The Sasquatch Festival
Gorge Amphitheatre - Vantage,  WA
By Angela Jossy

Wow. What a week. Saturday I went to the Gorge Amphitheater for the first time ever for the Sasquatch Festival. Thirteen of the 29 bands this year come either from Washington or Portland. I saw a whole bunch of cool bands and for me one of the the highlights was Seattle band Maktub because the music was funky and cool and it reminded me of Lenny Kravitz. They are currently on tour across the US.

The host on the main stage was a Mexican Elvis called El-Vez. Every time he came on stage he had a different color Elvis Get-Up on. He was very cute and funny. He sounded like Cheech Marin.  When he first came on stage at the beginning of the show he was dressed like Sasquatch but only had that furry head on for a second because he had to speak and we needed to be able to hear him and also because I'm sure he was way too hot!

One of the other highlights was a girl band with two sisters called Eisley. They said they were from Texas and they had a very ethereal, Jewel-esk kind of sound. It fit right into my mood and the surrounding beauty. We spent too much time in the beer garden unfortunately and missed Liz Phair and Death Cab for Cutie and Tacoma's Neko Case, BUMMER!!!! We didn't realize what we were missing because we didn't have a schedule. We found out what we missed when a very cool chick named Bliss was introduced to us and she had the schedule written on her back. But we did manage to see Pedro the Lion because they played inside the beer garden area thankfully.     

 The Flaming Lips show was a little weird with people dressed in animal costumes and dancing crazily on stage. It was about 80-90 degrees or so so I know they were dying in those costumes. Someone said they were members of some of the other bands. They seemed to be really having fun though regardless of the heat. The band was blowing up these giant balloons filled with confetti and throwing them out toward the audience. Unfortunately the wind was taking them away from the crowd and off toward the cliff off to the right and behind the stage. Oh well. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

The best part was Cold Play though. The music, the lights, the whole experience was amazing. Every time I hear their latest song, Clocks, on the radio I get chills because it takes me back there to that moment, those glowing clouds, the laser show, the intense colors, the whole awe inspiring moment. They let out a whole bunch of smoke then they started playing and turned on lasers that shot from the back of the stage diagonally toward the sky behind us. At one point I leaned my head all the way back and followed the beams of light behind me as far as I could see, the clouds of smoke dancing among them. A friend said the clouds were glowing for miles and they could see them from their distant campground. Way better than fireworks. It was so cool.  You have to also imagine that you're sharing the experience with thousands of other people lying on blankets huddled in the dark being captivated by this huge and beautiful sound, then remember that you're completely surrounded by nature's magnificent beauty, fresh air and just enough of a nice gentle breeze. Awe, the Gorge. Now I wonder why I waited so long to go there. It was $50 a ticket but worth every penny.

To read more about the festival click here or click here or click here.

Top of Page