Sasquatch 2011 Tickets On Sale Saturday, November 20th! Foo Fighters Headlining

Fourth Day Added:

Sasquatch! 2011 will include a fourth day, with the Foo Fighters headlining Friday's event. The official dates for Sasquatch! 2011 are Friday, May 27th through Monday, May 30th. The tenth anniversary will be the first time the festival will be four days. Keep in mind they have done a Friday show before, a half day in 2006 with the music starting at 4:00 p.m. There was no camping the night before. (Update: The campground will open Thursday, May 26th, at noon).

Tickets:

Tickets go on sale this Saturday, November 20th, at 10:00 a.m. PST. Four day passes available this weekend for $285, which includes camping (Premium camping and VIP parking will be available as an upgrade, $160 for premium camping, $80 for VIP parking). It won't be like last year when you bought a three day pass, and receive three single day tickets. This year, you get one four day pass, which upon arrival, is exchanged for a four day festival wristband. You obviously can't remove the wristband for the festival's duration. Single day tickets will be available Saturday, February 12th, 2011 for $79.50 per day.

Lineup:

Full lineup will be announced Monday, February 7th, which is a couple weeks earlier than past years. Mark your calenders.

Foo Fighters:

It's hard to believe Dave Grohl has been involved in meaningful rock music for 20 years, fifteen being with the Foo Fighters. What is the drummer for one of the biggest bands in the world supposed to do when the lead singer perishes? Pick up a guitar, play music, and move on. It's easy to say, "I don't like the Foo Fighters, I'd rather see (fill in the blank)." One of the great things about festivals is that you have the option to see a huge draw without having to pay their showcased fees. If you are already going to be there, why not check them out?

If you have listened to any radio over the last fifteen years, you might be surprised how many Foo Fighters songs you know. I can only name four or five off the top of my head, but having seen them a couple years ago, I know I recognized nearly every song they played. They had a stimulating light show, so if nothing else, there's that. Who doesn't remember the pop cultured, "Footos," or how sexy the drummer looks dressed in drag? With the formation of Them Crooked Vultures, and the Sunny Day Real Estate reunion, it's not like the market has been saturated with recent Foo Fighter shows (their last performance was over a year ago).

If you still can't get over the Foo Fighters headlining a night, look at it this way. Yesterday we were speculating who the three headliners would be. Today, we are still speculating who the other three headliners will be. If you hate the Foo Fighters, you can catch another act on the back stage (there hasn't been an unopposed headliner the last couple years). Or you can do what you already had planned for Friday night, get drunk at the campground. You now have three options, where before you had one. It's a win win win situation.

Time To Start Talking About Sasquatch 2011

Is it too early to talk about Sasquatch 2011? Considering the Cure were announced as a 2008 headliner near Halloween of 2007, and Pavement was announced last year on November 7th, it's not too early. Here is what we know about the Sasquatch 2011 Music Festival.

Dates: While the dates are yet to be confirmed, you can bet it will be May 28th through the 30th, Memorial Day weekend (as usual). This will be the tenth anniversary, so it's unlikely they will reduce the festival to two days.

Tickets: Tickets went on sale last year with the Pavement announcement in early November, the first year tickets went on sale this early. They usually go on sale the weekend after the lineup is revealed, in February. The past few years, there have been three price levels, so it behooves you to buy early. Last year's festival sold out in record time, and unless they do away with headliners and cool bands all together, it will sell out early again.

Lineup: The lineup is usually announced the day after President's Day (President's Day being February 21st, 2011). This is the latest President's day will be for the next several years, so I wouldn't be surprised if they announce the lineup the week prior (it was the 15th last year).

Tenth Anniversary: It's no secret next year with be the tenth edition of the Sasquatch! Music Festival. In an interview with Consequence of Sound earlier this year, Adam Zacks said they have a couple surprises in store for this year's festival. What type of surprises might you ask? Radiohead or Pearl Jam headlining? A fourth day? A fifth stage/tent?

Speaking of Radiohead, we've also been discussing Guerrilla Candy's (Travis Hay) interview with Adams Zacks for a couple years now, the one where Zacks stated Bjork (who played in 2007) and Radiohead are basically his White Whales. Those who attended last year's festival can attest, the newly enclosed main stage reduces the amazing scenery we've grown to enjoy. Was it created to enhance the crowd's experience? No way. It was created to protect Neko Case from hail, to protect Spoon and Interpol from the wind, and to increase the likelihood bands with expensive light shows will consider attending. In no way does this mean Radiohead is rumored. It's more like the scene in Dumb and Dumber when Jim Carrey says, "so you're telling me there's a chance."

As for the Pearl Jam possibility, we will know more when Soundgarden eventually announces their reunion tour. They share the same drummer (Matt Cameron), so Soundgarden playing elsewhere in late May will suffocate that inclusion.

Big Name Possibilities: It's a bit early to be reading into tour schedules, so this rumor isn't holding buckets of water, but it still holds a couple pints. Interpol have been touring extensively, yet have skipped the Northwest all together? They are still touring through March, so adding a Seattle show will kill this rumor. It's Seattle or Sasquatch though, it makes zero sense skipping both. (EDIT: January Seattle show added).

The festival always caters to bands with NW ties. Getting at least two of the following local powerhouses seems like a safe bet; Death Cab For Cutie, Modest Mouse, the Decemberists, Fleet Foxes, and Spoon.

More Info:

All rumors and confirmations will be easy to find located at the top of this blog. Keep checking here for Sasquatch news, commentary, updates, and reviews. Check out the The Cog for poorly written reviews about possible Sasquatch bands. If you have any questions about the festival, the friendly people on the Sasquatch Message Board will be more than willing to assist. Let the Sasquatch 2011 discussions begin!

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2010 Lineup/Links

Saturday, May 29th

My Morning Jacket / Vampire Weekend / The National / Deadmau5 / Broken Social Scene / OK Go / Brad / The Hold Steady / Miike Snow / Z-Trip / Brother Ali / Minus The Bear / WHY? / The Very Best / Portugal. The Man / Mumford & Sons / The Lonely Forest / Nurses / The Middle East / Patrick Watson / Morning Teleportation / Laura Marling / Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros / Fool's Gold / Garfunkel & Oates / Dam-Funk / Shabazz Palaces / Moshe Kasher / The Posies / Brent Weinback / Patton Oswalt / Dawes / Nada Surf

Sunday, May 30th

Massive Attack / Pavement / LCD Soundsystem / Tegan and Sara / Kid Cudi / Dirty Projectors / The xx / The Long Winters / Simian Mobile Disco / Midlake / Girls / Vetiver / The Tallest Man On Earth / YACHT / Booka Shade / Caribou / Avi Buffalo / Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band / Cymbals Eat Guitars / A-Trak / Fruit Bats / tUnE-yArDs / Local Natives / Freelance Whales / Jets Overhead / Rob Riggle / Mike Birbiglia / Rory Scovel / Luke Burbank / They Might Be Giants / Martina Topley-Bird / Dinosaur Feathers / Public Enemy

Monday, May 31st

Ween / MGMT / Band of Horses / She & Him / Passion Pit / The New Pornographers / Drive-By Truckers / Boys Noize / Camera Obscura / The Temper Trap / Dr. Dog / Neon Indian / No Age / The Mountain Goats / Phantogram / Quasi / Japandroids / Mayer Hawthorne & The County / Fresh Espresso / Hudson Mohawke / Telekinesis / Past Lives / Tame Impala / Craig Robinson / Todd Barry / Jaguar Love / Shadow Shadow Shade / Hannibal Buress / The Heavy / Bobcat Goldthwait / Seattle Rock Orchestra

Sasquatch! 2010 (It's Over, Nooooooo)

Cancellations:

First up, a couple late cancellations to update you on. Riding their success of the "Party in the USA" remix, Yes Giantess had to cancel because their early day Yeti slot no longer matched their popularity. They were replaced by Tame Impala, who I heard several attendees rave about. Langhorne Slim canceled due to flight delays. His early slot was left open, because everyone with a guitar, amp, and bongos in general camping was still asleep at noon. Mt. St. Helen's Vietnam Band were a late add to replace City and Colour, who cancelled due to an illness. Props to Mt. St. Helen's Vietnam band for arriving on such late notice.


