Sasquatch! Music Festival

Hello everyone!

I had a fantastic weekend at the Sasquatch Music Festival at the Gorge Ampitheater in Central Washington. We left Portland around 7 PM. I rode with Dave and Emily while Gina and John took another car. Elaine had to stay behind in Portland to work work work. It was pouring rain in Portland but as we got further east in the Gorge the rain stopped as soon as we passed the Cascades into the eastern, dry side of the state. We crossed over into Washington and drove through some amazing wide-open spaces before arriving at the ampitheater around 11:30. We found Melissa & Jay who had driven up earlier in the day and staked out some camping space for us to all be together. Jay’s Uncle Doug had also flown in from Tucson for the weekend. We could hear Nine Inch Nails finishing up their set on the main stage. We unloaded our gear, set up our tents then hung out and had some beers before rolling into bed.

I awoke very early on Saturday morning to rain beating down on my tent. I buried my head under the blankets and went back to sleep. I woke up at a more reasonable hour and found Jay had the coffee all made. We sat around talking and surveying the skies. It rained a bit more in the morning and we set up some covered areas for us to retreat under. The rain finally went away the blazing sun came out. Gina and I packed a lunch and our backpacks and motivated to the concert early as we both wanted to see the first band, Rogue Wave, on the main stage. We found a spot on the terraced area of the lawn and spread out on a blanket in the hot, hot sun. Rogue Wave played lots of my favorite songs and they were so excited to be playing to such a huge crowd. The festival was sold out and the ampitheater has a capacity of about 20,000. Next up was Gomez who I’ve tried to get into but haven’t been able to. I actually liked them better live than I have their records. Gina took a nap while they played. Next up was Sufjan Stevens who we were both excited to see. He and his band were dressed in funny Americana/patriotic costumes. He played and banjo and sang with his sweet voice and I swooned. I love Sufjan! Iron & Wine played next. He has a great voice and it was cool to see him sing with his sister. During their set the skies began to look threatening. We could see rain falling in the distance all around us and it seemed to be closing in.

Next up was Neko Case, the person I was most excited about seeing at Sasquatch. The first song she played, “Favorite” is her song that I’m currently most obsessed with. It’s from some obscure little record of hers so I was so happy to hear her play it. That woman has got an amazing voice. It floated out above the Columbia River and into the rainclouds. During her third song, “Star Witness” another one of my favorites all hell broke loose. It began raining then pouring and then the hail began. ¾ inch hail fell on us for at least 10 minutes. Neko had to stop singing as she was getting pummeled by the hail and all their equipment was getting soaked. Gina and I huddle together, eventually wrapping ourselves in our magic blanket (fabric but not water permeable). We laughed, we cursed, we got soaking wet. We went from sweating in the sun and worrying about getting sunburned to being beat with ice and being freezing cold all within 40 minutes. It eventually stopped raining and they began clearing the stage. There was so much hail it had to be shoveled off and there were huge pools of water on the stage. Neko never came back on so I’m very relieved that I already have tickets to see her play at the Crystal Ballroom in Portland in a month. Gina will be going to that concert with me. We had quite the shared experience in the hailstorm. We finally found John, Dave, Emily, Jay & Melissa and our two groups were reunited in wet happiness. Melissa and John wrapped themselves around me as I was freezing hold and soaking wet. I warmed up with their help and a swig of whiskey. My feet would remain wet and cold all night long though.

Once the stage was in working order again The Tragically Hip played. I didn’t care for them so much but the Canadians in the crowd went crazy since the band is Canadian. The venue was just as far from Vancouver, BC as it is from Portland. There were lots of Canadians and people from all the western states. There was a group with a huge Montana flag on a pole and our neighbors on the hill had flown in from San Francisco. I did get lots of cheers from a group behind us though for my Wisconsin shirt. Go Wisco!

