by Tegan and Sara, the Dutch DJ did exactly what he always does: plays a seamless set to tens of thousands of screaming fans. The pace of the show is what Tiësto does best, slowing it down at the right moments and landing the heaviest drops with expert precision. But for CoS, it was off to catch the last half of the equally legendary (in his own right) Richie Hawtin’s Plastikman act.

Plastikman (Live)  – Cosmic Meadow – 1:15 a.m.

Richie Hawtin’s been pumping out music via his Plastikman moniker since the early ’90s, and his big downtempo beats were right at home at the Cosmic Meadow stage. He played to a dismally small crowd, given the fact that everyone’s favorite DJ, Tiësto, was playing one stage over, but isn’t that how it always is? The artists that really deserve some major recognition sort of get snubbed. Such is life, and it ended up being a blessing in disguise for those in attendance, as they got an intimate look at the great with only a few thousand other onlookers. Hawtin was enshrouded in a cylindrical cage of sorts made of LED lights, so that he was mostly hidden from view, but when the lights went out or when he turned the camera on himself and showed up on the curved screen, the crowd went wild. Plastikman’s slower beats were a good change of pace for the rowdy quick drops that had been constant since the festival began.

Skream and Benga  – Bass Pod – 1:30 a.m.

Lucky for us, Plastikman ended a bit early, and Skream and Benga went on a bit longer than scheduled. The Bass Pod was a 15-20 foot high stage shaped like a Ferris wheel, reserved primarily for dubstep acts, a genre that is growing like vines into the house scene. Mark my words, dubstep will be the primary focus of Electric Daisy Carnival for 10 years now. But for this particular set, the British BFFs who’ve been at it for literally years, set a high bar for any following dubstep act. With major drops and filthy shuffles (and a very fortunately placed firework show placed directly behind them), Skream and Benga went through a bit of each of their own solo catalogue to finish out the set with Benga’s heavy “26 Basslines”, only to leave with massive smiles on their faces and praise from the audience.

Steve Aoki – Circuit Grounds – 3:00 a.m.

Steve Aoki has been around the house music block. From remixing virtually everyone from Good Charlotte to Michael Jackson, the man’s an outright legend. But he’s never released a full length album of his own work. At EDC he debuted three (possibly even more, since his set was so all over the place) tracks from his forthcoming debut album, which he promised would be “finally out this year.” According to Aoki, one of the tracks received production from Travis Barker, and it certainly sounded so. Aoki screamed his vocals through that track to huge fanfare, but nothing was better received than his remix of Kid Cudi’s “Pursuit of Happiness”.

Major Lazer (Soundsystem) – Neon Garden – 4:30 a.m.

The sun began to peek over the horizon as Diplo and Switch took to the stage to showcase their brainchild Major Lazer. Typically, the sunrise would not be an ideal setting for the all out parties they love to throw, but somehow it seemed fitting. I know I certainly have never been happier to hear top 20 samples played at full volume at six in the morning.

From Ace of Base to T.I., the “soundsystem” set was a collage of Major Lazer tracks mixed with excerpts from artists of every genre: Blur, Ludacris, Lil’ Wayne, Flux Pavillion, Rihanna, Nirvana, and the pièce de résistance: an incredibly apropos version of their “Pon de Floor” spliced with Harry Belafonte “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)”, as “daylight came” into full swing. Even at six am, when the show was forced off the stage, nobody wanted the party to end. Major Lazer brought their offbeat blend of music to a house festival, and they won the hearts of every candy eyed kid in attendance.

Saturday, June 25th

The Glitch Mob – Cosmic Meadow – 9:30 p.m.

A 9:30 p.m. set for The Glitch Mob seemed tragic, but, given the amount of talent that was booked for the second day of the festival, it was sadly the only place for them. The trio, enshrouded in cages made of fluorescent lights, pumped out the beats in style (they never aren’t dressed to impress) in their all too short set, ending with “Drive It Like You Stole It”, and the masterpiece of a remix on White Stripes “Seven Nation Army” that readied the crowd for the next two acts to appear on the Cosmic Meadow stage.

Bassnectar – Cosmic Meadow – 11:00 p.m.

Bassnectar‘s been a familiar face at many fests over the past few years (Coachella, Bonnarooo, Outside Lands), but Electric Daisy Carnival is where he finds his home. With the biggest, gnarliest drops of the night thus far, Bassnectar played mostly songs from his Timestretch EP, but did incorporate samples here and there, most memorably Nirvana’s “On A Plain”, which he filled with his signature robust bass. He closed out the night with a ten minute version of his dubstep mega-hit “Bass Head”.

Empire of the Sun – Cosmic Meadow – 12:30 p.m.

This set was a sight for sore eyes. As soon as Luke Steele and co. emerged holding the first guitar I’d seen in what felt like weeks, I began to feel a bit more at home. This was the opposite, however, for many in attendance, and they ran away from guitars and glam rock like bats out of hell. And honestly, if you’ve seen an Empire of the Sun show once, you’ve seen it a hundred times. Very little variation; beginning with “Standing On The Shore”, slowing things down with “We Are The People” and “Without You”, and eventually ending up with their anthemic “Walking on a Dream”, all with cosmic backgrounds, glittering dancers, and costume changes to back them up. But even though it was a production that had very little variation from previous shows, some live music was more than welcomed in my eyes, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who felt that way.

Rusko – Basspod – 1:30 a.m.

Rusko is the unmatched prince of dubstep right now. After working with M.I.A. as a producer on her last album and an insanely solid release of his own, he was the biggest name to play the Basspod stage, and as such he drew the largest crowd by far. Thousands gathered to watch Rusko as he towered above the crowd dropping the hardest, filthiest beats of the entire weekend. His last album alone contains some of the best dubstep songs released in all of 2010, and he threw them out one by one with pleasure. “Woo Boost” and “Raver’s Special” were particularly good, and he continued to impress through his live act. He’s one of the most exciting acts in dubstep right now, and has a bright future ahead of him.

Skrillex – Neon Garden – 3:00 a.m.

After seeing the UK’s prince of dubstep, it was on to see the U.S.’s answer, Skrillex. And I have to say that while Rusko handled himself in a more traditional way, Skrillex’s use of new dubstep methods was so exciting, it sort of left Rusko and all his contemporaries in the dust. Sonny Moore (aka Skrillex) used to be the frontman for the (terribly shitty) Emo/Punk outfit From First To Last, but he’s been trying his hand at dubstep for the past year or so, and has been massively successful. Many are skeptical at his background, but I say everyone deserves a second chance. And actually, I think it’s his former knowledge of guitar and vocal melodies that makes Skrillex just so good at what he does now.

Moore garnered the biggest crowd at the Neon Garden stage all weekend by far. It was impossible to move any closer to see the quickly rising star do his thing. The crowd far exceeded the space allotted to the stage, and was pushed back into areas where sound from other acts bled in, but the fans didn’t seem to mind. Skrillex pumped out jam after jam from “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites” to “My Name Is Skrillex”, the crowd drank the set down as if they were dying of thirst. And Moore was more than aware of just how special this set was. He communicated his thanks to the crowd a number of times throughout his set, and kept down to earth contact with them at regular intervals, which is unusual for most DJs. The most memorable part of his set, however, had nothing to do with his music, but with a heartfelt tribute and moment of silence held for Ryan Dunn, the Jackass star, his friend, who passed a little over a week ago.

Zeds Dead – Basspod – 3:30 a.m.

We took a quick break from Skrillex to check out the lesser-known Canadian dubstep duo Zeds Dead. In addition to having one of the coolest band names in recent memory (taken from a line in Pulp Fiction), Zeds Dead have been making waves in the dub scene with their deft remixes, many of which were played during their set. Their remixes of Massive Attack’s “Paradise Circus” and The Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” were both enough to satiate the small crowd gathered to see them. Their impeccable dubstep remix of Radiohead’s “Pyramid Song” was not played, unfortunately, but should be checked out here immediately.

Boys Noize – Cosmic Meadow – 4:30 a.m.

This was without a doubt, the biggest conflict at the festival, Boys Noize v. MSTRKRFT, playing on adjacent stages at sunrise. Both loud, both known for their insane live sets, and both very, very welcome at EDC. Many attendees shuffled back and forth between sets to catch a bit of what each was doing, and that’s what we at CoS decided to do. Boys Noize proved to grab the bigger amount of audience, but I’m fairly certain that’s because they were located directly in front of the grounds exit and caught the ears of the thousands of passers-by. German-based DJ Alex Ridha (aka Boys Noise) stuck to his usual guns and played his own original tracks, peaking during thumping renditions of “Jeffer” and “Lava Lava”. It was a strange way to summon the sunrise, but enjoyable all the same.

MSTRKRFT – Neon Garden – 4:30 a.m.

MSTRKRFT was inversely a little more sample-heavy, but equally, if not more, heavy heavy. The ever-cool DFA 1979 bassist/MSTRKRFT creator Jesse Keeler conjured some of the biggest drops of the night/morning. Their John Legend sampling “Heartbreaker” was played to the biggest fanfare, but each song was incredibly tight. The sun eventually rose to the point where both members of MSTRKRFT had to put on sunglasses in order for them to see their decks, but the party didn’t end when the sun came up and the Ontario-based duo kept it going til the bell tolled six in the morning.

Sunday, June 26th

Infected Mushroom – Cosmic Meadow – 12:00 p.m.

Infected Mushroom is always changing and that’s exactly why they’re an incredible act to see live. The live guitar and drums that the Israeli duo has incorporated into their set in recent years has taken them to another level entirely. As they tour endlessly (not an exaggeration), they are forced to evolve to keep things fresh, but they never stray from their bigger hits like “Saeed” and “Becoming Insane”, both of which were well received by the sizable audience that had gathered to see their unique brand of house.

Doctor P – Basspod – 12:45 a.m.

Doctor P got shorted by having to play a set that was during both Infected Mushroom and Swedish House Mafia, but the bass heads were surprisingly large in number at the British dubstep producer’s set. It could have been that Infected Mushroom wasn’t doing it for them, and they hadn’t bought into Swedish House Mafia quite yet, but far more likely it was because Doctor P was the biggest name to play the stage on Sunday, and last marquee name on the stage. He didn’t disappoint, especially when he dropped a massive combination of two of his biggest hits, “Sweet Shop” and “Big Boss”.

Swedish House Mafia – Kinetic Field – 1:00 a.m.

Swedish House Mafia were the rock stars on this otherwise comparatively weak final day. The masses assembled (and I do mean masses) to catch the big event, and they were not disappointed. The Swedish trio of producer/DJs Axwell, Steve Angello, and Sebastian Ingrosso were undoubtedly the most confident act (other than Tiesto and David Guetta, whose respective egos are almost as big as the festival grounds themselves), at EDC. Any why shouldn’t they be? Since they got together in 2009 and released their debut mix in 2010, they’ve been an unstoppable force in house music.

Having been deemed the “saviors of house”, Swedish House Mafia blew up their spot with hit after hit that the candy kids ate right up. They opened with their marquee song featuring vocals by Tinie Tempah, “Miami 2 Ibiza”, and it was two straight hours of the most solid house music being produced today after that. All three DJs seemed perfectly at home in front of the 40,000+ that had gathered to see them, and in fact, seemed genuinely happy to be there. They’ve been restoring faith in house music for people left and right, and I have to say that it’s hard to ignore them. Playing mostly songs from their debut, they hit the spot again and again, with the Justice/Simian Mobile Disco/MGMT sampling “Kidsos”, the Pharell Williams driven “One (Your Name)”, and their latest single “Save The World”, Swedish House Mafia was a spectacle well worth fighting the crowd to see.

A-Trak – Neon Garden – 1:15 a.m.

A-Trak singlehandedly saved Sunday. Swedish House Mafia performed well, but it wasn’t until the Canadian hip-hop savvy DJ began to spin that the night really peaked. With enormous mash-ups left and right (Rich Boy’s “Throw Some D’s” v. Bassnectar’s “Bass Head” and Daft Punk’s “Robot Rock” v. Ludacris’ “Move Bitch” were particularly well received), and huge beats it wasn’t hard for the crowd to buy into what A-Trak was peddling. By the time his set ended, he had the crowd eating out of his hand. His remix of Yeah Yeah Yeahs “Heads Will Roll” and his Duck Sauce track “Barbara Streisand” finished off what was undoubtedly the most varied and most energetic set of the night.

Wolfgang Gartner – Neon Garden – 3:00 a.m.

As the reality that the weekend was really coming to a close set it, festival-goers exerted a noticeably higher amount of energy to finish things off in style. Wolfgang Gartner played his second set of the weekend (the first being early on Friday night), and brought everything he had to match the energy (and size) of the crowd, who’d just come in throngs from the Kinetic Field stage where Swedish House Mafia had just finished cleaning up. Wolfgang’s set was loud, it was bright, and it encompassed everything that EDC 2011 had been. After hitting hard with samples of Talking Heads’ “Once In A Lifetime” sample and his own track “Bounce”, the crowd began to peak, and give it their all. After all, it’d be the last time they were allowed to do this in a public setting on such a massive scale until next year.

You can peep the whole list of shows below, but here are some “must sees” in our book: Death From Above 1979 at the Metro on Thursday, The Vaccines/Tennis at Schubas on Friday, and Titus Andronicus/Fences hitting up Reggie’s on Saturday. If you’re willing to brave the House of Blues, you can catch more of Lykke Li (who wouldn’t?) and the Arctic Monkeys, performing their new brilliant LP. It should be noted that there are no planned performances at the Vic Theatre, where Soundgarden and Pearl Jam both performed pre-weekend sets in previous years. Could there be something in the works? Maybe a Foo Fighters gig? Speculation, sure, but you never know. We’ll have to play the waiting game.

In the meantime, here are your shows and check out Do312.com for ticket information!

Lollapalooza 2011 Aftershows
08/03 – Cold War Kids w/ Gold Motel, Carbon Tigers, Katz Company @ Metro
08/04 – Death From Above 1979 w/ Metz @ Metro
08/04 – Crystal Castles w/ The Naked and Famous @ House of Blues
08/04 – Smith Westerns @ Schubas
08/04 – Delta Spirit w/ Reptar @ Lincoln Hall
08/04 – Cults w/ Guards, Riter @ Empty Bottle
08/04 – Feed Me w/ Savoy @ Logan Square Auditorium
08/05 – Black Lips w/ Night Beats @ Empty Bottle
08/05 – Atmosphere w/ Prof, Evidence, Blueprint @ Metro
08/05 – Lykke Li w/ Foster The People @ House of Blues
08/05 – Portugal. The Man w/ Wye Oak @ Double Door
08/05 – The Vaccines w/ Tennis @ Schubas
08/05 – Afrojack w/ Perry Farrell @ The Mid
08/05 – Tinie Tempah & Young the Giant @ Subterranean
08/05 – Local Natives w/ Walk the Moon @ Lincoln Hall
08/05 – Sam Adams w/ Kyle Lucas & Captain Midnite @ Bottom Lounge
08/05 – Pretty Lights & Skrillex @ The Congress Theater
08/06 – The Pains of Being Pure at Heart w/ Young Man @ Empty Bottle
08/06 – Arctic Monkeys w/ Disappears @ House of Blues
08/06 – White Lies w/ Rival Schools @ Double Door
08/06 – Fitz & the Tantrums w/ Christina Perri @ Schubas
08/06 – MSTRKRFT w/ Midnight Conspiracy, Nathan Scott, Compact Disco @ The Mid
08/06 – Dom w/ Typhoon @ Subterranean
08/06 – Two Door Cinema Club w/ Grouplove @ Lincoln Hall
08/06 – Titus Andronicus w/ Fences @ Reggie’s
08/06 – Daedelus w/ Eskmo, Lorn @ Bottom Lounge
08/06 – 12th Planet w/ 16bit, Richie August, Mega Mike @ Logan Square Auditorium

After legal troubles forced the annual rave to leave its longtime home of Los Angeles, California, EDC set it sights on Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where it will host an expected crowd of over 100,000 festival-goers between June 24th and 26th. Other confirmed notables include Skream & Benga, Skrillex, The Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 77, Felix Cartal, The Glitch Mob, Afrojak, Robbie Rivera, The Crystal Method (DJ Set), Steve Aoki, and Richie Hawtin, who will perform both a solo set and present his Plastikman project.

Among the other highlights are Steve Bug, Sub Focus, High Contrast, Sander Van Doorn, Markus Schulz, Rusko, Boris, Beats Antique, Dada Life, Datsik, Dieselboy, Feed Me, Ferry Corsten, Steve Angello, Hernan Cattaneo, Greent Velvet, Evol Intent, Christopher Lawrence, ATB, and 12th Planet.

Even more acts will be announced in the coming weeks. In the meantime, check out all the current lineup at our Festival Outlook.

$215.00 GA passes and $500.00 VIP passes are now available via the festival’s website. Single-day tickets will also be available.

Electric Daisy Carnival will also be hosting off-shoot events in Denver, Dallas, and Puerto Rico this summer. Click here for additional information.

“Not considering this opening worthy of more attention, I continued our pursuit to the Northwest, being desirous to embrace the advantages of the prevailing breeze.” – George Vancouver, 17th century English explorer

Breathtaking describes a lot of things. It’s typically a “go-to” adjective for anything remotely awe-inspiring. For Sasquatch! Music Festival, it’s the only word that works. There’s little room for where it doesn’t work, come to think of it. Even the drive in from Seattle, WA is enough to yank tears from the eyes. Driving through the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, you can’t miss the ominous Douglas-firs, or pry your hands from the wheel at the unpredictable roads that weave and snake through the mountainous terrain. It’s an adventure in every sense of the word.

But, that’s just the drive. Once you’re there, snuggled between the small towns of Quincy & George, you’re essentially cut off from the traditional confines of society. You’re a free spirit, roaming the natural habitat. It’s a liberating feeling, but also somewhat frightening. You’re at the hands of society’s loose change. Actually, it’s very frightening. But, that risk is what makes it so extraordinary. After everyone’s settled and the traffic conditions slacken, festivalgoers, musicians, and staff co-exist together in a melting pot within a melting pot. It’s madness, it’s a little chaotic, but it’s raw. It harkens back to the age-old American idealism of venturing beyond, exploring the uninhabited abyss.

What an abyss, though. It’s so easy to just say, “Well, the Gorge is out of this world. Duh.” But, that’s really it. Natural wonders retain that title for a reason. The Gorge earns it triple-fold. There are colors baked into its natural walls that haven’t even been named yet. Even more spellbinding, these colors evolve every minute, every hour, and each day. So at first glance, it’s something you’ll remember forever, but that feeling never leaves you.

Couple that with music and it’s truly a win-win.

