ChaosResolved
05-21-2006, 06:30 AM
Sasquatch: A Monster of a Festival – Preview
Summer has arrived at Decoy faithful, and that means it’s concert season. More specifically, it’s festival season. Sure, there’s Banaroo, Lollapolooza, Pitchfork, and Intonation festivals, but damnit, what about my neck of the woods? What about the great Northwest? Well, this Memorial Day weekend the Northwest will see its annual Sasquatch festival return to one of North America’s best outdoor venues, the Gorge.
For three days, I, Kamran Rouzpay, will be exclusively covering the festival for the best webzine readers on the planet (you).
This year’s Sasquatch is without doubt the festival’s biggest in history, both in terms of bands and in length. The primarily indie-rock event will showcase the likes of TV on the Radio, deadboy and the Elephantmen, Gomez, Architecture in Helsinki, Iron & Wine, Neko Case, Stephen Malkmus, Band of Horses, the Constantines, the Shins, Flaming Lips, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Arctic Monkeys, Sufjan Stevens, Nada Surf, Laura Veirs, Decemberists, Rocky Votolato, Headphones, We Are Scientists, and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – and those aren’t even the headliners!
Among the major acts performing on the main-stage, there’s Nine Inch Nails, HIM, Ben Harper, Matisyahu, Queens of the Stone Age, Death Cab For Cutie, and Beck.
And although Sasquatch is filled with indie-rock big names, the festival is pretty equally balanced with some big name rock acts, which among the previously stated also includes And You Will Know Us By the Trail of the Dead and Wolfmother.
Damn son! With such a huge festival spanning three stages, a wise selection and planning is in order. I’d love to be able to cover each act and give an extensive analysis of each, but in reality, a 12-hour day is unlikely. Friday, May 26, the festivities will begin, and aside from electro-pop group the Trucks and deadboy and the Elephantmen, all of the acts will be on the main-stage, meaning I’ll be seeing a night of sweet ass rock n’ roll and alternative-gothic all night.
I’m certainly not a HIM fan and plan on doing copious amounts of drugs and alcohol during their set, but Bauhaus, a UK David Bowie-New Order-Smashing Pumpkins blend, has sparked my interest and should provide for a respectable opening act for Nine Inch Nails. Being a casual NIN fan, I can still say I’m really excited to cover their act, as I’ve heard NIN has one of the best live shows around. Their 2005 release, With Teeth wasn’t particularly enthralling, but Reznor and the crew, who are scheduled for an hour-and-a-half set should provide for an excellent night of entertainment.
Saturday begins at noon with Rogue Wave on the main stage, and although I’d like to bounce around and away from the main stage, it’ll be pretty hard considering between 1 and 5:30 p.m., following Rogue Wave, Gomez, Sufjan Stevens, Iron & Wine, and Neko Case all hit the stage. As the night closes with Flaming Lips and Ben Harper, I plan on hitting the former and some of the latter’s respective sets. I’ve not yet checked out the new Flaming Lips album, but hear that I can expect great things. And although I go to school at the University of Oregon in Eugene, I’m not a giant hippie, meaning the Harper/Jack Johnson style doesn’t really appeal to me. I will give him a chance though as I’ve heard he can put on a great show.
Sunday will be my big day. I’m a huge Queens of the Stone Age and Beck fan, and have yet to see either live. After seeing the QOTSA live DVD, I can expect a great show, and I’ve heard Beck, who sometimes plays completely acoustic, is nothing short of remarkable every time. In the earlier portions of the day, I’ll be skipping around quite a bit, as the main stage is filled with some bands I have no interest in seeing, like the now quite boring Pretty Girls Make Graves, Arctic Monkeys, and Matisyahu – I don’t dig reggae. Expect coverage on all the main stage acts – assuming I don’t fall asleep during Death Cab For Cutie’s set – and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, but otherwise, Sunday will be my day to check out some new acts. (So if you have recommendations, check out the Sasquatch schedule.)
This will be my second outdoor festival I’ll have attended, following 2004’s average outing at Lollapolooza. Expect a full review, coverage, photos, and hopefully a couple interviews following the festival. I’m proud to be representing Decoy at Sasquatch, and remember: I’m also representing you! So, if there’s a band or artist you particularly like me to check out, try to interview (obviously the big name artists would be much more difficult), by all means let me know.
