Sasquatch 2012, Still Not Sold Out

I've been waiting to post the Quadros series assuming the next newsworthy event would be Sasquatch selling out, but inexplicably it hasn't? How can Coachella sell out 130,000 weekend passes in two hours, yet Sasquatch can't sell 25,000 weekend passes in two weeks? Granted Coachella is a much bigger destination, and the second largest U.S. metro is 130 miles away, and it appeals more to the beautiful people who only care about seeing the headliners, a handful of buzz bands, and dancing to the same beat by the hottest knob twisters while ingesting popular science experiments, but aside from that, the Coachella lineup isn't THAT much better? The headliners and rarities at Coachella are a big deal, but Sasquatch has done well for itself this year comparatively speaking. So why isn't Sasquatch sold out?

I'm pretty good at predicting what makes sense for Sasquatch (business wise), which is why I get paid the big bucks here. Blogging is very lucrative you know, the reason I write two of them. However, I was incorrect when I guessed the festival would sell out the first day general passes went on sale. I need to regain my credibility, which is why I'll share with you the most logical reason the festival has yet to sell out. [drum roll] The festival capacity has been increased this year.

How would Sasquatch increase the capacity of a venue with strict land constraints? A popular suggestion over the last couple years has been to put a stage in the campground. If they kicked out the hundreds of campground attendees who don't have a festival pass, and replaced their wasted space with an official stage, what paying customer would be against the idea? With re-entry in the cards this year, it would allow the festival attendees to freely move between the main stages and the campground stage. Plus, there is already a confirmed fifth stage, the NW Hip-hop showcase otherwise known as the "Maine Stage." The Maine problems with this theory:

1. Why would a Fire Marshall increase the capacity of the main festival grounds because of a tiny stage in the campground no one will attend during the evening hours?
2. Having wristband holders freely wander between the campground and the main grounds will required increased security checkpoints, or increased campground security protecting the borders (and a big fence).
3. Who wants to walk 30+ minutes between stages?

As previously mentioned, land is at a premium, so it's difficult to convince the Fire Marshall to expand the capacity without expanding the area of the festival grounds, so let's explore the largest piece of land in the vacinity. The parking lot of course. That place is gigantic, and it's a short walk from the Wookie stage. They are practically giving away this large area to those who want to park (I've heard non-VIP parking is free). Who parks instead of camping at Sasquatch anyway? It shouldn't be allowed!

I like dreaming big, so I think a gigantic dance tent in the parking lot near the security entrance of yesteryear could increase the capacity of the grounds by 6,000 or more. Then they could move the Yeti stage to where the dance tent has been, throw the Maine stage in the food court where the Yeti was, and all would flow perfectly. They could still use the remaining area of the parking lot for VIPs, and sponsor shuttles to the nearest towns for those who used to park for free. Even if purchasing property for expansion in the immediate area isn't an option, there must be property in the surrounding areas available to divert excess campers and parked cars? After all, light sleepers, people in their forties, and pregnant women freely shuttle to the festival from the Wildhorse campground.

Eliminating the parking lot all together would free up enough land for two additional stages, and increase the festival capacity to nearly 45,000, which would give the festival more money to land the really big headliners and continue to sell out. Sasquatch could then compete with the giant festivals of the world, and make it the U.S. festival destination of choice.

I'm done dreaming big for now. Nothing this large can be in the works yet, but I refuse to believe there aren't at least a couple thousand extra passes available this year. They found a way to expand the capacity, even if the parking lot theory isn't the solution. They can easily make the dance tent much bigger, and squeeze the Maine Stage in unused space to increase the number of weekend passes without increasing the acres of land use. Maybe the solution is sending the Fire Marshall and guests on a month long all expenses paid vacation in exchange for a favorable number (wink wink)? Maybe I think this is a good idea because I know the Fire Marshall, and maybe I want a free vacation, but I'm not admitting to the former.

In other news, the Quadros series will begin shortly. For those new to this blog, I listen to a lot of music and go to a lot of live shows, so I have a lot to say about each of the bands on the lineup. Hopefully I be able to knock out ten or more Quadros before the festival starts, so stick around. Until then, if you have questions, comments, or other crazy theories, post them below.

Sasquatch 2012 Lineup Revealed

First glance, outstanding lineup. It will rival 2010, and a sell out is imminent. Jack White and Beck were great surprises, and it's not a secret Tenacious D is the only band on my Sasquatch wish list every year. Even the undercard is filled with lesser known bands you will eventually dig. I wasn't one of the many getting wasted tonight in celebration, so this is a mostly sober opinion.

Bands the kids won't care about: The Mark Lanegan Band (one of the greatest voices in rock), Spiritualized, Ted Leo & The Pharmacists, M. Ward. Expect tiny crowds.

Bands the kids care about (so I hear): Pretty Lights, Apparat, Tycho, Nero, Wolfgang Gartner. Expect gigantic crowds.

Acts who are outstanding live: Bon Iver, Joy Formidable, Beirut, Girl Talk, Tune-Yards, St. Vincent, Mogwai, Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside

Acts who are great on record (who I haven't seen live): The Civil Wars, The War On Drugs, The Head & The Heart, Little Dragon, The Cave Singers, SBTRKT, Kurt Vile

Tip of the hat to Adam Zacks. The undercard is slightly better than I expected, and Jack White/Beck is a duo any festival would be proud to land.

Sasquatch 2012 Rumors

Wild Flag, The War On Drugs, WU LYF, Coeur de Pirate, The Physics, Girls, Bon Iver, M. Ward, Starfucker, Spiritualized, I Break Horses, Mogwai

Website Malfunction Confirms Multiple Acts

The second biggest entertainment related malfunction of all-time? I fully intended to spend a couple hours writing paragraphs filled with Janet Jackson song titles and jokes until I realized two points. First, I'm the only Janet Jackson fan who reads this blog, so most wouldn't get it. Second, even though I do this "All For You," "What Have You Done For Me Lately?" See, I told you you wouldn't get it. Now I'm wondering if viewers even remember the Janet Jackson Wardrobe Malfunction? Don't google it at work.

So what happened? Shortly after noon last Saturday, a loyal Sasquatch Blog reader referring to him/herself as "anonymous" posted a link to the Sasquatch main(e) site's schedule page, which incorrectly showed names of bands on the Sasquatch lineup. Apparently, if you changed the numbers at the end of the link, it would reveal more bands. Later that afternoon, the news spread to the rest of the internet, and other interneters claim to have seen the following bands:

The Shins / Girl Talk / Beirut / St Vincent / Blitzen Trapper / Tune-Yards / Lana Del Rey / Apparat / Starfucker / Wolfgang Gartner / Active Child / Said the Whale / Black Whales / Araabmuzik / Star Slinger / Jamey Johnson / Grynch / Com Truise / Dyme Def / SPAC3MAN / Purity Ring / THEESatisfaction / Tycho / Fatal Lucciano / Fly Moon Royalty / Sol / Nobody Beats The Drum / Todd Barry / Rob Delaney / Pete Holmes

Is the list real, you bet. Is it 100% accurate, well, that's a different story. First, we are relying on random internet people to have accurately transcribed what they saw. This means, "Fly Moon Royalty," might actually be "Sky Poon Realty." That's probably a bad example, but you get the point. Second, acts cancel festivals all the time, so there is no guarantee a name or two who were on the lineup last week will still be there Thursday night. However, the collection of lesser known hip-hop acts and comedians, mixed with upper tier acts I am confident will be there (six of the biggest names were on my guess 50 already) makes this list way too credible to be fake. Plus, you know, it came from the official website.

This malfunction has also confirmed a fifth stage. Travis Hay recently wrote an article about it. Read it here.

Regarding my guess 50, I last updated it Thursday, January 26th. I won't update it again, since anyone can make a guess 50 now, and be 80% correct.

And speaking of the Jacksons, anyone anticipating a Michael Jackson, "Beat It," type showdown between SPAC3MAN (the hip-hop artist) and Spaceman (the lead singer of Spiritualized)?

Predictions For Sasquatch 2012 (Guess 50)

The annual Sasquatch Blog Guess 50 is back a bit early this year. These are just my guesses based on some facts, some probability, a joke, and a lot of hunch. It is not the actual lineup!


Bon Iver, Deadmau5, Avett Brothers, MGMT, The Shins, Skrillex, At The Drive-In, Explosions in the Sky, Beirut, James Blake, Ghostland Observatory, Built to Spill, Girl Talk, Santigold, Yo La Tengo, St. Vincent, Pretty Lights, Low, Cage The Elephant, The Joy Formidable, The Head and the Heart, Portugal. The Man, Tune-Yards, M. Ward, Real Estate, Blitzen Trapper, Excision, Wild Flag, 12th Planet, The Civil Wars, Apparat, Girls, Akron/Family, Juniper, The Sheepdogs, WU LYF, The War On Drugs, Starfucker, Shearwater, Childish Gambino, EMA, Frank Turner, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Youth Lagoon, Alabama Shakes, Hey Rosetta, We Are Augustines, Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside, The Parson Red Heads, The Physics, Couer de Pirate, Dragon Boy Suede, Seattle Rock Orchestra (performing the Beatles)


I quit updating this list a week before the lineup was announced, due to the website malfunction confirming multiple bands. Therefore I wasn't able to add a couple bands who appeared highly likely a couple days before the lineup was announced (Mogwai, Feist, I Break Horses, Spiritualized, etc.).

Lineup To Be Announced February 2nd

The 2012 Sasquatch Launch Party will take place Thursday, February 2nd, at the Neptune in Seattle, WA. Performing will be Jose Gonzalez's side project Junip, Nada Surf's lead singer Matthew Caws (solo), and a band called the Physics. Jose Gonzalez is an amazing guitar player and Nada Surf is "Popular." I don't know much about the Physics, other than the energy of the crowd at their set must equal to the amount of people at the show multiplied by the square of the speed of light. It's nuclear fusion people, and it needs sunlight to function, which means the sun is now heavily rumored at Sasquatch 2012. Don't argue with science.

2012 Sasquatch Headliner Predictions

"Where is our headliner?" As previously mentioned, just because they announced a headliner early the last two years, doesn't mean they will this year. Since tickets have been on sale for a couple weeks, the organizer now know how many people will attend Sasquatch regardless of the lineup or a headliner. That's pretty powerful information moving forward. Because there isn't much to talk about right now, and you are all getting the fever, I'll offer my 2012 Sasquatch headliner predictions, otherwise known as the likelihood the likeliest headliners will likely headline Sasquatch 2012. I did correctly predict the four headliners (and top subheadliner) last year before the lineup was announced, one being a band I predicted over a year before the festival (Wilco). Believe what you will, but my predictions are at least better than randomly throwing darts at a list of possibilities.

Bon Iver (83.2%) - A Sasquatch vet who has blown up recently. Singer/songwriters rarely reach headliner status with a couple good albums and fantastic live shows. They need to crossover into "popular" music to reach this lofty status. I don't care what anyone thinks about Bon Iver's lack of popularity, or how much any of you hate Kanye West. Fact is, Kanye West made Bon Iver a star by introducing him to a new crowd, the 19-23 year olds who spend a lot of time listening to the radio, and who make up half of the Sasquatch attendees. His most recent album spent time in the top 40, which shows how popular he is. I don't base my opinions on who I like, most of what you are reading is based on ticket sales. Bon Iver was recently selling out 3,000 capacity venues in a day. He's much bigger than you think, is still up and coming, and is my most likely choice for Sasquatch 2012 headliner. Sasquatch has recently landed the soon to be headliners at larger festivals, so this is a perfect match.

Deadmau5 (31.4%) - I'm not sure he'll ever stop touring, but he does have upcoming dates, including Europe in June, so he's available. He's about as much of a Sasquatch vet as there is, being a relative unknown in the dance tent in 2009, then playing the late night second stage slot in 2010. It seems like a natural progression to make headlining the main stage the next stop. He's already headlined Lollapalooza, although their split headliner formula made him more like a subheadliner. A real headlining gig which doesn't end at 10 p.m. has to be tempting. I predicted an EDM headlining act earlier this summer, and the mouse is the most likely. Plus, Sasquatch has had a mouse band on their lineup four years straight. The streak cannot end now.

Mumford & Sons (24.5%) - Another Sasquatch vet who has blown up recently, and that is an understatement. They went from playing the second stage at Sasquatch 2010 early in the day to selling out 1,500 capacity venues in minutes a couple months later. They were a sub/sub at Coachella 2011, had a huge crowd, and put on a solid show. They are now playing arenas, and are still gaining popularity. It's amazing to me a band with one album would blow up like this, but they have, and you are kidding yourself if you think they are not big enough to headline Sasquatch. They are not yet big enough to headline the biggest U.S. Festivals, so again, they fit the recent Sasquatch headliner trend.

Primus (15.4%) - They played the NW in 2010, but ended their 2011 tour in California without making it back up north. They have a couple shows in California at the end of the month, and shows in Europe in March/April. They've never played Sasquatch, so I'll give the Black Keys warning I offered earlier. The only reason their percentage is so low is because they really aren't big enough to headline Sasquatch. They might be huge in California, but they aren't a huge draw in the NW. It could happen, but a subheadliner slot on loud Friday seems more fitting.

Portishead (15.3%) - They played in Seattle this fall. Does this make them more likely or less likely to headline Sasquatch? In this case, much more likely. They rarely tour, and have a hell of a light/monitor show they obviously spent a lot of time and money on. It would look great on the main stage at Sasquatch, similar to Massive Attack's headlining set two years ago.

Sigur Ros (8.2%) - Sigur Ros might be active in 2012, which is why they are included here. They fit the sub-headliner mold of the biggest festivals, which is about right for a Sasquatch headliner. Bands want to be headliners. If Sigur Ros has to choose between a headliner set at Sasquatch, or a subheadliner set at a different large festival, Sasquatch would be more lucrative and attractive. I don't think they will be on the lineup, but as far as, "wow, I never thought they would be there," bands go, Sigur Ros would surprise me the least. Yes, I just said the most likely of the least likely. That's still something.

Skrillex (7.7%) - Like him or not, he is gigantic these days, and has a pretty amazing light show in tote. He is touring through June of 2012 with a giant gap in May, so he is also available. Remember when he used to open for Deadmau5? Wouldn't that be an interesting headliner/sub. EDM Friday anyone?

Red Hot Chili Peppers (3.6%) - RHCP will be everyone in 2012. They have also announced tour dates excluding the NW. Headliners year to year can be a small pool to choose from. It's not like every band big enough to headline is available every year. The Peppers will play major festivals in the United States and Europe. With the chances of them headlining Coachella appearing less likely, that only makes their chances of headlining Sasquatch more likely. They are the Foo Fighters of last year, and will help guarantee another sell out in 2012. Remember Jane's Addiction's first U.S. festival headlining set was Sasquatch, even though Perry Farrell founded Lollapalooza, and often plays Coachella in some form. Sasquatch isn't too small for the Hots. UPDATE: Recently recent tour dates put the Peppers in the midwest during Sasquatch with dates booked on three of the four days of the festival. They drop from a 30.1% chance.

Black Keys (1.4%) - They have been the most obvious choice since the conclusion of Sasquatch 2011. They finally reached the masses with the crossover success of their 2010 album Brothers. They also aren't big enough to headline the biggest festivals, but the pending success of their newest album released last week should change that. The Black Keys are on the verge of being the biggest non-Legend rock band in the world. Their possibility is strengthened by the fact they recently announced tour dates with the NW missing. Knowing the Sasquatch headliners are likely aleady booked, 2012 is the best chance Sasquatch has to land them. However, the only reason I don't think they are a lock is because they have been rumored every year recently, but are never on the lineup. Some bands are less likely because of behind the scene interactions we don't know about. Sasquatch is practically run by Ticketmaster, so there are a lot of reasons huge bands would turn their nose. UPDATE: Recently released NW tour dates indicates the Black Keys are highly unlikely. They drop from a 68.2% chance.

Radiohead (1.3%) - I discussed the Radiohead possibilities last month. They are on tour next spring, and still have no NW dates. I still give them a 1/10 chance of being there, which is much higher than I have ever given them, and likely much higher than I will ever get them. If you're going to blow a huge chunk of change on the Red Hots, why not up the ante and get Radiohead instead? UPDATE: Recently released NW tour dates indicates Radiohead is highly unlikely. They drop from a 9.6% chance.

Pearl Jam (0.1%) - As mentioned in the comments section, Pearl Jam is back. They have a couple festival gigs booked in Europe in June, so there is no reason to believe they won't be ready for Sasquatch. Is this finally the year for Pearl Jam? Probably not. I'll keep wishing. Again, if you're going to spend the bank on the Hot Chilies, why not pay more for Pearl Jam instead? UPDATE: I created the dots last night, but didn't connect them until this morning. Pearl Jam hates Ticketmaster. They've been involved in a lawsuit in the past. Since Ticketmaster is tight with Livenation (who runs Sasquatch) you'll probably never see them on the lineup. I'm downgrading them from a 4.3% chance to a 0.1% chance.

Fleet Foxes (0.1%) - The are only rated so low because they are the perfect subheadliner for Bon Iver (or Mumford & Sons). Their Sasquatch probability is much higher, but I'm not convinced they are headliner status unless a large chunk of the budget is spent on Radiohead or Pearl Jam. They have the local love, and have played the festival twice, so that might push them over the edge. UPDATE: Per Robin Pecknold's twitter, the band has no upcoming shows booked. They drop from a 14.1% chance.

If you agree, or think other headliner predictions are missing, let me know in the comments section. If you think my predictions are synonymous to a Sasquatch campground honey bucket which hasn't been emptied in four days, you are welcome to state that as well.