Saturday:

Portugal. the Man - Lots of energy. Great David Bowie cover.

Edward Sharpe - That was a huge crowd at the Bigfoot. There were more people talking about, singing, or playing Edward Sharpe at the campground than any other act on the lineup. Despite the large crowd, it was obvious many hadn't heard the songs, and the pump your fist parts were either off or missed by many. Jade's voice is so powerful live. In what became a theme for the weekend, the sound was up and down on the solar stage.

Broken Social Scene - Despite the Primavera jet lag, this was probably my favorite set of the weekend. They had the trumpet player from Edward Sharpe a horn player from the National join them for a couple songs. They've had guest play with them each time I've seen them live, and Kevin Drew stated, "It's all about band unity," after thanking the guests. Meet me in the Basement was immediately my favorite song on the newest album, and they played it as the finale. It helps that they ended the last 45 seconds of the song three times, just to get people jumping up and down again. That was a party.

Why? - Dance move of the weekend. If you saw it, you'll know what I'm talking about. They had serious sound issues, so they started 10 minutes late, while occasionally making fun of the sound guy. Part of their sound issue may have been Miike Snow on the Bigfoot Stage nearing the end of their set. Miike Snow was loud, and the wind was blowing toward Why?

The Very Best - Loved the dancing girls getting down on each side of the stage in almost perfect unison. It was much more of a hip-hip show than an electronic show, but either way, the crowd was going nuts. They cut the sound during the chorus of "Julie" so the crowd could sing the line. That worked well. No Ezra Koenig guest appearance. To the best of my knowledge, they dubbed his part (he may have been hiding somewhere on stage, I'm not sure).

My Morning Jacket - One of the highlights of the festival. Their 15 (or so) minute version of "Dodante" was mesmerizing. There were people standing around me who didn't know the band well, and they were also in awe. Near the end of their set (which was just over two hours), they played "Highly Suspicious," which you either love or hate. The last time I saw them, this song had the crowd jumping. This night however, most of the crowd was standing still. That's when I turned around and noticed the front rows on the hill were empty, and floor crowd was sparse. It was dark, so I couldn't tell if there were still people further back on the hill, but upon leaving, my guess was no. Maybe they would've played a longer set if people were still there. It was extremely cold that night though (outside of the pit that is).


Sunday:

Cymbals Eat Guitars - This guy abuses the strings on his guitar more than any indie rock musician I've witnessed. I felt like I was watching a thrash metal show. He even yanked the strings out of his guitar at the end of the show. It's too bad the crowd was small, and uninterested.

Kid Cudi - Huge crowd, all dancing, very enjoyable. I couldn't tell how many people were on the hill, but the floor was more crowded than MGMT. He said he was going to play a three song set in the crowd, until he realized it would be a bit rough getting in and out, so he just sang part of a song on the floor near the crowd. I loved the Anthrax tee shirt, until I noticed the back of his shirt said, "Anthrax, NOT." He posed to show this off at the end of a couple songs. I'm not sure if this was making fun of Anthrax, or if that's the way Anthrax originally designed the tee. Any Anthrax fans out there?

Pavement - It was sloppy, but endearing, like when your girlfriend drinks one too many glasses of wine, and can't stop laughing, even after falling down. It doesn't matter if Malkmus can come off as being rude live, he is entertaining, and his banter is always welcome. He pretended he was still in Spain (at Primavera), which I'm sure some didn't like, but he also gave his local shout outs to the Tri-City folks as well. Malkmus made this a one man show early on, eager to show everyone else was a backing band he picked up off the street. He even tried to help his band mate tune his (edit:bass) guitar, for what seemed like way too long. So what if they hate each other, it was a fun show. I couldn't leave, just because I thought I might miss an actual fight on stage, or Malkmus doing something insanely memorable. He was already swinging his guitar around after each song, looking like he was going to smash it on the ground. Happy birthday Malkmus.

Public Enemy - They played "It Takes a Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back," again, but stated it was there first time performing it in the NW, so that's fair. Chuck D and Flava Flav both sounded great lyrically, which was surprising. The backing sound was a bit of an issue (the Bigfoot Solar Stage again). Chuck D sure knows how to piss people off. It's cool with me if you want to drop racial slurs, while talking about Arizona, Sarah Palin, and Nazi Germany, I'm not going to take things too literal, I'll wait for the next song. I'm not sure others had the same thoughts, as many near the back left shaking their heads each time he ranted. It's Chuck D, he's always been politically charged, you don't have to agree to kick it. They're not called Public Enemy because they want you to like them.

Massive Attack - I'm not sure if the hill was crowded (again), but the floor was empty. I was 20 feet outside the main pit, and was able to sit down and still see the show. There was literally no one in front of me or behind me. That same area was not accessible during MGMT, Vampire Weekend, Kid Cudi, and LCD Soundsystem.


Monday:

Dr. Dog - I'm not sure if the crowd was calmly watching the show, or if they didn't enjoy it. There were only a few of us pumping our fists and dancing around. I kept looking around at the weather during this set, and saw some nasty clouds to the east which reminded me a bit of the 2006 hail storm clouds. When the wind briefly blew my direction, I was convinced there was going to be another weather catastrophe (which never happened).

Japandroids - Rock stars. Their gear was apparently left in Spain, so they had to borrow equipment. It's safe to say that didn't hold them back.

Mountain Goats - I was amazed at the energy and stage presence in the short time I was at this show. Now I see why people say they are can't miss live. So much more strength than the mellowness of their albums would dictate.

MGMT- I've never seen this many people jumping up and down during "Kids." I literally spent the first minute of the song starring at the hill in awe. What a lame crowd otherwise though.

Ween - Another highlight. I'm not a giant Ween fan, but had a blast in the pit. The crowd was full of Ween-heads, and it felt like there was going to be a huge group hug after the show. They played all of their classics, but the beats were sped up on most of their slower songs, so a lot of their songs sounded different than on album. Is it just that they don't look like rock stars? Gene (edit: Dean) Ween rips on the guitar .


Late Night Stage:

The late night stage was a real hit this year, mostly because the crowds at the headliners were so small. With huge headlining draws the last couple years, 75% (or more) of the festival was leaving at roughly the same time, with the crowd getting bottle necked next to the Bigfoot stage, leading to a 25 minute walk back to the campground comprised entirely of baby steps and staggering people running into each other. The saving grace was how small the headliner crowds were. Edward Sharpe and the xx had crowds as big as Booka Shade and Deadmau5. Each late night act played near 1am, so that is a good sign that any noise ordnance wasn't strictly enforced.


Weather:

As far as perfect festival weather goes, this was nearly that. I'm sure the people who live in much warmer climates would prefer last year's upper 80s weather, but that is darn hot for us who reside in the NW. It was mostly cloudy each day, slightly above room temperature, with a slight breeze throughout the day, and occasional sprinkles. It only really rained once, and that was in the middle of the night. Even when the sprinkles hit, it rarely lasted more than a couple minutes. I found it slightly amusing people would rush to put on their rain gear and pull out their umbrellas when the sky was mostly filled with sun.


Until Next Year.....:

In closing, I heard a woman talking about how mad she was with another attendee on the way back to camp one night. I also had someone make an outwardly sarcastic angry comment to me which I mistook for a joke, causing me to reply with a smile and laughter. That was it. Out of all the conversations I overheard, people I spoke with, and debauchery I witnessed, those were the only two negative memories out of hundreds. Even the guy with the freshly broken leg getting towed back to the campground in a wagon was playfully making fun of others for walking so slow. It is really tough to explain how different the camaraderie at Sasquatch is from other concerts, and other festivals. If you replace all of the luxuries we are used to on a daily basis with a field full of music fans looking to party and have a good time at one of the most beautiful places in the United States, it's really tough to beat.