-Michael Roffman
President/Editor-in-Chief

Friday, May 27th

Rival Schools – Bigfoot Stage – 4:00 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

“Hey there,” Rival Schools‘ vocalist Walter Schreifels muttered, cracking open the four-day Sasquatch! weekend. As the still evolving crowd poured in from the nearby gates – which had only opened 15-20 minutes prior to the set – the New York rockers breezed through a slightly raucous if not traditional set. Opener “Wring It Out”, their current single supporting this year’s Pedals, wrenched some acclaim from fanatics who scattered around the mid-sized Bigfoot stage, granting the band access to segue straight into other new material, specifically “69 Guns”, which turned things up a notch. It didn’t take long for the quartet to scale back to older material, either. Oldie ”Everything Has Its Point”, a track that dates back to their 2001 debut, United by Fate, popped up rather quickly. Then the rest just fell into place. -Michael Roffman

Mariachi El Bronx – Yeti Stage – 4:30 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

There’s a moment in every festival where a band conjures up the wonderful “freak flag” moment. For Sasquatch!, it came an hour into the weekend, when Los Angeles’ own The Bronx donned the sombreros and dove head first into mariachi music. Dubbed Mariachi El Bronx, after the group’s WTF 2009 LP of the same name, the group really stirred the proverbial post-modern fiesta hippy pot, to which everyone just sort of let their souls run wild. Sometime amidst the chaos, one of the band members exclaimed, “There’s some badass shit going on today.” Although it was a tad too early to admit this, that pretty much summed up the remainder of the day. Mariachi men or fortune tellers? Hmm. -Michael Roffman

Biffy Clyro – Bigfoot Stage – 5:00 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

I was lucky enough to catch Biffy Clyro at the Illosaarirock Festival in Finland last year and was completely won over by the Scottish trio’s driving live act and larger-than-life sound. Though the catchy prog-metal band isn’t well known in North America, and they were one of the first bands to play at the start of the festival, they still managed to draw a sizeable crowd of fans who knew all lyrics by heart and were moshing out during some of the harder numbers. The Biff (as their fans affectionately call them) were quick and bouncy, turning their more pop-based songs into metal numbers and causing lead singer and guitarist (and Jesus lookalike) Simon Neil to break his strings several times over. -Karina Halle

Bob Mould – Mainstage – 5:45 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

Similar to Paul Westerberg, Bob Mould travels alone these days. Actually, the major difference between the two is that the latter actually travels. However, their stage show is strikingly similar – at least when Westerberg last toured. It’s bare bones logic: a famed songwriter, alone, with an electric guitar, and a largely celebrated discography in the noggin. That might sound like a match made in heaven, but when you’re playing the Gorge Amphitheatre, it’s a tad…vacuous? Still early in the schedule, with the sun blazing beyond the hills and mountainous plains (if that makes sense), Mould, decked out in red flannel and some jeans, strolled out to a small yet adoring fan base. (Small in the sense that he’s performing at the fucking Gorge.) Still, as he patrolled through Hüsker Dü classics like “Hardly Getting Over It” or solo hits a la “Wishing Well”, he maintained an edge that was hard to dismiss. In the middle of the set, one fan nearby caught his attention, screaming, “Just rock on man! You’re doing great!” A sweaty, rather exhausted Mould replied back, “I’m trying, man.” In the end, you have to respect that. -Michael Roffman

Against Me! – Bigfoot Stage – 6:10 p.m.

Photo by Christopher Nelson

In keeping with Friday’s theme of nonstop hard rock, Against Me! played a consistently high-energy set to close the Bigfoot Stage for the evening. No acoustic breakdowns or intimate stage banter, just rocker after rocker, including highlights “Pints of Guinness Make You Strong”, “T.S.R. (This Shit Rules)”, and “I Was a Teenage Anarchist”. At one of the Florida punk band’s headlining shows it would have been tiring, but this was an ideal one-hour festival set. Outside of maybe Dave Grohl, Wayne Coyne, and Dave King, Tom Gabel was quietly the most likable frontman at Sasquatch!. Against Me! also earns points for choosing plain black tees over the flannel everyone else was wearing throughout the weekend. - Harry Painter

The Bronx – Mainstage – 6:45 p.m.

Photo by Jackie Kingsbury

“I want to see all of you move out there! There’s a Sasquatch in all of you!” – Matt Caughthran

Not many bands received two sets at Sasquatch this weekend; although, it’s arguable you could even count The Bronx’s shows as two sets. After an upbeat Mariachi show, they wandered to the Sasquatch stage where they stripped off the gear, but turned up the volume. There, the band screamed and thrashed, while the nearby pit proceeded to go ape-shit. They slammed through tracks like “They Will Kill Us All (Without Mercy)” and “White Tar”, and set a much different vibe than the Mariachi set, as body parts were actually smashed at this show. To go from playing sexy salsa tunes to hardcore numbers with names like “Heart Attack America” was more or less a bloody and triumphant transition. -Ted Maider

Death From Above 1979 – Mainstage – 8:00 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

The banner behind what would eventually become the DFA riot was a picture of a tombstone that read: “DFA 1979, 2001-2006”. Far more interesting than the tombstone, however, were the ghoulish images of Jesse Keeler and Sebastian Grainger emerging from the gravesite. The secret’s been out for some time (see: Coachella and SXSW), but Death From Above 1979 are back from the dead and sounding better than ever.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

Not ones to stop and chat, the pioneering duo took the stage and began melting faces right off the bat. The two took the slow afternoon from zero to 60 in a matter of milliseconds, and they didn’t relent for the entire time they were allotted. Mosh pockets opened up in literally every part of the Gorge, from the very front of the pit to the lawn seating, which made sense, considering DFA1979 has the power to bring human beings the insatiable urge to push one another. The set climaxed with a three song KO – “Sexy Results”, “Romantic Rights”, and “Do It!” – and as one might expect, everyone left the pit drenched in other people’s sweat, blood, and booze. Which I’m sure is what DFA consider a complete triumph. -Winston Robbins

Foo Fighters – Mainstage – 9:30 p.m.

When Sasquatch first announced that the festival would be four days long instead of three, many people wondered how on Earth they’d be able to draw in the crowds on Friday, the day that wasn’t a national holiday. Then they announced the Foo Fighters were headlining that night and everything fell into place. If there is any band that fans would skip out on work for, it’s the Foo Fighters.

Of course, it’s always been kind of “cool” to rag on the Foo for being too commercial or “happy”, but riding high on the success of their latest album, Wasting Light, even cynical festival-goers were at least stopping by the main stage to check out their act. And if they checked their cynicism at the door, it was hard to walk away disappointed.

From the moment Dave Grohl and his plaid-clad crew of chain-smoking Pat Smear, Chris Shiflett, Nate Mendel, and Taylor Hawkins (the only one not in flannel), took to the stage, the audience was treated to two hours of wailing guitars, singalong anthems, and never ending energy. They opened with Wasting Light’s raucous “Bridge Burning” and sailed all the way through to “Everlong” (forgoing the encore, as Grohl said, “We’d rather keep playing until the end”) and the enthusiasm from the band and the crowd never dipped for a second. Though I would have loved for all songs off of Wasting Light to be played, they did pull out a fair chunk of it including “White Limo”, “Arlandria”, and “Dear Rosemary” (featuring Bob Mould who played the same stage earlier). The soaring, feel-good “Walk” united the crowd as much as their older hits such as “My Hero” and “Learn to Fly” did, and they even tossed out lesser-played songs such as “I’ll Stick Around” and “Generator”.

The thing about the Foo Fighters is that they never just play their songs as is, they have to take them a step beyond. At Sasquatch this meant an extra epic jam session for “Monkey Wrench”, a drum solo courtesy of the tireless Hawkins, and numerous bridge breakdowns and build ups. Though it’s an effective live tool, the technique became repetitive after the 10^th song, but as soon as Grohl slams back into the chorus, you were singing along with him and bumping elbows with people in the world’s happiest mosh pit. There were rumors that Grohl’s ex-bandmate Krist Novoselic was there watching from the side stage, which would have been an amazing opportunity for him to come out and join the band (especially since he contributed to Wasting Light’s heartfelt “I Should Have Known”), but perhaps he wanted this moment to be all about the Foo Fighters and not a quick Nirvana reunion, which is understandable. The Foo Fighters ended Friday with a sea of smiles and set the bar high for the whole festival. -Karina Halle

Photo by Heather Kaplan

Friday Gallery by Heather Kaplan

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Saturday, May 28th

Seattle Rock Orchestra – Bigfoot Stage – 12:00 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

On paper, an orchestra performing the songs of Radiohead sounds worthwhile — and what better venue to house such an event than the stage closest to the entrance of a hip music festival as a bunch of likely Radiohead fans walk in? Last year was a similar deal, with the Seattle Rock Orchestra instead performing an Arcade Fire tribute. For whatever reason, this time around, people were not moved to sing along, dance, or even pay much attention. Seattle Rock Orchestra, which has at times been comprised of over 60 members, brought out a couple dozen at most to play hits from The Bends and OK Computer. The problem was it felt more like a standard cover band with a string section than a real orchestra as the abridged SRO recited uninspired arrangements of “Just”, “Airbag”, “Paranoid Android”, and “My Iron Lung”.

There were bright spots, however. “Exit Music”, “Electioneering”, and “Karma Police”, despite never approaching the emotional gusto of the originals, at least did some justice to them and made the strings and horns feel necessary. Using multiple decidedly un-Yorkeian vocalists (including a female) was a good call, and the performances never felt cheesy. - Harry Painter

The Radio Dept. – Mainstage – 1:05 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

For as long as The Radio Dept.’s been at it, and for how very little they tour, they should have been placed later in the day. But beggars can’t be choosers, and no matter the time of day, The Radio Dept. in the flesh is The Radio Dept. in the flesh. Touring behind their latest singles collection Passive  Aggressive, their setlist consisted entirely of the singles they’ve released over the past decade and a half. From Lesser Matters’ “Ewan” to the more recent “Heaven’s On Fire” off their last LP, 2010′s Clinging To A Scheme. The three piece Swedish outfit timidly went about their 45 minutes to a fairly full floor, which makes sense, given the fact that they’re somewhat reclusive and playing to a very, very large Gorge lawn crowd. Never ones to crack under the pressure, they played a beautiful set note for note. -Winston Robbins

k-os – Bigfoot Stage – 3:00 p.m.

Photo by Karina Halle

Toronto-based musician k-os (nee Kevin Brereton) brought a lively dose of his grooving rap-rock to the Bigfoot stage. There was a distinct lack of hip-hop acts at Sasquatch, so savvy festival-goers were quick to catch his set, his reggae-induced beats suiting the blue-sky and sunshine perfectly. Songs like “Sunday Morning”, “I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman”, and “Man I Used to Be” went over well despite the stage’s frequent sound problems that plagued his microphone and interrupted a few of the songs. -Karina Halle

Local Natives – Mainstage – 3:15 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

It would have been easy to overlook the Local Natives as the band that played Sasquatch! because Fleet Foxes can’t be there every year. That is, it would have been easy had they not turned so many heads. Besides it being a little hard to take seriously a folk band led by a guy with a porn star mustache, Local Natives earned their stripes with what frontman Taylor Rice said was their biggest gig yet (the list includes their appearance at Sasquatch! 2010 on the smaller Bigfoot Stage). Local Natives played the usual Gorilla Manor material, before reporting they would be heading home to L.A. to record the next album. - Harry Painter

Trailer Park Boys – Banana Shack – 3:45 p.m.

Photo by Karina Halle

What to say about the Trailer Park Boys? Because Canada’s answer to Reno 911 follows the lives of Nova Scotian ex-convicts Bubbles (Mike Smith), Ricky (Rob Wells), and Julian (John Paul Tremblay) in a trailer trash mockumentary style, it was interesting to see how the show would play out as a live comedy show (at a US festival, too). Though it was hard to hear and see at times, the trio managed to titillate the mainly Canadian crowd (this I deduced from the “Go Canucks Go” chant just prior) and maybe win over a few new fans. The free hot dogs that Julian tossed into the crowd probably helped too. -Karina Halle

Wolf Parade – Mainstage – 4:20 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

This set was doubly tragic. Not only did indie veterans Wolf Parade only get 45 minutes to play, but it would (possibly, probably) be the last time they performed for a very long time. They announced months ago that they were going on an indefinite hiatus, Sasquatch! Music Festival being the last stop before calling it quits. The enormity of the situation wasn’t lost on the crowd, either. Wolf Parade drew the largest group of people for any band non head or sub-headlining. Seemingly undaunted by any of these stressors, they put on a historic show. Once again, it was tragically short, but it was bursting at the seams with the best work of their career. Obviously, the tracks from Apologies To Queen Mary (“You Are A Runner And I Am My Father’s Son” and “Fancy Claps” in particular) were the best received, but they gave each track the treatment it deserved. Expo 86 cut “What Did My Lover Say? (It Always Had To Go This Way)” primed the crowd before they played themselves off with a rendition of “I’ll Believe In Anything” that sent chills down the spines of all those who grasped the reality of the situation. -Winston Robbins

J. Mascis – Yeti Stage – 4:35 p.m.

Photo by Christopher Nelson

The demographics that made up Sasquatch! couldn’t have been expected to know or care who J. Mascis was, and it appeared most didn’t. But it wasn’t much of a challenge for the silver-maned, baseball cap-wearing Dinosaur Jr. frontman to win people over. Featuring songs off his debut solo album, Several Shades of Why, as well as some Dino Jr. favorites, Mascis’ set alternated between accessible acoustic folk rock and the noisy guitar solos for which he is known. The 1993 Dino Jr. track “Get Me”, in particular, had the Yeti crowd in a trance. Mascis wins the old guy award for the weekend, as great as Bob Mould was. - Harry Painter

Jenny & Johnny – Bigfoot Stage – 5:10 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

It was not a secret that the crowd kept very well, they were absolutely at this set just to see Jenny Lewis. And why wouldn’t they be? She was true to form: beautiful, endearing, and immensely talented. Joke was on the Lewis-driven crowd, though, when they realized that singer-songwriter Johnathan Rice (the Johnny portion of the duo) was no laughing matter. The two (with the help of Rilo Kiley and Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band drummer Jason Boesel) put on a sweet show, singing songs about love and loss with unmatched pop sensibility. I’m Having Fun Now tracks “Scissor Runner” and “Pet Snakes” seemed to particularly catch the attention of the crowd. But in the end, the hapless Jenny Lewis fans got what they wanted when she broke out Acid Tongue epic “The Next Messiah”. -Winston Robbins

Wye Oak – Yeti Stage – 5:40 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

Saturday’s breakout act was a hell of a follow-up to J. Mascis. Baltimore’s Wye Oak, which consists of singer/guitarist Jenn Wasner and drummer/keyboardist (simultaneously!) Andy Stack, is a duo that has all the depth of a standard four-piece. Wasner could work on emphasizing her vocals, but between Wye Oak and The Radio Dept., Saturday was a good day for dream pop. -Harry Painter

The Antlers – Bigfoot Stage – 6:20 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

Fresh off the release of their impeccable Burst Apart, it was uncertain how this set would go for The Antlers. It was so vastly different from its predecessor, it seemed impossible that the two albums could ever share the same stage. This worry was alleviated when it was revealed track by track that they were playing Burst Apart in the order it appears on the LP tracklist. Coming out with the enormous “I Don’t Want Love”, the Brooklyn trio (with a backing drummer) destroyed the Bigfoot Stage fearlessly. There wasn’t time for them to play the album in its entirety, unfortunately, in the 45 minutes they were allotted, but they got the first six of the 10 tracks in, and peaked during an almost post-rock version of “Rolled Together”. They closed with the only track from their 2009 hit album Hospice they’d play all night, “Two”. But even that old track had been altered to sound a tad more Burst Apart-y, for lack of a better phrase. It will be interesting to see how The Antlers go about splicing these two vastly different pieces of work into a coherent live set, but it was something we were fortunately (or unfortunately?) spared of having to deal with. But after seeing them play a sunset performance at The Gorge, there seem to be very few things The Antlers can’t do right. -Winston Robbins

The Thermals – Yeti Stage – 6:45 p.m.

There are some pros and cons to the Yeti Stage. On the positive side, it faces the outside horizon; the area that surrounds the festival; the natural habitats that bring people here week after week. On the downside, it also faces the setting sun. Many artists have had problems with this; after all, who wants to rock out with a blinding sun? However, Portland’s own The Thermals remained true to their name, using the sun’s radiant energy to, and please pardon the use of the pun, thermally ignite. With an agreeable combination of both new and old, the minimalistic trio punched and kicked through nearly 20 songs in the evening’s transitioning hour. During an incendiary opening cut of “Time to Lose”, vocalist Hutch Harris took things to the floor, channeling his inner Chuck Berry, and kept things going with “Returning to the Fold”, “Not Like Any Other Feeling”, and “It’s Trivia”. Blame it on their tour with the always thrilling Matt & Kim, but The Thermals were fiddling with an energy that hasn’t been this exciting for awhile. The crowd fed off it, too. Before they trekked forward, Harris observed: “Oh yeah, it’s getting rowdy out there. Keep it going Sasquatch.” They did, but so did the band. -Michael Roffman

Photo by Heather Kaplan

Washed Out – Banana Shack – 7:00 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

The newly re-vamped Verizon Banana Shack seemed the perfect home for chillwave pioneers Washed Out. But hindsight’s 20/20, and they would have been better suited at a regular stage. The Banana Shack is more commonly home to house/dance music, and it took an extremely long time to get the band’s gear onstage. They finally managed to start 20 minutes after their scheduled time, and seemed very scattered throughout their set as a result. Leading man Ernest Greene was the glue that held the set together as he ran through a shortened set that incorporated old favorites (“New Theory, “Feel It All Around”), introduced a new song, and closed with a rendition of their latest single “Eyes Be Closed” that was almost good enough to redeem the flaws of the show. Washed Out started out as Ernest Greene, and as it has expanded to a five-piece, some of his earlier songs seemed very crowded with five instruments trying to create a fairly small sound. But as for the song they debuted and “Eyes Be Closed”, the band couldn’t have sounded better, and Washed Out’s forthcoming Within And Without will no doubt be a bigger, bolder record. But this particular show? Washed Out dropped the ball. -Winston Robbins

Bright Eyes -Mainstage – 8:15 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

The veteran cast of Bright Eyes (along with their backing band, which includes Rilo Kiley/Mystic Valley Band drummer, Jason Boesel) took the stage one at a time -legendary producer/artist Mike Mogis, followed by the master of quiet intangibles Nate Walcott, all leading to the centerpiece of the indie legends: Conor Oberst. Oberst emerged from the side of the stage throwing his arms around, while wearing a hood that covered most of his face, which made him look uncannily like B. Rabbit from 8 Mile. The music that ensued was far from rap battling, however, and Oberst took no time getting into his all too short sub-headlining set with a massive rendition of The People’s Key single “Firewall”, which sent the crowd into an uproar. It was deathly cold and getting colder by the minute, but that didn’t deter the insanely devoted Oberst fans down in the pit.

Every movement he made, every word he said (of course he had something to say about politics and the state of affairs in our day and age), and every song he sung inspired the crowd to get more and more worked up. Their hour set included songs from every era of the Bright Eyes career: tracks from I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning, Lifted or the Story is in the Telling, Cassadaga, and even one from Fevers & Mirrors, which he dedicated to his contemporaries that he’d been in the business with since late 90’s: Iron & Wine and Death Cab For Cutie. And while I’m sure they appreciated the gesture, the set was about the fans.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

“Four Winds”, “Lover I Don’t Have To Love”, and a combination of “Road To Joy” and  “One For You, One For Me” caused a particularly large uproar. The latter of the three mentioned was possibly the most moving of the entire weekend. Oberst left the stage to join his adoring fans, one of whom hurdled the barrier and kissed him passionately on the lips before being escorted away by security. As the voice over to “One For You, One For Me” played over the PA, Oberst remained at the front of the crowd hugging and shaking the hands of fans, some of whom were literally weeping to be in his presence. Love him or hate him, Conor Oberst has an immovable charisma that speaks powerfully to some. -Winston Robbins

Robyn – Bigfoot Stage – 9:00 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

It wasn’t really fair to pit Robyn between Bright Eyes and Death Cab for Cutie – especially since the latter hasn’t toured in quite awhile. However, the Swedish treat sweetened enough folks by name alone to create a massive scene at the Bigfoot Stage. Technical difficulties pushed the set back 25 minutes, which turned the crowd into a tepid mob scene. Several fans chanted “Robyn!”, plenty walked away, and one guy wholeheartedly attempted to sell the crowd on chanting “18 minutes late!” (which soon evolved into “25 minutes late!”), though no one joined him. They didn’t have to because once the international sensation appeared, all energy was focused on dancing. Strictly dancing. Smiling, waving, and stripping down – even amidst the chilly winds rolling through – Robyn powered through a close pocketed 45 minute set, starting with “Fembot”, continuing on with “Bad Gal”, and naturally including her scorching single (and Gossip Girl burner), “Dancing On My Own”. A double dosage of percussion injected some adrenaline into an already impressive stage set up, tailoring songs like “Indestructible” with an epic sheen. Basically, if you haven’t seen her live, then you’re not just missing out, you’re selling your heart short. -Michael Roffman

Death Cab for Cutie – Mainstage – 9:30 p.m.

Writer’s Note: Ben Gibbard needs a haircut.

As it was the 10^th anniversary of Sasquatch, it seemed reasonable to book some of the Pacific Northwest’s finest modern acts to carry on the torch for another year. Seattle’s own Death Cab for Cutie was a perfect choice for such an occasion as they continue to embody the Washington spirit. As time has raced on by, Death Cab has gone from an indie sensation to a slew of pop-stars with constant airplay. Only in Seattle, right?

