Author Archives: treeswingers

2012 Sasquatch! Music Festival: Sunday

Posted on May 28, 2012 | 1 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 | 3 Comments

“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 | 2 Comments

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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Coachella 2012: Sunday

Posted on April 23, 2012 | 4 Comments

That's DMX, right?

5-Hour Energy should make a separate slogan for Coachella for when that “2:30 feeling” on Sunday afternoon hits. You know, that time when your head is pounding, your throat is parched and you’re left brain is screaming at you for  deciding to pay in excess of $300 to watch Santigold in temperatures that would fry an egg on your forehead.

Do you want to see Metronomy?

No, where the fuck is the frozen lemonade man and my mom? I want to go home.

For both weekends, Sunday proved to be the hottest of the three days. Sunscreen mixed with sweat (and tears) as people once again sought shelter under the tents. Sets in the shade–like Real Estate–prime time viewing because of location, location, location. Those who had taken a day of respite in Saturday’s more instrument/rock-driven lineup licked their lips at the thought of Nero, Calvin Harris, Justice and AVICII while Gotye proved to be a major pull for that one song that plays on the radio every 30 minutes.

Tired or not, festival-goers were egged through the day by the promise of what was to come at the end of the night. Weeekend One’ers were awed by the guest appearances on the last set of the night on the main stage, while Weekend Two’ers, driven by the hype of Tupacalypse2012, circled Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre’s closer as must-see. During Coachella’s second coming, it seemed that the whole world was watching for the reappearance of the enlightened Shakur, as Craigslist prices skyrocketed for loose wristbands and police presence was greater than ever on the fairgrounds. Tupac came and went though with few hitches, and spectators left buzzing as they were herded like cattle through the exit, already chattering about how they could get back for 2013.

Read our reviews below from Weekend One and Weekend Two below…

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Coachella 2012: Saturday

Posted on April 22, 2012 | 8 Comments

Spray-on tan.

It seemed that Coachella’s two Saturdays had something in common. They were warmer.

Weekend One’s version didn’t have the rainstorms and gales that punished campers the night before. Weekend Two’s was hot. Like third-degree-when-you-try-to-put-on-your-seat-belt-hot.

The heat did little to abate the excite and rumors for the second coming of Coachella. There had been the rumors from the weekend before. Usher? Macy Gray? Kurt Cobain hologram? The cameos that did materialize on Saturday were just about as prominent: Nicki Minaj with David Guetta and Master P with A$AP Rocky were among the highlights.

If there was a theme besides the heat on Saturday, it was the strong front women presence at Coachella’s middle child. Women in heat, if you will. (Bad joke, bad joke).Grace Potter was captivating as was the capitalization-crazy “tUnE-yArDs,” and Feist brought out a full orchestra to help her rule the Outdoor Stage. The queen of Saturday, however, had to be St. Vincent, who despite the school teacher mystique, obliterated the ears of everyone at the Gobi Stage.

Read our reviews below from Weekend One and Weekend Two below…

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