Sasquatch! Unleashed

By LISA GARRIGUES
NACHES VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL

THE GORGE AMPHITHEATRE, George, Wash. — This year’s Sasquatch! Music Festival was my first concert experience.

When I bought my ticket, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I hadn’t heard of many of the bands. But I was going with my brother Mark and sister Emily, who are both experienced concert-goers.

Seeing as Saturday and Sunday of the three-day festival were sold out, we went on Monday, May 26. The line up included The Hives, Built to Spill, Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Flight of the Conchords, The Mars Volta, and The Flaming Lips U.F.O. Show.

We had no idea what kind of weather the Gorge had in store for us, so we packed for both sun and rain. I had heard stories of hail, rain and extreme heat, which made it harder to decide what to bring. I only wanted to carry a small backpack, but my rain jacket filled up the entire thing. In the end, Emily fit the jacket in her bag, and we rushed out the door in a hurry.

After our 1996 Ford Escort wagon struggled up the hills through Ellensburg, we finally arrived at the Gorge. There were lines for everything: tickets, bathrooms, the entrance itself. After a long wait, we reached the front of the line and the freedom to explore.

Sounds were already blaring from the nearby Wookie stage. Food, beverage and T-shirt vendors lined the pathway. Everywhere I looked, there was a mess of people. Being surrounded by so many sights, smells, sounds and people was a bit overwhelming.

Right off the bat we decided to get Sasquatch! T-shirts. We feared they had already sold out, one of the downfalls of coming on the last day. Fortunately, there were still some left. The only problem was they were all in sizes much too large for me. So I decided to save my money and not buy one. This was a decision I later regretted.

We followed the crowd up the steep hill. The sight from the top was amazing. People were strewn everywhere on the hillside, huddling together on blankets, standing in front of the stage, or searching for friends in confusion.

We found a spot to sit, spread our blanket, and settled down to enjoy the show. The bands seemed tiny from our vantage point. I spent most of the time viewing the artists on the giant screen located near the stage and listening to the music coming from the stacks of speakers.

One of the first bands to play was The Hives. All the band members had lots of energy, and the lead singer was very animated with his stage antics. You could tell they were really passionate about their music. Sometimes, it seemed a little too much, but they still had a great performance.

The next band to play, Built to Spill, was the complete opposite. The band members were less social with the crowd and a lot quieter. Their songs seemed more mature, intended for an older audience. I think if I had known some of their songs, I would have enjoyed it more, but instead I just got bored.

We decided to head down to the floor level to watch Rodrigo Y Gabriella. This was a group none of us had heard of. They ended up being a pair from Mexico with expert guitar skills. We were amazed by how fast Rodrigo could play and had never heard anything like it before. The duo played upbeat Mexican rhythms with great ability. The audience seemed to really enjoy their performance; many began clapping along with the music.

People were crammed together, all trying to get a closer view of the stage. We had been standing up for more than an hour, and I was getting tired. I was also starting to feel sick, and the smell of cigarettes, marijuana and alcohol didn’t help at all.

I felt light-headed, and began to worry I might faint. So my sister and I left the crowded area to sit down. I immediately felt better. But we had lost our brother in the sea of people.

Soon, Flight of the Conchords stepped onto the stage and made many people laugh, including me. Every song was full of hilariously cheesy lyrics. They were also very social with the audience, continuously chatting and making jokes between songs.

But the next band, in my opinion, was a complete disaster. When The Mars Volta first appeared on the stage, they didn’t seem that bad. Once they started playing, however, their lead singer, Cedric Bixler-Zavala, went crazy. He ran around the stage, jumped off the drum set and climbed giant stacks of sound equipment. About a minute into their first song, he threw one of the cymbals into the unsuspecting crowd. Later, he threw an electric fan off the stage.

The music was so loud and distorted you couldn’t understand the lyrics. It got annoying very quickly. This was the perfect opportunity to refresh myself with a $5 frozen beverage and check out the other stages with my sister.

At one point, a girl walked by us, stopped, then vomited right in front of me. Everyone around us took a step back. But, upon seeing the empty space, several people looking for a better spot scooted in. They had no idea what they were standing in.

The Flaming Lips U.F.O. Show was definitely a highlight of my day. At the beginning, a giant U.F.O., complete with flashing lights and beeping noises, landed on stage. Then the band members climbed out one by one.

The best part, however, was when the lead singer, Wayne Coyne, appeared. A life-size, clear ball emerged on top of the U.F.O., and he was standing inside. He proceeded to roll the ball off the stage, then went crowd-surfing safely inside his bubble.

After he made it back to the stage, about 40 fans, dressed in different colored Teletubby costumes, greeted him, and loads of confetti and balloons were launched into the audience.

The band performed many songs and even engaged the audience in some sing-alongs. Then, during the middle of a Led Zeppelin cover, four naked girls ran onto the stage and danced around for a while.

When the day was done, I had enjoyed my first Sasquatch! experience. The bands came and went, each extremely different from the other. Some sang serious songs, some sang funny songs, and some I didn’t understand at all. But the diversity amazed me.

The festival opened my eyes to new genres of music. I now know to buy my Sasquatch! tickets, be prepared for crowds of crazy people and strange weather, and go on the first day for the best selection of T-shirts, particularly to find a size that fits.

— New Unleashed reporter Lisa Garrigues will be a freshman at Naches Valley High School in the fall.