To prove that they were worthy of a headlining title, Gibbard  & Co. took the stage to deliver one of the most surprising shows of the weekend. The energy was quite high – especially for a Death Cab gig. Opener “I Will Possess Your Heart” lasted for ages, but its thumping bass line and stirring percussion were enough to stir the crowd. This sort of chemistry washed over other gems like “Movie Script Ending”, an electrifying “Cath”, and a version of “Long Division” that brought people to crowd surf. Hit after hit, and song after song, Death Cab for Cutie rattled their catalog for a show that would not only impress the Sasquatch crowd, but also make every fan jealous that they missed this show.

The true highlight of the set though was when Gibbard came out alone to strum away Plans favorite, “I Will Follow You Into the Dark”. Feeling the raw intimacy of the song, the crowd joined along and sang in unison, their voices echoing off the walls of the Gorge. People will follow Gibbard anywhere, I guess. -Ted Maider

Photo by Kyle Johnson

Sleigh Bells -Banana Shack – 10:10 p.m.

Photo by Winston Robbins

The Banana Shack was hands down the best addition to this year’s installment of Sasquatch!. Very much like Coachella’s Sahara Tent, the Banana Shack was solely for the purpose of comedians during the day and electro raves at night. So, of course, this is the stage where Sleigh Bells landed. Their set was unfortunately stuck in the middle of Death Cab’s and Robyn’s respective sets, but it mattered very little in the end. They were 20 minutes late to start, but they made up for that by not only going an extra half hour longer than they were scheduled, but by rocking especially hard. Sleigh Bells are admittedly more flash than music, but their flash is so illustrious that it enhances the music to levels many of their contemporaries could only hope to achieve. After an instrumental cover of “Iron Man” by Derek Miller, Alexis Krauss joined him for what would be an hour of sheer sweaty chaos. Sleigh Bells is best played at maximum volume, and the sound in the Banana Shack more than accommodated this ideal. Being that Treats is a fairly short album they played almost every track, the highlights being “Riot Rhythm”, “Infinity Guitars”, and a very funky version of “Rill Rill”. -Winston Robbins

Bassnectar – Bigfoot Stage – 11:30 p.m.

Photo by Kyle Johnson

Disclaimer: I hate dub-step.

Prior to this show, an audience member informed me humans are conditioned to enjoy heavy bass, as the vibrations remind our subconscious of time spent in the womb and the comfort we received within it. This has to be true because thousands of people crammed in for Bassnectar’s late night show…. and, well, he delivered. The DJ, whose popularity has clearly skyrocketed within the past couple years, blew out speakers, mixed Nirvana, and played one of the highest energy sets possible. The only thing more insane than the DJ himself was the crowd. People tossed glow sticks, moshed, crowd-surfed and went ballistic. It was hands down the best dance show of the weekend.

Disclaimer: I still hate dub-step. -Ted Maider

Saturday Gallery by Heather Kaplan

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Sunday, May 29th

The Drums – Mainstage – 1:05 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

For the past year or two, New York post-punk rockers The Drums have raised eyebrows in critics’ circles for making Joy Division sound sunny and fun. Their self-titled debut hit plenty of End of the Year lists last year and despite some lineup changes, they continue to truck on and maintain a some gravitas in the indie community. None of that’s changed. If their early spot at the Mainstage is any indication, they’re not going anywhere. Songs like “Best Friend”, “Let’s Go Surfing”, and “Down by the Water” are all classics by now. They’re great. But when beach blonde Jonathan Pierce introduced new song “Money”, and reported that the band wrapped up recording their sophomore follow up, things took a turn for the best. Sounding like a spunky outtake from New Order’s Movement, “Money” whisked on by with a sharp noise that made cuts in everyone’s ears. That’s a good thing. Waiting until we hear the studio version? Not a good thing. Either way, the boys continue to look hip (from hair to toe) and sound fresh. At this point, they can continue championing the whole surfer rock thing, even if that whole image has been burned to the ground. They at least earned it. -Michael Roffman

Fitz & The Tantrums – Mainstage – 2:10 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

There is nothing new going on here. Fitz & The Tantrums play a predictable blend of funk and neo-soul designed, of course, to get the dance floor moving. But these guys are really good at it. Fitz, full name Michael Fitzpatrick, is a David Bowie lookalike in a flashy suit who puts in his 110 percent to get the crowd involved. How often do you see a frontman request a clap or mass kneel and fail miserably? In Fitz’s case, he had everyone, lawn included, complying with his every command — so you know he’s doing something right. Highlights included “Rich Girls”, the single “MoneyGrabber”, and a cover of “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)”. - Harry Painter

S. Carey – Bigfoot Stage –  3:00 p.m.

Sean Carey has come a long way from being the guy that timidly confronted Justin Vernon at a show to tell him he admired his music. Not only did he shortly thereafter join Bon Iver, but he embarked on a solo career of his own while Justin Vernon was off doing other things (you know, hanging out with Kanye West and stuff). Over the past year or so, S. Carey has toured behind his debut solo record, All We Grow, with a notable spot opening up for last year’s biggest folk sensation The Tallest Man On Earth. Carey came out confident and played his quiet, beautiful post-rock to a very large crowd, considering how early in the day he was scheduled to play. He and his five piece brought their A game and finished big with an impromptu cover of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks theme song, followed by a very subtle cover of Bjork’s “Unravel”, and an emotional version of the title track, “All We Grow”. This was surely one of his last solo performances, as he will be joining back up with Bon Iver, who is about to take over the world yet again when their new album drops later this June (don’t pretend for a second you haven’t downloaded the leak…). -Winston Robbins

Tokyo Police Club – Mainstage – 3:15 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

Tokyo Police Club has been whoring out their Canadian goodness to all the festivals in the past year, so it seemed natural that they’d show up at Sasquatch! (considering how many Canadians were there to support them). The band was definitely a decent way to fill some time throughout the day’s heat, and they actually played a pretty good set. They got the crowd to help them out with “Tessellate” and jammed on gems like “Elephant Shell” and “Nature of the Experiment”. The real show though was when the band brought their good friend on stage, not to rock, but to propose to his girlfriend. Perfect for an indie-rock festival. -Ted Maider

Sam Roberts Band – Bigfoot Stage – 4:05 p.m.

Photo by Karina Halle

Juno-award winning (you know, the Canadian Grammys) singer/songwriter Sam Roberts is perfect festival fodder and his appearance on the Big Foot stage was no exception. His brand of smooth-voiced rock and roll is simple enough for sunny days but catchy enough to keep an audience moving on their toes, which is exactly what he did. Even people who weren’t planning on catching the show were stopping by the stage and joining along with the singalongs and hand-waving to such songs as “Brother Down” and “The Last Crusade”. Watching the smiling festival-goers jump and flail around to “Them Kids” made you think that the song’s lyrics were wrong and the kids do “know how to dance to rock and roll” after all. Well, at least they try. -Karina Halle

Beach House – Mainstage – 4:20 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

Three years ago, Beach House‘s Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally were performing at intimate venues like Chicago’s own Schubas. You know, to maybe 300 people tops? So seeing them entertain thousands at the Gorge on Sunday evening was beyond surreal. Here’s a place that acts like Pearl Jam or Dave Matthews Band have used for their landmark live efforts. Now, this Baltimore dream pop duo can say they’ve matched them – sort of. They may not be able to rope in that many on their own, but they’re certainly up for the task, at least if their stage presence is any indication. Tighter, more intense, and highly personable, Legrand and Scally actually look alive these days. In between their lush and gorgeous ballads like “Zebra” or “Walk in the Park”, the two committed to some friendly banter. Legrand even remarked on the group’s questionable set time: “We like that our set started at 4:20, but we don’t really care about that. That makes me sound like a pothead.” As the sun glazed the surrounding fields, everyone was at peace with themselves, including a little indie toddler, who tossed dirt around and brought smiles from passerby’s. “Humans are meant to cooperate. Good job, human beings,” Scally observed. Yes, kudos. -Michael Roffman

Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears – Yeti Stage – 4:35 p.m.

Austin, TX’s Black Joe Lewis likes to have a good time. His Honeybears make that happen each time they’re on stage together. As the sun started to spill over, the bluesy octet owned the Yeti Stage, and its many inhabitants. Lewis’ trademark swagger has finally worked. For the past two years, they’ve been a festival staple, though in smaller capacities. Although the Yeti Stage is technically the smallest of the Sasquatch! venues, the crowd proved he needs to move up next time he’s in “town.” This wasn’t a group of passerby’s; no, this was more like a loyal following. And by the time they started grooving to a muddy rendition of “Louie, Louie” or “Bird is the Word!”, they had hundreds of fans screaming their hearts out. Too bad the nearby BBQ was overpriced. It could’ve added to the great backyard jam. Oh well. -Michael Roffman

Photo by Jackie Kingsbury

Mad Rad – Yeti Stage – 5:40 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

It’s hard to explain Seattle’s Mad Rad. They’re essentially a slew of Caucasians that create nasally-sounding hipster hip-hop. But it’s loud, it’s obnoxious, and it’s enigmatic. For a small group that’s technically still unheard of, they commandeered one of the largest crowds at the Yeti Stage. They didn’t waste any time roping them in, either. The band’s ensemble includes Buffalo Madonna, Terry Radjaw, DJ Darwin, and P Smoov and all of them shared the spotlight equally. Throughout their then potentially hazardous set, Buffalo, Terry, and P Smoov tossed toilet paper into the crowd and rapped while crowd surfing over fans. Some of the best crowd interaction of the weekend happened during songs like ”Love in a Strange World” or “I Want Your Blood”, which have deeper meanings than their titles imply. Then again, they’re just not the same without the ridiculous introductions before them. Bottom line: Look ‘em up. -Michael Roffman

Archers of Loaf – Bigfoot Stage – 6:20 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

So, was the reunion worth it? Archers of Loaf, known for their weird songs in the ’90s, played the Bigfoot Stage to one of the smallest crowds of the entire weekend. In fact, I saw more people with artist wristbands at the show than kids with festival wristbands. It didn’t stop the band from rocking out, though, and dishing out numerous classics like the dreary “You and Me” or the thrashing “Audiowhore”. But considering nobody seemed to know who they were, it makes one think, are reunions even important anymore, or just a bunch of Internet hype? -Ted Maider

Das Racist – Yeti Stage – 6:45 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

You know what, we’ll try and cut Das Racist some slack, as they traveled all the way from performing a show at Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona, Spain the night before. But even if we gave them the most slack in the history of slack cutting, this was still one of the worst performances at Sasquatch. Things got off to a bad start when they didn’t go on until 40 minutes after they were supposed to. The crowd was visibly restless, and were on the verge of eating and/or maiming each other when Das Racist finally came on. And from there, one would assume that they were never able to fully recover. Das Racist’s bread and butter is drunken, lazy, nonsensical raps. It’s just part of their charm. But for this particular performance they were either remarkably jet lagged, or especially drunk. Even when they finally started performing, they barely moved, and their raps should be more accurately described as very quick mumbling. Not even their extremely popular “hahahaha jk?” could save them. And what had been one of the largest crowds at the Yeti Stage quickly dispersed, either to find some floor space for The Flaming Lips, or to bump up the hill to see Gayngs. -Winston Robbins

Gayngs – Bigfoot Stage – 7:30 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

Gayngs were tragically scheduled against The Flaming Lips, which obviously took away from a crowd that should have been bigger. But for those who stuck around, it was well worth the small portion of The Flaming Lips that had to be missed. All eyes were intensely glued to the stage, hoping Justin Vernon and Mike Noyce of Bon Iver would show up, but when the suave 10-piece band took the stage neither of the men were to be found. After the initial disappointment wore off, the crowd began to get into Gayngs’ slow, sexy jams. Ryan Olson has enough charisma and then some to make up for the lack of Vernon. The backing band consisted of relatively unknown individuals, (other than Zach Coulter) but were all immensely impressive. With Olson at the helm, the backing musicians rapidly seeing limelight, and Bon Iver members popping in and out, Gayngs very well might one day be America’s answer to Broken Social Scene. “The Gaudy Side of Town”, “The Crystal Rope”, and set closer “The Last Prom On Earth” were all met with huge fanfare and massive sing-a-longs despite a no-showing Justin Vernon. -Winston Robbins

The Flaming Lips – Mainstage – 8:00 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

The Flaming Lips are no stranger to the festival scene. Not only do they seem to play every notable festival year after year, their music feels expertly tailored for the events filled with drug-infused music lovers and experimental looky-loos. Their appearance at Sasquatch though had one change from the norm; they were playing their beloved album, 1999′s The Soft Bulletin, in its entirety. Of course they had their trademark theatrics to wow over the general public, such as guns that shot pastel confetti, the cast of The Wizard of Oz dancing on the sides of the stages, singer Wayne Coyne in a giant hamster ball, multi-colored balloons, and crazy video projections. But hardcore fans were also delighted to hear the psychedelic harmonies and orchestrations of the acclaimed album. It started off at a good pace with “Race for the Prize” luring people into the set’s vibe.

By the time they reached “The Spiderbite Song“, Coyne began to tell stories about the band members Steven Drozds and Michael Ivins, which slowed the momentum down. Sure, Coyne can sometimes yammer on too much, but at least he’s always engaged and always sincere with his interaction with the audience, and appreciative of the set’s stunning location. Even if you weren’t high off your gourd, you still felt a bit of magic at the playful atmosphere and the sight of the orange sun setting behind the rugged hills of the Columbia River Gorge.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

The set ended on a rather somber note which might have pulled some of the crowd down before Modest Mouse hit the stage, but there’s no doubt Lips fans walked away satisfied. It was a good way for the band to marry their over-the-top theatrics with their spared down melodies, making it feel that even though you were surrounded by many, the Lips were singing just for you. -Karina Halle

Flying Lotus – Banana Shack – 8:40 p.m.

Photo by Christopher Nelson

Let’s think of this set in terms of stocks and bonds. Skipping The Flaming Lips for Flying Lotus is obviously a high risk investment. But every now and again on Wall Street, sheer dumb luck makes Franklins fall from the sky, and your payout becomes exponentially larger than what you invested to begin with, making your initial investment worth the risk. The 2,500 people that were either brave or drunk enough to make this gamble came out of Flying Lotus’ set feeling like masters of stocks and bond; it was truly one of the greatest risks they ever took.

Even Steven Ellingson (Flying Lotus) himself was surprised to see so many people in the crowd, remarking “I made the two and a half, three hour drive here thinking the whole time no one would show up. But you did! And I thank you from the bottom of my heart for it.” And it was with that grateful sentiment that FlyLo started his set, which was an hour of pure electronic/hip-hop bliss. Ellingson was literally smiling the entire time, and the wheat had been separated from the chaff, if you will, leaving only the truest of true fans to party with Flying Lotus, creating an even more legitimate environment.

Photo by Luke Johnson

As a result of FlyLo’s appreciation and the crowd’s enthusiasm, he rolled out a set that will go down in history as one of his most spectacular. Incorporating Radiohead, Lil’ Wayne, and dozens of other artists in with his own infectious beats sent chills down the spines of those watching. The Banana Shack nearly toppled over (figuratively, of course) when he mixed the sheer grit of Tyler, The Creator’s “Yonkers” on top of one of his most bass-heavy tracks, “Melt!”. Word spread quickly and a major topic of conversation between festival-goers for the rest of the weekend was about how bummed they were that they went with The Flaming Lips (all due respect to Mr. Coyne and Mr. Drozd) over Flying Lotus. -Winston Robbins

Yeasayer – Bigfoot Stage – 9:00 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

After The Flaming Lips fizzled out, thousands flocked to the Bigfoot Stage, where Yeasayer turned the heat up. (Actually, it was getting pretty cold, so it made sense that people would want to dance.) Though the lights were impressive and Chris Keating, Ira Wolf Tuton, and Anand Wilder all maintained a stoic composure, a few tracks felt a tad hollow. On record, “O.N.E.” feels so all encompassing, but on stage it felt lacking. Maybe it was just too loud or too open of a space, but the tracks didn’t leave any bruises upon impact. Instead, they just warmed things up. “Ambling Alp” solved a lot of these issues, but by then, most were flocking away towards Modest Mouse. See you in the clubs, guys. -Michael Roffman

Modest Mouse – Mainstage – 9:45 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

Prior to this show, I heard countless horror stories about Modest Mouse, and people’s experiences with them. Stories like “I’ve seen them three times and they sucked for all of them” were quite popular, as well as, “Last time, Issac Brock was so drunk he couldn’t even sing ‘Dramamine’”. One must assume that the people who organize Sasquatch! know what they’re doing, because they billed Modest Mouse as Sunday’s headliner, and it seemed to be one of the headliners most people were concerned about. But when Brock and friends took the stage, everyone swelled and wondered what was going to come next. Brock stood in front of the mic quietly as feedback filled the Gorge until finally, he took a deep breath and screamed, “THIS PLANE IS DEFINITELY CRASHING!”, which meant one thing: “Shit Luck”. For those in attendance, as a Modest Mouse fan, you can die happy now.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

They didn’t stop there either. The band dipped all over their catalog for the next two hours. A soothing “Gravity Rides Everything” followed, a fantastic rendition of “Dramamine” (complete with all the lyrics) was delivered, two new songs were debuted (“Lampshades on Fire”, “Poison”), and even more recent stranger songs like “King Rat” were played, too. People danced, people sang, yet all were genuinely pleased that, for once, Modest Mouse was fucking killing it. They even played their most mainstream hit, “Float On”, which was more than enough to get the crowd on their feet and rocking out with every ounce of strength. But by far the most epic part of the night was the encore that included “World at Large”, especially as every “Ba ba ba” bounced off the Gorge. Only at Sasquatch kids… -Ted Maider

MSTRKRFT – Banana Shack – 10:00 p.m.

Photo by Jackie Kingsbury

Leave it to Jesse Keeler to be responsible for creating not one but two of the most out of control shows at Sasquatch! 2011. His other project, the recently reincarnated Death From Above 1979, rocked the Gorge to its knees two days prior, and he did it again, only this time in a completely different vein of music. Keeler and his producer cohort Al-P took to the Sasquatch! equivalent of Coachella’s Sahara Tent, The Banana Shack, to throw what would be the biggest rave at this year’s installment of the festival. In the past, MSTRKRFT haven’t been known for their studio music being extremely rave-centric. But with the release of this year’s singles “Back In the USSA” and “Beards Again” (both of which were played during the set), it seems as though MSTRKRFT may be headed that way if and when they decide to drop a new full-length.

Photo by Jackie Kingsbury

With the exception of a few of the hip hop samples that appeared on their (pretty lackluster) sophomore album, Fist of God, they didn’t play a single song off their two LPs; they played only new music that was a menagerie of smart sampling, well placed drops, and house-savvy beats. When it came for them to leave, Keeler announced to the crowd that they wanted to keep playing, and that they would soldier on well past their time slot and wouldn’t leave until the crowd didn’t want to hear them anymore or until an authority figure told them they couldn’t go on any longer. Obviously the ravers didn’t want them to stop (how do ravers go for 12 hours at a time and barely even break a sweat? They’re a rare sub-species, who I find to be particularly interesting), especially when they  combined their “Beards Again” with Daft Punk’s “Da Funk”. They ended up playing until 11:40, 40 minutes after when they were scheduled to stop. Eat your heart out, Sahara Tent. -Winston Robbins

Ratatat – Bigfoot Stage – 11:00 p.m.

Photo by Christopher Nelson

Ratatat has found their niche in the music world. After two solid releases – their self-titled, and Classics – the instrumental duo found themselves immensely popular, giving them the leniency to sort of do whatever the hell they want, musically. And they’ve done just that. They’ve gone down an alley of quick, bright sampling that is fairly different than their first two releases, but impressive all the same, especially in a live setting.

They pulled the late night slot at Sasquatch, which screams perfection in terms of time slot placement. And even though MSTRKRFT and Modest Mouse ate through a good bit of their set, Ratatat drew a huge crowd, especially once the aforementioned bands were done. People returning to camp were naturally drawn in by the enormously catchy sound, and even more so by the bizarre visual arrangements.

