2012 Sasquatch! Music Festival: Sunday

Posted on May 28, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Exodus. (Erin Flanagan/treeswingers)

Day Three of Sasquatch! Music Festival and the sun was out in full force. Flower headbands and bikinis were de rigeur, as were hotpants so short we dubbed them “cheek peekers.” We slathered on our sunscreen and headed into the campground for our busiest day yet.

If festival-goers were tired, they didn’t show it. Wherever we looked, there were groups dancing, caked in three days of dirt and mud mixed with body paint and  glitter. Glow sticks protruded from bags, clothes, dreadlocks and, despite the heat, there were still a fair few full-body animal costumes.

The day’s lineup certainly held plenty to be excited about. Indie-inspired hip-hoppers Chiddy Bang were set to grace the Main Stage, where Beirut would also later be appearing. The crowds were out in droves for Deer Tick and Seattle-based Beat Connection–the latter of which played their feel-good electro to a packed Banana Shack.

Read our reviews from Sunday below…

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2012 Sasquatch! Music Festival: Saturday

Posted on May 27, 2012 by | 1 Comment

“Hipsterrunoff doesn’t have shit on us.” (Erin Flanagan/treeswingers)

Only at Sasquatch! do festival-goers wake to the sound of mooing.

As the sun rose on Day Two, weary campers emerged from their tents in desperate search of coffee, food and music to drown out the bovines. Over at the Treeswingers camp, it took four Redbulls and the cows’ relentless racket to get us out of bed. Not even halfway through Sasquatch’s four-day marathon, we were already struggling. One glance at the show schedule, though, and we were skipping to catch our first band.

Read our reviews from Saturday below…

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2012 Sasquatch! Music Festival: Friday

Posted on May 26, 2012 by | 1 Comment

Bumper to bumper. (Erin Flanagan/treeswingers)

Next to a trip to the dentist or paying a phone bill, waiting in line is definitely high up there on the list of most dreaded every day trials. The first day of the 2012 Sasquatch! Music Festival was filled with waiting in lines. We were stuck in traffic on the freeway. Then, we were waved into another line to get into the campsite. And there we waited. And waited. And waited.

The first hour in six miles of bumper-to-bumper traffic was tempered by a sneaky beer–or four. The second hour was marked by festival-goers dashing into the fields around us to relieve PBR-filled bladders. By the third hour, most had resigned themselves that they would be missing Poliça and Santigold, stranded in single-file purgatory.

As it turned out, lines were a recurring theme. Concert attendees stood in queues for ages to pick up their wristband. Rows upon rows of people lined up for the evening’s headliner, Pretty Lights. And come 8 in the morning on Saturday, thousands of weary campers stood in lines that snaked around the porta-potties.

Read our reviews from Friday below…

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2012 Sasquatch! Music Festival Preview

Posted on May 23, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Heaven is a place on Earth (Photo courtesy of Sasquatch! Festival)

First there was Coachella. Then there was Coachella again. This Memorial Day weekend, we grab our Ray-Bans and Redbull and head to the Gorge Ampitheatre in George, Washington (no, that is not a typo), for the 11th annual Sasquatch! Music Festival. Nestled in the hills above the Columbia River, the Gorge is one of the most beautiful settings on the festival circuit. We were there for last year’s 10th anniversary, when acts including Robyn and Bright Eyes drew unparalleled crowds to the extended four-day marathon. Now, we return, all set to brave the sweat, the sleeplessness and–hopefully not–the rain.

With over 120 live bands, this year’s festival boasts more than just a breathtaking view. Sasquatch!’s curators have brought together some of the biggest names in indie and electronic music, including the three B’s of alt–Beck, Bon Iver and Beirut. Other major crowd draws include tUnE-yArDs and former White Stripes frontman Jack White, who takes to the stage solo on Saturday.

There’s plenty of beat candy for the more electronically inclined, with the bill’s heavy-hitters including Girl Talk and Pretty Lights, Friday’s headliner. Performers range from club DJ types like Felix Cartal and Wolfgang Gartner, to Beardyman, the former beatboxer now making dubstep-inspired tunes.

Without further ado, we bring you the ten must-hear acts at Sasquatch! 2012. If you can’t make it there in person, we’ve compiled a full preview playlist after the jump.

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Baauer’s “Harlem Shake”

Posted on May 18, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Brooklyn-based Baauer is a 22-year-old DJ/producer who makes house music that sounds like hip-hop. All heavy bass and filthy drops, Baauer’s sounds take you to a dingy basement club, which is exactly where I was when Glaswegian beatmeister Rustie dropped Baauer’s Harlem Shake during his May 15 set at Santo’s Party House NYC, rendering a chorus of “Oh, Shit!” from the crowd.

Released yesterday on Mad Decent imprint Jeffrees, Harlem Shake is a bamboozling combination of sonar synths and snares, woven together with a lion’s roar sample and warped vocals urging you to “Do the Harlem Shake.” It’s practically screaming for someone to rap over it–just imagine A$AP Rocky’s sugary flow or Azealia Banks’ gunfire rhymes on top of this one. Accompanying Harlem Shake is the marimba-driven “Yaow!” a beat so tropical it makes sense that Diplo is a fan.

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The Tallest Man On Earth’s “1904″

Posted on May 15, 2012 by | Leave a comment

No longer in his blue period. (Brian Valdizno/treeswingers)

The last time we saw Kristian Matsson, the mind behind The Tallest Man On Earth was strumming somberly, filling the creaking frame of the Fillmore with downbeat tunes from then-recent EP, Sometimes The Blues Is A Passing Bird.

Two years removed from then, the blues in Matsson’s life seemed to have flown away. If new song “1904″ is any indication, the Swedish Bob Dylan throwback has taken a turn for warmer climes and happier times. The first track taste from up-coming June release, There’s No Leaving Now, despite being about death, is much fuller and up-beat than past releases, without sacrificing the acoustic qualities of traditional TMOE. It’s not exactly Phoenix’s calling-card hit aged three years, but it certainly is a joy–an open-armed return for one talented songwriter.

There’s No Leaving Now is out on Dead Oceans Records on June 12.

The Tallest Man On Earth- 1904 (download)

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King Charles’ LoveBlood

Posted on May 14, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Um, there’s something on your forehead.

After a few good listens to King Charles‘s peppy debut album, LoveBlood, one thing becomes clear: Charles Costa, the man behind the King, has a few go-to items.

The 11 tracks weave in and out of each other by relying on the same motifs: major keys, tight 4/4 rhythms, and lyrics that keep mentioning love, lust, blood, and a girl named Isabel, all sung in Costa’s lilting English accent.

But that’s about it. The rest of it is a tribute album. King Charles may be searching for his royal sound in his first album, but he’s only managed to find others’.

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