En route to Sasquatch! 2012, sleet came splashing down on the vehicles of the mini-caravan me and my friends had constructed. SLEET. It was an ominous sign, for sure, and dread began to snap at my optimism that the festival would be a storm-free, gigantically awesome good time, full of terrific music. Like it almost always is.
Suddenly, the sleet stopped, allowing for smooth sailing the rest of the way into The Gorge. And with that, I knew I had far too quickly jumped to conclusions. After all, this is Sasquatch! we’re talking about. Come rain, snow, sleet or hail, the festival will always pull through, and sweet, sweet music will be delivered to the quarter of a million people that show up for it.
In fact, Day One greeted the attendees with almost too much goodness. It was difficult to choose where to go at times, faced with such options as Santigold vs. Mark Lanegan vs. STRFKR, all happening at the same time. I’m still devastated I missed Explosions in the Sky, even though I got to see fierce sets from Girl Talk and Pretty Lights, instead.
Poliça won out over Sir Paul McCartney’s son James, but I still managed to sneak over to the Yeti to witness one of his songs…and it was terrible. I’m still shocked at the out-of-date pop music I heard coming from his stage, but even more surprised at how badly it sounded. Methinks Paul needs to give his offspring a lesson or two…
Definitely standing out as one of the best musical moments of the first day, not to mention the weekend, was the surprise performance from Seattle rapper Macklemore. Following Girl Talk’s set that night, Macklemore popped up on a makeshift stage, suspended not far above the screaming crowd in the pit of the Main Stage. Joining him were badass trumpeter Owour Arunga and smooth soul crooner Ray Dalton, and in just a few quick songs, the three of them delivered a tremendously impressive performance. Hats off to that trio for their stellar way of kicking the weekend off right.