Photo by Christopher Nelson

Not only did the stage lighting involve some of the most elaborate sets at Sasquatch! (other than The Flaming Lips, of course), the montages being played over  the massive screens were so visually captivating, it was nearly impossible to look away. From bad infomercial acting to wildly shifting arrangements of birds, the screens were nearly as fun to watch as the band itself, who were quite impressive. No longer touring solely behind LP4, they were allowed to visit old favorites like “Loud Pipes”, “Kennedy”, and “Wildcat”. But that didn’t stop them from playing some of the strongest new material such as “Falcon Jab”, “Shempi”, and “Neckbrace”. But no track even held a candle to the one encore song they played as they approached one in the morning: an incredibly well re-arranged version of all-time classic “Seventeen Years”. It was the perfect way to end the most dance heavy day of the festival. -Winston Robbins

Sunday Gallery by Heather Kaplan

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Monday, May 30th

Wavves – Mainstage – 11:30 a.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

Perhaps it was the fact that they were a late addition, but Wavves was scheduled far too early in the morning. It’s not like Nathan Williams’ surf-punk project needs the extra exposure or anything, they get plenty of that from every musically oriented output in the civilized world. But after three days of hard festival partying, 11:30 a.m. was a little too early for everyone but the absolute biggest Wavves fans. Regardless, they put on one of the most energetic shows of the day, peaking with the one two punch combo of “King of the Beach” and “Idiot”. -Winston Robbins

Young the Giant – Mainstage – 12:35 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

Young the Giant had its work cut out for it following a morning Wavves set, and results were mixed. The energy lagged a little, perhaps because of the heat and everyone being tired by Monday. But Sameer Gadhia and co. did their best to counteract this, and had the pit jumping during the set-closing single “My Body”. - Harry Painter

Twin Shadow – Yeti Stage – 1:00 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

Brooklyn’s George Lewis, Jr., aka Twin Shadow, crafted an excellent album in Forget. It’s sad, it’s haunting, and it’s beautiful all at once. But none of that came across live, which may sound like a knock, but is a huge compliment. Lewis and his confident five-piece band went about their songs tirelessly for their 50 minute set. As well as debuting two new songs (which hopefully means he’s working on a follow-up with Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor, who produced the first record), Twin Shadow did ultra dance versions of their ominous new wave songs (in the order that they appear on the record) “Tyrant Destroyed”, “When We Were Dancing”, and “I Can’t Wait”. If Lewis doesn’t become a prominent figure in the rise of chillwave, whatever the hell that means anymore, I’ll be thoroughly surprised. The man is an incredible performer, has great stage presence, and best of all writes fantastic music. -Winston Robbins

Old 97′s – Mainstage – 1:40 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

Once again, maybe it has to do with playing in the heat on a tired Monday afternoon when everyone was trying to nap, but the Old 97′s completely failed to get a reaction out of anyone outside the front rows. And it’s just as likely the Old 97′s were the ones putting everyone to sleep. One song blended into another, into another. The songs that made an impression were “I’m a Trainwreck”, “Every Night Is Friday Night (Without You)”, and “Timebomb”. -Harry Painter

Chromeo – Mainstage – 2:45 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

On paper, a midday Chromeo show sounds as enthralling as watching Miami Vice on a sick day. It’s just not the right mood. However, early Sunday at the Gorge, Montreal’s unlikely duo Dave 1 and P-Thugg delivered all the glitz and glamour of their traditional live show. The fans helped make it magical, too. In addition to dancing and sweating a storm under the scorching hot sun, thousands of fans tossed around inflatable sea animals, exclaiming as each shark or octopus made its way toward them. Surrounded by his back up singers, an idea no doubt borrowed from the late Robert Palmer, Dave 1, remarked, “Pretty lively for a Monday afternoon, I’d say.” Between set opener (and last year’s hit single) “Don’t Turn the Lights On” to the lyrical madness that’s “Momma’s Boy”, the two prowlers of the night became close friends with the sun. Judging from the sea of festivalgoers flooding the area, Chromeo made a connection there, too. -Michael Roffman

Black Mountain – Bigfoot Stage – 3:00 p.m.

God bless Black Mountain for adding a little classic rock pep to what was an exasperatingly slow morning. I guess even festivals sometimes suffer from cases of“The Mondays”. The Vancouver-based hard rockers took the stage to a massive hometown(ish) crowd. It seemed as though every member of the audience knew every word to every song. They opened big with Wilderness Heart duet “The Hair Song”, blending male and female vocals to perfection. The set got even bigger with the trippy In The Future track “Wucan”, followed by the climactic “Tyrants” with its epic drum solo, followed by the metal-worthy guitar solo. Not a whole lot of crowd interaction went on, but when you are that naturally talented, that matters little. They were certainly a fan favorite of the morning. -Winston Robbins

Guided by Voices – Mainstage – 3:50 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

Sadly and incredibly, Guided by Voices was the victim of the largest exodus of the weekend, one only possible because of Chromeo’s humongous crowd. The hordes of youngins that turned up for Chromeo’s mid-afternoon dance party and filled out the floor somehow found their way out in 20 minutes to watch Paul F. Tompkins or something. GBV, a reunion act that appears to be nearing the end of its current run, was left with maybe 200 people in the pit and a largely apathetic lawn crowd.

The liquor-swigging Robert Pollard commented on the disparity, observing that no one seemed to care about GBV. He mockingly wondered aloud, “Who was that last shitty band?” and his loyal pit-dwellers screamed back “Chromeo” at him before engaging in a “GBV” chant. The negativity ended there, however, and Pollard twice expressed gratitude for being invited to Sasquatch! and “all these lovely events.”

The presence of acts like GBV, J. Mascis, and Archers of Loaf was a sweet reminder of a time when being “indie” didn’t mean being a huge pussy. The crunchy indie rock began with “Over the Neptune / Mesh Gear Fox” and continued with favorites like “Kicker of Elves” and “Game of Pricks”. It was a set enjoyed by a select few, which used to be part of the fun of indie rock. - Harry Painter

Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings – Mainstage – 5:10 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

People love to dance, but sometimes they like to watch other people dance even more. That’s why Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings were so much fun to watch; not only can Jones sing her soul out, but she packs a mean shuffle as well. And while people will likely remember that Jones and her band sounded like a vintage soul band, and a good one at that, they will remember more vividly a young hipster named Patrick, whom Jones pulled on stage upon seeing him go nuts in the pit. “Come on, security, let him go,” pleaded Jones before yanking him up and singing at him. Patrick, a skinny white kid dressed in thigh-length shorts and a red and green striped hoodie, showed no nerve dancing in front of thousands plus cameras. The contrast was priceless; think DJ Qualls and his large black girlfriend in Road Trip. - Harry Painter

Surfer Blood – Bigfoot Stage – 6:20 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

“Thanks for sticking around and watching us in the rain!” –John Paul Pitts

It seems dreary weather and Surfer Blood’s sludgy sound go together perfectly, but all in all, there needs to be more bands like this in indie music these days. Sure, their sound is a bit murky, but it’s totally distinct, and the band constantly exerts loads of energy. For example, singer and guitarist John Paul Pitts has a tendency to thrash his guitar about like it’s a toy (although he claimed their equipment had been stolen prior), and he likes to run up on the amps and into the crowd. During “Take it Easy” he wandered through the audience, shaking hands (including our very own Winston Robbins). And the band played such a high-octant version of “Fast Jabroni” and dedicated it to all of us “living the gremlin life”. They even revealed new material with tracks entitled “Miranda” and “Golden Boys” to show that this isn’t the last we have heard of Surfer Blood…and thank God for that one. -Ted Maider

Rodrigo y Gabriela – Mainstage – 6:35 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

Rodrigo y Gabriela are so talented you can’t help but laugh at how small they make everyone else look. Their coordination is flawless, they make it look easy, and now they apparently do it without sitting on a stool. Both players, but Rodrigo especially, genuinely love the stage. Rodrigo wears a knowing smile on his face, one that says “You think that was good? Then watch this.” They even controlled the weather; it begun to suddenly pour rain when Rodrigo y Gabriela came on, then stopped after 15 minutes. The set included tributes to Jimi Hendrix and Metallica, but only a tease of the beginning of “Stairway to Heaven” (denied!). - Harry Painter

Best Coast – Yeti Stage – 6:45 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

For awhile, Monday looked like the perfect day for the sunny cadence of Best Coast. For one, it was by far the hottest of the four days and, what’s more, the sun graced every corner of the Gorge Amphitheatre grounds. You couldn’t hide from it. However, after a surprisingly demanding set by Foster the People, a five minute session of heavy rain (the heaviest of the weekend) came down and pretty much changed the scenery. Throw in a chilly breeze and some dusty clouds and you suddenly had a very unlikely setting for Bethany Cosentino & Co. “I feel like I’m at Woodstock or some shit,” Cosentino, the sweet tongue songwriter with the grungy underbelly, observed. “But seriously, this shit is fucked up.” In addition to pounding away favorites like “Miss You”, “Boyfriend”, and “When I’m With You”, Cosentino also got fuzzy and dirty on “The End” and “Crazy for You”. By the time she rang through “Our Deal”, she had the very dedicated yet very wet crowd feeding out of the palm of her hand. Nice try, weather. -Michael Roffman

The Decemberists – Mainstage – 8:00 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

It was a bit of a bittersweet moment watching The Decemberists, finding out it would be Jenny Conlee’s last appearance with the band for a while as she fights breast cancer. But Conlee was in great spirits, and The Decemberists played happy songs; in fact, it was an all-around feel-good set.

The band mainly stuck to The King Is Dead material, with a couple off of 2009′s The Hazards of Love and some older ones. Early on, Colin Meloy’s acoustic guitar began to experience problems, which was a blessing in disguise. Because guitarist Chris Funk, also in disguise as the Russian Sasquatch, is a born entertainer, a fact that manifested while Meloy had his guitar fixed. Funk told a “Sasquatch joke” that consisted of incoherent growls, before becoming “Jazzquatch” and displaying his scat-singing skills. Bassist Nate Query joined in with some slap bass, while Sara Watkins topped it all off with some yodeling. By the time Meloy came back into the fold, The Decemberists had begun leading the audience in a sing-along of The Outfield’s “Your Love”.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

By this point it wasn’t clear anyone wanted to hear The Decemberists play their own music anymore, but they did just in case. The band redeemed the set after the guitar problems, and closed by taking crowd participation to the next level. They played (and acted out) a full rendition of “The Mariner’s Revenge”, leading the whole amphitheatre in screaming as if everyone had been eaten by a giant whale. Tens of thousands of honest-to-goodness dorks complied, and it was delightful. - Harry Painter

Deerhunter – Bigfoot Stage – 9:00 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

Admittedly, I was embarrassed for the people of Sasquatch! when 10 minutes before Deerhunter were to start, there were hardly 200 people in attendance. But as Bradford Cox came on to help speed up the sound check and equipment set up (they were a good 10 minutes behind schedule), I got so busy watching him, I didn’t notice that that 200 had multiplied to thousands. And as a light rain began to fall and the deepest purple thunderclouds loomed overhead, people began to don their ponchos and garbage bags.

Photo by Ted Maider

Rushed by all of these factors, Bradford Cox and his Georgia outfit dove right into things and didn’t stop more than one or two times to tune or say thank you. It all became one beautiful cohesive piece of music, beginning with “Desire Lines”  bleeding into their new, unreleased “60 Cycle Hum”, which then turned rapidly into “Little Kids”, making for a 15 minute cohesive jam. The stormy clouds still threatened, but never quite made their move, but that didn’t stop the cold. The crowd was obviously spellbound, but for tracks that are in theory very danceable (“Nothing Ever Happened”), it was very hard to make the human body do anything other than just try and survive. The wind howled across the lands and up onto the stage, which added an epically ethereal touch to some already very ethereal rock music. And finally the lights all dimmed to leave one spotlight on Bradford Cox, who stood alone while he buzzed into a slow, chilly version of “Helicopter” that perfectly encapsulated the set. -Winston Robbins

Wilco – Mainstage – 9:30 p.m.

Photo by Christopher Nelson

“This is the place where Wilco had our worst show ever,” Jeff Tweedy said of the band’s 2004 Sasquatch! set (blame Arcade Fire). The deck was stacked against them this time around too — Wilco was the only Sasquatch! headliner without roots in Washington; Wilco’s set came in the middle of a much more energetic Deerhunter set on the Bigfoot Stage; and lastly, Wilco’s kind of a sad band, which doesn’t necessarily make for good festival-closing material. Tweedy even acknowledged it was hard to follow The Decemberists’ happy alt-rock tunes with a bunch of sad songs, but “I guess that’s what we do.”

Admittedly, if you like to end a weekend of music by partying, you were better off just watching Deerhunter and Major Lazer and heading back to the tent. Admittedly, the Chicago rockers started off by playing slow folksy songs, and didn’t exactly offset them with arena rock anthems. But what Wilco did do was play a set of 20-plus great songs with style and precision, which is all you can ask.

Photo by Christopher Nelson

Wilco’s set included Yankee Hotel Foxtrot selections like “Ashes of American Flags”, “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart”, “War On War”, and “Jesus Etc.”, the last of which Tweedy implored the crowd to sing along to; it complied. Other favorites scattered throughout were the rarely played “Company In My Back”, “Misunderstood”, “Via Chicago”, “Spiders (Kidsmoke)”, and “Impossible Germany”.

One thing that can’t be stressed enough is how much Nels Cline made the show. Whether it was his screeching guitar solos, his slide guitar twangs, or his keyboard noodling, Cline’s roles took precedence in almost every song; he’s so crucial to the performance, it’s almost hard to imagine how this band made do before 2004.

Photo by Christopher Nelson

Wilco ended the night with “Hoodoo Voodoo”, with Tweedy all smiles. A fan threw a glowstick at him, and Tweedy responded, “You missed.” More glowsticks came, and Tweedy invited them. More glowsticks, and even half-full water bottle came flying toward the stage, almost nothing hitting the target. Right when you thought Tweedy might be mad, he simply said, “You guys suck” and “good night.” Maybe this wasn’t Wilco’s worst show ever, but like Sasquatch!, Wilco had an anniversary to celebrate, and that’s just what the band did. - Harry Painter

Monday Gallery by Heather Kaplan

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The Culture of Sasquatch!

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CoS at Sasquatch!: Mini Documentary

