SASQUATCH! The Beastie Boys Just Keep On Giving

Click the photo to watch an audio slideshow of the Beastie Boys' two days at Sasquatch! Photos by Renee McMahon. Audio & production by Chris Kornelis. 

Renee and I are still shaking out our backpacks and finding some nuggets of goodies left over from the weekend. Keep an eye on our slideshows, as we'll keep posting more.

I pulled together pictures and audio from the Beastie Boys' sets and press conference to put together an audio slideshow for your viewing pleasure. This is quite different than the slideshow of Arcade Fire, Bjork, Neko Case, and other we've got in the slideshow section, and you can download it to your iPod. (Note: Don't use Safari to download.)

Enjoy. 

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Sights and Sound

While the acts on stage where either perfect (Arcade Fire), brief (Spoon), delayed (Michael Franti, Spoon again), interrupted (Ghostland Observatory), rocking your face off with a 36-inch bass drum (Earl Greyhound), tearing up the drum kit (Saturday Knights), or glowing in the dark (Björk), the festival crowd itself provided its own kind of entertainment. What follows is a brief but eclectic sampling of the non-musical sights of Sasquatch.

This guy actually cut hair between the first and second days. When I saw him on Sunday the mullet was about six inches shorter.

While the security guy had a stellar neck warmer, from someone just returning from Spain, this guy has the hair of every male in the country.

Chuck Liddell lost his title this weekend. How the mighty have fallen.

This guy climbed on the speakers next to the main stage for almost all of Polyphonic Spree. Nevermind that I was below a light bar that was swinging three to four feet in each direction, I was more terrified for him.

The non-musical highlight of the weekend. These guys had a 15 minute dance-off to Jamiroquai during the wind delay. By the end of the song they had about 300 people watching them. The guy in the red totally stomped the yard.

And, finally, by Hannah Levin's request, the X-Box Ninja's.

Continue reading "Sights and Sound"

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SASQUATCH! Beastie Boys Close the Fest With 'Gratitude'

Photo by Renee McMahon. Click the photo to view our Sasquatch! slideshows, featuring Bjork, Arcade Fire, and the Beastie Boys. 

Listen to part of the Beastie Boys' performance of "Remote Control," from last night's set at the Gorge. 

My colleagues and I were all wrong about what the Beastie Boys would throw down to open their closing set.

The choice in question was actually "Gratitude," from the band's 1992 record Check Your Head. I hadn't even considered that they would have opened the set on their instruments, so, I was ambitions and guessed "No Sleep Till Brooklyn."

I'll come clean right here, I did not stick around for the entire set, but I did see enough to gather that the faithfuls who maintained through the cold for the headlining set were not disappointed by the offering, which included a crushing performance of "Body Movin'."

We've got more post-Sasquatch! Beasties talk, and lotsa pics from Renee McMahon, coming later this afternoon.

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The Relaxed Side of Sasquatch, Part Deux

Visqueen's Ben Hooker and Rachel Flotard

Honestly, I swear this isn't the first time I've seen Rachel pimping her drummer's butt. Perhaps with a surname like "Hooker," he should expect such treatment. Still, I'm not sure what drives this sort of behavior, but all I have to say is, DIVA ALERT. 

On a slightly more serious note, Rachel told me she finally found a permanent bass player—and a damn good one. Producer/freakishly talented multi-instrumentalist Barrett Jones (best known for his work with Nirvana and Foo Fighters) has accepted the position. Congrats to everyone involved, but Barrett—watch your ass.

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The Relaxed Side of Sasquatch

Pictured from left to right: bassist Drew Church from the Cops, Hold Steady drummer Bobby Drake, and HS bassist Galen Polivka

 
It's easy to go on and on about the downsides of festival-going. The lines, the $12 beers (yes, I paid that much for one at some point on Saturday), the horrors of port-a-potties, the preponderance of hackey sack players: no reasonable music fan readily embraces such things (well obviously the hackey sack players do, but fuck those guys). 

 However, one of the most enjoyable aspects of shows at the Gorge is watching musicians goof off, attack the hospitality deli trays, and swill beers against one of the most jaw-dropping natural backdrops on the festival circuit. Seriously, regardless of the line-up, Coachella can't compete aesthetically with what you see above. As Franz Nicolay from the Hold Steady said to me just before we took this picture—"touring can be draining, but we could be doing much worse at this moment."
 

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SASQUATCH! Spoon Brings Back the Main Stage

Photo by Renee McMahon 

Ok, real quick like, 'cause the Beastie Boys are about to hit the stage.

I got three live tracks from Spoon's set for y'all: 

— Hear track one

— Track two

— Track Three 

Ok, so, a few of us in the press trailer are having a debate over what the opening song will be:

— I think "No Sleep Till Brooklyn"

— GooseNinja.com thinks it will be "Sure Shot" 

— Ernest Jasmin of the News Tribune is guessing "Check It Out"

— Michaelangelo Matos, freelancing for the Seattle Times, is guessing "Pass the Mic" 

We'll let y'all know and the winner gets bragging rights in the blogosphere, and a company t-shirt to the winner.

