Sasquatch! 2013 Day Three Recap

Thousands upon thousands of people, Coors Light in hand, descended on the world-famous Gorge Amphitheater in The Middle of Nowhere (George), Washington for the behemoth Sasquatch! Music Festival taking...
Sasquatch! 2013 Day Three Recap

Sasquatch! 2013 Day Three Recap

Thousands upon thousands of people, Coors Light in hand, descended on the world-famous Gorge Amphitheater in The Middle of Nowhere (George), Washington for the behemoth Sasquatch! Music Festival taking place over Memorial Day Weekend, Friday to Monday, May 24th through the 27th.  Many people have argued that this year’s lineup, featuring the likes of Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Mumford & Sons, Sigur Rós, and The Postal Service to name a very few, is the best it has ever been.  Not to mention, the scenery at this festival may just be better than any other festival our fine country has to offer.  Unique to the Pacific Northwest, festival goers hailing from the region come prepared for both rain and shine as both literally can occur within minutes of each other.  Cans of beer cost $11, margaritas cost $14, and many, MANY people are smoking weed.  Yep, it’s a festival all right.  Good thing there are tons of great bands to keep us entertained.

 

 

Deep Sea DiverDeep Sea Diver @ Honda Bigfoot Stage, 1:00 PM to 1:45 PM

Having had stints in both Beck’s touring band and most recently The Shins, Jessica Dobson is becoming quite the giant in the indie music community.  Despite her presence in these far-reaching acts, it’s easy to tell that she is most in her element in her own project, Deep Sea Diver.

This five-piece band helped kick off Day Three of the Sasquatch! Festival, and despite some drum difficulties including drummer Peter Mansen’s (Dobson’s husband) high tom falling off mid-song, they played an entertaining set on the Honda Bigfoot stage, which actually featured a cover of Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy”.  The rest of the set list consisted of songs taken from their 2009 EP New Caves as well as their recently-released full-length album, History Speaks, which features one particularly cool song in “Nwo” with it’s echoing pianos and syncopated drum patterns.

Deep Sea Diver’s music is, at times, typical indie with lots of reverb on the vocals etc., but it’s quite surprising how proficient of a guitarist Jessica Dobson actually is.  When you see her play it’s no wonder that she was asked to play with Beck and The Shins.


Youngblood HawkeYoungblood Hawke @ Sasquatch! Stage, 2:10 PM to 2:55 PM

It’s understandable why L.A.’s Youngblood Hawke, despite being a relatively new band, would be asked to play the main stage at a festival like Sasquatch!.  They are a very high-energy and happy band to watch.  Lead singer Sam Martin bounds all over the stage and just has this energetic presence about him.  Their set featured songs drawn from their debut album Wake Up with songs like “Rootless”, “Forever”, and the popular single “We Come Running”.  Musically, they run the risk of falling flat at times, but in a concert setting, the energy of their performance more than makes up for that.

 

The Tallest Man On EarthThe Tallest Man On Earth @ Sasquatch! Stage, 4:20 PM to 5:20 PM

Kristian Matsson, or as he’s more well known, The Tallest Man On Earth, is an interesting guy.  First off, he’s a heck of a songwriter.  Comparisons between him and Bob Dylan have been abundant throughout his career.  Secondly, he has an odd intensity about him, which really comes forth in a concert setting.  Don’t get me wrong, he’s a super nice guy and continually thanked the large crowd for listening, but at one point he had to clarify, “I’m not drunk or high or anything, I’m not some weirdo, I just want to make sure you like this song…  Actually, I am pretty weird…”

All of that aside, his songs are beautiful.  It can be really easy for acoustic singer-songwriters’ songs to all blend together and get old after a little while, but that doesn’t happen with The Tallest Man On Earth.  His guitar playing and lyrical composition are incredible so it becomes really easy to see why so many comparisons have been drawn between him and Bob Dylan.

His set drew on songs from all three of his studio albums, 2008’s Shallow Grave, 2010’s The Wild Hunt, and last year’s There’s No Leaving Now, and included the amazingly beautiful track “Wind and Walls”.

 

Dropkick MurphysDropkick Murphys @ Sasquatch! Stage, 5:40 PM to 6:40 PM

The minute Boston’s Dropkick Murphys took the main stage at Sasquatch! there had to be many people in the packed crowd thinking, “What are these guys doing at this festival?”  Their extremely hard-hitting Irish-tinged music definitely felt out of place amongst a sea of indie bands, but it was awesome.  Speaking personally, I was glad they were there to do what they do and keep all these indie bands balanced.  I’m just glad I wasn’t in the pit.

Their set featured songs like “Shipping Off To Boston” from their 2005 album The Warrior’s Code, “The Boys Are Back” from this year’s Signed and Sealed In Blood (QRO review), as well as “Rose Tattoo” from Signed and the Rose Tattoo: For Boston Charity EP, which featured Bruce Springsteen as a guest and helped benefit victims of the Boston Marathon bombing last month.  Their set ended with quite a treat in that they performed a ripping cover of AC/DC’s “T.N.T.”.  It seemed quite fitting, because when their set was over it was as though T.N.T. had gone off in a sea of indie fans.  Awesome, indeed.

 

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic ZerosEdward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros @ Sasquatch! Stage, 7:10 PM to 8:10 PM

This band is something to behold.  Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros are really more of a collective of musicians than an actual band.  There were about twelve or thirteen members scattered about the main stage during Sunday’s Sasquatch! festivities.  However, having so many people to look at certainly doesn’t deter one from enjoying the great music that this group makes.

Lead singer Alex Ebert (you thought his name was actually Edward Sharpe, didn’t you?…) was all over the place, dancing around and engaging with the crowd like a good frontman should.  At times, he was so lost in the fray of their happy music making that he didn’t even know what songs were next in their set and had to ask the rest of the band.

Fans were treated to the likes of the popular “Home” from 2009’s Up From Below as well as “I Don’t Wanna Pray” from last year’s Here.  At one point Marcus Mumford (of Mumford & Sons – see below) was invited out to join the group for a song, which was a special treat.  Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros joined Mumford & Songs back in 2011 for their Railroad Revival Tour (which was chronicled in the recent Grammy-winning documentary, Big Easy Express QRO screening review).  In addition, they have yet another album coming out in July of this year.  Be sure to keep an eye out for it.

 

Mumford & SonsMumford & Sons @ Sasquatch! Stage, 11:00 PM to 12:30 AM

If you haven’t seen Mumford & Sons live then your respect level for them is about to get bumped up a few notches.  Sure, they are all over the radio, even to the point that they’re easy to get sick of, but their live show is something else entirely.  It has this raw emotion to it, not to mention the four members themselves (even though there is a vast number of backup musicians) are great performers and are really fun to watch.

Their headlining set on Sunday night kicked off with the great “Lover’s Eyes” from their incredible sophomore album Babel (QRO review), which was released last year.  Among the other songs played were the ever-popular “Little Lion Man” from their 2009 debut album Sigh No More, “I Will Wait”, and the great “Lover of the Light” for which Marcus Mumford actually sat behind the drum kit and sang the whole song while playing the killer and energizing drum part for the song.  Who knew he could sing so well AND play drums?  Oh, the talent.

In short, if you have heard either or both of Mumford & Sons’ albums and need some re-energizing in terms of your love for them and they aren’t coming to your town anytime soon, then check out their live album The Road To Red Rocks, which was released last November.
 

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Concert Reviews
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