Cameras: Michael Roffman, Ted Maider
Edited By: Colin Peterson

]]> "Not considering this opening worthy of more attention, I continued our pursuit to the Northwest, being desirous to embrace the advantages of the prevailing breeze." - George Vancouver, 17th century English explorer Breathtaking describes a lot of things. It's typically a "go-to" adjective for anything remotely awe-inspiring. For Sasquatch! Music Festival, it's the only word that works. There's little room for where it doesn't work, come to think of it. Even the drive in from Seattle, WA is enough to yank tears from the eyes. Driving through the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, you can't miss the ominous Douglas-firs, or pry your hands from the wheel at the unpredictable roads that weave and snake through the mountainous terrain. It's an adventure in every sense of the word. But, that's just the drive. Once you're there, snuggled between the small towns of Quincy & George, you're essentially cut off from the traditional confines of society. You're a free spirit, roaming the natural habitat. It's a liberating feeling, but also somewhat frightening. You're at the hands of society's loose change. Actually, it's very frightening. But, that risk is what makes it so extraordinary. After everyone's settled and the traffic conditions slacken, festivalgoers, musicians, and staff co-exist together in a melting pot within a melting pot. It's madness, it's a little chaotic, but it's raw. It harkens back to the age-old American idealism of venturing beyond, exploring the uninhabited abyss. What an abyss, though. It's so easy to just say, "Well, the Gorge is out of this world. Duh." But, that's really it. Natural wonders retain that title for a reason. The Gorge earns it triple-fold. There are colors baked into its natural walls that haven't even been named yet. Even more spellbinding, these colors evolve every minute, every hour, and each day. So at first glance, it's something you'll remember forever, but that feeling never leaves you. Couple that with music and it's truly a win-win. -Michael Roffman President/Editor-in-Chief Friday, May 27th Rival Schools - Bigfoot Stage - 4:00 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan "Hey there," Rival Schools' vocalist Walter Schreifels muttered, cracking open the four-day Sasquatch! weekend. As the still evolving crowd poured in from the nearby gates - which had only opened 15-20 minutes prior to the set - the New York rockers breezed through a slightly raucous if not traditional set. Opener "Wring It Out", their current single supporting this year's Pedals, wrenched some acclaim from fanatics who scattered around the mid-sized Bigfoot stage, granting the band access to segue straight into other new material, specifically "69 Guns", which turned things up a notch. It didn't take long for the quartet to scale back to older material, either. Oldie "Everything Has Its Point", a track that dates back to their 2001 debut, United by Fate, popped up rather quickly. Then the rest just fell into place. -Michael Roffman Mariachi El Bronx - Yeti Stage - 4:30 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan There's a moment in every festival where a band conjures up the wonderful "freak flag" moment. For Sasquatch!, it came an hour into the weekend, when Los Angeles' own The Bronx donned the sombreros and dove head first into mariachi music. Dubbed Mariachi El Bronx, after the group's WTF 2009 LP of the same name, the group really stirred the proverbial post-modern fiesta hippy pot, to which everyone just sort of let their souls run wild. Sometime amidst the chaos, one of the band members exclaimed, "There's some badass shit going on today." Although it was a tad too early to admit this, that pretty much summed up the remainder of the day. Mariachi men or fortune tellers? Hmm. -Michael Roffman Biffy Clyro – Bigfoot Stage - 5:00 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan I was lucky enough to catch Biffy Clyro at the Illosaarirock Festival in Finland last year and was completely won over by the Scottish trio’s driving live act and larger-than-life sound. Though the catchy prog-metal band isn’t well known in North America, and they were one of the first bands to play at the start of the festival, they still managed to draw a sizeable crowd of fans who knew all lyrics by heart and were moshing out during some of the harder numbers. The Biff (as their fans affectionately call them) were quick and bouncy, turning their more pop-based songs into metal numbers and causing lead singer and guitarist (and Jesus lookalike) Simon Neil to break his strings several times over. -Karina Halle Bob Mould - Mainstage - 5:45 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan Similar to Paul Westerberg, Bob Mould travels alone these days. Actually, the major difference between the two is that the latter actually travels. However, their stage show is strikingly similar - at least when Westerberg last toured. It's bare bones logic: a famed songwriter, alone, with an electric guitar, and a largely celebrated discography in the noggin. That might sound like a match made in heaven, but when you're playing the Gorge Amphitheatre, it's a tad...vacuous? Still early in the schedule, with the sun blazing beyond the hills and mountainous plains (if that makes sense), Mould, decked out in red flannel and some jeans, strolled out to a small yet adoring fan base. (Small in the sense that he's performing at the fucking Gorge.) Still, as he patrolled through Hüsker Dü classics like "Hardly Getting Over It" or solo hits a la "Wishing Well", he maintained an edge that was hard to dismiss. In the middle of the set, one fan nearby caught his attention, screaming, "Just rock on man! You're doing great!" A sweaty, rather exhausted Mould replied back, "I'm trying, man." In the end, you have to respect that. -Michael Roffman Against Me! - Bigfoot Stage - 6:10 p.m. Photo by Christopher Nelson In keeping with Friday's theme of nonstop hard rock, Against Me! played a consistently high-energy set to close the Bigfoot Stage for the evening. No acoustic breakdowns or intimate stage banter, just rocker after rocker, including highlights "Pints of Guinness Make You Strong", "T.S.R. (This Shit Rules)", and "I Was a Teenage Anarchist". At one of the Florida punk band's headlining shows it would have been tiring, but this was an ideal one-hour festival set. Outside of maybe Dave Grohl, Wayne Coyne, and Dave King, Tom Gabel was quietly the most likable frontman at Sasquatch!. Against Me! also earns points for choosing plain black tees over the flannel everyone else was wearing throughout the weekend. - Harry Painter The Bronx – Mainstage – 6:45 p.m. Photo by Jackie Kingsbury “I want to see all of you move out there! There’s a Sasquatch in all of you!” – Matt Caughthran Not many bands received two sets at Sasquatch this weekend; although, it’s arguable you could even count The Bronx’s shows as two sets. After an upbeat Mariachi show, they wandered to the Sasquatch stage where they stripped off the gear, but turned up the volume. There, the band screamed and thrashed, while the nearby pit proceeded to go ape-shit. They slammed through tracks like "They Will Kill Us All (Without Mercy)" and "White Tar", and set a much different vibe than the Mariachi set, as body parts were actually smashed at this show. To go from playing sexy salsa tunes to hardcore numbers with names like “Heart Attack America” was more or less a bloody and triumphant transition. -Ted Maider Death From Above 1979 - Mainstage - 8:00 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan The banner behind what would eventually become the DFA riot was a picture of a tombstone that read: “DFA 1979, 2001-2006”. Far more interesting than the tombstone, however, were the ghoulish images of Jesse Keeler and Sebastian Grainger emerging from the gravesite. The secret’s been out for some time (see: Coachella and SXSW), but Death From Above 1979 are back from the dead and sounding better than ever. Photo by Heather Kaplan Not ones to stop and chat, the pioneering duo took the stage and began melting faces right off the bat. The two took the slow afternoon from zero to 60 in a matter of milliseconds, and they didn’t relent for the entire time they were allotted. Mosh pockets opened up in literally every part of the Gorge, from the very front of the pit to the lawn seating, which made sense, considering DFA1979 has the power to bring human beings the insatiable urge to push one another. The set climaxed with a three song KO – “Sexy Results”, “Romantic Rights”, and “Do It!” - and as one might expect, everyone left the pit drenched in other people’s sweat, blood, and booze. Which I’m sure is what DFA consider a complete triumph. -Winston Robbins Foo Fighters – Mainstage - 9:30 p.m. When Sasquatch first announced that the festival would be four days long instead of three, many people wondered how on Earth they’d be able to draw in the crowds on Friday, the day that wasn’t a national holiday. Then they announced the Foo Fighters were headlining that night and everything fell into place. If there is any band that fans would skip out on work for, it’s the Foo Fighters. Of course, it’s always been kind of “cool” to rag on the Foo for being too commercial or “happy”, but riding high on the success of their latest album, Wasting Light, even cynical festival-goers were at least stopping by the main stage to check out their act. And if they checked their cynicism at the door, it was hard to walk away disappointed. From the moment Dave Grohl and his plaid-clad crew of chain-smoking Pat Smear, Chris Shiflett, Nate Mendel, and Taylor Hawkins (the only one not in flannel), took to the stage, the audience was treated to two hours of wailing guitars, singalong anthems, and never ending energy. They opened with Wasting Light’s raucous “Bridge Burning” and sailed all the way through to “Everlong” (forgoing the encore, as Grohl said, “We’d rather keep playing until the end”) and the enthusiasm from the band and the crowd never dipped for a second. Though I would have loved for all songs off of Wasting Light to be played, they did pull out a fair chunk of it including “White Limo”, “Arlandria”, and “Dear Rosemary” (featuring Bob Mould who played the same stage earlier). The soaring, feel-good “Walk” united the crowd as much as their older hits such as “My Hero” and “Learn to Fly” did, and they even tossed out lesser-played songs such as “I’ll Stick Around” and “Generator”. [vimeo 24549112 500 325] The thing about the Foo Fighters is that they never just play their songs as is, they have to take them a step beyond. At Sasquatch this meant an extra epic jam session for “Monkey Wrench”, a drum solo courtesy of the tireless Hawkins, and numerous bridge breakdowns and build ups. Though it’s an effective live tool, the technique became repetitive after the 10th song, but as soon as Grohl slams back into the chorus, you were singing along with him and bumping elbows with people in the world’s happiest mosh pit. There were rumors that Grohl’s ex-bandmate Krist Novoselic was there watching from the side stage, which would have been an amazing opportunity for him to come out and join the band (especially since he contributed to Wasting Light’s heartfelt “I Should Have Known”), but perhaps he wanted this moment to be all about the Foo Fighters and not a quick Nirvana reunion, which is understandable. The Foo Fighters ended Friday with a sea of smiles and set the bar high for the whole festival. -Karina Halle Photo by Heather Kaplan Friday Gallery by Heather Kaplan [nggallery id=220] Saturday, May 28th Seattle Rock Orchestra - Bigfoot Stage - 12:00 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan On paper, an orchestra performing the songs of Radiohead sounds worthwhile -- and what better venue to house such an event than the stage closest to the entrance of a hip music festival as a bunch of likely Radiohead fans walk in? Last year was a similar deal, with the Seattle Rock Orchestra instead performing an Arcade Fire tribute. For whatever reason, this time around, people were not moved to sing along, dance, or even pay much attention. Seattle Rock Orchestra, which has at times been comprised of over 60 members, brought out a couple dozen at most to play hits from The Bends and OK Computer. The problem was it felt more like a standard cover band with a string section than a real orchestra as the abridged SRO recited uninspired arrangements of "Just", "Airbag", "Paranoid Android", and "My Iron Lung". There were bright spots, however. "Exit Music", "Electioneering", and "Karma Police", despite never approaching the emotional gusto of the originals, at least did some justice to them and made the strings and horns feel necessary. Using multiple decidedly un-Yorkeian vocalists (including a female) was a good call, and the performances never felt cheesy. - Harry Painter The Radio Dept. - Mainstage - 1:05 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan For as long as The Radio Dept.’s been at it, and for how very little they tour, they should have been placed later in the day. But beggars can’t be choosers, and no matter the time of day, The Radio Dept. in the flesh is The Radio Dept. in the flesh. Touring behind their latest singles collection Passive  Aggressive, their setlist consisted entirely of the singles they’ve released over the past decade and a half. From Lesser Matters’ “Ewan” to the more recent “Heaven’s On Fire” off their last LP, 2010's Clinging To A Scheme. The three piece Swedish outfit timidly went about their 45 minutes to a fairly full floor, which makes sense, given the fact that they’re somewhat reclusive and playing to a very, very large Gorge lawn crowd. Never ones to crack under the pressure, they played a beautiful set note for note. -Winston Robbins k-os – Bigfoot Stage - 3:00 p.m. Photo by Karina Halle Toronto-based musician k-os (nee Kevin Brereton) brought a lively dose of his grooving rap-rock to the Bigfoot stage. There was a distinct lack of hip-hop acts at Sasquatch, so savvy festival-goers were quick to catch his set, his reggae-induced beats suiting the blue-sky and sunshine perfectly. Songs like “Sunday Morning”, “I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman”, and “Man I Used to Be” went over well despite the stage's frequent sound problems that plagued his microphone and interrupted a few of the songs. -Karina Halle Local Natives - Mainstage - 3:15 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan It would have been easy to overlook the Local Natives as the band that played Sasquatch! because Fleet Foxes can't be there every year. That is, it would have been easy had they not turned so many heads. Besides it being a little hard to take seriously a folk band led by a guy with a porn star mustache, Local Natives earned their stripes with what frontman Taylor Rice said was their biggest gig yet (the list includes their appearance at Sasquatch! 2010 on the smaller Bigfoot Stage). Local Natives played the usual Gorilla Manor material, before reporting they would be heading home to L.A. to record the next album. - Harry Painter Trailer Park Boys – Banana Shack - 3:45 p.m. Photo by Karina Halle What to say about the Trailer Park Boys? Because Canada’s answer to Reno 911 follows the lives of Nova Scotian ex-convicts Bubbles (Mike Smith), Ricky (Rob Wells), and Julian (John Paul Tremblay) in a trailer trash mockumentary style, it was interesting to see how the show would play out as a live comedy show (at a US festival, too). Though it was hard to hear and see at times, the trio managed to titillate the mainly Canadian crowd (this I deduced from the “Go Canucks Go” chant just prior) and maybe win over a few new fans. The free hot dogs that Julian tossed into the crowd probably helped too. -Karina Halle Wolf Parade - Mainstage - 4:20 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan This set was doubly tragic. Not only did indie veterans Wolf Parade only get 45 minutes to play, but it would (possibly, probably) be the last time they performed for a very long time. They announced months ago that they were going on an indefinite hiatus, Sasquatch! Music Festival being the last stop before calling it quits. The enormity of the situation wasn’t lost on the crowd, either. Wolf Parade drew the largest group of people for any band non head or sub-headlining. Seemingly undaunted by any of these stressors, they put on a historic show. Once again, it was tragically short, but it was bursting at the seams with the best work of their career. Obviously, the tracks from Apologies To Queen Mary (“You Are A Runner And I Am My Father’s Son” and “Fancy Claps” in particular) were the best received, but they gave each track the treatment it deserved. Expo 86 cut “What Did My Lover Say? (It Always Had To Go This Way)” primed the crowd before they played themselves off with a rendition of “I’ll Believe In Anything” that sent chills down the spines of all those who grasped the reality of the situation. -Winston Robbins J. Mascis - Yeti Stage - 4:35 p.m. Photo by Christopher Nelson The demographics that made up Sasquatch! couldn't have been expected to know or care who J. Mascis was, and it appeared most didn't. But it wasn't much of a challenge for the silver-maned, baseball cap-wearing Dinosaur Jr. frontman to win people over. Featuring songs off his debut solo album, Several Shades of Why, as well as some Dino Jr. favorites, Mascis' set alternated between accessible acoustic folk rock and the noisy guitar solos for which he is known. The 1993 Dino Jr. track "Get Me", in particular, had the Yeti crowd in a trance. Mascis wins the old guy award for the weekend, as great as Bob Mould was. - Harry Painter Jenny & Johnny - Bigfoot Stage - 5:10 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider It was not a secret that the crowd kept very well, they were absolutely at this set just to see Jenny Lewis. And why wouldn’t they be? She was true to form: beautiful, endearing, and immensely talented. Joke was on the Lewis-driven crowd, though, when they realized that singer-songwriter Johnathan Rice (the Johnny portion of the duo) was no laughing matter. The two (with the help of Rilo Kiley and Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band drummer Jason Boesel) put on a sweet show, singing songs about love and loss with unmatched pop sensibility. I’m Having Fun Now tracks “Scissor Runner” and “Pet Snakes” seemed to particularly catch the attention of the crowd. But in the end, the hapless Jenny Lewis fans got what they wanted when she broke out Acid Tongue epic “The Next Messiah”. -Winston Robbins Wye Oak - Yeti Stage - 5:40 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan Saturday's breakout act was a hell of a follow-up to J. Mascis. Baltimore's Wye Oak, which consists of singer/guitarist Jenn Wasner and drummer/keyboardist (simultaneously!) Andy Stack, is a duo that has all the depth of a standard four-piece. Wasner could work on emphasizing her vocals, but between Wye Oak and The Radio Dept., Saturday was a good day for dream pop. -Harry Painter The Antlers - Bigfoot Stage - 6:20 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider Fresh off the release of their impeccable Burst Apart, it was uncertain how this set would go for The Antlers. It was so vastly different from its predecessor, it seemed impossible that the two albums could ever share the same stage. This worry was alleviated when it was revealed track by track that they were playing Burst Apart in the order it appears on the LP tracklist. Coming out with the enormous “I Don’t Want Love”, the Brooklyn trio (with a backing drummer) destroyed the Bigfoot Stage fearlessly. There wasn’t time for them to play the album in its entirety, unfortunately, in the 45 minutes they were allotted, but they got the first six of the 10 tracks in, and peaked during an almost post-rock version of “Rolled Together”. They closed with the only track from their 2009 hit album Hospice they’d play all night, “Two”. But even that old track had been altered to sound a tad more Burst Apart-y, for lack of a better phrase. It will be interesting to see how The Antlers go about splicing these two vastly different pieces of work into a coherent live set, but it was something we were fortunately (or unfortunately?) spared of having to deal with. But after seeing them play a sunset performance at The Gorge, there seem to be very few things The Antlers can’t do right. -Winston Robbins The Thermals - Yeti Stage - 6:45 p.m. There are some pros and cons to the Yeti Stage. On the positive side, it faces the outside horizon; the area that surrounds the festival; the natural habitats that bring people here week after week. On the downside, it also faces the setting sun. Many artists have had problems with this; after all, who wants to rock out with a blinding sun? However, Portland's own The Thermals remained true to their name, using the sun's radiant energy to, and please pardon the use of the pun, thermally ignite. With an agreeable combination of both new and old, the minimalistic trio punched and kicked through nearly 20 songs in the evening's transitioning hour. During an incendiary opening cut of "Time to Lose", vocalist Hutch Harris took things to the floor, channeling his inner Chuck Berry, and kept things going with "Returning to the Fold", "Not Like Any Other Feeling", and "It's Trivia". Blame it on their tour with the always thrilling Matt & Kim, but The Thermals were fiddling with an energy that hasn't been this exciting for awhile. The crowd fed off it, too. Before they trekked forward, Harris observed: "Oh yeah, it's getting rowdy out there. Keep it going Sasquatch." They did, but so did the band. -Michael Roffman Photo by Heather Kaplan Washed Out - Banana Shack - 7:00 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider The newly re-vamped Verizon Banana Shack seemed the perfect home for chillwave pioneers Washed Out. But hindsight’s 20/20, and they would have been better suited at a regular stage. The Banana Shack is more commonly home to house/dance music, and it took an extremely long time to get the band’s gear onstage. They finally managed to start 20 minutes after their scheduled time, and seemed very scattered throughout their set as a result. Leading man Ernest Greene was the glue that held the set together as he ran through a shortened set that incorporated old favorites (“New Theory, “Feel It All Around”), introduced a new song, and closed with a rendition of their latest single “Eyes Be Closed” that was almost good enough to redeem the flaws of the show. Washed Out started out as Ernest Greene, and as it has expanded to a five-piece, some of his earlier songs seemed very crowded with five instruments trying to create a fairly small sound. But as for the song they debuted and “Eyes Be Closed”, the band couldn’t have sounded better, and Washed Out’s forthcoming Within And Without will no doubt be a bigger, bolder record. But this particular show? Washed Out dropped the ball. -Winston Robbins Bright Eyes -Mainstage - 8:15 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan The veteran cast of Bright Eyes (along with their backing band, which includes Rilo Kiley/Mystic Valley Band drummer, Jason Boesel) took the stage one at a time -legendary producer/artist Mike Mogis, followed by the master of quiet intangibles Nate Walcott, all leading to the centerpiece of the indie legends: Conor Oberst. Oberst emerged from the side of the stage throwing his arms around, while wearing a hood that covered most of his face, which made him look uncannily like B. Rabbit from 8 Mile. The music that ensued was far from rap battling, however, and Oberst took no time getting into his all too short sub-headlining set with a massive rendition of The People’s Key single “Firewall”, which sent the crowd into an uproar. It was deathly cold and getting colder by the minute, but that didn’t deter the insanely devoted Oberst fans down in the pit. Every movement he made, every word he said (of course he had something to say about politics and the state of affairs in our day and age), and every song he sung inspired the crowd to get more and more worked up. Their hour set included songs from every era of the Bright Eyes career: tracks from I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning, Lifted or the Story is in the Telling, Cassadaga, and even one from Fevers & Mirrors, which he dedicated to his contemporaries that he’d been in the business with since late 90’s: Iron & Wine and Death Cab For Cutie. And while I’m sure they appreciated the gesture, the set was about the fans. Photo by Heather Kaplan “Four Winds”, “Lover I Don’t Have To Love”, and a combination of “Road To Joy” and  “One For You, One For Me” caused a particularly large uproar. The latter of the three mentioned was possibly the most moving of the entire weekend. Oberst left the stage to join his adoring fans, one of whom hurdled the barrier and kissed him passionately on the lips before being escorted away by security. As the voice over to “One For You, One For Me” played over the PA, Oberst remained at the front of the crowd hugging and shaking the hands of fans, some of whom were literally weeping to be in his presence. Love him or hate him, Conor Oberst has an immovable charisma that speaks powerfully to some. -Winston Robbins [vimeo 24559363 500 325] Robyn - Bigfoot Stage - 9:00 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan It wasn't really fair to pit Robyn between Bright Eyes and Death Cab for Cutie - especially since the latter hasn't toured in quite awhile. However, the Swedish treat sweetened enough folks by name alone to create a massive scene at the Bigfoot Stage. Technical difficulties pushed the set back 25 minutes, which turned the crowd into a tepid mob scene. Several fans chanted "Robyn!", plenty walked away, and one guy wholeheartedly attempted to sell the crowd on chanting "18 minutes late!" (which soon evolved into "25 minutes late!"), though no one joined him. They didn't have to because once the international sensation appeared, all energy was focused on dancing. Strictly dancing. Smiling, waving, and stripping down - even amidst the chilly winds rolling through - Robyn powered through a close pocketed 45 minute set, starting with "Fembot", continuing on with "Bad Gal", and naturally including her scorching single (and Gossip Girl burner), "Dancing On My Own". A double dosage of percussion injected some adrenaline into an already impressive stage set up, tailoring songs like "Indestructible" with an epic sheen. Basically, if you haven't seen her live, then you're not just missing out, you're selling your heart short. -Michael Roffman Death Cab for Cutie – Mainstage – 9:30 p.m. Writer’s Note: Ben Gibbard needs a haircut. As it was the 10th anniversary of Sasquatch, it seemed reasonable to book some of the Pacific Northwest’s finest modern acts to carry on the torch for another year. Seattle’s own Death Cab for Cutie was a perfect choice for such an occasion as they continue to embody the Washington spirit. As time has raced on by, Death Cab has gone from an indie sensation to a slew of pop-stars with constant airplay. Only in Seattle, right? To prove that they were worthy of a headlining title, Gibbard  & Co. took the stage to deliver one of the most surprising shows of the weekend. The energy was quite high - especially for a Death Cab gig. Opener “I Will Possess Your Heart” lasted for ages, but its thumping bass line and stirring percussion were enough to stir the crowd. This sort of chemistry washed over other gems like “Movie Script Ending”, an electrifying “Cath”, and a version of “Long Division” that brought people to crowd surf. Hit after hit, and song after song, Death Cab for Cutie rattled their catalog for a show that would not only impress the Sasquatch crowd, but also make every fan jealous that they missed this show. The true highlight of the set though was when Gibbard came out alone to strum away Plans favorite, “I Will Follow You Into the Dark”. Feeling the raw intimacy of the song, the crowd joined along and sang in unison, their voices echoing off the walls of the Gorge. People will follow Gibbard anywhere, I guess. -Ted Maider Photo by Kyle Johnson [vimeo 24552419 500 325] Sleigh Bells -Banana Shack - 10:10 p.m. Photo by Winston Robbins The Banana Shack was hands down the best addition to this year’s installment of Sasquatch!. Very much like Coachella’s Sahara Tent, the Banana Shack was solely for the purpose of comedians during the day and electro raves at night. So, of course, this is the stage where Sleigh Bells landed. Their set was unfortunately stuck in the middle of Death Cab’s and Robyn’s respective sets, but it mattered very little in the end. They were 20 minutes late to start, but they made up for that by not only going an extra half hour longer than they were scheduled, but by rocking especially hard. Sleigh Bells are admittedly more flash than music, but their flash is so illustrious that it enhances the music to levels many of their contemporaries could only hope to achieve. After an instrumental cover of “Iron Man” by Derek Miller, Alexis Krauss joined him for what would be an hour of sheer sweaty chaos. Sleigh Bells is best played at maximum volume, and the sound in the Banana Shack more than accommodated this ideal. Being that Treats is a fairly short album they played almost every track, the highlights being “Riot Rhythm”, “Infinity Guitars”, and a very funky version of “Rill Rill”. -Winston Robbins Bassnectar – Bigfoot Stage – 11:30 p.m. Photo by Kyle Johnson Disclaimer: I hate dub-step. Prior to this show, an audience member informed me humans are conditioned to enjoy heavy bass, as the vibrations remind our subconscious of time spent in the womb and the comfort we received within it. This has to be true because thousands of people crammed in for Bassnectar’s late night show…. and, well, he delivered. The DJ, whose popularity has clearly skyrocketed within the past couple years, blew out speakers, mixed Nirvana, and played one of the highest energy sets possible. The only thing more insane than the DJ himself was the crowd. People tossed glow sticks, moshed, crowd-surfed and went ballistic. It was hands down the best dance show of the weekend. Disclaimer: I still hate dub-step. -Ted Maider Saturday Gallery by Heather Kaplan [nggallery id=221] Sunday, May 29th The Drums - Mainstage - 1:05 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan For the past year or two, New York post-punk rockers The Drums have raised eyebrows in critics' circles for making Joy Division sound sunny and fun. Their self-titled debut hit plenty of End of the Year lists last year and despite some lineup changes, they continue to truck on and maintain a some gravitas in the indie community. None of that's changed. If their early spot at the Mainstage is any indication, they're not going anywhere. Songs like "Best Friend", "Let's Go Surfing", and "Down by the Water" are all classics by now. They're great. But when beach blonde Jonathan Pierce introduced new song "Money", and reported that the band wrapped up recording their sophomore follow up, things took a turn for the best. Sounding like a spunky outtake from New Order's Movement, "Money" whisked on by with a sharp noise that made cuts in everyone's ears. That's a good thing. Waiting until we hear the studio version? Not a good thing. Either way, the boys continue to look hip (from hair to toe) and sound fresh. At this point, they can continue championing the whole surfer rock thing, even if that whole image has been burned to the ground. They at least earned it. -Michael Roffman [vimeo 24496576 500 325] Fitz & The Tantrums - Mainstage - 2:10 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan There is nothing new going on here. Fitz & The Tantrums play a predictable blend of funk and neo-soul designed, of course, to get the dance floor moving. But these guys are really good at it. Fitz, full name Michael Fitzpatrick, is a David Bowie lookalike in a flashy suit who puts in his 110 percent to get the crowd involved. How often do you see a frontman request a clap or mass kneel and fail miserably? In Fitz's case, he had everyone, lawn included, complying with his every command -- so you know he's doing something right. Highlights included "Rich Girls", the single "MoneyGrabber", and a cover of "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)". - Harry Painter S. Carey - Bigfoot Stage -  3:00 p.m. Sean Carey has come a long way from being the guy that timidly confronted Justin Vernon at a show to tell him he admired his music. Not only did he shortly thereafter join Bon Iver, but he embarked on a solo career of his own while Justin Vernon was off doing other things (you know, hanging out with Kanye West and stuff). Over the past year or so, S. Carey has toured behind his debut solo record, All We Grow, with a notable spot opening up for last year’s biggest folk sensation The Tallest Man On Earth. Carey came out confident and played his quiet, beautiful post-rock to a very large crowd, considering how early in the day he was scheduled to play. He and his five piece brought their A game and finished big with an impromptu cover of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks theme song, followed by a very subtle cover of Bjork’s “Unravel”, and an emotional version of the title track, “All We Grow”. This was surely one of his last solo performances, as he will be joining back up with Bon Iver, who is about to take over the world yet again when their new album drops later this June (don’t pretend for a second you haven’t downloaded the leak…). -Winston Robbins Tokyo Police Club – Mainstage – 3:15 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider Tokyo Police Club has been whoring out their Canadian goodness to all the festivals in the past year, so it seemed natural that they’d show up at Sasquatch! (considering how many Canadians were there to support them). The band was definitely a decent