Renee McMahon

Gettin' down to Pretty Light, Friday night at the Sasquatch! Music Festival at the Gorge.

Sorry, I'd have more to report had we not sat for 2-plus hours in the short stretch of road between the 90 and the Gorge. Oh, well. We got to know 95.7, the region's version of Seattle's Jack FM (only better curated).

Mark Lanegan (7:45 p.m., Bigfoot Stage): the former Screaming Trees frontman, and the guy who plays the Beast character to Isobell Campbell's Beauty (the pair's 2010 release, Hawk, is an absolute classic) - is becoming (or has always been) the Bad Blake character of the post-'90s grunge class. The black-eyed crooner grips the microphone, huskies through his parts, and staggers off the stage in a gait that is both mightily deliberate and mysteriously tender. It's not clear if his minimal interaction with the audience and absense of charm should be taken as distain for the scenario (or, worse, laziness), or if his modest performances are the full extent of the possibilities of a troubled soul. Sadly, I missed most of this set (thanks, traffic!).

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Renee McMahon

Here's one that "RC" was kind enough to leave on the post, "The Sixth Sign That You're an Aging Hipster (Or, My Big Fat, 96-Hour-Energy Beef With the Sasquatch! Schedule!)." Here, he explains why he, too, opposes putting the best bands at the tail end of the festival.

I sort of have to agree. Day four being "hangovers and diaper rash" couldn't be more on target. Reading this brings me back a few years when Silversun Pickups and Fleet Foxes played on Monday. I was elated to hear that both were playing on the same night but the last night?!

I ended up getting a chance to hang out with the Pickups back at their portable and ended up finishing a bottle of Crown and a few other things. I (barely) remember waking up at 6am on Tuesday morning realizing I had to drive to work and nearly pissing my pants as I realized the honey buckets had locks on them. Sort of over it, I just pissed right there in front of everyone. Long story short, miserable and heat-stricken, I projectiled out of my window driving to Seattle, with a dead phone battery and about 75 cents in my pocket. And, I'm blaming all of this on putting the best damn bands on stage on the last day!

Renee McMahon

The last should be first!!!

I want to tell you about a small tree at the Gorge. I don't know what kind it is, but it's small, strong, and perfectly planted -- along with a row of others -- atop the Gorge lawn.

At Sasquatch! 2011, I got to know this tree well. Every evening during last year's festival, after several hours walking/running/huffing between stages, I caught a little relief, parked it under the tree, and allowed myself to take in a seated set of mainstage entertainment, relaxing my back against the unnaturally strong trunk of this up-and-comer.

What made this tree special from all the rest is that it was always vacant. It was all mine, all the time. Until Monday, the fourth day of Sasquatch! I arrived at the tree early that day, as the long weekend had taken its toll. I was shocked, and disappointed to discover that my tree had become the equivalent of some homeless hipster encampment.

Look, four-day festivals are great, but the laws of physics, pocketbooks, and PowerBars dictate that we, as humans -- even chemically-enhanced humans -- are more exhausted at the end of a long weekend in the sun than at its onset. This is why it's F^CKING INSANE that the best day of Sasquatch! is its last, and that Beck, its biggest headliner (Jack White's new album is a monument to meh; Beck's new cover of "I Only Have Eyes For You" is sublime), doesn't go on until 10 p.m. on the final night of the festival, while FRIDAY, the day when everyone has the most energy, is a tasteful disappointment (we want to see Mark Lanegan and Pretty Lights, but the day could use more ... BECK!).

Why is it that the best band -- OK, the biggest band, the one more people want to see than any other -- has to go on last? Why can't the band that the most people want to see go on at a time when most people want to be at the festival?!?!?!?!

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Jo McCaughey

Jack White is playing the Sasquatch! Music Festival at the Gorge over Memorial Day Weekend. He'll be joined by Beck, the Shins, Pretty Lights, Bon Iver, and dozens of others. Four-day passes (which include camping) are on sale now for $315.

Sure, it's his job to sell tickets. But Sasquatch! founder Adam Zacks has a strong track record of accurately predicting when his four-day festival at the Gorge over memorial day weekend will sell out. And it usually does. Yesterday Zacks told me that he expects the fest's four-day passes -- there are no single-day tickets this year -- to sell out within the next week.

Here's what else I learned about Sasquatch! 2012 yesterday during my conversation with Zacks:

1. Coachella's 2012 gamble -- two weekends of identical lineups -- means great shows for Seattle during the off week week (such as Radiohead). "The positive of Coachella doing that it turns out is it caused a lot of bands to have to do something between the two weekends so we're getting heavy concert traffic in Seattle in April," says Zacks, who is the head booker for Seattle Theater Group, proprietors of the Paramount, Moore, and the Neptune. "I'm on the one handed grateful for that. But, you know ..."

2. That also means some of the bands play Coachella, contractually, can't play other festivals, such as Sasquatch! "When you're paying enough money, at a certain point it becomes reasonable," Zacks says. "While we try not to do that, we have the luxury to not have to go there that much because of the relative size of Sasquatch."

