Sasquatch 2014 is now in the rearview, and we’ve got more than a few stupid-grin-inducing stories to tell from our weekend camping at the majestic Gorge Ampitheater as we rocked with Queens of The Stone Age, Portugal The Man, Outkast, M.I.A., Die Antwoord, Phantogram and many more. After full highlight recaps of Day One and Day Two at Sasquatch, we’re tying things up with a run-down of Day 3’s highs, lows and oddities.
Psychedelic Sweetness: Portugal. The Man
Their records are great, but a live Portugal. The Man show is a headfirst leap into a sweet spot of churning psychedelia and live musical evolution. They’re masters of the power of those little phrasings or hooks that dig inside the mind and stick with you forever. Like in “Atomic Man,” the line “I’m the moon that pulls the tides that take the sand” weaves its way through your consciousness and permanently embeds itself as you’re watching one of the best live acts on the circuit in action.
Cookie Cutter Show: HAIM
Look. We love the sisters of HAIM. They’re on our list of 15 Can’t Miss Festival Acts, and they truly rip it in live performance, whether or not you’re into Danielle Haim’s orgasmic solo faces (see above) or Este’s maniacally rad scowls as she rocks the bass. But we saw them last year at Bonnaroo, then Lollapalooza, then Austin City Limits, Treasure Island and Coachella this year as well – and at Sasquatch 2014 they played the same set and had the exact same stage banter as all the shows before. Granted, their depth of recorded material is a bit shallow, but when you’re repeating the same “bring you into our living room” comments to this crowd that you’ve done to hundreds before, it’s going to get stale.
Truncated Climax: Queens of The Stone Age
When QOTSA take the stage at a festival, it’s like getting in the muscle car with the grown-ups after riding your BMX around the neighborhood all day. Sex-rock power on high, Josh Homme & crew led the Sasquatch crowd through an airtight run of hip-grinders and slow-burn demon grooves. Why they left the stage 24 minutes early as the final-night headliners is beyond us, because as powerfully captivating as the performance was, the entire crowd was instantly aware that they’d been shortchanged on the schedule. That left us with no other recourse than to head over to Major Lazer’s broken-modem bullshit…
Not-So-Grand Finale: Major Lazer
Recreational chemicals at festivals have been commonplace for decades, but molly culture is a corrosive cancer on live music appreciation. Major Lazer’s Sasquatch-closing performance was a colossal mess of noise, yelling and strobe lights. No DJ should ever have a hype man. Enough said.
Best Visual Artist at Sasquatch: Josh Brooks
Watching the Josh in action on the fields of Sasquatch during a breather from the music, we watched this painting pour out of his head and onto the canvas. There was no merch booth, no big production, just a dude with an easel on the field. Support kickass festival art! We’re still kicking ourselves for not buying one of his rad wood-block paintings. Check out more of his work here.
Rockin’ The Lawn: Skateboard Dude
Brutal Beauty: Brody Dalle
A criminally small crowd at Brody’s equally criminal 2pm stage time didn’t detract from the Distillers/Spinnerette frontwoman delivering a growling set of rockers from her new album Diploid Love. As husband Joshua Homme and kids looked on from side-stage, Dalle polished her crowd as the queen of rock n’ roll in the midday sun.
Goofball Overdose: These guys
That does it for Crave at The Gorge for this year! See you at Sasquatch 2015!