way to fill some time throughout the day’s heat, and they actually played a pretty good set. They got the crowd to help them out with “Tessellate” and jammed on gems like “Elephant Shell” and “Nature of the Experiment”. The real show though was when the band brought their good friend on stage, not to rock, but to propose to his girlfriend. Perfect for an indie-rock festival. -Ted Maider [vimeo 24559422 500 325] Sam Roberts Band – Bigfoot Stage - 4:05 p.m. Photo by Karina Halle Juno-award winning (you know, the Canadian Grammys) singer/songwriter Sam Roberts is perfect festival fodder and his appearance on the Big Foot stage was no exception. His brand of smooth-voiced rock and roll is simple enough for sunny days but catchy enough to keep an audience moving on their toes, which is exactly what he did. Even people who weren’t planning on catching the show were stopping by the stage and joining along with the singalongs and hand-waving to such songs as “Brother Down” and “The Last Crusade”. Watching the smiling festival-goers jump and flail around to “Them Kids” made you think that the song’s lyrics were wrong and the kids do “know how to dance to rock and roll” after all. Well, at least they try. -Karina Halle Beach House - Mainstage - 4:20 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan Three years ago, Beach House's Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally were performing at intimate venues like Chicago's own Schubas. You know, to maybe 300 people tops? So seeing them entertain thousands at the Gorge on Sunday evening was beyond surreal. Here's a place that acts like Pearl Jam or Dave Matthews Band have used for their landmark live efforts. Now, this Baltimore dream pop duo can say they've matched them - sort of. They may not be able to rope in that many on their own, but they're certainly up for the task, at least if their stage presence is any indication. Tighter, more intense, and highly personable, Legrand and Scally actually look alive these days. In between their lush and gorgeous ballads like "Zebra" or "Walk in the Park", the two committed to some friendly banter. Legrand even remarked on the group's questionable set time: "We like that our set started at 4:20, but we don't really care about that. That makes me sound like a pothead." As the sun glazed the surrounding fields, everyone was at peace with themselves, including a little indie toddler, who tossed dirt around and brought smiles from passerby's. "Humans are meant to cooperate. Good job, human beings," Scally observed. Yes, kudos. -Michael Roffman Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears - Yeti Stage - 4:35 p.m. Austin, TX's Black Joe Lewis likes to have a good time. His Honeybears make that happen each time they're on stage together. As the sun started to spill over, the bluesy octet owned the Yeti Stage, and its many inhabitants. Lewis' trademark swagger has finally worked. For the past two years, they've been a festival staple, though in smaller capacities. Although the Yeti Stage is technically the smallest of the Sasquatch! venues, the crowd proved he needs to move up next time he's in "town." This wasn't a group of passerby's; no, this was more like a loyal following. And by the time they started grooving to a muddy rendition of "Louie, Louie" or "Bird is the Word!", they had hundreds of fans screaming their hearts out. Too bad the nearby BBQ was overpriced. It could've added to the great backyard jam. Oh well. -Michael Roffman Photo by Jackie Kingsbury Mad Rad - Yeti Stage - 5:40 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan It's hard to explain Seattle's Mad Rad. They're essentially a slew of Caucasians that create nasally-sounding hipster hip-hop. But it's loud, it's obnoxious, and it's enigmatic. For a small group that's technically still unheard of, they commandeered one of the largest crowds at the Yeti Stage. They didn't waste any time roping them in, either. The band's ensemble includes Buffalo Madonna, Terry Radjaw, DJ Darwin, and P Smoov and all of them shared the spotlight equally. Throughout their then potentially hazardous set, Buffalo, Terry, and P Smoov tossed toilet paper into the crowd and rapped while crowd surfing over fans. Some of the best crowd interaction of the weekend happened during songs like "Love in a Strange World" or "I Want Your Blood", which have deeper meanings than their titles imply. Then again, they're just not the same without the ridiculous introductions before them. Bottom line: Look 'em up. -Michael Roffman Archers of Loaf – Bigfoot Stage – 6:20 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider So, was the reunion worth it? Archers of Loaf, known for their weird songs in the '90s, played the Bigfoot Stage to one of the smallest crowds of the entire weekend. In fact, I saw more people with artist wristbands at the show than kids with festival wristbands. It didn’t stop the band from rocking out, though, and dishing out numerous classics like the dreary “You and Me” or the thrashing “Audiowhore”. But considering nobody seemed to know who they were, it makes one think, are reunions even important anymore, or just a bunch of Internet hype? -Ted Maider Das Racist - Yeti Stage - 6:45 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan You know what, we’ll try and cut Das Racist some slack, as they traveled all the way from performing a show at Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona, Spain the night before. But even if we gave them the most slack in the history of slack cutting, this was still one of the worst performances at Sasquatch. Things got off to a bad start when they didn’t go on until 40 minutes after they were supposed to. The crowd was visibly restless, and were on the verge of eating and/or maiming each other when Das Racist finally came on. And from there, one would assume that they were never able to fully recover. Das Racist’s bread and butter is drunken, lazy, nonsensical raps. It’s just part of their charm. But for this particular performance they were either remarkably jet lagged, or especially drunk. Even when they finally started performing, they barely moved, and their raps should be more accurately described as very quick mumbling. Not even their extremely popular “hahahaha jk?” could save them. And what had been one of the largest crowds at the Yeti Stage quickly dispersed, either to find some floor space for The Flaming Lips, or to bump up the hill to see Gayngs. -Winston Robbins Gayngs - Bigfoot Stage - 7:30 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider Gayngs were tragically scheduled against The Flaming Lips, which obviously took away from a crowd that should have been bigger. But for those who stuck around, it was well worth the small portion of The Flaming Lips that had to be missed. All eyes were intensely glued to the stage, hoping Justin Vernon and Mike Noyce of Bon Iver would show up, but when the suave 10-piece band took the stage neither of the men were to be found. After the initial disappointment wore off, the crowd began to get into Gayngs’ slow, sexy jams. Ryan Olson has enough charisma and then some to make up for the lack of Vernon. The backing band consisted of relatively unknown individuals, (other than Zach Coulter) but were all immensely impressive. With Olson at the helm, the backing musicians rapidly seeing limelight, and Bon Iver members popping in and out, Gayngs very well might one day be America’s answer to Broken Social Scene. “The Gaudy Side of Town”, “The Crystal Rope”, and set closer “The Last Prom On Earth” were all met with huge fanfare and massive sing-a-longs despite a no-showing Justin Vernon. -Winston Robbins The Flaming Lips - Mainstage - 8:00 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan The Flaming Lips are no stranger to the festival scene. Not only do they seem to play every notable festival year after year, their music feels expertly tailored for the events filled with drug-infused music lovers and experimental looky-loos. Their appearance at Sasquatch though had one change from the norm; they were playing their beloved album, 1999's The Soft Bulletin, in its entirety. Of course they had their trademark theatrics to wow over the general public, such as guns that shot pastel confetti, the cast of The Wizard of Oz dancing on the sides of the stages, singer Wayne Coyne in a giant hamster ball, multi-colored balloons, and crazy video projections. But hardcore fans were also delighted to hear the psychedelic harmonies and orchestrations of the acclaimed album. It started off at a good pace with “Race for the Prize” luring people into the set's vibe. By the time they reached “The Spiderbite Song“, Coyne began to tell stories about the band members Steven Drozds and Michael Ivins, which slowed the momentum down. Sure, Coyne can sometimes yammer on too much, but at least he’s always engaged and always sincere with his interaction with the audience, and appreciative of the set’s stunning location. Even if you weren’t high off your gourd, you still felt a bit of magic at the playful atmosphere and the sight of the orange sun setting behind the rugged hills of the Columbia River Gorge. Photo by Heather Kaplan The set ended on a rather somber note which might have pulled some of the crowd down before Modest Mouse hit the stage, but there’s no doubt Lips fans walked away satisfied. It was a good way for the band to marry their over-the-top theatrics with their spared down melodies, making it feel that even though you were surrounded by many, the Lips were singing just for you. -Karina Halle Flying Lotus - Banana Shack - 8:40 p.m. Photo by Christopher Nelson Let’s think of this set in terms of stocks and bonds. Skipping The Flaming Lips for Flying Lotus is obviously a high risk investment. But every now and again on Wall Street, sheer dumb luck makes Franklins fall from the sky, and your payout becomes exponentially larger than what you invested to begin with, making your initial investment worth the risk. The 2,500 people that were either brave or drunk enough to make this gamble came out of Flying Lotus’ set feeling like masters of stocks and bond; it was truly one of the greatest risks they ever took. Even Steven Ellingson (Flying Lotus) himself was surprised to see so many people in the crowd, remarking “I made the two and a half, three hour drive here thinking the whole time no one would show up. But you did! And I thank you from the bottom of my heart for it.” And it was with that grateful sentiment that FlyLo started his set, which was an hour of pure electronic/hip-hop bliss. Ellingson was literally smiling the entire time, and the wheat had been separated from the chaff, if you will, leaving only the truest of true fans to party with Flying Lotus, creating an even more legitimate environment. Photo by Luke Johnson As a result of FlyLo’s appreciation and the crowd’s enthusiasm, he rolled out a set that will go down in history as one of his most spectacular. Incorporating Radiohead, Lil’ Wayne, and dozens of other artists in with his own infectious beats sent chills down the spines of those watching. The Banana Shack nearly toppled over (figuratively, of course) when he mixed the sheer grit of Tyler, The Creator’s “Yonkers” on top of one of his most bass-heavy tracks, “Melt!”. Word spread quickly and a major topic of conversation between festival-goers for the rest of the weekend was about how bummed they were that they went with The Flaming Lips (all due respect to Mr. Coyne and Mr. Drozd) over Flying Lotus. -Winston Robbins Yeasayer - Bigfoot Stage - 9:00 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan After The Flaming Lips fizzled out, thousands flocked to the Bigfoot Stage, where Yeasayer turned the heat up. (Actually, it was getting pretty cold, so it made sense that people would want to dance.) Though the lights were impressive and Chris Keating, Ira Wolf Tuton, and Anand Wilder all maintained a stoic composure, a few tracks felt a tad hollow. On record, "O.N.E." feels so all encompassing, but on stage it felt lacking. Maybe it was just too loud or too open of a space, but the tracks didn't leave any bruises upon impact. Instead, they just warmed things up. "Ambling Alp" solved a lot of these issues, but by then, most were flocking away towards Modest Mouse. See you in the clubs, guys. -Michael Roffman Modest Mouse – Mainstage – 9:45 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan Prior to this show, I heard countless horror stories about Modest Mouse, and people’s experiences with them. Stories like “I’ve seen them three times and they sucked for all of them” were quite popular, as well as, “Last time, Issac Brock was so drunk he couldn’t even sing ‘Dramamine’”. One must assume that the people who organize Sasquatch! know what they're doing, because they billed Modest Mouse as Sunday’s headliner, and it seemed to be one of the headliners most people were concerned about. But when Brock and friends took the stage, everyone swelled and wondered what was going to come next. Brock stood in front of the mic quietly as feedback filled the Gorge until finally, he took a deep breath and screamed, “THIS PLANE IS DEFINITELY CRASHING!”, which meant one thing: “Shit Luck". For those in attendance, as a Modest Mouse fan, you can die happy now. Photo by Heather Kaplan They didn’t stop there either. The band dipped all over their catalog for the next two hours. A soothing “Gravity Rides Everything” followed, a fantastic rendition of “Dramamine” (complete with all the lyrics) was delivered, two new songs were debuted ("Lampshades on Fire", "Poison"), and even more recent stranger songs like “King Rat” were played, too. People danced, people sang, yet all were genuinely pleased that, for once, Modest Mouse was fucking killing it. They even played their most mainstream hit, “Float On”, which was more than enough to get the crowd on their feet and rocking out with every ounce of strength. But by far the most epic part of the night was the encore that included “World at Large”, especially as every “Ba ba ba” bounced off the Gorge. Only at Sasquatch kids… -Ted Maider [vimeo 24559386 500 325] MSTRKRFT - Banana Shack - 10:00 p.m. Photo by Jackie Kingsbury Leave it to Jesse Keeler to be responsible for creating not one but two of the most out of control shows at Sasquatch! 2011. His other project, the recently reincarnated Death From Above 1979, rocked the Gorge to its knees two days prior, and he did it again, only this time in a completely different vein of music. Keeler and his producer cohort Al-P took to the Sasquatch! equivalent of Coachella’s Sahara Tent, The Banana Shack, to throw what would be the biggest rave at this year’s installment of the festival. In the past, MSTRKRFT haven’t been known for their studio music being extremely rave-centric. But with the release of this year’s singles “Back In the USSA” and “Beards Again” (both of which were played during the set), it seems as though MSTRKRFT may be headed that way if and when they decide to drop a new full-length. Photo by Jackie Kingsbury With the exception of a few of the hip hop samples that appeared on their (pretty lackluster) sophomore album, Fist of God, they didn’t play a single song off their two LPs; they played only new music that was a menagerie of smart sampling, well placed drops, and house-savvy beats. When it came for them to leave, Keeler announced to the crowd that they wanted to keep playing, and that they would soldier on well past their time slot and wouldn’t leave until the crowd didn’t want to hear them anymore or until an authority figure told them they couldn’t go on any longer. Obviously the ravers didn’t want them to stop (how do ravers go for 12 hours at a time and barely even break a sweat? They’re a rare sub-species, who I find to be particularly interesting), especially when they  combined their “Beards Again” with Daft Punk’s “Da Funk”. They ended up playing until 11:40, 40 minutes after when they were scheduled to stop. Eat your heart out, Sahara Tent. -Winston Robbins Ratatat - Bigfoot Stage - 11:00 p.m. Photo by Christopher Nelson Ratatat has found their niche in the music world. After two solid releases – their self-titled, and Classics - the instrumental duo found themselves immensely popular, giving them the leniency to sort of do whatever the hell they want, musically. And they’ve done just that. They’ve gone down an alley of quick, bright sampling that is fairly different than their first two releases, but impressive all the same, especially in a live setting. They pulled the late night slot at Sasquatch, which screams perfection in terms of time slot placement. And even though MSTRKRFT and Modest Mouse ate through a good bit of their set, Ratatat drew a huge crowd, especially once the aforementioned bands were done. People returning to camp were naturally drawn in by the enormously catchy sound, and even more so by the bizarre visual arrangements. Photo by Christopher Nelson Not only did the stage lighting involve some of the most elaborate sets at Sasquatch! (other than The Flaming Lips, of course), the montages being played over  the massive screens were so visually captivating, it was nearly impossible to look away. From bad infomercial acting to wildly shifting arrangements of birds, the screens were nearly as fun to watch as the band itself, who were quite impressive. No longer touring solely behind LP4, they were allowed to visit old favorites like “Loud Pipes”, “Kennedy”, and “Wildcat”. But that didn’t stop them from playing some of the strongest new material such as “Falcon Jab”, “Shempi”, and “Neckbrace”. But no track even held a candle to the one encore song they played as they approached one in the morning: an incredibly well re-arranged version of all-time classic “Seventeen Years”. It was the perfect way to end the most dance heavy day of the festival. -Winston Robbins Sunday Gallery by Heather Kaplan [nggallery id=222] Monday, May 30th Wavves – Mainstage - 11:30 a.m. Photo by Ted Maider Perhaps it was the fact that they were a late addition, but Wavves was scheduled far too early in the morning. It’s not like Nathan Williams’ surf-punk project needs the extra exposure or anything, they get plenty of that from every musically oriented output in the civilized world. But after three days of hard festival partying, 11:30 a.m. was a little too early for everyone but the absolute biggest Wavves fans. Regardless, they put on one of the most energetic shows of the day, peaking with the one two punch combo of “King of the Beach” and “Idiot”. -Winston Robbins [vimeo 24559430 500 325] Young the Giant - Mainstage - 12:35 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan Young the Giant had its work cut out for it following a morning Wavves set, and results were mixed. The energy lagged a little, perhaps because of the heat and everyone being tired by Monday. But Sameer Gadhia and co. did their best to counteract this, and had the pit jumping during the set-closing single "My Body". - Harry Painter Twin Shadow – Yeti Stage - 1:00 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider Brooklyn’s George Lewis, Jr., aka Twin Shadow, crafted an excellent album in Forget. It’s sad, it’s haunting, and it’s beautiful all at once. But none of that came across live, which may sound like a knock, but is a huge compliment. Lewis and his confident five-piece band went about their songs tirelessly for their 50 minute set. As well as debuting two new songs (which hopefully means he’s working on a follow-up with Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor, who produced the first record), Twin Shadow did ultra dance versions of their ominous new wave songs (in the order that they appear on the record) “Tyrant Destroyed”, “When We Were Dancing”, and “I Can’t Wait”. If Lewis doesn’t become a prominent figure in the rise of chillwave, whatever the hell that means anymore, I’ll be thoroughly surprised. The man is an incredible performer, has great stage presence, and best of all writes fantastic music. -Winston Robbins Old 97's - Mainstage - 1:40 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan Once again, maybe it has to do with playing in the heat on a tired Monday afternoon when everyone was trying to nap, but the Old 97's completely failed to get a reaction out of anyone outside the front rows. And it's just as likely the Old 97's were the ones putting everyone to sleep. One song blended into another, into another. The songs that made an impression were "I'm a Trainwreck", "Every Night Is Friday Night (Without You)", and "Timebomb". -Harry Painter Chromeo - Mainstage - 2:45 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan On paper, a midday Chromeo show sounds as enthralling as watching Miami Vice on a sick day. It's just not the right mood. However, early Sunday at the Gorge, Montreal's unlikely duo Dave 1 and P-Thugg delivered all the glitz and glamour of their traditional live show. The fans helped make it magical, too. In addition to dancing and sweating a storm under the scorching hot sun, thousands of fans tossed around inflatable sea animals, exclaiming as each shark or octopus made its way toward them. Surrounded by his back up singers, an idea no doubt borrowed from the late Robert Palmer, Dave 1, remarked, "Pretty lively for a Monday afternoon, I'd say." Between set opener (and last year's hit single) "Don't Turn the Lights On" to the lyrical madness that's "Momma's Boy", the two prowlers of the night became close friends with the sun. Judging from the sea of festivalgoers flooding the area, Chromeo made a connection there, too. -Michael Roffman Black Mountain – Bigfoot Stage - 3:00 p.m. God bless Black Mountain for adding a little classic rock pep to what was an exasperatingly slow morning. I guess even festivals sometimes suffer from cases of“The Mondays”. The Vancouver-based hard rockers took the stage to a massive hometown(ish) crowd. It seemed as though every member of the audience knew every word to every song. They opened big with Wilderness Heart duet “The Hair Song”, blending male and female vocals to perfection. The set got even bigger with the trippy In The Future track “Wucan”, followed by the climactic “Tyrants” with its epic drum solo, followed by the metal-worthy guitar solo. Not a whole lot of crowd interaction went on, but when you are that naturally talented, that matters little. They were certainly a fan favorite of the morning. -Winston Robbins Guided by Voices - Mainstage - 3:50 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan Sadly and incredibly, Guided by Voices was the victim of the largest exodus of the weekend, one only possible because of Chromeo's humongous crowd. The hordes of youngins that turned up for Chromeo's mid-afternoon dance party and filled out the floor somehow found their way out in 20 minutes to watch Paul F. Tompkins or something. GBV, a reunion act that appears to be nearing the end of its current run, was left with maybe 200 people in the pit and a largely apathetic lawn crowd. The liquor-swigging Robert Pollard commented on the disparity, observing that no one seemed to care about GBV. He mockingly wondered aloud, "Who was that last shitty band?" and his loyal pit-dwellers screamed back "Chromeo" at him before engaging in a "GBV" chant. The negativity ended there, however, and Pollard twice expressed gratitude for being invited to Sasquatch! and "all these lovely events." The presence of acts like GBV, J. Mascis, and Archers of Loaf was a sweet reminder of a time when being "indie" didn't mean being a huge pussy. The crunchy indie rock began with "Over the Neptune / Mesh Gear Fox" and continued with favorites like "Kicker of Elves" and "Game of Pricks". It was a set enjoyed by a select few, which used to be part of the fun of indie rock. - Harry Painter Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings - Mainstage - 5:10 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan People love to dance, but sometimes they like to watch other people dance even more. That's why Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings were so much fun to watch; not only can Jones sing her soul out, but she packs a mean shuffle as well. And while people will likely remember that Jones and her band sounded like a vintage soul band, and a good one at that, they will remember more vividly a young hipster named Patrick, whom Jones pulled on stage upon seeing him go nuts in the pit. "Come on, security, let him go," pleaded Jones before yanking him up and singing at him. Patrick, a skinny white kid dressed in thigh-length shorts and a red and green striped hoodie, showed no nerve dancing in front of thousands plus cameras. The contrast was priceless; think DJ Qualls and his large black girlfriend in Road Trip. - Harry Painter Surfer Blood – Bigfoot Stage – 6:20 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider “Thanks for sticking around and watching us in the rain!” –John Paul Pitts It seems dreary weather and Surfer Blood’s sludgy sound go together perfectly, but all in all, there needs to be more bands like this in indie music these days. Sure, their sound is a bit murky, but it's totally distinct, and the band constantly exerts loads of energy. For example, singer and guitarist John Paul Pitts has a tendency to thrash his guitar about like it’s a toy (although he claimed their equipment had been stolen prior), and he likes to run up on the amps and into the crowd. During “Take it Easy” he wandered through the audience, shaking hands (including our very own Winston Robbins). And the band played such a high-octant version of “Fast Jabroni” and dedicated it to all of us “living the gremlin life”. They even revealed new material with tracks entitled “Miranda” and “Golden Boys” to show that this isn’t the last we have heard of Surfer Blood…and thank God for that one. -Ted Maider [vimeo 24559407 500 325] Rodrigo y Gabriela - Mainstage - 6:35 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan Rodrigo y Gabriela are so talented you can't help but laugh at how small they make everyone else look. Their coordination is flawless, they make it look easy, and now they apparently do it without sitting on a stool. Both players, but Rodrigo especially, genuinely love the stage. Rodrigo wears a knowing smile on his face, one that says "You think that was good? Then watch this." They even controlled the weather; it begun to suddenly pour rain when Rodrigo y Gabriela came on, then stopped after 15 minutes. The set included tributes to Jimi Hendrix and Metallica, but only a tease of the beginning of "Stairway to Heaven" (denied!). - Harry Painter Best Coast - Yeti Stage - 6:45 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan For awhile, Monday looked like the perfect day for the sunny cadence of Best Coast. For one, it was by far the hottest of the four days and, what's more, the sun graced every corner of the Gorge Amphitheatre grounds. You couldn't hide from it. However, after a surprisingly demanding set by Foster the People, a five minute session of heavy rain (the heaviest of the weekend) came down and pretty much changed the scenery. Throw in a chilly breeze and some dusty clouds and you suddenly had a very unlikely setting for Bethany Cosentino & Co. "I feel like I'm at Woodstock or some shit," Cosentino, the sweet tongue songwriter with the grungy underbelly, observed. "But seriously, this shit is fucked up." In addition to pounding away favorites like "Miss You", "Boyfriend", and "When I'm With You", Cosentino also got fuzzy and dirty on "The End" and "Crazy for You". By the time she rang through "Our Deal", she had the very dedicated yet very wet crowd feeding out of the palm of her hand. Nice try, weather. -Michael Roffman [vimeo 24559343 500 325] The Decemberists - Mainstage - 8:00 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan It was a bit of a bittersweet moment watching The Decemberists, finding out it would be Jenny Conlee's last appearance with the band for a while as she fights breast cancer. But Conlee was in great spirits, and The Decemberists played happy songs; in fact, it was an all-around feel-good set. The band mainly stuck to The King Is Dead material, with a couple off of 2009's The Hazards of Love and some older ones. Early on, Colin Meloy's acoustic guitar began to experience problems, which was a blessing in disguise. Because guitarist Chris Funk, also in disguise as the Russian Sasquatch, is a born entertainer, a fact that manifested while Meloy had his guitar fixed. Funk told a "Sasquatch joke" that consisted of incoherent growls, before becoming "Jazzquatch" and displaying his scat-singing skills. Bassist Nate Query joined in with some slap bass, while Sara Watkins topped it all off with some yodeling. By the time Meloy came back into the fold, The Decemberists had begun leading the audience in a sing-along of The Outfield's "Your Love". Photo by Heather Kaplan By this point it wasn't clear anyone wanted to hear The Decemberists play their own music anymore, but they did just in case. The band redeemed the set after the guitar problems, and closed by taking crowd participation to the next level. They played (and acted out) a full rendition of "The Mariner's Revenge", leading the whole amphitheatre in screaming as if everyone had been eaten by a giant whale. Tens of thousands of honest-to-goodness dorks complied, and it was delightful. - Harry Painter Deerhunter – Bigfoot Stage - 9:00 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider Admittedly, I was embarrassed for the people of Sasquatch! when 10 minutes before Deerhunter were to start, there were hardly 200 people in attendance. But as Bradford Cox came on to help speed up the sound check and equipment set up (they were a good 10 minutes behind schedule), I got so busy watching him, I didn’t notice that that 200 had multiplied to thousands. And as a light rain began to fall and the deepest purple thunderclouds loomed overhead, people began to don their ponchos and garbage bags. Photo by Ted Maider Rushed by all of these factors, Bradford Cox and his Georgia outfit dove right into things and didn’t stop more than one or two times to tune or say thank you. It all became one beautiful cohesive piece of music, beginning with “Desire Lines”  bleeding into their new, unreleased “60 Cycle Hum”, which then turned rapidly into “Little Kids”, making for a 15 minute cohesive jam. The stormy clouds still threatened, but never quite made their move, but that didn’t stop the cold. The crowd was obviously spellbound, but for tracks that are in theory very danceable (“Nothing Ever Happened”), it was very hard to make the human body do anything other than just try and survive. The wind howled across the lands and up onto the stage, which added an epically ethereal touch to some already very ethereal rock music. And finally the lights all dimmed to leave one spotlight on Bradford Cox, who stood alone while he buzzed into a slow, chilly version of “Helicopter” that perfectly encapsulated the set. -Winston Robbins Wilco - Mainstage - 9:30 p.m. Photo by Christopher Nelson "This is the place where Wilco had our worst show ever," Jeff Tweedy said of the band's 2004 Sasquatch! set (blame Arcade Fire). The deck was stacked against them this time around too -- Wilco was the only Sasquatch! headliner without roots in Washington; Wilco's set came in the middle of a much more energetic Deerhunter set on the Bigfoot Stage; and lastly, Wilco's kind of a sad band, which doesn't necessarily make for good festival-closing material. Tweedy even acknowledged it was hard to follow The Decemberists' happy alt-rock tunes with a bunch of sad songs, but "I guess that's what we do." Admittedly, if you like to end a weekend of music by partying, you were better off just watching Deerhunter and Major Lazer and heading back to the tent. Admittedly, the Chicago rockers started off by playing slow folksy songs, and didn't exactly offset them with arena rock anthems. But what Wilco did do was play a set of 20-plus great songs with style and precision, which is all you can ask. Photo by Christopher Nelson Wilco's set included Yankee Hotel Foxtrot selections like "Ashes of American Flags", "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart", "War On War", and "Jesus Etc.", the last of which Tweedy implored the crowd to sing along to; it complied. Other favorites scattered throughout were the rarely played "Company In My Back", "Misunderstood", "Via Chicago", "Spiders (Kidsmoke)", and "Impossible Germany". One thing that can't be stressed enough is how much Nels Cline made the show. Whether it was his screeching guitar solos, his slide guitar twangs, or his keyboard noodling, Cline's roles took precedence in almost every song; he's so crucial to the performance, it's almost hard to imagine how this band made do before 2004. Photo by Christopher Nelson Wilco ended the night with "Hoodoo Voodoo", with Tweedy all smiles. A fan threw a glowstick at him, and Tweedy responded, "You missed." More glowsticks came, and Tweedy invited them. More glowsticks, and even half-full water bottle came flying toward the stage, almost nothing hitting the target. Right when you thought Tweedy might be mad, he simply said, "You guys suck" and "good night." Maybe this wasn't Wilco's worst show ever, but like Sasquatch!, Wilco had an anniversary to celebrate, and that's just what the band did. - Harry Painter Monday Gallery by Heather Kaplan [nggallery id=223] The Culture of Sasquatch! [nggallery id=218] CoS at Sasquatch!: Mini Documentary [vimeo 24701991 500 325] Cameras: Michael Roffman, Ted Maider Edited By: Colin Peterson ]]> http://consequenceofsound.net/2011/06/festival-review-cos-at-sasquatch-11/feed/ 19 http://consequenceofsound.net/2011/05/electric-zoo-2011-adds-moby-richie-hawtin-chromeo-more/ http://consequenceofsound.net/2011/05/electric-zoo-2011-adds-moby-richie-hawtin-chromeo-more/#comments http://c438342.r42.cf2.rackcdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2011/05/zoo-thumb.png Thu, 05 May 2011 13:25:30 +0000 Ben Kaye http://consequenceofsound.net/?p=119003

