Sasquatch!, 2010

If you can overlook long lines, shifty weather and people telling you when and where to drink the overpriced beer in your hand, then you would have survived this year’s Sasquatch Festival. Did we mention the live music? Because there was a lot of live music.

Even though Sasquatch didn’t harbor some of the big names that Coachella had to offer, the talent this year was a fair representation of what an indie fest should be. (Get your Jay-Z fix on the radio, kids.) After a long wait to get in on Saturday, the festival began. Mumford and Sons put on an honest set and played well by their audience, making sure to invite a few friends for some on-stage partying. Sharing similarities in dissimilarity, WHY? and Portugal. The Man stood out and were good additions to Saturday’s lineup that was later reserved for the hipper mainstream scene. Vampire Weekend, Broken Social Scene, My Morning Jacket and OK GO left everyone partied out for the night and ready for the next morning.

Sunday’s lineup supported a DIY vibe and featured bands that always surprise us with their effortless genius whether we’re watching them perform live, or we’ve got them on at home while we make dinner, relax on www.Poker.de or host parties. The sounds from Tegan and Sara, tUnE-yArDs and Dirty Projectors complemented one another on this day in their knack for sounding strength in females. The Long Winters, Pavement and They Might Be Giants did their thing, but kind of did just that. Bands like The xx, Cymbals Eat Guitars and Local Natives stepped up to the plate and delivered more than expected (don’t they always, though?) throughout the day. We figured out that LCD Soundsystem and Kid Cudi have the ability to make people dance and sweat, and Massive Attack closed out the night with a strong and entertaining set with their unique beats and sounds.

All good things must come to an end, and that’s exactly what Monday morning reminded us. With a pretty chill lineup for the day, it was a great way to wrap up the end of Sasquatch. Phantogram and Neon Indian satisfied our hunger for the right amount of distorted electronic noise and got us ready for the soft, upbeat soul of Mayer Hawthorne & The County, who eased us in to the carefree set that The Temper Trap always offer up. What’s a festival without a little bit of country rock? The Drive-By Truckers offered that “little bit” to us. Although lacking a little bit of energy, She & Him surprisingly seemed to keep the ladies happy and Passion Pit got them dancing. Band of Horses pleased the crowd with their solid sound and a well-balanced set of new and old songs. MGMT was there to pull in their cult-like following while Ween rocked out until the end of the night as if they were the only band there.

For a short tour of the festival (and the beautiful Gorge Amphitheater scenery), get at the photo gallery here: