Sasquatch Delivers

Ah, the festival. The half-pound Gorge Burger, the ten-dollar beer, the fragrant smell of weed and clove cigarettes carried along by an occasional, much appreciated breeze. And of course, all that music.

By the time our feet hit festival ground, Viva Voce were setting up at the Yeti Stage. We got our burger and a beer and settled in for a bit of Seattlest's favorite married rock couple. We hadn't seen Viva Voce live before and we gotta say, we were impressed. The whole two-person rock band thing can be be hit or miss, but this couple easily knocks any preconceived notions outta the park. Guitarist/singer Anita Robinson was particulary amazing. Shame we couldn't stay for the whole set. Neko Case was setting up at the Mainstage so we finished our burger and started down the hill.

Neko Case was a wonder as always. As we've noted many times, we love her. Simple as that. The set itself seemed cut short a little and her band lacked a bass player because he broke his leg or something, but at least she didn't bring the hail this year. We were more than pleased with the set list as it included songs spanning the whole of her career. From Furnace Room Lullaby to Fox Confessor Brings The Flood, Neko Case brought a smile to our face.

Onward to the Wookie stage with great anticipation and curiosity. We'd heard so much about Ghostland Observatory's live show so we weren't going to miss it. For the first half or so of Ghostland's set we were totally into it, but eventually we decided we should see them in a club sometime. We just weren't feeling the daylight dance party and as the songs became more and more electro jam session we started losing interest. Probably we were just thirsty so we left, grabbed another beer and eventually returned to the Wookie for Grizzly Bear who we listened to from the comfort of the grass (our feet needed a break and we needed to concentrate on our beer). Next was a power-walk to the Yeti stage for some Aqueduct, whose set was as fun and lively as we expected, then an awkward run back to the Wookie for the boys the boys the Beastie Boys. We'll spare you the details of this fantastic set for now because it was pretty much the same as their Friday night show at the Croc, which Seattlest was fortunate enough to attend -- more on that later.

A while back, we posted something about "religious experiences" in music. Sounds like a grandiose statement, we know, but what those words really mean to us is that a show was so moving, so charged and emotionally captivating that it's difficult to put into words just how it made you feel. This is the only way we can really tell you about the Arcade Fire show. A religious experience. The sound, the performance, the staggering energy emanating from that stage -- was enormous.

Bjork closed out the day's music in a billowing bright yellow outfit, an all-female, equally colorful horn section and a set list covering songs new and old. We were slightly indifferent about seeing Bjork back when we first read the lineup for Sasquatch, but as the day approached, we grew more excited about it. She's truly an original and this may have been our only chance to see her live. There's no way her show could possibly have topped Arcade Fire's breathtaking performance, but her expansive, surprisingly bass-heavy show did seem an appropriate way to end the night. And to hear our little Icelandic sprite sing "All Is Full Of Love" was just a special moment for us.

Then we walked, like zombies of the night or cattle led through a chute, back to our campsite -- equally exhausted and ecstatic over the incredible day of music. "I wonder what ever happened to Sarah Silverman," said Mrs. Seattlest. We still don't know. None in our group saw her all day at the Mainstage. Was she sick? Too stoned for stage banter? Hanging out somewhere overseas with M.I.A.? We didn't think about it too much in our tent, as we drifted off to sleep amid the sounds of happy people with bongos.

And in the morning, in true festival fashion, we gave two girls from Berkeley a ride back to Seattle.

(Some performance pics after the jump...)