Despite drizzle, Festival continues tradition of good times

Though the weather wasn’t always ideal, this year’s Sasquatch! Music Festival was one of the best. Each day’s lineup featured a wide variety of solid acts, and the huge crowds proved fans were willing to pay the price.

For the first time, Sasquatch! also hosted a comedy tent that featured big name artists, such as Michael Ian Black and the Upright Citizens Brigade, which includes former Saturday Night Live actors Tim Meadows and Horatio Sanz.

Saturday

The first day of the Sasquatch! Festival was everything that it should have been.

Seattle low-fi indie group Fleet Foxes opened up the Sasquatch! main stage with a solid performance, while side stages hosted Southern rockers Dead Confederate and The Whigs.

Because of a bus breakdown, The National was forced to postpone their performance on the main stage and move to the Wookie! side stage. Fleet Foxes covered for their set.

Another notable side stage performance was Destroyer, whose bassist Tim Loewen also plays in The New Pornographers. The two bands’ sets overlapped on different stages, but Loewen rushed over and made most of his other band’s main-stage appearance. Both group’s performances were amazing, and The New Pornographers performed a fun cover of “Don’t Bring Me Down.” Covers seemed to be the popular theme, with The Breeders covering The Beatles’ “Happiness is a Warm Gun.”

M.I.A. was clearly Saturday night’s biggest success, bringing even the audience members sitting in the terrace to their feet. Her act turned wild when she said, “Well, fuck it,” and pulled fans from the pit to the stage, turning it into a packed dance floor. Security had no idea what to do.

Though some light rain thinned the crowd, Modest Mouse kept the energy going with a hit-filled set. And nearly every member of the band could play multiple instruments — everyone but the drummers each played at least two instruments, including banjo, keyboard, piano, upright bass and trumpet, on top of the usual.

The night was closed by oldie-but-goodie R.E.M., who put on the type of show that’s kept them successful for the last two decades. As one of the band members said when they left, “We are R.E.M. — this is what we do.”

Sunday

Though the sun was out to kick off the morning, the day was quickly dampened by on-and-off rain. However the warm weather eventually triumphed and resulted in a day worthy of the festival’s lineup.

The bands Awesome and 65daysofstatic kicked off the Sasquatch! Mainstage, but the first big pit-packer was Seattle’s very own Blue Scholars. The duo rapped about “that real Northwest hip-hop music,” and played some new songs, possibly making the most crowd-pleasing performance of the day.

Indie rockers White Rabbits played an easy-to-enjoy set on the Wookie! Stage that was fun, not to mention the guys were all matching in their collared shirts and Ray-Ban sunglasses.

The pure voices of Tegan and Sara carried over an immensely packed main stage. The duo was modest and thankful, dedicating songs to producer Chris Walla and Death Cab for Cutie.

Back on the Wookie! Stage, Mates of State performed an energetic set as the weather finally began to cool down. The duo’s sound was phenomenal, and the violin and cello backing brought the act together.

Michael Franti and Spearhead, with a sound that can be best described as Bob Marley combined with Duran Duran’s “Rio,” whipped the crowd into a frenzy with his political tunes.

Though they were nearly an hour late, British act The Kooks still drew one of the largest side stage crowds of the entire festival. They overlapped with Death Cab for Cutie, but people stuck by their decision to see the act, which easily could’ve been on the Sasquatch! Mainstage.

Northwest favorites Death Cab for Cutie played an inspiring set, opening with “Bixby Canyon Bridge” from their new album Narrow Stairs, and continuing with a wide variety of new and old songs. The group was dressed in black for The Cure, said lead singer Ben Gibbard, “I’m so f*ing excited to see The Cure you wouldn’t believe it”. He dedicated “I Will Follow You Into the Dark” to them.

Unfortunately, headliner The Cure gave a boring performance. Though the smoke and lighting were brilliant, the actual band was less-than-captivating. However, that didn’t seem to matter to the thousands packing into the pit and spilling up the hillside.

Monday

All the pieces came together for the festival’s last day – the sun was shining, the rain was gone, and a nice breeze kept everyone comfortable. With the exception of a few acts like Ghostland Observatory, Battles and Delta Spirit, there was little reason to leave the Sasquatch! Mainstage.

The show on the mainstage began with Seattle’s own Dyme Def. The up-and-coming hip-hop trio, along with producer and disc jockey Bean One, had a great stage presence. Though it was early and there wasn’t a huge crowd, those who were fortunate enough to see the “three bad brothas” were captivated.

The Hives put on the ultimate rock ‘n’ roll show, with all thae pomp and craziness, of a supergroup. As they’re known to do, lead guitarist Nicholaus Arson went nuts on stage, and lead singer Pelle Almqvist jumped onto amps and the surrounding railing. It was one of the most fun sets of the whole festival. Almqvist said if it had gotten any better, The Gorge would’ve collapsed.

Sadly, Built to Spill sounded great but were boring to watch. Even lead singer and guitarist Doug Martsch looked a little bored at times.

However, the mind-blowing talent of Mexican duo Rodrigo Y Gabriela was a sight to behold. When nothing but two acoustic guitars can whip up the pit and captivate thousands, something is going right.

Flight of the Conchords, though confined to a short set, proved to be a festival favorite. Their comedic brand of folk-style music even inspired a fan to throw her bra onstage after the song “The Most Beautiful Girl (In the Room),” to the amusement of the New Zealand duo.

The Mars Volta thrashed around on the main stage to a full pit, but the sound was horrible and lead singer’s Cedric Bixler-Zavala’s antics (which involved throwing a cymbal and an electric fan at the audience) were annoying and dangerous. It was clear that the crowd was really there to see festival headliners The Flaming Lips and the band’s surreal U.F.O. Show.

The actual U.F.O. was a gigantic disc structure covered in lights and mirrors. The lead singer and guitarist Wayne Coyne emerged from it in a giant plastic bubble after the bubble was lowered from near the top awning and rolled around on the hands of the crowd. The sound was great, and the show was surreal: The crowd was coated in confetti and streamers and the stage was shrouded in fog.

The Flaming Lips urged audience members to vote – Democrat – and played a rendition of “Taps,” dedicating it to fallen soldiers.

After Coyne mentioned that “The Song Remains the Same” by Led Zeppelin, which they were about to cover, always made him think of summertime and nudity, a group of naked girls rushed in from the side of the stage and began dancing with him.

“You don’t get to see that at every show, do you?” he said. “Only at Sasquatch!”