New York City’s festival scene is all but dominated by hip-hop and indie music (and now Dave Matthews). Over the past two Labor Day weekends, however, Electric Zoo has done it’s part to bring the electronic scene to the forefront, and it just keeps getting bigger. This year’s edition continues the expansion by adding a day and featuring a lineup of over 100 acts. 30 more of those have just been added, and according to the press-release, they’re all headliners.

Joining the already announced Tiësto on Friday, September 2nd will be Moby (DJ set), Benny Benassi, Rusko, and Tiga. MSTRKRFT, Richie Hawtin’s Plastikman, Carl Cox, Loco Dice, Crookers and Martin Solveig will play the three other stages on day one.

Day two sees Above & Beyond, Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 77, John Digweed, and Sander van Doorn leading into David Guetta on the Main Stage. Ferry Corsten, ATB, Luciano, Danny Tenaglia, Skrillex, and Super Mash Bros are also set for Saturday.

Sunday the 4th features the previously revealed Armin van Buuren topping the bill, with Afrojack, Chromeo, DJ Snoopadelic, and Calvin Harris filling out the Main Stage roster. Other acts for the day include Boys Noize, Diplo, Richie Hawtin, Dubfire, Infected Mushroom, and Gabriel & Dresden.

Tickets are currently on-sale, with 3-day GA passes going for $249 and VIP (21+) for $499, though prices increase if you add parking passes or ferry tickets. The event takes place on Randall’s Island Park, so paying a bit extra might just be necessary. Platinum Experience tickets (also 21+) include one or the other, but will put a $999 dent in your bank account. Click over to the festival’s website to purchase passes and for further information.

It what will be his first Canadian performance in a decade, Eminem will headline this year’s Osheaga, set for July 29-31 in Montreal’s Parc Jean-Drapeau. Other notable acts include Elvis Costello & The Imposters, Death Cab For Cutie, The Flaming Lips, who will perform The Soft Bulletin in its entirety, The Tragically Hip, the recently reunited Death From Above 1979, and Bright Eyes.

A slew of indie favorites are also confirmed, including Kid Cudi, Ratatat, Beirut, Crystal Castles, MSTRKRFT, The Mountain Goats, Fucked Up, White Lies, Eels, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Shad, Twin Shadow, Smith Westerns, PS I Love You, The Joy Formidable, Tokyo Police Club, Jamie xx, Sia, Braids, Mother Mother, and The Low Anthem.

Rounding out the bill are Bassnectar, City and Colour, Sam Roberts Band, Bran Van 3000, Yoav, The Sounds, Hey Rosetta!, Anna Calvi, Lights, Robot Koch, Shad, Manchester Orchestra, Jimmy Hunt, Galaxie, The Luyas, Elephant Stone, High Dials, Passwords, Jesuslesfilles, and Typhoon.

A limited number of early bird passes (priced at $197.50 CA) will go on sale beginning Friday, April 15th. After that allotment sells out, the price will rise to $217.50 CA. Early bird reserved seating passes will also be available for $349.50 CA, with the final price set at $369.50 CA.

The daily lineup will be announced on Tuesday, April 19th, and single day tickets go on sale Thursday, April 21st.

As in years past, Osheaga will proceed its stand alone festival with the concert series, Osheaga in the City, featuring bands and DJs in some of Montreal’s legendary club venues. These shows will be announced shortly.

Launched on the sands of South Beach in 1999 by business partners Alex Omes and Russell Faibisch as a Winter Music Conference closing event, Ultra grew into a full-day experience the following year,  then relocated to Miami’s downtown in 2001 to accommodate for the rapidly growing audience. In the mid-2000′s, Ultra fought off the festival challengers Bang and The Global Gathering, and in 2007 added a second day, cultivating an international brand.

In 2010, Ultra far overshadowed the week-long Winter Music Conference, to the tune of 100,000 attendees to a meager 3,763.The festival also solidified itself as a truly international series, hosting UMF events in electronic meccas Brazil and Ibiza. So, it was really not too big a surprise when Ultra 2011 sold out 34 days prior to its March 25^th kickoff.

But Ultra couldn’t roll into its 13^th anniversary without some unfortunate events. The Winter Music Conference decided to move its dates up by two weeks, forcing many participants and some attendees to choose between the two events. And apparently due to a conflict in booking fees, stage selection, and set time, The Swedish House Mafia decided to forgo Ultra in 2011, for their own “Masquerade Motel: One Night Stand”, which drew a sold-out 12,000 member crowd, and coincided with deadmau5′s Saturday headlining slot. And if those weren’t enough obstacles for Ultra’s organizers and promoters, due to construction at the Miami’s Bicentennial Park, the event’s homesite, organizers were forced to pack 200 acts across seven stages, and the expected 150,000 attendees in an area roughly two-thirds that in the past. No one ever implied setting up a massive festival was easy, just ask the folks behind Pemberton, Rothbury, or any of the other fallen US festivals.

Photo by Craig Yunger

Speaking with the Miami New Times days before the launch, co-founder Faibisch seemed undaunted by the challenges. With plans for the first ever Asian UMF event, Faibisch is set on building the diverse global brand from Miami,“Ultra Music Festival is all about the Magic City. We are very committed to keeping Ultra in Downtown Miami.”

So, with the stages up, set-times announced, and day-glow outfits planned, there is really just one remaining question: Can we last three days?

- Derek Staples
News Writer

Friday, March 26th

If you have ever been to Miami, Ultra weekend or otherwise, you already know that South Florida is one massive traffic jam. To make travel even more cumbersome, Miami International Airport suffered a massive fuel fire Thursday morning that canceled over 175 flights, delaying arrival for many attendees until late Friday night or even Saturday afternoon. With an opening day bill featuring Fedde le Grand, Benny Benassi, CSS, Röyksopp, Tiësto, Trentemøller, STS9, and legends Erasure and Duran Duran, the delay was a massive setback for many both domestic and international travelers.

The restructuring of the venue grounds, which has remained fairly constant since 2007, was surprisingly beneficial. While visually toned down slightly, the repositioning of the Main Stage along the southern boundaries of the park allowed for a much better flow of crowd traffic between the smaller house oriented stages on the Northern end – not to mention, given the reduced diameter of the park, it kept the sound from bleeding. What’s more, 2011′s Live Stage, which has been notoriously difficult to reach due to Main Stage crowds in the past, was secluded on a rocky embankment with Biscayne Bay on two sides, maximizing the live acoustics and shaping a more communal experience for attendees that appreciate more hands-on musicianship.

Apart from the additional day, 2011′s most recognizable change was the “two-story” Carl Cox Tent. Taking a few cues from Coachella’s Sahara Stage, the tent doubled in height, held 10,000 attendees, and increased the visuals overhead to create a more comfortable, fan/artist friendly environment.

The restructuring of the venue led to just one major issue: bathroom breaks. Dancing outside in the hot South Florida sun, it is definitely advisable to stay hydrated (especially when ravers brought along their friend Molly), but when attendees had to relieve themselves, waits often lasted longer than 30 minutes due to the bottlenecked placement. This is one problem that must be resolved prior to Ultra 2012, which has already been set for March 23^rd, 24^th, and 25^th.

Similar to Austin’s SXSW, Ultra’s talent flows into the host city’s streets, nightclubs, and anywhere else with a decent sound system. With a few extra pairs of eyes in Miami to assist in coverage, CoS was able to put the proverbial pen down and soak in the parties that kept feet moving, bodies swaying, and eyes dilated until sunrise…of Monday.

Fedde le Grand – Live Stage – 5:20 p.m.

With audiences still making their way into the venue, Fedde le Grand spun a fan-friendly remix-heavy set. Le Grand kept the set slightly toned down, especially compared to his Carl Cox performance on Saturday, but the audience reacted nicely to a remix of Empire of the Sun’s “Walking on a Dream” which slid effortlessly into “Otherside” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Laurent Garnier – Carl Cox & Friends Tent – 4:00 p.m.

Laurent Garnier embodies the international flair of Ultra. The 45-year-old French tech DJ first began spinning in Manchester, UK, and later fell in love with the Midwest, incorporating both Chicago House and Detroit Techno. With a three-hour long set to debut the newly redesigned Carl Cox tent, Garnier showcased the many sides of house music, keeping the audience moving, but providing ample mid-tempo repetition to keep bodies fresh for the rest of the weekend.

