Sasquatch! Day 3

Day 3: Sunday May 28









We arrived back at the venue for the last day of the festival. Caught a bit of Big Japan. They were the only band I was able to catch at the Yeti side stage all weekend. We then moved over to the main stage to catch Pretty Girls Make Graves.



After that, it was over to Wookie to catch Chad Vangaalen. Chad would play mellow numbers, than transition right into upbeat tunes. Playing bass for Chad was Bryan Webb, singer-guitarist of the Constantines. With the Cons having their set cancelled due to the hailstorm the day before, it was nice seeing him get some stage time.



I really enjoyed Nada Surf's set back on the main stage. It was filled with great harmonies and hooks.



The Arctic Monkeys were next. They had a good upbeat sound that suits the summer festivals well. I did find that many of their songs sound the same, especially having the same guitar tone. There wasn't much depth to their music but they're still very young at this point.



The Decemberists played an awesome set, opening with The Infanta. Colin Meloy and crew have such well crafted songs. The Engine Driver was a particular favourite. At one point, Colin got everyone in the pit to sit on the floor.



Trotted back over to the Wookie stage to catch the guys from We Are Scientists. They played an entertaining set complete with their hilarious banter.



After that, we headed back to the Sasquatch stage to catch a bit of Matisyahu's performance. He had some good beatbox skills. There was also a rainbow that appeared during his set that he indicated was heaven sent.

Caught some Damien Jurado while we waited in line to grab some dinner. The rice for that teriyaki chicken bowl was half-cooked, though still not as bad as the rubber chicken on day 1.

Queens Of The Stone Age played a solid upbeat set. Josh Homme was givin' it to the security guards to lighten up. Their set was rockin, though I had to book it out of there after a few songs to the Wookie stage to see Clap Your Hands.



Clap Your Hands Say Yeah were the final performers scheduled on the Wookie side stage for the festival. Their set drew a really large crowd. They were fun and had an energetic sound. Singer Alec Ounsworth vocals were quite raspy. It kinda resembled Aunt Patty and Selma from The Simpsons. At first I thought he was a bit sick, but nope, that's just how he sounds live.



Death Cab For Cutie opened their set with The New Year, followed by We Laugh Indoors and Why You'd Want To Live Here. The Seattle quartet were only scheduled to play for just over an hour. Though short, they played a solid set that also included Title And Registration, Soul Meets Body, A Movie Script Ending, Crooked Teeth, What Sarah Said, and The Sound Of Settling.



I Will Follow You Into The Dark.



During We Looked Like Giants, Ben hopped on a second set of drums and dueled with Jason. A definite highlight. They also did this back at their April show but the jam went on longer this time.



Unfortunately, I didn't get a Transatlanticism at the Gorge ending I was so hoping for, but I was still content with seeing them. Ben Gibbard was also very appreciative of the crowd on this night.

Beck closed off this year's Sasquatch! Music Festival with an entertaining and also interesting manner. His stage setup included puppets and puppeteers in the background that would emulate his performance. The movements of the puppets were projected onto the two large screens at both ends of the stage. Everytime Beck changed guitars, his puppet would change it too. The set also featured two entertaining rapping bears that came on stage.

The crowd that stayed to catch him were having fun and dancing away. During the encore break, there was a short video displayed that showed his puppets interviewing people. It was pretty funny. The music of Loser started up and when the lyrics hit, Beck's puppet was singing but the artist never joined in. Beck then came back out to do a cover of the Flaming Lips' Do You Realize. He then left the stage and it looked like he was coming back for more, but the stage hands started to disassemble the equipment and the festival was over. It was an anticlimatic finish to an awesome festival. Beck had only played for just over an hour and it hadn't reached curfew yet for the night.

We then went back to camp and celebrated the last night of Sasquatch. The steak was delicious. Everyone was stumbling around camp and having a good time. The noise and partying didn't stop all night. I heard constant "Let's Go Oilers!" chants from the time we got back to camp until 7am the next morning.

Overall, the festival was an amazing experience and I can't wait to do it again next year.