Sasquatch
We got back from Sasquatch this morning at about 6, dead exhausted. It was a great weekend.
Bands I have now seen perform whom I hadn't last Friday: Okkervil River, Fleet Foxes, New Pornographers, Modest Mouse, REM, Tegan and Sara, The Presidents of the United States of America, Death Cab for Cutie, The Cure, Flight of the Conchords, Mars Volta, The Flaming Lips. Whew.
I had been looking forward to Okkervil River since getting into them a couple months ago, and their concert didn't disappoint. It was at one of the smaller side stages, so it was a much more intimate experience. They did a great set, including a longer version of John Allyn Smith Sails that I was completely lost in. But best of all, they seemed to be having a really great and time and absolutely stoked to be performing there. Great energy.
REM was a lot of fun, even if Michael Stipe kind of came across like he was playing himself as a character. The Cure was also great, including a very impressive (first!) encore, but goddamn was it a long set. Death Cab did their wonderful new single but it was a slightly shortened version. Seeing Flight was great, though I couldn't quite match the rabid screaming enthusiasm as everyone else in the pit. But they did The Humans are Dead, which as a, ahem, professional roboticist I am forced to approve of.
And then there was The Flaming Lips. We had to leave after the first several songs because of the long drive ahead, which was very disappointing. Because it was the most awesome visual spectacle I have ever seen. There were bright orange construction workers, Google Earth animation, giant spacemen, dancing Teletubbies, naked go-go dancers, several tons of confetti and a huge UFO which descended to the stage and spit out Wayne Coyne in a hamster ball. I am still somewhat in shock at how overwhelming it all was. And I was completely sober at that point, honest.
But while the concerts were fun, it was the camping situation that won me over. The social vibe of a giant field filled with people in various stages of inebriation turned out to be surprisingly pleasant. I kept wandering around just to talk to people and see what was happening (and get offered all kinds of stuff -- wearing a kilt turns out to be a great way to get free whiskey). I circumnavigated the field following one of the outermost wheel ruts left by the irrigation system. It gave me a great excuse to walk through people's camps and introduce myself as an explorer from distant lands.
It rather makes me want to do Burning Man.
Bands I have now seen perform whom I hadn't last Friday: Okkervil River, Fleet Foxes, New Pornographers, Modest Mouse, REM, Tegan and Sara, The Presidents of the United States of America, Death Cab for Cutie, The Cure, Flight of the Conchords, Mars Volta, The Flaming Lips. Whew.
I had been looking forward to Okkervil River since getting into them a couple months ago, and their concert didn't disappoint. It was at one of the smaller side stages, so it was a much more intimate experience. They did a great set, including a longer version of John Allyn Smith Sails that I was completely lost in. But best of all, they seemed to be having a really great and time and absolutely stoked to be performing there. Great energy.
REM was a lot of fun, even if Michael Stipe kind of came across like he was playing himself as a character. The Cure was also great, including a very impressive (first!) encore, but goddamn was it a long set. Death Cab did their wonderful new single but it was a slightly shortened version. Seeing Flight was great, though I couldn't quite match the rabid screaming enthusiasm as everyone else in the pit. But they did The Humans are Dead, which as a, ahem, professional roboticist I am forced to approve of.
And then there was The Flaming Lips. We had to leave after the first several songs because of the long drive ahead, which was very disappointing. Because it was the most awesome visual spectacle I have ever seen. There were bright orange construction workers, Google Earth animation, giant spacemen, dancing Teletubbies, naked go-go dancers, several tons of confetti and a huge UFO which descended to the stage and spit out Wayne Coyne in a hamster ball. I am still somewhat in shock at how overwhelming it all was. And I was completely sober at that point, honest.
But while the concerts were fun, it was the camping situation that won me over. The social vibe of a giant field filled with people in various stages of inebriation turned out to be surprisingly pleasant. I kept wandering around just to talk to people and see what was happening (and get offered all kinds of stuff -- wearing a kilt turns out to be a great way to get free whiskey). I circumnavigated the field following one of the outermost wheel ruts left by the irrigation system. It gave me a great excuse to walk through people's camps and introduce myself as an explorer from distant lands.
It rather makes me want to do Burning Man.
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I was at Okkervil River, Fleet Foxes, New Pornographers, REM, Flight, Mars Volta, and the Flips. I saw several utilikilts, but not yours it seems. I thought a couple times I saw your hair, but I was mistaken.
You certainly should have stayed for the Flips. They were all the way amazing (as usual, as this was the third time I had seen them.
I was down in the pit for the Mars Volta, and ... They seem to have a pushy/shovey fanbase.
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I wouldn't normally bother with the pit, but my friends were into it and I wanted to stick with them. It wasn't usually too bad, but the rush to get close when they opened the second wall was always a bit scary. I just don't trust mobs. Also, I like sitting. By the time The Cure was done I'd been standing down there for 5 hours.
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Read my mind, did you? The next time I go, I want you there. Or... or... I'll cry little tears mixed with alkaline dust.
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This is my very favorite part of this post. :D
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I was first introduced to Okkervil River live accidentally - they opened for the Decemberists once, and as they sang "and when I killed her, it was so easy that I wanted to kill her again," I fell in love.