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SASQUATCH! Blow, Greyhound, and Black Angels

Click the photo to view all our Sasquatch! slideshow, including one of Early Greyhound. All photos by Renee McMahon. 

Listen to a live track from Earl Greyhound's set.
Listen to a live track from the Black Angels. 

The dominant furniture of Earl Greyhound's setup is a bass drum that would put Rhode Island to shame and an afro that looked like it was about to take flight.

Before the wind seriously picked up, and closed down the main stage (it just opened back up and Spoon is on), Greyhound put on the best Zeppelin show of the day on the Wookie stage: soul, riff, and guitar solos not excluded.

A few hours later, their soulmates in the Black Angels built on heavy beats to the wind-whipped audience. Both sets added a nice hippie flair to the festival, further underlining the fact that this is the best-booked lineup yet. The weekend's felt like I've been living through a well-planned mix tape with a healthy mix of band's I wouldn't normally check out (Ozomatli, who were great), and favorites (Neko, who was "meh" at best).

Off to Spoon. 

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SASQUATCH! Beastie Boys Talk Post Season, Family, and Ass

Click the photo to view our slideshows from Sasquatch!, including one of the Beastie Boys. 

Click here to listen to the Beastie Boys' press conference. 

It was beyond parody.

The Beastie Boys seated at a table with bed head and bottles of water for a press conference, with a dozen reporters staring at them inside a trailer at the Gorge. The three looked and smelled like a trio of rich punks from New York.

In tune with the irony, Mike D played it a la ESPN and a post-game press conference. Adrock talked about the post season, a possible trade to Bjork or the Arcade Fire.

When they did get around to talking about the new record, the instrumental album "The Mix Up," the band was nonchalant about simply wanting to, yes, mix things up a bit.

"I think you need to show people that you've got some new facets to your game. Show them that you can share the ball a little bit," said Mike D.

"I've been getting a big barrel chest," Ad Rock chimed in.

"Do you want to tell them about the stuff you're doing for your ass, too?" MCA quipped.

"No, that is a condition that my doctor ..." Adrock replied.

Among the many bands who have taken shots at the George Bush, and played up their political pet projects, like freeing Tibet, Adrock said he wasn't sure how politics would bleed through on an instrumental record like "The Mix Up," a record with no words.

"In a way it's a shitty time to have no words. We're still in the same predicament we have been for the last few years. It's an interesting time to not say something also. We're not telling people to give up or to not say anything. I don't know if you can put politics into just instrumentation. I guess it depends who makes it."

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SASQUATCH! Bjork Bows to The Arcade Fire

Click the photo to view our Sasquatch! slideshows. Photos by Renee McMahon. 

Bjork, Arcade Fire
Where: Main Stage, Sasquatch!
When: 9:30ish till Bjork got old (about four songs)
Would Meatface Approve? Yes and no. He'd love Arcade Fire, but not Bjork.

Why didn't anyone tell me?

How have I been so ignorant?

I'm embarassed.

The Arcade Fire's set tonight was easily the best show I've seen in a year. And I was expecting nothing. I had no preconceived notions about how this family of a band would translate live. The records, Neon Bible included, have nothing on the show. But that's to be expected.

You can't capture the essence of a stageful of musicians swapping instruments, singing through megaphones, and hurling drums in the air like they were pancakes at a firehouse fund raiser. It was emotionally draining to live through that many climactic songs that did not disappoint. And when the set was done, the thinning crowd to a joint drag from a Marlb Red. It was good for me.

Bjork on the other hand was ... ok, there was nothing wrong with the woman's set, or at least what I saw of it. I'm not above admitting that I bailed early, which is something of a testament to how much she moved me.

The first track was good. The Icelandic princess took the stage in what looked like an oversized mop, and was flanked by an orchestra of Teletubbies. I'm glad I rushed back to my room, and another dinner of Ranier and a Hungry Man.

Reporter's Notebook: 

Obviously this was my first Bjork and Arcade Fire performances. But, I feel like I went in a little jaded on the Bjork end to begin with. I haven't gotten giddy over anything I've ever heard from her. So, I expected little.  

Click the photo to view our Sasquatch! slideshows, including one of Bjork. All photos by Renee McMahon. 

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SASQUATCH! The Long Winters Hit the Big Time, Sort Of

Listen to the band's performance of "Teaspoon."
Listen to "Hindsight."

With the last-minute cancellation of M.I.A., Sasquatch! peeps replaced the British rapper's set on the main stage with local indie darlings The Long Winters. For a band used to playing clubs, like The Showbox, it was a bit of a reach. But, even if the crowd thinned a bit up front for the set, plenty of onlookers could be seen singing along.

On the massive stage here in George, the band may have been a bit clumsy between songs, aided in no way by frontman John Roderick's well-meaning jokes. At any rate, the band sounded great, and were exceptionally appreciative, burning through a batch of cuts, leaning on the latest record, Putting the Days to Bed.