With all of the travelers who attended this year, the word is getting out. I could have saved myself a lot of time by saying, "This festival sucks, do not ever attend," and all of the Sasquatch veterans would secretly smile.

Sasquatch! Campground Beer Drinking Game

Not that you need an excuse to drink at the Sasquatch! Campground, but here is the "Often Debatable Semi-Official Sasquatch 2010 Campground Drinking Game" (all rights reserved).

Drink one if.... (dedicated to our northern friends)

- You hear someone refer to themselves as Canadian.
- You hear someone talking about hockey. This would have been huge had the Habs made it to the finals.
- The phrase "washroom" is used to refer to a honey bucket (which is hilarious).
- You witness the game of beersbee.
- You hear someone talking about how they've never listened to one of the headliners.
- You see a Canadian flag (bonus drink if it's in tattoo form).
- You hear "Canadian" used to describe a band.
- You see the honey bucket cleaners (in tribute). It is usually a highlight of the day, especially for the ladies.

Drink two if....

- You see a stupid clever tee shirt that actually makes you laugh.

- You see people dancing on top of an RV or truck.

- Dancing Man or the Decemberists Sex Scene is mentioned.
- You see someone taking a picture of themselves. If you are attracted to the person, offer to take the picture for them. I shouldn't have to tell you this.
- Someone tries to sell you something you don't want. "Hey man, check out this cheerios necklace I made."
- You hear a song/album that makes you think, "OMG, I love this song/album, I haven't heard this in years." You'll know it when you hear it.
- You see someone fall down. Take a bonus drink if they fall down with someone else, and laugh out loud because of it.
- You have to ask someone their name for the fourth time.
- You hear MGMT's hit single Kids.

Drink three if....
- You see someone taking way too long to set up their tent. If you are taking way too long to set up your own tent, pound a beer, start over, and thank me later.

- Someone asks you for directions. If they are obviously lost, but not asking for directions, offer them a beer. They'll need it.
- You see a shirtless man who is a bit too overweight to be shirtless. If the offender is female, refer to the drink five tier.

- You hear the phrase, "I can't believe how drunk I am?" or something very similar. If this occurs before noon, start drinking.

- You see a tent blow away.
- You witness a Frisbee or football hitting a stranger's car, followed by the thrower laughing hysterically while offering an unsympathetic apology.

- The hail storm is mentioned.
- You meet a fan of City & Colour. Give them a hug, and take three drinks of their hard lemonade instead.
- You fall down.

Drink four if....
- You witness someone vomiting. Then offer them a beer. They'll have some catching up to do.

- You hear the phrase, "That show changed my life" or a similar comment. Life changing event is key here though.

- You see someone doing a headstand (just seeing if I can coerce people into performing tricks for the sake of getting their neighbors drunk).
- You hear the pronunciation Dead-mau-five
- You see someone light a cigarette backwards.
- You witness someone blaring death metal. Their attempts at showing everyone how different they are should not be ignored. Offer them a beer, only toss the beer to them overhand with heavy force when they are not looking.


Drink five if....
- You hear two people arguing who are both wrong.
- You see nudity. Take an additional drink for every picture you intend to post online.
- It hails again or snows (you might need to drink more to cope with it).
- A Kia owner is blaring, "How You Like Me Now."


Shotgun/pound a full beer if....
- You meet someone from a different continent who came to the the states specifically for Sasquatch. Have your neighbors join you, because that's just cool.


Disclaimer: For entertainment purposes only. None of this actually happens at the campground. The Sasquatch Blog recommends that you drink responsibly and do everything possible to ensure a good time is had by all. Do not, I repeat, do not attempt to actually follow this drinking game, because the presence of MGMT's song "Kids" alone will get you way too drunk to appreciate what the campground and festival has to offer. Please do not throw anything at anyone. Women who are pregnant and/or nursing should not consume alcoholic beverages. The legal drinking age in the United States is 21. It is not permitted to make fun of 19 and 20 year old Canadians because of this. Have a great weekend!

Tallest Man On Earth Live Review

Mission Theater, Portland
Tuesday, May 11th, 2010

Not a surprise to anyone, but the guy is not extremely tall. This was way too evident since the venue is a movie theater, and the stage is only raised two feet. When he first started playing, I could barely see his face, and thought he was sitting in a chair. After he wandered around stage, it was clear no one could actually see his guitar unless they were stage front. It still sounded great.

Not that any of us debate Sasquatch acts are not allowed to play Seattle near Sasquatch, but after the first song, a female fan lamented about having to drive from Seattle to see the show. He immediately responded that he wasn't allowed to play in Seattle because he is playing Sasquatch. So there's that. For all you Portlanders, he stated he would be back in September, which is when MusicFestNW is held, so if there aren't any strong MusicFestNW rumors floating around, this is a big one.

The highlight of the show, and the highlight of his repertoire, is the song "Love Is All." He prefaced the song by saying it would be the highlight, and was noticeably perturbed after the song because the crowd wasn't completely silent. I agree, it's crap when such a beautiful song is nearly ruined by chatters and gigglers. He even busted out the electric guitar for this gem. He also played the electric guitar on the next song, a cover called Graceland, by some dude whose name escapes me.

If you have never listened to the Tallest Man On Earth, it won't take you more than one song to realize what he is all about, he is just a guy playing guitar and singing (albeit with a unique vocal style). By the time the gigglers near the back realized there was no drummer, bass, electronics, and cheerleaders, they left to blare Nickleback sing a longs in their Subaru Outbacks. The awesomeness of the show increased exponentially then, and the place was literally dead silent for the last few songs.

Going back to "Love Is All", this song obviously means a lot to him, and he implied it was written about an ex-wife. Twenty years from now, this song will still be one of the highlights of his catalog, so do him a favor and try to remain silent when he plays it at Sasquatch, even if you have to deal with sound bleed from the Yeti Stage. Then again, it's a moot point trying to ask a festival crowd to remain silent.

It would be easy to imagine a man singing such "sad songs" (as he referred to them), to be equally sad/serious in between songs, but he was actually hilarious, cracking jokes, and replying to the crowds comments with quick wit. The Natasha Bedingfield cover dedicated to the opening band the Nurses was another highlight. The lyrics to this song repeat the phrase, "I love you." Picture a spoof of Marilyn Monroe singing Happy Birthday to JFK, because it was cool, but funny as hell.

Not only would I recommend you catching his set at Sasquatch, but you should get to visually see him, since the Wookie/Bigfoot stage will be raised much higher than two feet. By the end of his set, he will truly seem like the Tallest Man (in your eyes, babe).


Set List: 10:11 to 11:22
1. The Wild Hunt
2. Thousand Ways
3. I Won't Be Found
4. The Gardner
5. Love is All
6. Graceland (Boyz II Men cover)
7. Pistol Dreams
8. Where Do My Bluebirds Fly
9. You're Going Back
10. Troubles Will Be Gone
11. These Words (Natasha Bedingfield cover, a tribute to the opening band the Nurses)
12. Burden of Tomorrow
13. King of Spain

Encore:
14. This Wind
15. New Song (he said he wrote it at the beginning of the tour)

Phantogram Live Review

Doug Fir, Portland
Monday, May 3rd, 2010

It's not rude to stare when you are watching a performer on stage, right?

When the two piece band first took the stage, I was already intrigued by Sarah Barthel's appearance, and her burst of energy on the first song added to her persona. When she pointed near me early in the set, I got a little light headed and weak in the knees. However, she must have been pointing at a guy standing near me, who promptly passed out. Props to the crowd for immediately rushing to his aid, and getting help. He was up soon after he fell, and was able to walk out of the venue with help, so hopefully he is alright.

