SASQUATCH

By about 5pm yesterday, the whole trip was worth it. At risk of sounding like a histrionic fanboy, everything I've heard about the Arcade Fire live is true, and then some. Their set yesterday, Saturday afternoon at the Sasquatch Music Festival in the Gorge Ampitheater, was without a doubt one of the highlight musical experiences I've ever had. In the middle of a blistering day in the desert of central Washington, these 7 Canadians in formal wear, buttoned to the neck more often than not, dressed for a funeral, went into the red from the very first notes of the opener "Wake Up." By the first chorus of Whooooooaaaa--Ohhhhh's, I knew this show was gonna hit me like a board to the head. Thwack. And it did.

It was a very very long day, but by and large the quality of shows made up for the heat and the price gouging. Early sets by Bloc Party and Ray Lamontagne were both fantastic, though the former was plagued by technical difficulties. Lamontagne may will be my own biggest discovery of the weekend, as every tune he played seemed like something I will often want to listen to at home. He's got a great voice and he uses it to full effect without getting too bogged down in it.

After the Arcade Fire blew the whole show apart, I wondered how Wilco would ever follow it. But they did, and very well. They came out and did their own thing, which is a very different thing from the Arcade Fire, and it was outstanding from front to back. Muzzle of Bees and Spiders (Kidsmoke) opened the set, which leaned heavily on the new record.

Kanye West put on a good show, though live rap to me is always a bit odd and underwhelming. But it gave me a chance to go sit down and rest up for the evening.

Modest Mouse, possibly getting the most excitement out of the crowd, kinda sucked, as they've been known to. They started late, wandered onstage after a half hour, and went through the motions on a few lame tracks--Float On, Dramamine, and a few of his Tom-Waits-impersonation banjo tunes. Crap. I made my way back up to my seat in the grass just in time for him to turn it up a bit and get serious, and the last half hour of the set was far better. Still, though, little Isaac is a bit of a petulant primadonna, and I find it harder and harder to forgive his live lameness. For fuck's sake, there are like 7 people in the band, including a totally superfluous second drummer, and they sound hollower than when they were a trio. Disappointing.

The headliners, The Pixies, however, did not fail to please. All business, they came out and thrashed our asses for a solid hour and a half, not talking, not doing anything but playing their asses off. Great set.

So Sasquatch was a great time, and I'd even consider going back again, even though I thought I was done with such giganto-festivals. A show like The Arcade Fire can change your mind about a lot of things.