Sasquatch! campers do not fuck around.
On a usual day in Seattle when I’m just relaxing in my apartment after a full day of classes and internships and jobs and meetings I’m usually out 1am, if not earlier. That’s reasonable for a twenty-year-old right? At 3:00am last night, people were still partying. STILL. PARTYING.
But now, after a full three days of partying it up (well, more like running around trying to catch as many artists as possible) in the Middle of Nowhere, WA, I’m beat, though I am still determined to make the best of Day 4. Super sad to leave, but also super ready to get back to running water/air conditioning/a full fridge/two-ply toilet paper, etc.
Here’s the run-down of day three. And I swear, the pics are coming. There are just many!!!
SHAKEY GRAVES: To go along with his names, Shakey Graves has an old, aged sound. He complimented this with an extremely charismatic stage presence. Shakey Graves is heading modern folk music and I would definitely recommend keeping an eye on him.
MILKY CHANCE: With their lead single “Stolen Dance” shooting up the radio charts with such alacrity it’s no wonder that Milky Chance drew such a huge crowd at the Sasquatch stage yesterday. I would classify their music under folktronica, with some reggae influences mixed in. I expected their performance to be much more electric, echoing their music, but their stage presence was slightly subpar. The effort was definitely there – they really tried, but I wasn’t really impressed. Everyone was dancing, so maybe I’m missing something here – but I could pass.
KATE TEMPEST: Kate Tempest is literally brilliant. Hailing from South East London, this spoken word artist / poet / rapper is a major talent and a pleasant surprise to see this weekend. I didn’t really expect to see anyone with that level of depth – does that make sense? – at the festival, but Kate managed to stir something within me that I haven’t really experienced before. She’s able to express feelings that we can relate to and touch us at our very core. Super fresh. Keep an eye out for this hurricane.
SHOVELS & ROPE: AHHH this was beautiful and emotional. The intimacy of the two lead singers on stage was adorable and the HUGE country-folk sound that comes out of them is so calming to listen to and so hard to leave.
ST. PAUL & THE BROKEN BONES: POWER. This singer can belt. His voice is dynamic and jazzy. This band played a cover of an Otis Redding song, and is the only band that I would recommend to cover an Otis Redding song, because no one else could do Otis as much Justice. The show was amazing to watch as the singer is an awesome dancer and hard to take your eyes off of. This band is a 100/10 must see, in every aspect of music.
JENNY LEWIS: JENNNNYYY. Jenny is such a gorgeous and honest writer that every song hits home with the crowd. I could tell that the crowd was touched by Jenny in a much heavier fashion than most bands. Her on stage persona is so Jenny and so awesomely cute. She also played quite a bit of Rilo Kiley which was wonderful.
SHAPRECE: One of my favourite local artists, Shaprece took on the El Chupacabra stage with a relatively small audience. Not to say that her performance was lacking – it was anything but. Showcasing her artistry to full force, Shaprece emerged like a goddess on the stage with two backup dancers dressed in an all white/gold ensemble. Live, Shaprece shines. I wish more people had come to witness it. Truly a work of art.
#SASHIONBITCH SHOUTOUT : SHAPRECE!!! GURL YOU SLAYED SO HARD LAST NIGHT. Your outfit was amazing. Love you!!!
ST. VINCENT: Space robot pop electronica rock. That is the genre of St. Vincent. She danced like a robot, looked like a stunning alien, and I vibed with it the whole time. One of the best performances of Sasquatch. And not to mention her heels were taller than Pharrell’s hats.
THE KNOCKS: I wasn’t expecting to stumble into El Chupacabra at this time, especially when it’s filled with a crazy, rambunctious crowd. As I said, I don’t really take to crowds – but this time was different. The Knocks’ stage presence was magnetic. It was like everyone was on some happy love drug, because the energy was contagious, and everyone was dancing like crazy. It was beautiful. It was like being in a night club, minus all the shitty music, sketchiness, darkness, and skeezy guys. Now that’s a party I don’t wanna miss out on.
JOSÉ GONZÁLEZ: This show was woodstocky AF. His relaxed presence and awesomely folky feel on stage was a breath of fresh air and proved to me that Sasquatch can enjoy slow music. I was worried after James Blake.
RUSTIE: Rustie was sort disappointing. Like, I’m not exactly sure what I was expecting when I decided to go to this show, but it was not that. There weren’t that many people there, but there was definitely a weird vibe that I can’t quite put my finger on. It’s like, everyone was super stoked to be there, but Rustie wasn’t? Maybe I’m getting a bad read on this guy, but it was just so mediocre I had to leave.
LANA DEL REY: What can I say about Lana Del Rey? I’ve been a huge, huge fan of hers for years – something about her sultry voice and artistry really calls to me. I have all her albums, on CDs and vinyl, and a poster of her hanging up in my room. But in all the years I’ve adored this lady from afar I have never seen her live. All I can say is last night was incredible. I’m still emotional about it. I can’t just write a little blurb about it, so there’s a full review to come. Stay tuned.
#SASHIONBITCH SHOUTOUT: In true Lana fashion, the white dress she wore was simple and sweet. Way to keep it real.
CASHMERE CAT: Cashmere Cat emerged in 2012 with insanely successful remixes of 2 Chainz and Lana Del Rey and since then has quickly shot up in international EDM circles. Because of his worldly reputation, I was expecting something more interesting than him just chillin’ behind the board, totally stoic. But that’s what we got. The crowd was crazy, though – it was a full house, everyone was in high spirits – it was just hard to get anything out of it, honestly.
JAMES BLAKE: James Blake is one of my favourite artists, hands down. Seeing him last year at Showbox SoDo was surreal – there were only a few dozen people in attendance and the atmosphere was so small and intimate and wonderful I can sincerely say that that was one of the best shows I’ve ever been to. Ever. However, seeing James Blake at Sasquatch was completely different. There were so many things wrong about this. First, the stage was all wrong. The Bigfoot stage is anything but intimate – it’s completely huge, and open, and when you’re sitting most of the time, it’s really hard to command such a stage. He would have done so. much. better at El Chup, or even Yeti, for god’s sake. Second, the crowd was all wrong. What the heck was up with that?! One of the weirdest gatherings I’ve ever witnessed – a strange little melting pot of cowboys, older folks, and young tweenypop kiddos. #Plzchill. Third, scheduling James Blake and Cashmere Cat at the same exact time – big, big mistake, Sasquatch! A sadly disappointing way to end the night. P.S. Still love you, James!
Bella Pham | Diet Mountain Dew Baby New York City | KXSU Social Media Director