I'm not a big fan of the "play button" bands push to get things started, but there is a lot going on musically on Phantogram's album, which would be impossible to pull off live with just two people. Therefore, their songs sounded a lot like the album version, but they did have more energy than I expected, and a couple electro jams near the end of the songs. Call me old fashion, drummers need work.

For a show that wasn't sold out, the place was crowded, and they were the opening band, so they are rising. I won't be the first, or 12th, or 154th person to state this, but this band is going to be big, and it's not just the beats that stick to the back of your brain after the third listen. They both sing well, play well, and look well, and that's a pretty tough combo to beat.

They held the crowd's attention, which is always a plus, except for the couple with no volume control talking about their Facebook pages near the back of the venue. I realize a concert is a social experience for many, so standing around listening to a band play music might bore you, but I could name about 82 better places to talk about your Facebook page other than a concert; coffee shops, restrooms, the break room at work, church, or easily the best place to talk about it, $@#*ing Facebook! I'm not going to be that guy who shooshes you at a show, then shakes his head in sarcastic disappointment, so I'll just rant about it instead on a blog.

I originally attended this show to cross Phantogram off my schedule and avoid Monday conflicts. But, I'm definitely catching their set again, and I apologize if this sounds like a massive crush (wiping the drool from my chin). Having seen them in a dark small club, a midday festival setting seems more intriguing. I dare you to walk by their set without wanting to stay. Hearing the synth on "You Are The Ocean" blasting through the aisles of cardboard pizza, confused patrons staring at their schedules, and $10 beer stands is something I already day dream about as a defining Sasquatch moment. And if you are one of those confused patrons, just stick around.

Set List (9:19 to 9:56):
1. As Far As I Can See
2. Let Me Go
3. Mouthful Of Diamonds
4. Running From the Cops
5. You Are The Ocean
6. Make A Fist (Bonus track from their vinyl)
7. When I'm Small

New Addition and Cancellation

Brad is taking over for Wale, and will be playing the same time slot Wale was scheduled. With Wale's cancellation, there might not be Pretty Girls at the festival after all.

Also, the main Sasquatch page posted their schedule today. It is cool that you can log in Twitter and such, and create your schedules, but if you want to see a typical top to bottom side by side stage comparisons, check out the links below.

Schedule Is Out!!!

While the schedule is not yet listed on the main Sasquatch Schedule page, it was released this morning on the Iphone App. You can get the set times for each band at the main site here.

Thanks to invisiblerobots from the Coachella board who transcribed the schedule, which was later added to the Sasquatch Web Board here.

This is a really cool schedule doumak created on the Sasquatch board. If the schedule on the main site is the same format as last year, I'm guessing you'll prefer doumak's schedule.

As posted in the comments, this is just awesome. Thanks clumsy342.

Bigfoot Late/Lower Tier Rankings

UPDATE: According to Travis Hay/Earcandy, the Bigfoot Late shows will be 11:30pm - 12:30am Saturday and Sunday night, and the schedule should be out in a couple days.

A couple words about the BigFoot Late stage, which Deadmau5 is playing on Saturday night, and Booka Shade is playing on Sunday night, according to the Sasquatch main page. In the past, the Bigfoot/Wookie was scheduled to end around 10pm, even though it has gone later based on delays. With additional slots on the Bigfoot/Wookie this year, we've already discussed a Deadmau5 10:30pm to midnight show, so this may be the definition of Bigfoot Late, since it is much later than any other year. It could be later though.

Bjork was scheduled to play until 12:30am at Sasquatch 07 on the mainstage, which is the latest anyone has been scheduled. There have only been a couple instances when music was still playing around 1:00am, and one memorable occasion was weather related. There is a county noise curfew, and the campground has always had a 2:00am noise curfew, so you shouldn't expect a late show approaching 2:00am, but it's very possible we see an act scheduled past Bjork's 12:30am ending slot three years ago. We'll soon find out.

On to the Lower Tier Rankings. As I mentioned with the Middle Tier Rankings last week, I've spent a couple hours listening to each band on the lineup, so here is how I would rank the lower tier. The lower tier is defined as the 30 lowest billed acts on the lineup. I'll list the other 15 after the top 15, so you know which 30 I am pulling from. If you have a couple bucks burning a hole in your pocket before the schedule is released, why not give one of these bands a try?


1. Tallest Man on Earth
2. Nurses
3. Local Natives
4. The Very Best
5. The Heavy
6. Mumford & Sons
7. Phantogram
8. Martina Topley-Bird
9. Cymbals Eat Guitars
10. Avi Buffalo
11. Langhorne Slim
12. Fool's Gold
13. Yes Giantess
14. Shadow Shadow Shade
15. Booka Shade


The other 15: Damn-Funk, Neon Indian, Hudson Mohawke, Fresh Espresso, Jets Overhead, Tune-Yards, Shabazz Palaces, Morning Teleportation, Past Lives, Dinosaur Feathers, Jaguar Love, Seattle Rock Orchestra, Z-Trip, A-Track, The Dawes.

Agree, disagree, hate, like, anything else?

Middle Tier Rankings

The bad news, the schedule is not out yet. The good news, we still have another couple days to discover new acts on the lineup. I took the initial lineup based on billing, and created three tiers, the upper, middle, and lower. Since we all know the upper tier, I counted from the bottom. The lowest 30 are the lower tier, the next lowest 30 are the middle tier, and everything above that is the upper tier.

I've spent a couple hours listening to each band on the lineup (except that one band that doesn't actually have music), so this is my general impression and ranking of the middle tier.


1. Dr. Dog
2. Boys Noize
3. Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes
4. Midlake
5. Brother Ali
6. Simian Mobile Disco
7. Portugal. The Man
8. The Hold Steady
9. Miike Snow
10. Caribou
11. Japandroids
12. Why?
13. Quasi
14. YACHT
15. Freelance Whales

The other 15: Laura Marling, The Lonely Forest, Wale, Girls, Mayer Hawthorne & the County, The Middle East, Telekenisis, The Posies, Fruit Bats, Camera Obscura, City & Colour, No Age, Temper Trap, Vetiver, Patrick Watson

Agree, disagree, hate, like, anything else?

Dr. Dog Live Review

Wonder Ballroom, Portland
Friday, April 23rd, 2010

"How do you spell happy?" I heard a stumbling texter shout this to his friend approaching the venue. The reply was not audible.

"One or two Ps" he again asked? How many Ps are in the word "Happy?" What a great way to get the night started.

Even though I've read about how great Dr. Dog is, I didn't start listening to them until about two months ago, and this was my first time seeing them live. So those old school Dr. Dog fans can roll your eyes at my commentary, and fast forward to the setlist, because you are not going to read anything you didn't already know. Did you know their harmonies sound like the Beatles?

Great musicians, high energy, and an unnecessarily cool light show. I say unnecessary, because it almost distracted from what they were doing on stage. They might still have a couple lights flashing during their daylight set at Sasquatch, but it won't be needed. The dueling guitars on a couple songs was a pleasant surprise, and something I overlooked listening to their albums. A prevalent piano is always welcome, although he was basically hidden from the crowd on stage. They also played over 90 minutes, which all bands should at least attempt if we're paying $20+.

One very minor complaint. Instead of screaming the screamer parts on Army of Ancients and Hang On, he instead sang them, which was a bit disappointing. Then I realized you can't really expect someone with a gargling yell to be able to pull that off live seven songs a night, a couple times a week.

Overall, this band puts on an outstanding rock show. There was nothing ultra spectacular, or extremely memorable, but they more than made up for that with their energy and stage presence. If you are new to the band, Shame Shame on you for missing out. If you've never seen them live, go see them at Sasquatch. I'll pay a large sum each time they are back through town, and would love to see them again at Sasquatch (although, if it means not seeing Zooey, sorry, Monday afternoon is pretty stacked).

