Sasquatch! 2014 started off so great on Friday. Everyone arrived on the grounds happy and smiling in their festival best - a range of fringe, platforms, sports sandals, sailor hats, Pokemon costumes, and crop tops with a stacked line-up from the get go. One gentleman in the crowd put it well saying to his friend, "Honestly, dude, this could be the best concert I've ever gone to." as he got ready to watch Outkast play later that night. Even with such a prime first night opener there was so many other things worth talking about. Check out some of them below.
Chance the Rapper
The crowd swelled Friday afternoon as people from all over the festival grounds flocked to hear
Chance the Rapper, after making the crowd wait just a
few extra minutes Chance emerged saying “Welcome to the Social Experiment” and proceeded down a long list of crowd favorite songs from various mix tapes and projects, focusing on material from Acid Rap - his latest release. The crowd going crazy each time a new track came on, jumping along with the beat. Chance just smiling, and whipping out surprises like right after Favorite Song finished he jumped into the theme song from much-loved 90s’ TV show
Arthur. His set made for one of the most talked about at the festival for Friday. (Set by Matthew B. Thompson)
Princess
Princess is a Prince Tribute band headed by Maya Rudolph and Gretchen Lieberum. They played in El Chubacabra, the only covered venue at Sasquatch!. When you entered the tent it was like you were transported into a world of purples and flare, people of all generations singing along to so many hits from over the years of Prince. Each member of the band was wearing a different era of prince-esque style which made for an interesting secondary tribute to the legendary star. Rudolph took a break from character briefly to tell the crowd “We’re here because we love Prince and we want him to stay valid.” she immediately flashed a smile and started out on an as-close-as-possible-to Prince scream as any lady ever could - or better. Their wardrobe, stage-antics, and demeanor were worthy of princes, or princesses rather. Check out these photos below that speak for themselves. (Set by Sally Gray Mahon)
Phantogram
Rising New York electronic rock band
Phantogram played a great set at the Bigfoot stage as the sun was setting over the Gorge. Between songs, lead singer Sarah Barthel paused and drew attention to the sunset, commenting on the beauty of the gorge and of the moment, asking the audience to just appreciate it with her, but in no time at all Josh Carter dropped another beat and the show went happily on. In the last few years Phantogram has risen in popularity and are finally getting the much due satisfaction of a crowd belting out so many new songs as well as old, being equally excited for tracks like Voices, Mouthful of Diamonds, Don’t Move, and Fall in Love. Next time these guys come to Sasquatch! we’ll probably see them on the Main Stage, look at these photos of their performance below. (Set by Matthew B. Thompson)
Classixx
Classixx had the fine honor of starting the dance party on Friday evening over in the tent - aka El Chupacabra, and they did a damn fine job. With visuals that were reminiscent of both Miami Vice and Tron at the same time, the bass just kept building as their set went on. This DJ duo from L.A. brought not just laptops, as most DJs do as of late, but were armed with guitars, synth, and also a cowboy hat - never shying away from crowd interactions and never hiding behind a DJ booth. Between that and the awesome visuals that they alternated between - including projections of all the featured singers on their tracks, such as YACHT, Nancy Whang of LCD system, and Gossip, on the screens as their respective songs played it’s easy to see why they are becoming some of the most respected among the dance scene. Playing hits spanning their musical career like “I’ll get you” from 2009, “Into the Valley” and “Holding On” with quite a few newer tracks mixed in off their latest album
Hanging Gardens (and of course, “Stranger Love”). Their set left everyone a little happier and a little sweatier - the surest sign of a set well played here at Sasquatch! See their set up below. (Set by Sally Gray Mahon)
Foster The People
Foster the People just put out a new album this year called
Supermodel. It rocks. Their set demonstrates this very
very well. Coming off of several years of everyone demanding “Pumped Up Kicks” they have done an excellent job of reminding people that they have more (and better) songs. They threw down for a massive audience at the Main Stage - people singing along to what they knew and dancing to what they didn’t. Foster the People were dynamic on stage and full of life. This is a much welcome return to the scene from their recent break for recording their latest album, as they have returned stronger and better than ever. Their appearance at the main stage solidifies the fact that they are not going anywhere but up from here. View photos from their set below. (Set by Matthew B. Thompson)
Damien Jurado
Damien Jurado took things down a notch friday night at the Yeti Stage in an intimate set comprised of just him and his acoustic guitar. He took moments between songs to comment on the beauty of the gorge and how lucky “we” are - since he is a Seattle native, it’s a privilege to get to see such a great song-writer perform in his own backyard. It was a nice breather in the evening for anyone who stopped by. (Set by Sally Gray Mahon)
Die Antwoord
Die Antwoord was probably second only to Outkast for most talked about on Friday - but talked about for extremely polar different reasons - as Outkast has been loved by many over the last 20 years, and Die Antwoord confuses and intrigues to draw its crowd. Die Antwoord is a dance-rave-rap band from South Africa comprised of two persons - Ninja and Yo-Landi. Making their entrance in orange haz-mat suits after their DJ (also dressed in a has-mat suit) played the intro to their TEN$ION track “DJ Hi-Tek Rulez”. After the first song they disposed of their haz-mat suits so as to have more movability as they ran around the stage. Their range of high pitch vocals and baritone “ninja” rap mixed with contagious beats had the crowd bouncing along with their songs while trippy imagery from various music videos and visual projects played on the projectors. The Bigfoot stage was packed all the way to El Chupacabra two fields back drawing fans, the curious, and everyone else who just wanted to keep having a good time. Here’s some photos of their performance.
Stay tuned for more Sasquatch! 2014 coverage throughout the weekend.