Next up were The Shins, a Portland band that I really love. They played a great set as the sun was setting. The Columbia River is right behind the stage and turned golden in the evening light. Due to the weather and delays Ben Harper played next and the Flaming Lips were moved to last. Gina and I were annoyed because we weren’t planning on staying for all of Ben Harper but now had to in order to see our beloved Lips. Ben Harper played great but he played an 8 song encore which is totally ridiculous. We moved down closer to the stage for the Flaming Lips. Their show was amazing with huge streamers, giant balls, the lead singer in a huge plastic bubble rolling over the crowd, groups of aliens and santas on either side of the stage around the band and tons of great songs. Their concert is more of an experience than just another show. It was fantastic but I was so tired by the time they were done around 2 AM. Gina and I had been at the concert for 14 hours, most of it being wet and cold. When we got back to camp I changed my close and crawled into my cozy tent. I slept so well.

Sunday we woke to full sun. We all dried out our stuff from the day before. We all hung out at the campsite for a long time drinking coffee and eating great breakfast burritos that Jay made on the campstove. We lounged in the sun and switched to beers. The watermelon was cut open and was juicy and delicious. Around 3:30 Gina and I left to go into the concert as I really wanted to see The Decemberists, another Portland band. They played beautifully and it was so cool to see an accordion on the main stage in front of 20,000 people. Everyone else came down within an hour or so and we all sat together high on the hill to watch Matisyahu. He played a great set and the crowd was really into it. At one point there was a sprinkle and a rainbow but no return to the rain of the day before. Queens of the Stone Age played next. The testerone was raging in front of the stage. They were good but I was really excited to see a band on the Wookie Stage, one of the smaller stages at the festival. There also was a Yeti Stage. Haa! We made our way to the Wookie Stage for Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah! They really should have played on the main stage as the crowd was jammed into the smaller space. The sound from Queens of the Stone Age was bleeding over and the sound on the Wookie Stage was pretty crappy so I was really frustrated. The band played great but the sound sucked. I still danced and drank my $7 Heineken (good god!).

We headed back over to the main stage to see the end of Death Cab for Cutie. I’ve seen them several times and have been rather bored though I love their records. I think they had to take it up a notch since they were following Queens but they really played great. They had tons of energy and played great songs, both new and old. The headliner for Sunday was Beck. The sound was amazing! They put on a fantastic show. There were puppeteers on stage acting out the band playing. They played a short show though and were done at 11:40 though they were supposed to play until midnight. BOOOO to that! We had a hard weekend! Give us our last 20 minutes! We made the long walk back to our campsite and hung out for a while. Jay grilled up some corn and beers were drunk before sleepiness took over.

Monday was the sunniest, warmest day of all. Of course! We hung out at our campsite and slowly began packing some things up. Dave, Emily and I left around 11. We stopped in Ellensburg for gas and food and left with neither. Ellensburg showed us no hospitality. I’m never going back! Bahahah. We hightailed it towards Naches. Emily worked there for Americorps for a while and was going to pick up some of her stuff including two cats! The drive was spectacular as we followed the Columbia River and then got into the foothills of the Cascades. It was unbelievably gorgeous. We arrived in Naches and found Keith at the house. He’s another Americorps guy that we know from when he was based in Trout Lake. We hung out in the magnificent backyard with the Tieton River flowing right past us. Emily loaded up her stuff and we each grabbed a cat then got back in the car.

We drove Highway 12 past Mt Rainier and could see snow on the side of the road at the 4500 feet elevation. We stopped in Packwood which was having a huge flea market event. Dave and I ran to a food stand for some much needed sustenance. It was the first elk burger I’d ever had and it was delicious. We finally made it to I-5 and got back into Portland around 6:30. We unloaded the car and I got my pictures off the camera before going home to a much needed shower. I slept so well last night.

Today is my last day of my twenties. Tomorrow I work just a half day then I’ll watch Chuck Palahniuk speak at the college then go for a shorty hike or something before meeting Elaine, Gina, John & Terry for after-work golf and then dinner. Please let me know how you are and what you’re up to!

Xoxox,
carolyn