Renee McMahon

My Morning Jacket closed out Saturday May 29 at Sasquatch! 2010.

​Here's what we brought back from Sasquatch! 2010 on Saturday, May 29:

-- Shabazz Palaces, and the Festival's First Seriously Disappointing Set
-- Your View at the Gorge Is Now Obstructed By a Huge Black Garbage Bag
-- Notes: OK Go, Edward Sharpe, Fool's Gold, and Brad
-- The National's Live Set Stands Up Against Its Records
-- Posies, Peeps, Broken Social Scene, and Other Loose Photos
-- Vampire Weekend Plays To Its Base, and a Neko Case Boycott

Check back all weekend long for Reverb's coverage of Sasquatch! 2010. And see how you can contribute to our coverage.

More My Morning Jacket photos after the jump.

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Renee McMahon

Vampire Weekend played the Sasquatch! Music Festival at the Gorge on Saturday, May 29.

​Who: Vampire Weekend
When: 8:30 p.m.(is), Saturday, May 29
Where: Sasquatch! Mainstage

Nothing more needs to be said about Vampire Weekend's set than what the kid who bummed a cigarette from me said: "Now, if you want to get a whole bunch of white people dancing like morons, that's the band. And I was in there dancing like a moron."

This kid also almost got himself thrown out for being too drunk. He said he was interrogated by some officials, but talked himself out of getting tossed because he could answer their sobriety quiz: What band is playing the mainstage tonight? (Answer: My Morning Jacket.)

Also, this kid has been boycotting Neko Case since her Sasquatch! set was rained out in 2006. He knows he'd like her new stuff, but won't listen to it. And he won't go to her shows. It's like he blames her for the storm. Or something.

After we stood up and were parting ways, I guy walked up to the kid and asked, "Hey man, can I bum a cigarette." "No," the kid says, "but Chris does."

Thanks, dude!

Here's a look for some more of the photos Renee McMahon has shaken out of her bag from Saturday at Sasquatch.

Check back all weekend long for Reverb's coverage of Sasquatch! 2010. And see how you can contribute to our coverage.

Renee McMahon

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Renee McMahon

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Renee McMahon

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Renee McMahon

The National played the Sasquatch! Music Festival at the Gorge on Saturday, May 29.

​Who: The National
When: 7 p.m.(ish)
Where: Sasquatch! Mainstage

It shouldn't really be surprising that The National's slow-burning, low-humming, melodramatic pop would make for the evening's most exhilarating set. Augmented by a trumpet, trombone, and multi-instrumentalist (viola, etc.), the Brooklyn band roared from the stage--not quite with a wall of sound--with a wave of noise that crested and crashed at the culmination of every song.

Frontman Matt Berninger, who doesn't play guitar or any other instrument on stage, leans into his songs while double-fisting the microphone. Watching him think and react to the music is as exciting as listening. When he's not singing, he paces around the stage, anxious to find something to busy his idle hands, often screaming to nowhere. It was an intense scene, possibly one that could easily get laborious after another 45 minutes.

Check back all weekend long for Reverb's coverage of Sasquatch! 2010. And see how you can contribute to our coverage.

More photos after the jump.

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Renee McMahon

Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes played the Sasquatch! Music Festival at the Gorge on Saturday, May 29.

​Here are a few quick notes on a few of the sets I saw on Saturday.

Check back all weekend long for Reverb's coverage of Sasquatch! 2010. And see how you can contribute to our coverage.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, Bigfoot Stage, 4:05 p.m.(ish): Great ensemble rock in the proud tradition of the E Street Band and the Arcade Fire. Only hella sloppy. One of the more exciting indie-rock show I've seen in years.

OK Go, Mainstage, 4:25 p.m.(ish): Far more similar to Spoon than I remember, only sparklier, thinner, perhaps slightly less artistic heft, definitely less self-aware, and with a better live show.

Brad--filling in for canceled Wale--Mainstage, 3:20(ish): I overheard an adorable family with a couple teenagers checking out Sasquatch! together talking about "Wale's" show on the mainstage. Dad: "I didn't hear one bit of rap. I heard guitar. He had a great guitarist." Wale had to cancel. The band was Seattle's Brad. And the guitarist was Pearl Jam's Stone Gossard. Dad knows a good guitar player when he hears one.

Fool's Gold, Yeti Stage, 1:20 p.m.(ish): This jam band, posing as an indie rock band, loves them some African pop. By 2 p.m., Saturday, it was the early set to beat.

Renee McMahon

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Renee McMahon

The new look from the front of the stage.

​Update: Live Nation confirms that the garbage bag will be back at the Gorge for the 2011 season.

A person used to be able to look directly at mainstage artists and see straight through to the Columbia River and the surrounding hills. It was the most picturesque view in rock and roll. Today you look out on a big black garbage bag.

Sure, everything surrounding the stage remains gorgeous. But its affect on the aesthetic cannot be overstated. It used to look like bands were performing on top of the Columbia River. Now if you're standing in front of the stage you can't see the river and hardly the hills. It's all Hefty chic.

A spokesperson for LiveNation, owners of the Gorge, said the new curtains were part of the new stage installed before this season (Saturday's was the first show), and were installed for weather proofing.

Check back all weekend long for Reverb's coverage of Sasquatch! 2010. And see how you can contribute to our coverage.

It's now view-proof, too.

