Sasquatch! Festival 2010 Day 2 Recap – Bullet Point Edition

Because when there really wasn’t a coherent thread, why force one?  Here’s a look back on the one day of Sasquatch! Festival that I trekked out to this year, complete with color pictures.

• Caribou is exactly the type of band that should play the first set of a festival day.  The group was the first act on the mainstage and the light, non-abrasive but catchy brand of electronic music Daniel Victor Snaith and his live backing band dispensed was just the right mood setter.  One has to consider that many of the people watching are lightly hung over from first day fest antics or groggy from just waking up, so having something that eases you into a music listening mood with smooth grooves that are just fun enough to get you moving a little is ideal.  I’ve seen the first band, in such a situation not fit more times than I’d like to count.  Kudos to Caribou.
  

Caribou

• For some reason there was a black backdrop covering the entire back of the mainstage.  This was a travesty.  Part of the magic of The Gorge is the unbelievable view behind the massive stage.  Someone seriously dropped the ball on that one.  Totally inexcusable.

• I’m sure the general media consensus is going to be that LCD Sounsystem ruled the mainstage on Sunday, but the real king was Kid Cudi.  The kids in the pit were just rabid for him.  Chants of “CU-DI CU-DI CU-DI!” were heard long before he even took the stage.  Once he actually did make his way out for his adoring throngs, he delivered a performance that left them craving more.  Cudi really commanded the whole stage and worked the crowd like a true showman between renditions of “Soundtrack 2 My Life,” “Pursuit of Happiness,” and others.  For an MC that doesn’t rely on super high energy tracks, the energy was fantastic.  If anyone wasn’t a believer in Kid Cudi before that set, it’s hard to imagine that they still wouldn’t be after witnessing him kill it.

Kid Cudi

• Speaking of LCD Soundsystem, James Murphy’s dance contingent is officially in the “artists I just don’t get” category now.  Live it’s just dance music that’s really, really repetitive that lack a lot of energy and stage presence.  I understand the group layers lots of percussion and electronic sounds, but seven minutes of the same few words and beats isn’t that interesting.  To the group’s credit, the coolest moment of the day happened during their set when everyone on the hill started doing a synchronized dance and eventually the people in the pit noticed and joined in time.  Very sweet.  However, I’m slowly starting to suspect that LCD Soundsystem is just The Black Eyed Peas for hipsters, which…well…yikes.

LCD Soundsystem

• The reason I only attended one day (and the reason I didn’t attend at all last year) is due to the general decline in Sasquatch!’s lineup.  Even for the one day I did catch, man there were were a lot of boring bands.  Watching a group like Local Natives makes me want to take a nap.  Call me crazy, but I like a little energy in my rock festival.  Heck, even the day’s “headliner” Massive Attack couldn’t even keep my attention for two songs.  Is ambient electronic trance music really a good headlining fit?  Really?