Links:
Sasquatch Website (http://www.hob.com/tickets/festivals/sasquatch/2006/)
Schedule (http://www.hob.com/tickets/festivals/sasquatch/2006/artists/sasquatch_schedule.pdf)
--Kamran Rouzpay
Summer has arrived at Decoy faithful, and that means it’s concert season. More specifically, it’s festival season. Sure, there’s Banaroo, Lollapolooza, Pitchfork, and Intonation festivals, but damnit, what about my neck of the woods? What about the great Northwest? Well, this Memorial Day weekend the Northwest will see its annual Sasquatch festival return to one of North America’s best outdoor venues, the Gorge.
For three days, I, Kamran Rouzpay, will be exclusively covering the festival for the best webzine readers on the planet (you).
This year’s Sasquatch is without doubt the festival’s biggest in history, both in terms of bands and in length. The primarily indie-rock event will showcase the likes of TV on the Radio, deadboy and the Elephantmen, Gomez, Architecture in Helsinki, Iron & Wine, Neko Case, Stephen Malkmus, Band of Horses, the Constantines, the Shins, Flaming Lips, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Arctic Monkeys, Sufjan Stevens, Nada Surf, Laura Veirs, Decemberists, Rocky Votolato, Headphones, We Are Scientists, and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – and those aren’t even the headliners!
Among the major acts performing on the main-stage, there’s Nine Inch Nails, HIM, Ben Harper, Matisyahu, Queens of the Stone Age, Death Cab For Cutie, and Beck.
And although Sasquatch is filled with indie-rock big names, the festival is pretty equally balanced with some big name rock acts, which among the previously stated also includes And You Will Know Us By the Trail of the Dead and Wolfmother.
Damn son! With such a huge festival spanning three stages, a wise selection and planning is in order. I’d love to be able to cover each act and give an extensive analysis of each, but in reality, a 12-hour day is unlikely. Friday, May 26, the festivities will begin, and aside from electro-pop group the Trucks and deadboy and the Elephantmen, all of the acts will be on the main-stage, meaning I’ll be seeing a night of sweet ass rock n’ roll and alternative-gothic all night.
I’m certainly not a HIM fan and plan on doing copious amounts of drugs and alcohol during their set, but Bauhaus, a UK David Bowie-New Order-Smashing Pumpkins blend, has sparked my interest and should provide for a respectable opening act for Nine Inch Nails. Being a casual NIN fan, I can still say I’m really excited to cover their act, as I’ve heard NIN has one of the best live shows around. Their 2005 release, With Teeth wasn’t particularly enthralling, but Reznor and the crew, who are scheduled for an hour-and-a-half set should provide for an excellent night of entertainment.
Saturday begins at noon with Rogue Wave on the main stage, and although I’d like to bounce around and away from the main stage, it’ll be pretty hard considering between 1 and 5:30 p.m., following Rogue Wave, Gomez, Sufjan Stevens, Iron & Wine, and Neko Case all hit the stage. As the night closes with Flaming Lips and Ben Harper, I plan on hitting the former and some of the latter’s respective sets. I’ve not yet checked out the new Flaming Lips album, but hear that I can expect great things. And although I go to school at the University of Oregon in Eugene, I’m not a giant hippie, meaning the Harper/Jack Johnson style doesn’t really appeal to me. I will give him a chance though as I’ve heard he can put on a great show.
Sunday will be my big day. I’m a huge Queens of the Stone Age and Beck fan, and have yet to see either live. After seeing the QOTSA live DVD, I can expect a great show, and I’ve heard Beck, who sometimes plays completely acoustic, is nothing short of remarkable every time. In the earlier portions of the day, I’ll be skipping around quite a bit, as the main stage is filled with some bands I have no interest in seeing, like the now quite boring Pretty Girls Make Graves, Arctic Monkeys, and Matisyahu – I don’t dig reggae. Expect coverage on all the main stage acts – assuming I don’t fall asleep during Death Cab For Cutie’s set – and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, but otherwise, Sunday will be my day to check out some new acts. (So if you have recommendations, check out the Sasquatch schedule.)
This will be my second outdoor festival I’ll have attended, following 2004’s average outing at Lollapolooza. Expect a full review, coverage, photos, and hopefully a couple interviews following the festival. I’m proud to be representing Decoy at Sasquatch, and remember: I’m also representing you! So, if there’s a band or artist you particularly like me to check out, try to interview (obviously the big name artists would be much more difficult), by all means let me know.
Links:
Sasquatch Website (http://www.hob.com/tickets/festivals/sasquatch/2006/)
Schedule (http://www.hob.com/tickets/festivals/sasquatch/2006/artists/sasquatch_schedule.pdf)
--Kamran Rouzpay