Holy Ghost! – Live Stage – 5:45 p.m

Ultra continued to broaden the lineup outside of traditional DJs in 2011 with an abundance of actual live talent. Holy Ghost!, originally formed by high school friends Nicholas Millhiser and Alexander Frankel out of Brooklyn as a studio only project, are still gelling as a four-piece live collective, but have amplified their energy from earlier LCD Soundsystem opening performances. Not every band with a live drummer and guitarist won over the Ultra crowd, but the live take on nu-disco anthem “Hold On” and “I Will Be Back” changed some minds, and helped add new fans to a quickly growing base.

Benny Benassi – Main Stage – 6:30 p.m.

Photo by Craig Yunger

Similar to Ultra 2010, Benny Bennassi took to the Main Stage with the bright Miami sun still beating down to work the audience into a sweaty, hard house hysteria. The dude is a legend, and sometimes he sticks to closely to his classic beats, but Friday evening Benassi kicked off his set with new bangers “Electroman” and “House Music”. Surprisingly, Benassi tipped his hat to what is next, remixing James Blake’s “Limit To Your Love”. But Benassi must have felt the track was about 40 BPM too slow, because he turned up the dial and knocked the fans with some electro-grime. Unlike the live performers and new acts like Rusko, Boys Noize, Simian Mobile Disco, Kaskade, or the rising masses of Colorado dub DJs, Benassi never really seems to be doing much on the decks. However, when you produce hits like “Satisfaction”, it’s perfectly acceptable to spend time checking texts during your set.

CSS – Live Stage – 7:00 p.m.

Sao Paolo’s CSS might get tired of being sexy, but fans always want a little more. Even with a sparse turnout of possibly about 100 – not enough bloops and bleeps for the typical attendee – singer Lovefoxxx tore through the outfit’s indie-dance staples. As “Jager Yoga” finished up, Lovefoxxx leapt into the crowd, and cracked a joke, politely asking what their favorite alcohol was. The band waited until about half-way into their set to play crowd-favorite “Music Is My Hot Hot Sex”. With the collective rocking, Lovefoxxx shed her leather coat, tore off her pants to reveal a pair of short denims, and rode the onstage lighting fixture – which was apparently as hot as CSS’s set.

Erasure – Main Stage – 7:30 p.m.

Friday night was not a good day for electronic legends. If the turnout for CSS was bad, the attendance for Erasure was almost disrespectful. Ultra has brought in fellow innovators like The Cure and Depeche Mode in the past, but the Main Stage area grew desolate as Andy Bell stepped up to the mic and the legendary Vince Clarke manned the programmer. Even with only a few hundred in attendance, Bell twirled around the stage as if he were performing for thousands. The production lacked some normal Erasure elements like glitter-throwing and multiple costume changes, but the group’s mystique was kept intact with Clarke’s five-piece red suit, Bell’s sequined Union Jack denim jacket and tank top, and the two backup singers resembling 1950′s carhops. Even after 25 years, Bell’s vocals are still amazing, and the flair in which he performs can only be topped by the best of mega-artists. While I try to take an objective view of the Ultra-culture, the lack of a crowd is further proof attendees are often more about the drug induced experience than listening to what the electro-world has to offer.

Röyksopp - Live Stage – 8:20 p.m.

Unlike 75% of the acts at Ultra, the vast majority of Friday’s crowd had never had the opportunity to experience Norway’s Röyksopp live. Whatever is in Norway’s water leads to some crazy creativity, and Röyksopp’s set was nothing less than mesmerizing, both musically and visually. The duo of Svein and Tjorbjor craft electronic mood music, ranging from the darkest of techno to much bouncier electro-pop tunes. In the live setting, the outfit takes fans by the gut and sets out on a visceral trip. The synthed out vocals and eerie costumes create a sense of haunting psychodelia, that they ease away with more easily digestible tracks like the super popular “Remind Me”. Accompanied by vocalist Anneli Drecker, Röyksopp stayed on stage for the one song encore performance of  “Tricky, Tricky”, which originally featured Fever Ray/The Knife’s Karin Andersson. As Drecker delivered the line “I’m about to lose it”, there was a mutual understanding and appreciation across the starry eyed crowd.

Duran Duran – Main Stage – 8:20 p.m.

Photo by Craig Yunger

Apparently, the promoters of Ultra missed the memo that live guitars and lyrics are now suitable raver repellant, because the Main Stage was empty for Duran Duran. The band opened with “Hungry Like The Wolf”, which predates roughly 70% of those on hand. The energy wasn’t there from the audience side, but Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, and guest vocalist Anna Ross did their damnedest to keep those remaining from the Erasure set energized. Being 25, the set was like a soundtrack of adolescent car rides, with spot-on performances of “Girl Panic”, “Sunrise”, “Girls on Film”, and “Ordinary World”.

Trentemøller - Live Stage – 9:35 p.m.

Photo by Craig Yunger

Have you ever had a terrible brain freeze, but your beverage was so amazing that you just couldn’t stop drinking? Well, that is the easiest way to describe Trentemøller’s live performance. To define the sound is daunting – it hides in the dark shadows, and builds through both tribal drum beats and more minimal ambience, with added techno/breakbeat textures and live guitar riffs. At times, four of the five live members would all go at the drum kit at once, sending the track and the audience into a dizzying panic. Other times, it is all about the build, stretching four to the floor beats out for minutes. Trentemøller is not for the faint of heart, but have developed a sound that deserves to be explored by fans across musical genres.

Pendulum – Main Stage – 9:30 p.m.

If Australians are truly descended from the English penal colonies located there in the 19^th century, Pendulum demonstrated that social divide Friday night, finally bringing some energy to the Main Stage following the performances of Erasure and Duran Duran. Pendulum have strayed from their early live drum n’ bass and breakbeat days, into more of a Linkin Park knockoff, but their Ultra set was raw, brutal, and aggressive. In true Ultra style, the visuals brought the spectacle to the next level. With visuals of liquid metal rushing to coat the human skeleton, scorpions killing roaches, and other industrial imagery, Pendulum was striking fans on at least three senses – sight, sound, and due to epic bass, touch. Prior to performing “The Island Part 1”, Rob Swire announced that the track was “made specifically for nights like this.” As Ben Mount delivered the hook, “Left with no reason we come undone”, fans better understood Swire sentiment.

Tiësto

Photo by Craig Yunger

There is very little that hasn’t already been said about Tiësto, the man is truly a God in the field. He plays every mega-club, headlines festivals worldwide, and pretty much plays his signature feel-good dance music each and every year at Ultra. So, it’s best just to watch and enjoy.

(Shout out to Miami New Times for Live Stage video features)

Saturday, March 26th

The organizers of Ultra have never seemed too worried about schedule conflicts, with the sheer number of superstar DJs and growing number of must see live bands, creating a conflict free weekend would be a logistical nightmare. These schedule conflicts are often nullified by the ADHD that sets in upon entering the gate; fans perpetually wondering from stage to stage just to witness who is throwing down the dopest set. Even with the added day, schedule conflicts were abundant on Saturday -  Skrillex vs. Goldie, Boys Noize vs. Moby vs. Skream! And Benga, Cut Copy vs. Rusko vs. Underworld.

Don’t you wish all your problems had such guaranteed amazing outcomes?

Goldie – Tower of Ultra – 5:00 p.m.

Photo by Derek Staples

After hosting the house sound of UMF Korea Friday night, The Tower of Ultra was transformed into the home of Euro bass music Saturday evening. Backed with a pair of emcees/professional hype men, Goldie took to the Tower to construct his signature UK jungle and drum n’ bass beats. The emcee’s vocals added an extra layer for listeners to bite into, but sometimes it’s just better to let the bass in the lead.

Afrojack – Main Stage – 5:10 p.m.

Photo by Craig Yunger

At the age of 23, Dutch DJ Afrojack, born Nick van de Wall, has already earned acclaim worldwide as one of the 20 best DJs. Afrojack molds his own productions, but he excels at remixing popular artists across multiple genres. Clocking in at just over an hour, Afrojack sliced and diced tracks by The Black Eyed Peas, Daft Punk, Snoop Dogg, Pitbull, David Guetta, and even Imogen Heap with his razor-sharp tech-house tools.

Simian Mobile Disco – Live Stage – 5:45 p.m.

Photo by Craig Yunger

James Ford and Jas Shaw of Simian Mobile Disco had one of the more noticeable setups of the festival. Known for their analog productions, Ford and Shaw spent the majority of the show with their backs to the audience maneuvering around two large boxes filled with rows upon rows of various knobs and sliders. The duo utilized the device to deliver a mixture of both their earlier more club/electro-house tracks, “It’s the Beat” and “Hustler”, and their current much darker ambient techno productions of Delicacies. The guys are certainly perfecting their buildup, with fans ready to pounce as the duo break into more aggressive BPM.

Telekinetic Walrus – UMF Radio Stage – 6:00 p.m.

Ultra has always been proud to feature new local talent across the multiple smaller stages. Coming out of the University of Miami, Telekinetic Walrus combine electronic, jazz, and funk to make spectacular house party music. Like an updated Parliament Funkadelic with an oboe and some electronics, Telekinetic Walrus know how to start a party.

Kaskade – Main Stage – 6:10 p.m.

Photo by Craig Yunger

Whether in a club of 500 or headlining a festival of several thousand, Kaskade always delivers. Through his recent work with fellow progressive producer deadmau5, Kaskade has quickly moved up the ranks as one of the most in-demand live DJs. Not only for his style, but for the party atmosphere that he brings to the show. Crazy visuals were ongoing over Ultra weekend, but Kaskade went old school, sending out dozens of massive white balloons into the audience as he spun tracks including “I Remember”, The Ting Ting’s “Hands”, and even up and comer Skrillex’s “Scary Monsters & Nice Sprites”.

Moby – Carl Cox & Friends – 7:00 p.m.

Photo by Derek Staples

Moby’s fans can virtually be broken down into two camps – those who love Play, and those who have listened to Play but prefer to witness Moby set the radio tracks to the side and just deliver something fresh. Saturday’s performance was for the latter. Sporting a Minor Threat tee, Moby worked his set with the energy of a classic Minor Threat hardcore show. Even as electronic music evolves and new breeds of DJs break new ground, Moby remains relevant through continual innovation and cross over hits. Despite the noticeable grey whiskers of middle age setting in, Moby jumped the UFO shaped stage and worked the room. Bottom line: Moby brings the energy, and he expects the same in return.

Skream! + Benga – Tower of Ultra – 7:00 p.m.

Anyone who has listened to the new Britney Spears album understands that dub has made its way into American popular music; a feat probably not possible without the work of UK’s Skream! + Benga. The duo have been perfecting their dub step styles independently since the early 2000s, transitioning from the much darker birthplace of dub into a more melodically driven sound. That is not to say the two still do not possess the energy of their early dub bangers – going at their set so hard Saturday evening that they actually broke the fader button clean off the mixing board. But the guys are pros, and after a short a capella break lead by Benga, Skream! was back on the knobs seamlessly mixing the smooth melodies over the body rockin’ bass.

Afrobeta – UMF Radio Stage – 7:30 p.m.

Managed by the one of the execs of Ultra, Afrobeta have become the darlings of the UMF festival series. Being from Miami, Afrobeta brought several friends on stage during the set to help produce, add additional vocals, beatbox, or just whistle. They may not be headlining amphitheaters or mega clubs any time too soon, but the electro-pop duo have worked hard to create a unique sound, and an even more engaging live experience.

Cut Copy – Live Stage – 8:25 p.m.

Photo by Derek Staples

Thanks to Rusko setting up at the Tower of Ultra, the Live Stage opened up nicely for the bouncy beats of Cut Copy. Much like their older electro-pop counter parts Duran Duran and Erasure, Cut Copy arrived to Miami a little overdressed, considering Ultra has become nearly clothing optional for females. It is true that the Aussie’s just released the new album, Zonoscope, but the majority of fans remained to catch the more danceable tracks from their sophomore release, In Ghost Colors. New tracks like “Corner of the Sky” were well received, but when the four-piece live beast started playing “Lights and Music” and “Hearts on Fire”, lead singer Dan Whitford’s voice was nearly silenced by the sheer number of fans that knew every word and were more than willing to sing along.

Underworld – Main Stage – 8:45 p.m.

Photo by Craig Yunger

Deadmau5 may have been the official headliner of the Main Stage Saturday night, but fans of the seminal outfit Underworld traveled from countries around the globe to catch their penultimate performance. It’s understandably difficulty for Underworld to travel; they require an entire custom mobile soundboard for each performance. Underworld may only officially be Karl Hyde and Rick Smith, but it takes an entire team of producers, lurking in the shadows, to complete the band’s alternative dance tracks. Underworld started the night with a spot on performance of “Everything, Everything”, and continued to roll out the hits, including “Always Loved a Film”, “Two Months Off”, and, of course, “Born Slippy”. A stream of colorful, trippy, human-form visualizations synergized with Underworld ambient noise to dig deeper into the minds of the massive crowd. For a band called Underworld, they have an ability to pull lift a crowd about themselves into a communal cloud of electronic bliss.

Empire of the Sun – Live Stage – 9:45 p.m.

Photo by Craig Yunger

Empire of the Sun are less a band, and more of a musical experience, seemingly produced by Cirque de Soleil. The Australian performers write super catchy songs, too. Just one listen of “We Are the People” and you’ll be humming the hook for the next three days. However, the group also deliver one of the most spectacular live performances today. Multiple costume changes, light guitars, unbelievable backdrops, and Gaga-esque choreography have all become staples of Empire’s live sets. Sometimes amidst all the spectacle of Luke Steele a sense of the duo’s musical abilities can be lost, which is a shame because Nick Littlemore is one hell of a drummer.

Deadmau5 – Main Stage – 10:30 p.m.

Sunday March 27th

Body burned, brain fried, legs numb, keys/phone/wallet missing, friends possibly (and probably arrested), but onto day three.

Just one question: Can you last until the Chems?

Will.I.Am – Main Stage – 6:15 p.m.

Photo by Craig Yunger

Name alone should not place DJs on the Main Stage during Ultra. Will.I.Am is a decent DJ, especially when he is spinning tracks from the Black Eyed Peas, but the same sounds can probably be found at your local club on a busy Saturday night, even if that’s in the middle of Nebraska. Will.I.Am, you have a decent day job, just stick with it!

Steve Aoki – Live Stage – 6:35 p.m.

Photo by Craig Yunger

Looking at the draw to the Live Stage for Steve Aoki, and it seems the guy has become the king of the West Coast club banger. Whether working with other electro-heads like the Bloody Beetroots, or just tracking out his own techno remixes, Aoki fires on all cylinders all the time. The dude is perpetually running around the stage hyping the crowd, but always manages to get back to his Mac just as the next beat is about to drop. A note to Ultra: If you get Aoki to return in 2012, can fans see him rolling into dusk just to keep dehydration from all the jumping and dancing to a minimum?

Super Mash Bros. – Tower of Ultra – 6:30 p.m.

With the rise in popularity of Girl Talk, more and more mash-up artists are getting into the spotlight. And as their name implies, the Super Mash Bros. are all about the college-age pleasing mash-ups. Just in the short time spent in the Tower with the Bros., they cycled through Ja Rule, Genesis, Hanson, Lil John, and the East Side Boyz, and most likely a dozen other slightly less recognizable tracks. Unlike Girl Talk, who prefers to have the crowd on stage, the Bros.’ live act more closely resembled 2manyDJs and their video mash-ups montages.

Skrillex – Tower of Ultra – 7:30 p.m.

Photo by Craig Yunger

LA’s Skrillex was blowing minds all weekend with his own brand of Bass Music. Not grime, dub, dnb, or electro-house, the 23 year-old just does whatever he wants with the low end to keep teeth rattling. Thursday evening, he packed Miami’s Mekka for an afterparty, Saturday saw him packing the Live Stage, and then Sunday gave him a chance to perform a brand new track at the Tower of Ultra.

Crystal Castles – Live Stage – 8:05 p.m.

Photo by Craig Yunger

Still hobbled with an injured foot, and without the aid of their normal glaring light show, Crystal Castles could not deliver the full impact of their normal live performances. But the 1,200 mile trip was still pretty worth it. The near strobe-less set kept Ethan Kath and Alice Glass in the dark, with Glass seemingly more timid than usual to approach the crowd with her crutch. The crowd exploded as the intro for “XXXZXCUZX Me” filtered through the stage’s incredible sound system, but without the effects to distract audiences from Glass’s odd delivery style, some tracks just didn’t move the audience as anticipated.

The Glitch Mob – Tower of Ultra – 8:45 p.m.

The Glitch Mob have had the most dramatic shift in soundscapes compared to any other repeat performers at this year’s Ultra. Last year, the trio were still glitch-heavy bodyrocking remixers, but after the release of Drink the Sea, they have shifted to a more rhythmic, flowing production technique. On Sunday, a new breed of the Glitch arrived. Even though fans could not see their new live devices, the trio merged their two worlds, hitting “Animus Vox”, “We Swarm”, and “Fistful of Silence”, among others, with their old-school glitch effects. With inclusion of hip-hop vocals and beats, their sound has started to approach the hyphy movement of the late 90’s in San Francisco.

Beardyman – Live Stage – 9:10 p.m.

Beardyman is in a class all his own. Born Danny Foreman, he has mastered the art of beatboxing and uses the Korg Kaoss Pad 3 to live loop and sample his own vocals. The Briton also has a fondness for weed, speaking on the subject quite often, and sampling classic Bob Marley and other dub and stripped-down dancehall into his set.

MSTRKRFT – Live Stage – 9:30 p.m.

Photo by Craig Yunger

The duo only seemed to grow more ferocious with their time apart. Sharing a single laptop, and probably three packs of cigarettes, the Canadians just annihilated the packed crowd with their punk-fueled electro-house bangers. JFK and Al-P were relentless, pummeling the crowd with bass, tech effect shrills, and unruly drops. The set seemed absent of any mixes from their previous efforts,The Looks and Fist of God, so make sure to keep an ear to the ground for an upcoming third LP.

The Chemical Brothers – Main Stage – 10:30 p.m.

THE TIME HAS COME! No matter how many times you listen to Exit Planet Dust, Dig Your Own Hole, or the more recent Further, Tom Rowlands and Ed Simmons are going to straight up twist, turn, wreck, and turn your brain upside down. The 90 minute set had a slow build, with the massive Main Stage screen kept off to build a maddening level of suspense, until “Horse Power” dropped and all hell broke loose. There was no emotion or sense that was not somehow touched during the set. The Brothers’ visuals were truly beyond description – the massive scale, vivid colors, and total synchronization were a concert triumph on a level that has yet to be popularized on the US festival circuit. “Hey Boy, Hey Girl”, a track everyone at Ultra should know, sent the audience into a frenzy: glowsticks spinning, heads rocking, bodies bouncing, and voices screaming.

Photo by Craig Yunger

The show just continued to reach new levels of absurdity as each song built on the momentum of the last. Every second of the show seemed perfectly scripted, with seamless transitions for both the audio and the visual aspects of the performance. To separate the two does not seem fitting, as each part was equally important to the show as a whole. The set ended with radio favorites “Brothers Got to Work it Out” and “Block Rockin’ Beats”. Even after almost 30 hours of music, the set pulled every last drop of energy from the crowd, and captured the spirit so well, people would have stayed until the early working hours of Monday morning. Well, enough with the words, just know this…it must be witnessed.
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Gallery by Craig Yunger

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Unless Death From Above 1979 are choosing to play 3/19/2011 at 1:00AM somewhere other than South By Southwest, there’s a pretty good chance we could see the duo’s first reunion show of 2011, and their first live performance since circa 2005. But before Jesse F. Keeler reunites with Sebastian Granger, J F K deserves some major kudos for this new, unannounced MSTRKRFT track, the band which he and Alex Puodziukas have been fronting since DFA 1979′s split.

Thanks to Some Kind Of Awesome, “Beards Again” gets our dancing shoes broken in for SXSW. Turn up the track, and get ready to rage with these Canadians in Austin, in this form, or the other.

Stream the track below, and follow the link to download it – though, the WAV to .MP3 conversion is on you.

MSTRKRFT – BEARDS AGAIN by Undocumented Management

Download the track right over here.