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The NPR-pledging "Tumblr whites" of Sasquatch 2011

The first thing I thought when I heard the line-up announcement last night was: man, Sasquatch is never going to be Coachella. That's fine--Sasquatch is smaller, prettier, more chill. And it's not just the gorgeous natural scenery, either. In recent years, Sasquatch has gotten a lot of mileage out of the heavyweights of soft, safe indie rock--what some critics were calling "indie adult contemporary" in their year-end conversations a couple months ago: Death Cab for Cutie and the Decemberists last year; a whole host of bands this year. Bon Iver, The Shins, Beirut, The Head & The Heart, Feist, M. Ward, St. Vincent, Shearwater, probably a lot more down the list depending on how wide a net you cast for this stuff. (Even shapeshifting prankster Beck has been most popular in recent years for his gentler Mutations/Sea Change/"Lost Cause"-type material.)

These are popular acts, deservedly so in most cases, with extremely broad appeal. No one's ever really offended by Feist, you know--at worst, they might just not pay much attention. And demographically speaking, the "adults" audiences for this contemporary indie are probably not much older than the folks freaking out about seeing a reunited Pulp or Refused. But those Coachella "gets" were thrilling, the sort of stuff that sent me scrambling wondering if I might go camp out in a California polo field for my first time ever; this year's Sasquatch announcement, and especially its headliners, were more like, "Oh yeah, of course, cool."

A few other trends, and some genuine reasons to get excited this year after the jump.

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unpluggedmusings.com

In the cold of winter, it's hard to imagine a bright, heavily populated Gorge Amphitheater, the hot sun dipping low behind the stage. It's sure fun to though, and it's even more fun to imagine who will soundtrack those many beautiful moments. The natural highlight of any long, late-spring day (whether a clear blue sky is provided by Mother Nature or one blanketed with clouds) is far and away the long, drawn out, hazy sunset; the heavens thrown into a vivid oil and watercolor state. So the question is posed: Who's songs sound prettiest at sunset? I've thrown out a few of my Sasquatch!-related picks below (one possible selection for each day), and even found some relevant Youtube clips. Enjoy!

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Renee McMahon

Beck!

Yes, yes, yes, your favorite mid-level indie band is playing Sasquatch! 2012 (full lineup after the jump), but when the lineup was announced tonight at the Neptune during the Sasquatch! launch party, I got most excited about the headliners at the top of the bill. Jack White, who recently announced a solo record, is a huge get for fest. And Beck -- who last played (w/puppets) in 2006 -- is a most welcomed marquee act for the four-day festival/retreat at the Gorge that runs from May 25 to 28. Other headliners include Bon Iver, Pretty Lights, Tenacious D, The Shins, Beirut, Girl Talk, and The Roots.

If last year's insanely-quick sell-out is any guide, buy your tickets now if there's even a chance that you'll be going. You'll have no problem selling them if you can't make it. Four-day passes (w/camping) are $315 each. The pre-sale starts at 10 a.m. on Feb. 8, and the general on-sale starts at 10 a.m. Feb. 11. Check out the tickets page here for more details.

OK, that concludes our Sasquatch! Launch Party coverage for this evening. Check back in the morning for comprehensive analysis and snark.

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The season for summer festival hype has already started--so far, all we know about Sasquatch! 2012 is that it'll run from May 25-28, during Memorial Day weekend, per usual. Things will get more interesting this Thursday, February 2, when the festival's entire lineup will be announced at the Sasquatch! Launch Party at the Neptune Theatre. The show is all-ages, will be hosted by Luke Burbank, and will feature performances from Jose Gonzalez' Junip, Matthew Caws of Nada Surf, and local hip-hop trio The Physics. Tickets are $15, but Reverb's giving away not one but two pairs right now.

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Are they wearing Pendleton?

I promised myself I would refrain from Sasquatch! speculation this year, since I've proved so horrible at it in the past. But for a moment, let's allow ourselves to consider how great it would be to have the Beach Boys -- with Brian Wilson! -- to close out one night of Sasquatch!

The band announced this morning that Wilson, Mike Love, and Al Jardine will get the Beach Boys back together with Bruce Johnston, and David Marks. They'll be making a new album, and are planning a 50-date tour that starts in April (the full press release is after the jump, and I think everyone should read it). The only confirmed stop is at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

Oh, man. Wouldn't It Be Nice!

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OK, here's what we know now about Sasquatch! 2012:

-- The 11th annual festival will again be four days, and run from Friday, May 25 to Monday May 28.

-- No, we don't yet know the lineup. It will be announced in February.

-- Yes, it will once again be at the Gorge.

-- Four-day passes go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. via sasquatchfestival.com.

-- No, we don't yet know what the prices are. Four-day passes are $290, which includes camping. There are no additional ticketing fees. It's a flat $290.

-- Yes, holders of four-day passes will be allowed re-entry for the first time. This means you can wander between the campground and the festival grounds at your leisure. This is a killer addition.

We'll update y'all more more details as they become available.