I left the venue grinning ear to ear. Two blocks later, I passed the spot I initially heard the stumbling texter on the way in, so I decided to text a couple friends. "Dr. Dog made me very Hapy."

10:18 - 11:54
1. Stranger
2. I Only Wear Blue
3. The Old Days
4. Army of Ancients (with a Happy Birthday to fan intro)
5. The Breeze
6. Mirror, Mirror
7. The Ark (Highlight)
8. Station
9. The Rabbit, The Bat, and The Reindeer (Highlight)
10. Someday
11. Shadow People
12. Where'd All the Time Go?
13. The Beach
14. Unbearable Why
15. Hang On
16. From
17. Later
18. ???? I was getting accosted by a security guard here, blame him.
19. Shame Shame
20. My Friend
Encore
21. Jackie Wants a Black Eye
22. Heart It Races
22. Holy Moley??? (they said it was a song they never played, but several people cheered when it started)
23. My Friend (the other part)

Dawes and Dinosaur Feathers added, plus a new stage named Bigfoot?

So I noticed that the Seattle Rock Orchestra, Dawes and Langhorne Slim are slated to play the Bigfoot stage when clicking on their profiles on the Official Sasquatch! website. Is it possible that there is now a fifth venue added to Sasquatch!? More conflicts or more rock? You decide...

edit: Apparently Bigfoot is the new name for the Wookie stage, as pointed out on the Sasquatch! Message Boards. I wondered how long Sasquatch! would get away with it before George Lucas noticed he was not making any money off of the festival.

Passion Pit & Mayer Hawthorne Live Review

Roseland Theater, Portland
Monday, April 12th, 2010

Mayer Hawthorne and the County, this year's Dent May without the ukulele, playing 50s pop tunes. These guys are sharp dressers, and the interaction with the crowd was nice. One highlight came when Biz Markie's "Just A Friend" was used as the intro to "Just Ain't Gonna Work Out," which was an outstanding transition. They will be a good show to kick back to in the early hours at the festival, but not a show you'll see people lining up to spend $20 to see. He played the part of the old school teenage heartthrob, and had his fair share of screaming ladies, so kudos to him. There were no live horns, so let's hope they make a ton of money and add that to their future shows.

Setlist:
1. I may have missed the first song, I was a couple minutes late
2. Your Easy Lovin' Ain't Pleasin' Nothin
3. Make Her Mine
4. Maybe So, Maybe No
5. Shiny & New blending into I Wish It Would Rain
6. One Track Mind (into a song I didn't recognize)
7. Green Eyed Love
8. Just Ain't Gonna Work Out (Biz Markie song intro)
9. The Ills


Passion Pit was easily the worst performance I witnessed at Sasquatch 09, but I was going to get my $30 worth of entertainment, and the crowd provided it. It quickly became evident that the ratio of chemicals in a man's hair was directly proportional the amount of chemicals his date was wearing on her face. I guess I've been attending so many shows with hippies and hipsters, I sometimes forget the Chad & Sorostitute crowd exists.

How priceless is it when the crowd hears the first couple beats of a song, starts waiving their arms and screaming, then look at each other confused as the song progresses, leading to comments such as, "wait, I've never heard this song?" The bro-hugs when a radio song was played was also fun. I've had live musical moments when I wanted to hug everyone around me a couple times, but I wouldn't classify hearing Passion Pit's "The Reeling" near the top of that list. And seriously, what type of person goes to a Passion Pit show and screams, "PLAY SLEEPYHEAD" in between songs? They have created less than 90 minutes worth of music in their career. Do you really think they are going to skip any of the songs people like? The lead singer eventually said something along the lines of, "We wouldn't drive all the way out here from Boston, and not play Sleepyhead? Settle down, we're going to play another couple songs, then you'll get to hear it." The crowd erupted, as though they also feared it wouldn't happen.

I'm not bashing the crowd, just pointing out amusing observations. If the crowd during Passion Pit at Sasquatch is anything near this ball of energy, you are in for a treat, because overall, the crowd was packed full of rowdy Passion Pit freaks, jumping up and down and singing along.

Oh yeah, the band was also much better. After watching this show, it became clear why they were so terrible at Sasquatch 09. This band needs their lead singer to sound like how he sounds on the album. I love it when bands mix it up, but the annoyance of the singers voice quickly overshadows the catchyness of their music when he is improvising his tone and beat, and that is what happened at Sasquatch 09. To exaggerate how bad it was last year, the singer walked around stage quietly speaking the lyrics, often off beat, and randomly yelping. That is no longer the case. When his voice becomes another instrument, and goes where it belongs, it really lets the rest of their music shine, which eliminates the annoyance factor. His voice is unique, but it is nowhere near what makes their music so fun. Expect an enjoyable musical experience this year, and get ready to throw your hands in the air during "Little Secrets," because that song easily trumped Sleepyhead live.

Setlist:
1-13. Who Cares
14. SLEEPYHEAD!!!!!!!!!!

More Lineup Changes

Nada Surf and Public Enemy have switched days, with Nada Surf now playing Saturday, and Public Enemy playing Sunday. With all the recent lineup changes, expect three new adds, four cancellations, Soundgarden to be added, fourteen acts switching stages, three day passes to go back on sale, Soundgarden canceling, and the Yeti stage to change it's name, all occuring within the next 18 hours, spaced apart in 30 minute increments until the schedule eventually drops, and we all forget about the month of speculation.

Langhorne Slim Added to Sunday's Wookie

This makes ten acts currently scheduled on the Wookie Sunday, while they had eight last year. Interesting. What could this mean? A cancellation not yet posted? More future additions? Booka Shade going back to the Dance Tent?

They had already added an additional slot on the Wookie this year, meaning the stage will play later. Adding yet another slot means the stage would play earlier as well. If the Wookie will start earlier, and play later, why not do the same with the other stages, and add 14 more acts? It's sold out, that's why. I'm thinking we'll learn of a cancellation when the schedule is released.

Either way, it gives us another reason to keep looking for possible additions, because the amount of bands per stage per day is unbalanced now (and yes, there is only eight Wookie slots on Monday, but that day ends early, so they wouldn't add a nineth to play late).

CoS interview with Adam Zacks

Adam Zacks is the founder of the Sasquatch festival, just in case you missed that point somewhere along the way. For those of you Facebookers who can't believe the festival is sold out, he's the one to blame. Don't blame him for the high beer prices and subpar food though.

Check out the interview by Consequence of Sound here, or over there, whichever works best for you.

MGMT's New Album, Congratulations

A: Congratulations
Q: Statement uttered to stereotypical MGMT fan for making it through all of their latest album.

Isn't it fitting the title track is the last song on the album? It follows the album's most awkwardly rad song "Lady Dada's Nightmare." Picturing a room full of high school kids listening to this song with confused expressions and hands covering their ears puts a smile on my face every time. The preceding song, "Brian Eno," is probably the most danceable song, unless you call the Hippie Flail a dance. Outside of "Brian Eno" though, this album is going to be very unpopular with many fans.

After a few listens to Congratulations, I'm starting to think MGMT was a psychedelic electro-jam band all along, but accidentally hit it big with "Kids" and "Time to Pretend." Could they dislike their casual fan base more than a clam hates chowder?

It only takes listening to the first ten seconds of this album to realize they are talented musicians making interesting music. MGMT could put out an entirely instrumental album, and it would still be more interesting than 91.8% of the music being produced today. The drum beats are even notable on a couple songs. After not listening to Oracular Spectacular in several months, I couldn't recall if they even had drums.

If this album was created by anyone other than MGMT, there would be an entirely different type of buzz, and the album would be praised as a retro forward thinking classic (what's better than an oxymoron to make a point). As is, it could be the most polarizing album many of us have ever heard, in which people will either think it is the biggest pile of feces they've wasted 45 minutes listening to, or one of the more entertaining albums they can't wait to tell their friends about.

Damn you MGMT for drastically increasing my interest of seeing you at Sasquatch. I had guilt free wandering between other stages planned for that slot, but now I'm stuck as a mainstage camper. Maybe MGMT will do us all a favor, and play "Kids" first, so the greeks can head to the dance tent early. If not, I'm going to be torn by the Ween Live vs. Popped Collar dilemma. If you see a bored MGMT fan with a popped collar yelling "PLAY KIDS" in between songs, then see him getting choked by said popped collar, followed by ruckus and security intervention, come introduce yourself to me as I am being escorted out of the venue.

One Last Musical Addition/Schedule Release?

The Seattle Rock Choir replaces the Low Anthem to complete the lineup.

Many were salivating at the possibility of Arcade Fire being on the lineup this year, but that didn't happen. So why not get the next best thing (not to mention a cheaper alternative)? The Seattle Rock Choir will be reprising their tribute to the album Funeral, by Arcade Fire.

Be looking for the schedule soon. Last year it was released on April 9th.

Aziz Ansari Final Comedic Add

Nice for the final comedian to be one of the bigger names in the business. Once we figure out the Low Anthem's replacement (see previous post), the lineup will be completely full.

It is also very possible the Low Anthem will be back on the lineup after their show in Seattle tomorrow night, which is not yet sold out.

The Low Anthem Live Review

Doug Fir, Portland
Sunday, March 28th, 2010

"What am I doing walking through a monsoon late on a Sunday night to see a show?"

"This is one of the bands on the lineup I'm most excited to see."

"Why am I doing this? This sucks."

"I can't wait to get there, this is going to be great."

Now that we have my poor mental health established, I eventually made it to the venue to see the Low Anthem. I have some good news for you, and some bad news.

First, the good news, this band is great live. They could have played until 2am, and I would have loved every minute. I am new to the band, having only heard Oh My God Charlie Darwin about six times, so I had no idea what to expect. I envisioned two different lead singers, since the guy who sings the high pitched vocals on Charlie Darwin can't be the same guy who shouts the growling vocals on The Horizon is a Beltway, right? It is, and he is the same guy who sings the more tame vocals on Ohio. So he sounds like three different dudes, awesome. His voice is something else, and had the crowd awaiting his next lyric the entire night. The guy could have been singing a song about torturing panda bear cubs and cheating on your taxes, and the crowd would have been just as captivated.

His voice could have easily stolen the show, but it's a tribute to the talent in the band that it didn't. Do you like musicians who can play multiple instruments? Each of the four on stage played at least four instruments, and sang, often harmonizing together. Ever seen someone play the harmonica while drumming? Neither had I. Actually, it is possible the dude's mustache was playing the harmonica while he played the drums. I don't want to get too specific, and ruin the surprises, so I'll keep this moving.

More good news, they said they have nearly completed a new album, and are in the process of reducing the amount of tracks. Of the new songs they played, it felt like the sound was leaning more toward alt-country than folk, with the female in the band singing often. She also screamed a verse on Home I'll Never Be, which was one of the many highlights of the show.

Here's the setlist:

11:20pm to 12:35am, 3/28/10
1. Ticket Taker
2. To The Ghosts Who Write History Books
3. Cage The Songbird
4. Apothecary
5. Ghost Woman Blues
6. This God Damn House
7. Home I'll Never Be
8. Sally, Where'd You Get Your Liquor From
9. ?
10. ?
11. To Ohio
12. Seniorita (with guest guitar player)
13. The Horizon Is A Beltway (completely different song than the album version).
14. Dreams Can't Chase You Down (with Blind Pilot trumpet player)
15. Evangeline

Oh yeah, I almost forgot about the bad news. The band is no longer listed on the lineup on the Sasquatch main page. Is there a prize for the most anticlimactic ending to a review?

2010 Saturday/Sunday/3-Day Passes Sold Out

It appears the festival is currently sold out, minus Monday tickets which are still available. It is not known if additional tickets will be put back on sale in the future, but for now, Saturday/Sunday tickets and 3-Day passes are off the market.

Last year was the earliest tickets sold out, with Saturday/Sunday tickets gone April 28th. This year is easily the quickest sellout, and a compliment to how loaded the lineup is top to bottom, especially considering the headliners are much lower on the commercial success scale than previous years.

Update: Monday tickets are no longer available. Here is my theory. The third level of tickets were to go on sale May 17. If they knew a sellout was inevitable, why not take the remaining tickets off the market, and sell them for a higher rate starting May 17?

Update of Update: The May 17th theory was when tickets were no longer available three weeks ago. The fact that the organizers recently said the festival is sold out means it is sold out. It will be a minor miracle if more tickets are released.

More Additions

3/20 Update:
Bobcat Goldthwait - Comedy Tent, Monday

Goldthwait replaces Doug Benson.
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3/17 Update:
The Heavy - Main Stage, Monday

There you have it, this should be the last musical addition unless someone cancels.
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3/15 Update:
Martina Topley-Bird - Yeti Stage, Sunday
Hannibal Buress - Comedy Tent, Monday

Barring cancellations and bands moving stages, this leaves one main stage add Monday and one comedian add Saturday.
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They Might be Giants - Main Stage, Sunday.
Shadow Shadow Shade - Yeti Stage, Monday.
Nick Kroll - Comedy Tent, Saturday.
Doug Benson - Comedy Tent, Monday.

The lineup is almost full. We still need one main stage add Monday, one Yeti add Sunday, and two comedians (Saturday and Monday).

A Sasquatch! Story

I awoke Saturday morning to the sound of Jets Overhead. It wasn't as bad as The Long Winters I was accustomed to, but it was cold, so I had to put on My Morning Jacket. One of my neighbors, who introduced himself as Patrick Watson, must have had Telekinesis, because he offered me a cup of Fresh Espresso. He played A-Trak for me by Kid Cudi, which was Dam-Funky. The volume was so low, you couldn't hear the tUnE-YarDs away, since his girlfriend was still asleep, so it was more of a Low Anthem.

Patrick had tried to Ween his girlfriend off of the booze late last night, but I guess She & Him were not on the same page, as she was still passed out. Not even the loud noise of the Drive-By Truckers woke her. Well, I shouldn't call them truckers, more like trucks driving around emptying the honey buckets, operated by a company called Mumford & Sons. The flies surrounding the deposit zone were like fruit flies on fruit, so we nicknamed these large bugs "Fruit Bats."


Fast forward an hour, I am boarding the Shabazz Palace on the river with a couple I met the night before, who told me their names were Tegan & Sarah. The river was perfect, Nada Surf, like if you threw a rock Midlake, you could see the ripples. This YACHT was gigantic, and their LCD Soundsystem was bumping. People were hopping up and down and waiving their arms wildly like chimpanzees. It was like a Simian Mobile Disco.

There were a lot of Posies and children on the deck, so I knew there was No Age limit here, but it created a Broken Social Scene for me, so I decided to check out the cabin, which was much different. The Girls there were dressed in skimpy nurse outfits, the men all had mustaches and robes, and the place wreaked of Vetiver oil. There was a large sign on a side door that read "Passion Pit", with a bright Neon Indian hanging below it. I had a deep conversation with one of the Nurses, and she swore we knew each other in Past Lives. I could tell this was a hardcore crowd, and I was nervous since I always preferred The xx. I was one of the only New Pornographers there. Sorry to skip the details, but I'm going to use my Morning Teleportation device to land me back at the campground two hours later.

It was hot by then, and although I wanted to Booka Shaded camp site, there were no trees anywhere. I was looking to meet more new people, and curious about the sport of Beersby, so I wandered to the Boys Noize campground (who blared Vampire Weekend for hours the previous night, but were now playing the Japandroids), to challenge the winner. I ended up playing against a dude from Portugal. The Man was huge, even if he wasn't The Tallest Man on Earth. His partner was his Brother Ali, who apparently was The National Beersby champion of some country in The Middle East.

My partner introduced himself as Hudson Mohawke. He did have a sweet Mohawk, and was wearing a cool Cymbals Eat Guitars tee shirt. The large man from Portugal threw the frisbee my way, and said, "Ok Go." To keep the mood light, I replied, "Yes Giantess," which was obviously a Temper Trap to throw him off his game, but may have caused me to become his Public Enemy, because he didn't think it was funny. I had to Hold Steady on three points, because I'm terrible at the game, and pounded four PBRs because of their dominate victory.

As I stumbled back to my tent, I began conversing with a couple, Edward Sharpe and Laura Marlings. Having experienced being introduced with fake names already, I told them I was Miike Snow. Edward works for a major corporation making short wildlife films, and has always been an avid photographer, but now he likes to Freelance Whales, or is it Wale? I'm terrible at spelling. He had some cool pics, one of Jaguars getting it on, which he called Jaguar Love. My favorite was a picture of the sunset in some city in Utah. The lights of the City and Colour of the mountains was breathtaking.

He had a killer video which was a bit hard to see, because it was shot on a Camera Obscura, and replayed on Dirty Projectors, but it shows Edward wandering through a Lonely Forest, and filming one of The Local Natives getting run over by a Band of Horses. The man tried to get up, but was immediately trampled by an Avi Buffalo. He was then assaulted by a Caribou, and later head butted by two Mountain Goats. I didn't even think these animals were violent? The coup de grace occurred when an obviously irritated bear mauled him. It was a Massive Attack, even Minus the Bear.

After the festival that night, I got lost on the way back to the campground, but I received a strange message from a ghost, a Phantogram if you will, saying I was going the wrong way. Actually, maybe it was a sign from MGMT stating, "Trespassers will be prosecuted" signed by Mayer Hawthorne. I turned around, and promptly tripped over the edge of the Pavement, and almost landed on a Deadmau5, or maybe it was a dead cat, I'm not too sure.

I eventually made it back to the campground, where a drunkard yelled at me, "Hey Dr. Dog, are you a cop?" I said no, then asked, "Why?" He slurred back, "Sweet mustache dude." Then it dawned on me, no wonder everyone kept giving me fake names, they think I'm a cop. On the bright side, my Quasi mustache turned out to be Fool's Gold for the swingers, who must have thought I was a porn star.

What a craZ-Trip, meeting so many cool people at the campground, and I still have two days left. While passing out in my tent, I kept thinking that today has to be one of The Very Best days of my life.

New Additions, and What's To Come

We have a couple funny guy additions, and our first two musical additions, The Posies, and Jaguar Love.

First let's talk about the Posies. One of the fun things about the Sasquatch main site listing which stage each band will play is making mock schedules, updating them with additions, trying to figure out how many open slots there are, and planning for possible conflicts. Well, we have a slight curve ball already, as the Posies are listed as playing the Wookie Saturday, yet the Wookie was already full with eight acts.

Most who follow My Morning Jacket know they've played really long sets in the past, over three hours at Bonnaroo. Since they are the highest billed act of the festival, it is safe to say they will be allowed to play as long as they want. The Wookie typically is scheduled to end around 10:15pm, but a late night show to compete with My Morning Jacket would suit many. It just so happens the highest billed act tentatively scheduled to play the Wookie Saturday night is Deadmau5. How would a 10:30pm to midnight Deadmau5 show work for you?

Speaking of the comics, four have been added since the initial poster unveiling. Todd Barry and Rory Scoval were added to Monday's tent, soon after the initial lineup was released, but Scoval has since been moved to Sunday's lineup. Mike Birbiglia was added to Sunday's lineup earlier this week, and Moshe Kasher was recently added to Saturday. This leaves four comedians on Sunday, and two the other days, which probably means we should expect four more comedy additions.

As for other open slots, expect two main stage adds (one Monday, one Sunday), and two Yeti add (Sunday and Monday).

The Sasquatch! Vibe

For those disappointed in the lack of headliners at Sasquatch! 2010, here's a quick story. Big time headliners cost a lot of money. The more tickets you are able to sell because of these headliners, the better chance you have making back the money spent landing them. Sasquatch! has a capacity around 25,000 per day, compared to Bonnaroo (90,000), Lollapalooza (75,000), and Coachella (65,000). It is pretty clear that festivals selling more than twice the amount of tickets have a better chance to recoup that expense. Those disappointed with the headliners, stop reading this post, and instead go here.

Last year the lineup had the strongest lower and middle tiers, with a declining headliner (Ben Harper), an up and coming headliner (King's of Leon), and a bonafide dual headliner (Jane's Addiction/Nine Inch Nails). While the flow of the previous three years was geared toward shuffling everyone to the main stage to see the big draw, there were other options last year, with the Dance Tent and bigger draws late at the Wookie.

This year, they've one upped themselves. The lineup is deeper than last year (is there even a lower tier?), the dance tent is stacked, and the headliners are making music snobs around the nation break their piggy banks and make high spirited calls to their parents just to, "check in." My Morning Jacket, Massive Attack, Ween, and Pavement is an upper tier any festival would be jealous to have, except the larger festivals would go with two of these bands, and two others who have a greater appeal to the masses, someone like Jay-Z, Lady Gaga, Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, or Radiohead.

In going away from the larger headliners, Sasquatch! is settling into their own vibe. With successful tickets sales again this year, you can bet the organizers will use this formula moving forward, and go with bands who would most likely be subheadliners at larger festivals, like Sigur Ros, Wilco, and Portishead. It is a large step towards creating a music festival for fans of music, rather than a music festival for fans of a couple bands.

With that said, how different is the crowd going to be at this year's festival? What percent of last year's crowd have listened to an album by each of this year's top four (maybe 5%)? I'm guessing you'll see a few less high fives, and a few more handshakes, a few less teenagers, and a few more eastcoast folk, a few less PBRs shotgunned at 3am, and a few more microbrews sipped at midnight, a few less shirtless men dancing on cars taking pictures of themselves, and a few more, well, people not doing that.

Sasquatch! may be moving away from the larger headliners they've had in the past, but the festival still has one thing just as spectacular as the headliners the larger festivals showcase. The Gorge itself.

Sasquatch! 2010 Lineup!

Wow! This is probably the most diverse, deep lineup ever for Sasquatch! It is especially awesome that instead of Adam Zacks going for huge (e.g. NIN, Jane's Addiction, Beastie Boys, Coldplay etc.), he went for unique and/or interesting (e.g. Ween, Massive Attack, Public Enemy etc.). There will be a lot of musical exploration over the next two and a half months. Who are you most excited to see? Or discover?

Predictions for Sasquatch! 2010!

Ok, these are just my guesses based on some fact, some probability and a lot of hunch, oh and it is not, I repeat is not, the actual lineup!

Pavement, Soundgarden, Flaming Lips, Them Crooked Vultures, Faith No More, MGMT, The Black Keys, Band of Horses, Jamie Liddel, Phoenix, Chromeo, The Dead Weather, LCD Soundsystem, Peter, Bjorn and John, Vampire Weekend, The National, She and Him, Broken Bells, Japandroids, Nada Surf, The Thermals, Local Natives, Girls, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, The XX, The Temper Trap, Neon Indian, Vetiver, Wale, Morning Teleportation, Miike Snow, Why?, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Owen Pallet, Laura Veirs, Fresh Espresso, As Tall As Lions, Macklemore, Portugal. the Man, Frightened Rabbit, Bassnectar, Mew, Dirty Projectors, The Moondoggies and a bunch of bands I have not heard of yet...


And know ID yuh's 50:
Depeche Mode, Arcade Fire, Pavement, My Morning Jacket, Dead Weather, Vampire Weekend, MGMT, Phoenix, Band of Horses, Andrew Bird, Thievery Corporation, Drive By Truckers, The National, Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Broken Social Scene, Joanna Newsom, She & Him, Dirty Projectors, Mastodon, Toadies, Sunny Day Real Estate, Passion Pit, Raphael Saadiq, Quasi, Japandroids, Chromeo, Miike Snow, Clutch, Girls, Flying Lotus, Edward Sharp & the Magnificent Zeros, Why?, Nada Surf, Tallest Man on Earth, Baroness, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Neon Indian, Pyramiddd, YACHT, Alberta Cross, Brandi Carlile, Glitch Mob, Wale, Vetiver, Local Natives, Mayer Hawthorne, Postelles, Mimicking Birds, Morning Teleportation, Fresh Espresso.

Live Lineup Announcement Next Monday

It looks like we will be getting the lineup a day early. The 2010 Sasquatch! Music Festival Launch Party occurs Monday, February 15th, at the Crocodile. Performing will be Surfer Blood, Atlas Sound, and Fresh Espresso. The lineup will officially be announced at this free event. Check it out.

Confirmations and Implications

With three recent additions to the confirmation list, let's review the six confirmed acts, and possible implications surrounding each.

Midnight Teleportation - Signed to Modest Mouse's Glacial Pace label. Does this increase the chances Modest Mouse will be on the bill? Maybe. Just as likely is the appearance of another Glacial Pace member, Mimicking Birds, with their debut album due in March.

Vetiver - This Sub Pop band leads the league in Vs. This obviously means Wavves will be there, right?

Miike Snow - Hopefully this confirmation will have no weather implications, but has me dreaming of a Licky Boom Boom Down Friday night campground appearance. This Swedish band has remixed Peter Bjorn and John (also Swedish), and have also been remixed by PB&J. Is it possible PB&J will return and collab with their fellow countrymen? Just typing PB&J is making me hungry. I need a sandwich.

Neon Indian - Rumpus Room confirmation. I'm thinking people will be dancing. I don't know why, just a gut feeling.

Pavement - Remember that feud between Pavement and the Smashing Pumpkins in the mid 90s? Billy Corgan threatened to not play Lollapalooza if Pavement was there, back when the Smashing Pumpkins were relevant. Pavement has a humorous line about the Smashing Pumpkins on the song "Range Life." After booking Pavement so early, the thought, "hey, now we should get the Smashing Pumpkins," was probably number 4,194 on their list of who to get next.

Wale - DC hip hop artist Wale recently had a hit called "Pretty Girls." You heard it here first, there will be pretty girls at Sasquatch.

Update: Consequence of Sound now lists Why? and Cymbals Eat Guitars as confirmed.

Temple of the Dog, Dawg

Soundgarden's reunion is confirmed. They are not playing Coachella, so the possibility of their first festival appearance being at Sasquatch is rather large. Pearl Jam has never played Sasquatch, and they have been touring supporting a new album, so this might be the year they play Sasquatch.

What some don't realize is that they share the same drummer, Matt Cameron, so each touring simultaneously would be impossible. Realistically, each could play Sasquatch, surrounding a Soundgarden reunion tour, and a Pearl Jam hiatus (minus Sasquatch of course).

If both acts are on the bill, they will have all six members of Temple of the Dog in Central Washington at the same time. Pearl Jam brought out Chris Cornell at a show in L.A. last October to perform Hunger Strike. That was the first Temple of the Dog performance since 2003, so the possibility of a reunion is on their minds as well. Actually, Temple of the Dog has never performed a full set with all six members, so if each band is on the lineup, expect at least a collaboration of a couple songs.

Headlining acts don't typically stick around to play multiple sets at music festivals, they usually show up two hours before their set, play, then leave a couple hours later. Sasquatch successfully pulled it off in 2007 though with a Mix Master Mike set and an instrumental Beastie Boys set one day, followed by a full Beastie Boys set the next night. Is it possible Sasquatch can pull it off again, with each band playing a set, followed by a combined effort the next night?

I'm not saying a full Temple of the Dog set will happen, but if it ever does, it will be Sasquatch 2010.

I Am Sasquatch!

Check out the "I Am Sasquatch!" contest, which is not really a contest but a way to possibly get into future Sasquatch! promos.

The "This Not That" Festival Hypothesis

Many talk about how Coachella's lineup announcement will give us a better view of who might be attending Sasquatch, but the discussion always leads to a band being more likely to play Sasquatch, instead of the basis behind this hypothesis, that the band would be less likely to be at Sasquatch.

I know occasionally they share a headliner, and there will be two or three mid tier acts on each lineup, and four or five lower tier acts on each, but Sasquatch is competing for fans with Coachella. They are both major West Coast festivals occurring within a month of each other, and they both cost a lot of money to attend, and using Keno as a supplemental income to attend each has proven to be a poor investment for (ahem) some of us. The two lineups always have a different feel. Sasquatch recently has differentiated itself from Coachella, to give would be Coachella attendees a different option.

With that said, here is my hypothesis' hypothetical recruiting phone call:
"1. Are you alive?
2. Are you able to create music?
3. Are you planning on still being alive and creating music around Memorial Day?"

If the answer to all three is yes, the call continues with this very important question:
"4. Are you playing Coachella?"

At this point, answering yes is greeted with an immediate "maybe next year," unless you answer yes to the fifth question as well.
"5. Are you Pavement?"

If I didn't bore you already with the first paragraph, these are the acts the hypothesis states are more likely because of their omission from the Coachella lineup:

Mid Tier:
Rodrigo Y Gabriela
Band of Horses
White Lies
Andrew Bird
Raphael Saadiq
Bat For Lashes
Broken Social Scene
Toadies
Built to Spill
Los Campesinos
Thievery Corporation
Mastodon

Headliners/Subheadliners:
Arcade Fire
Ghostland Observatory
Pearl Jam
Modest Mouse
Depeche Mode
Soundgarden
Ween
Flaming Lips
Beastie Boys
M.I.A.

Third Confirmed Act

Aside from the Cure's early announcement for Sasquatch 08, in which they confirmed a Seattle make up show originally near Halloween of 07, the Sasquatch festival has typically had very few confirmed acts prior to the lineup release. At this time last year, the festival had only two, PB&J (who canceled), and Sun Kill Moon.

This year, Pavement became the second early confirmation, and because their reunion is a huge draw, tickets went on sale immediately. Now, we already have our third confirmation, Vetiver, adding to Neon Indian and Pavement. So although the rumor mill is a bit slow with the lineup announcement roughly a month away, we will have much to talk about in the next two months. This is typically the time of year acts announce their spring/summer tours, so the rumors will be in full force in the next couple weeks.

Thanks to Dustin for adding me as a contributor to this blog.

2010 Confirmations/Rumors...So Far...

There have been a several of confirmations and rumors thrown out there since sometime in November and I have been slacking on updating this this bad boy (speaking of which, if you are interested in helping me out on keeping up let me know). Anyway, I am sorry for not keeping up, here is what's out there...

Confirmed

Pavement

Neon Indian

Rumored

Nada Surf

Pixies

Vampire Weekend

That is all I have for right now, but if you have any tips send them my way. A big thanks goes out to Consequence of Sound and Ear Candy for the heads up on the confirmations and rumors!

A Couple of Sasquatch! 2010 Updates...

Sorry I am a little behind on this info... The new name for the Dance Tent is the Rumpus Room, what do you think about that? I suggested Mogwai and Gremlin Tent, which stuck with the mythical beast theme. Oh well...

...Also, over at the official site they have been having a pick your favorite Pavement song, which is cool, but the real news is that they also made it official that Pavement will be at Sasquatch! 2010...

...In other news they have extended the 3 day discounted passes to February 16th (the day the lineup is going to be announced). So go over to the Official Website and buy your tickets!