Oh, and yeah, just saw the Beastie Boys' instrumental set. The lounged out set was punctuated by at least one old standby. I'll tell more about it in later when I've got Renee's photos to go with the conversations. But, right now, gotta run to The Arcade Fire, and hide from Bjork.

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SASQUATCH! Neko Gets Her Revenge, Voce Rules

Click the photo to view our Sasquatch! slideshows. 

Listen to a live track from Viva Voce's set. 

Sweet! It didn't hail during Neko's set.

Who could forget the hail storm at last year's Sasquatch! that cut out Neko's set, two songs deep. For old times sake, I stood at the exact place I was last year during Neko's set, and re-lived a few wonderful memories of drenched electronics and wet pants.

But, I have to say, I enjoyed her two-song set last year better than her full deal today. Aside from moments of life in "Favorite" and a few helpings from Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, the set was a bit of a drag, perhaps because the band's bass player was not with the group. He was recently injured in a car accident.

Viva Voce was great on the Yeti state. The Portand duo served up the kind of low-fi blues that you don't need patience to appreciate. They killed. Way to go, kids.

We gotta run. Grizzly Bear in a few minutes.

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Sasquatch! Opens With Loney Dear, Mixmaster Mike, Saturday Knights

Click the photo to view a slideshow of Loney, Dear's set. All photos by Renee McMahon. 
Click here to listen to a live track from the set.

We're only an hour into Sasquatch! 2007 and I've already been groped. Thanks, security. This is gonna be a great weekend. Renee and I are beating the heat in the press trailors. Cody Votolato from the Blood Brothers just walked in. He's digging the AC, too. The Saturday Knights are just taking the stage, following a set from the Beastie Boys' Mixmaster Mike, who had the small, but excitable, faithfuls dancing at noon. It's definitely going to be a Beastie weekend. The Beasties have their instrumental set in a few hours.

I caught Loney, Dear's set at SXSW, and it was by far the surprise of the week. So, getting here early for their opening set was mandatory.

Like the set I caught in Austin, the Sweedish band was impressive with its anthemic indie hooks. It's a testament to their sound and stage presence can carry a club and an outdoor stage of hippies, hipsters, and wanna-be hobos.

We've got lots more audio, photos, and thoughts through the weekend.

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Three Die In Wreck Coming Over the Pass

Traffic was good, too good for the Friday evening before Sasquatch!

Renee McMahon and I were just commenting about the traffic when we were almost to the top of the pass and hit gridlock. Yeah, it was an accident, westbound. When we got to the top of the hill we saw the wreckage and knew it wasn't good.

KOMO reports that three people died, including a small child, in the accident.

Folks, please drive safe. We want you to see Neko.

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Don't Miss Electrelane on Saturday!

By Hannah Levin 

For fans and creators of subversive, intelligent art, it’s almost impossible not to romanticize Berlin. Whether it is its contemporary status as a major hub of talent for DJs and avant garde electronica artists, or its legendary history as the geographical local that nurtured the collaborative efforts of David Bowie and Iggy Pop in the late ‘70s, the idea of an artist retreating there to create their magnum opus is undeniably seductive. For the four women who make up the edgy and experimental English rock outfit Electrelane, it was actually the architecture of Germany’s storied capitol city that informed the structure of their enchanting fourth record, No Shouts, No Calls.

Continue reading "Don't Miss Electrelane on Saturday!"

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On The Road

Well...it's Sasquatch Eve. Aja is moving this weekend, and I'm heading out to the Peninsula to drink beer in the woods. But thankfully, we have some real warriors here on this staff. Hannah Levin, Chris Kornelis, Rachel Shimp and photographer Renee McMahon will be reporting like mad from the festival (check this here Reverb blog this weekend for the blow-by-blow account). But I still thought I'd take a staff poll and see what everyone is planning to listen to on that long drive over the Pass and into the desert.

Hannah Levin: "I always listen to Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart by Camper Van Beethoven when I drive to Eastern Washington. It's a strange, but deeply ingrained habit. Something about the way "Eye of Fatima Pt. 1" sounds when you hit I-90...I can't explain it. I also got the new Pelican in the mail, so I'll probably be checking that out as well."

Rachel Shimp has a tentative list made up that includes the new albums from Wilco, Bjork, Unkle, Feist, some 90s tunes, techno, and Sly & the Family Stone.

Renee McMahon didn't get back with her list yet, but she's hitching a ride with Chris Kornelis. He plans on listening to Alejandro Escovedo The Boxing Mirror, Sam Roberts Band Chemical City, The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour, The Rapture Pieces of the People We Love.

Not a bad list, folks. Aja promises that she'll be listening to T. Rex The Slider while she cleans and packs up her shit. As for me, well, I'm not the one doing the driving out to the Peninsula, but I plan on sneaking in Grateful Dead Reckoning, Oakley Hall Gypsum Strings, Lou Reed Coney Island Baby, The Wipers Is This Real?, Neil Young Zuma, Jefferson Airplane After Bathing At Baxter's.

How about y'all? Going anywhere this weekend?

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