The Great Caravan: Sasquatch! 2012
I once heard it described perfectly by a man dressed in neon swim trunks and a Native American headdress – “it’s the one weekend of the year where I just don’t care.” I couldn’t have said it better myself, shirtless man in feathers. He was talking about Sasquatch! Music Festival, the event which takes place every Memorial Day Weekend in what is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful places on the planet – the Gorge in George, Washington. People from all over the Pacific Northwest and beyond pack their Subaru Foresters with good friends and camping supplies. As 5-time festival-goer, it’s where I truly feel I can be myself – dance like no one’s watching (even though a lot are), belt out indie jams like I have the best voice in the world (even though I very much don’t), and make some lasting memories with people I love dearly.
The following is a play-by-play of Sasquatch 2012 from the eyes and ears of Lucas Ruiz. Here, ladies and gentlemen, are some moments I found particularly noteworthy:
Friday, May 25th 2012
– We got things started by dancing to the Icelandic beats of Of Monsters and Men and the non-Icelandic but equally great beats of Santigold. Also, for those of you who haven’t seen Santigold live, do it – her backup dancers are reason alone to catch that show (watch this to see what I’m talking about.)
– While making it to the front for Santigold, we also happened to make friends with a security guard who gave us some extremely valuable information.
– We took that valuable information to a white fence on the side of main stage, which lead us on stage to dance with Girl Talk in front of thousands of concert-goers. To be on stage in front of that many people was completely terrifying and thrilling at the same time, giving me crazy adrenaline I’ve never before experienced. To be that close to Girl Talk and immersed in a sea of neon, confetti, and pyrotechnics felt like an absolute dream – one that I still cannot believe was real life.
photo credit: Josh Darr of Paste Magazine
– On stage I managed to display way too many embarrassing dance moves for way too many people to see. I also channeled a pretentious rockstar and decided it would be a good idea to blow kisses to the audience. [INSERT FACE PALM HERE]
Saturday, May 26th 2012
– The morning started off on the wrong foot with a ginormous wind tunnel which ran through our campsite and lifted our canopy into midair and dropped it about 80 yards away, hitting some Canadians’ cars. And let me tell you, they weren’t very happy about it…eh.
– After getting everything settled at the homestead/campsite, we made the trek back into the amphitheater where dramatic event #2 happens: Lucas gets a little sicky-sick and makes a trip to the medical tent, missing Blitzen Trapper AND The Civil Wars. [INSERT FACE PALM #2 HERE] From what I hear, both were phenomenal – and the Civil Wars’ Joy Williams was especially radiant as she was 8 ½ months pregnant and singing beautiful folky music AT THE SAME TIME.
– We relive middle school/high school with The Shins. Don’t worry, I closed my eyes and swayed back-and-forth during the entirety of “New Slang” so I could fit in with the rest of the crowd.
– The day was finished off with a dose of Jack White before heading back to the camp site for some late night Top Ramen and hot dogs.
Sunday, May 27th 2012
– This day we made sure to start off on the right foot with the glorious sounds of Hey Marseilles (a band that’s very near and dear to many SU students’ hearts). A few pals and myself thought it would be a great idea to display our adoration to the band – and what better way than painting their name/the lead singer’s name all over our bodies! And boy did we make a splash – so much so that we were even mentioned in The Stranger’s recap of Sasquatch. Read for yourself:
“Two shirtless dudes in the audience at Hey Marseilles had the singer’s name painted onto their chests, and were yelling and pointing during their pretty orchestral pop set. I’m hoping that band will be getting more fanatical hockey-style fans in the future.” – Bree McKenna, The Stranger
– After our display of affection, we continued the love at Blind Pilot while enamored by their sweet, sweet harmonies. I was sure to display some serious Oregon-pride the whole way through while also expressing my affection for their banjo/dulcimer player, Kati (a true gem).
– The Head and the Heart never fails to make me swoon, and this emotion-tastic set was no exception. Even the band was crying and the end, it was that damn good. Tender moment of the festival: When my friends and I formed an arm chain and swayed back-and-forth while singing “Rivers and Roads” – completely obnoxious, but oh so cute.
– Beirut may have Kim of Matt and Kim beat as being the happiest drummer of all time. HE WOULD NOT STOP SMILING – and it was perfect. Also, Beirut’s Zach Condon’s singing voice is (in my book) that of a God.
– To close the evening, Bon Iver. Speechless.
Monday, May 28th 2012
– Due to the fact that it took us a bit longer than expected to rally and pack up all of our gear, we missed Grouplove (it was a sad day). But we made up for it with Ben Howard, who is a master on the guitar and one of my personal favorites.
– Fun. was…well…fun! They certainly knew how to put on a show, as well as make a crowd forget that they were sick of hearing “We Are Young” on the radio about 800 times a day. But jumping up and down while screaming “weeeeeeeeeeeeee aaarrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeee yooooooouuuuuunnnnnngggggggggggggggggg” was pretty awesome.
– And to finish off Sasquatch weekend, we took some time to enjoy some Feist and the view of the sun setting over the Columbia River. Breathtaking.
On the trek back, we made sure we feasted on some Taco Bell – best Taco Bell meal I’ve had in my whole life.
photo credit: Leanna Robb
Now that I’m fully immersed back in the real world, typing this out while I pretend to be working it’s bittersweet that the weekend in the middle of nowhere is now just a memory. But at least it’s a hell of a good one, where the lines of what’s real and what’s not are completely muddled (in a good way). Only at the Gorge will you find me covered in face paint while fist pumping to music and coming close to shedding a tear all at the same time due to an intense connection to music. It may all sound a bit ridiculous from an outsiders’ perspective, but for me it is real life – actually no, it’s not real life at all. It’s heaven. And as my man in the feathers put it, “I just don’t care.”
First off, I owe a huge apology to my dear friend Lucas for how late this post is. I’ve actually had it for over a month (at least,) but haven’t taken the time to format it into a guest post. Typically reviews of shows/festivals come out shortly after they occur for relevancy, but I dropped the ball on that one. However, Lucas will be spending some time with me at this weekend’s Capitol Hill Block Party – therefore it only makes sense that I share with you all how much of a music lover he is also! I have known Lucas since my freshman year of college and he is not only someone that I look up to and admire, but he is just one of my favorite people to be around in general. There is never a dull moment with him and he can keep me laughing for DAYS. He also does (what he thinks) is a pretty good impression of my laugh and he never lets me forget it.
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