Before the garbage bag.

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Renee McMahon

Shabazz Palaces played the Sasquatch! Music Festival on Saturday, May 29 at the Gorge. Check back with Reverb all weekend for news and notes from the festival.

​Who: Shabazz Palaces
When: Noon(ish), Saturday, May 29
Where: Sasquatch! Mainstage

"The beat will always save us."
-- Shabazz Palaces

I really didn't expect to take a turn for the hate this early, but if you were one of the 20,000 or so people who did not make it to Shabazz Palaces much anticipated show opener on Saturday, don't beat yourself up.

Shabazz Palaces don't get out much, and they should. Their pulse-shaking beats mashed up with and African drums, maracas, congas and a mbira -- a plucky, melodic percussion instrument -- make some of the most exciting hip hop -- or any genre of music, for that matter -- coming out of Seattle right now. But at this point, Shabazz -- who perform sparingly -- know their way around the recording studio far better than a stage.

MC Ishmael Butler, of Digable Planets fame, spent the bulk of his noon(ish) set hunched over his laptop and synthesizer, only occasionally venturing out in front to engage the crowd. And far too many of the sounds coming off stage were ripped directly from the album, only to be augmented with rhymes and percussion. It was a surprisingly unimaginative set from a band who otherwise appears to have ideas and creativity in spades.

Check back all weekend long for Reverb's coverage of Sasquatch! 2010. And see how you can contribute to our coverage.

Renee McMahon

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Vetiver

​It's funny, just the other day I was telling someone there wasn't anyone I JUST HAD TO SEE at Sasquatch! this year. Which is true, kinda (though this list is a lot longer than I thought it'd be). I'm not going to die if I miss any of these sets, but the schedule is so full of bands I'd like to see, it's going to make for a great year of wandering.

We'll be out there blowing up this blog with words and pictures all weekend. Be sure to send us your pictures, too!!!

Among the sets I'm going to be sure to catch some of:

Saturday:

Shabazz Palaces, 12:05, Sasquatch Stage
If I'm gonna leave town before 7 a.m. it's gotta be for a good reason. And right now, seeing these guys hustle through the breakfast slot is about as good as it gets. Who knows, maybe Vampire Weekend will get food poisoning and they'll ask Shabazz on for an encore in the more populated evening.

The National, 7 p.m., Sasquatch Stage
Never seen 'em live, and I've always assumed they'd as boring live as their records are exciting. We'll see.

My Morning Jacket, 10 p.m., Sasquatch Stage
Set time says 10 to 11:30. If they can hold them to 90 minutes it'll be a miracle. These guys are great live, but their sets can get laborious. I foresee an early exit.

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​So, you're going to Sasquatch! Lucky you. You must be so excited. Your ears must also be burning like chili hell-fire with all the poo-talking those of us who don't get to go are talking about you. Not because we don't like you. Just because we're jealous.

Yes, we're going to have writers and photographers on site, but we'd like to enlist your help covering this year's festival. And since everyone--and we're pleading guilty here--is all kinds of obsessed with the Hipstamatic iPhone app (examples at left), we want to mash up your love of the app with our desire for photos of your Sasquatch! experience.

Enter the Hipstamatic Photo Contest: Sasquatch! Edition. It works like this:

​-- You send us your best Hipstamatic shots from Sasquatch and of those of us sitting here in the office all weekend long will post the true greats to Reverb.

-- Send your Hipstamatic shots email it to my lonely, non-Sasquatch!-going ass at zwilder@seattleweekly.com.

-- Any photo is fair game - on your way there, at the campground, from onstage (if you're playing), from backstage (if you can get there), anything goes. But please, no Honey Bucket photos. Those things give me nightmares.

-- We'll be handing out awards, including a deluxe, vinyl edition of The Black Keys' latest, Brothers.

Send 'em early and often. And check back for winners, highlights, and a few shots from the gutter.

Cheeseburgers served under this sign. You don't need directions, just look for this sign as you approach the Columbia River from I-90.

​For those of you heading to Sasquatch! from Seattle, Vantage--the smaller than small town tucked up against the Columbia River--is the last metropolis you'll drive through before you hit the Gorge. There are various free/pay camping spots around Vantage and just across the river, but even those of you who are tempted to simply pass through should give this town a second look. Aside from filling up on gas and Bud Light and a visit to the petrified forest, Blustery's is the best reason to apply the brakes.

Blustery's is a better-than-average burger-fries-shakes haunt that's used to serving folks who have spent the day in the sunshine/have had too much to drink, etc. God bless them, they're patient. The shakes are thick and satisfying, and the burgers hit the spot. In that part of the nowhere of the state--with respect to the good people who call Vantage home--you could be served hockey pucks on a bun (like they do at the Gorge) and go back for seconds. These guys step it up.

In addition to their burger fare, they'll be serving a breakfast buffett on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. It's $8.95 and all you can eat. I've seen it--looks great--though have not tasted (long story). This weekend's hours are 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, and 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sat-Mon. Additionally, Blustery's will be hosting a classic rock cover band on Saturday night at 8 p.m. for those of you who have had your fill of the Gorge for the day.

Remember, Sasquatch! doesn't have to just be about zeitgeist bands and $27 beers. Play your cards right, and you will be rewarded with an enhanced appreciation of the state many of you call home. So sprinkle some of your big-city dollars around on your way over.