That that period of five years could produce 11 of the 20 greatest albums of all time may seem inconceivable, but it reveals the meaning behind Rolling Stone’s preoccupation with the late 60s: Rolling Stone concerns itself principally with the development of rock. After all, it was not nearly as interested in Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Little Richard, or any other rock ‘n’ roller as it was in the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, the Who, Jimi Hendrix–all early rockers. If we consider that pop, jazz, folk, and classical are the four fundamental musical categories, then rock ‘n’ roll and rock must be separate subcategories of pop.

During the 1970s rock splintered into numerous factions. Of those factions the most instrumental to the next decade were punk, new wave, and post-punk, all products of the late 70s. These genres informed the development of alternative.

One could argue that alternative deserves its own category separate from rock (so that we would now have rock ‘n’ roll, rock, and alternative, not to mention electronic music and hip hop). But alternative developed fluidly from rock; there was no big bang moment, like the ones that had prompted the creation of rock ‘n’ roll and rock. Every 80s alternative band had its roots in previous rock music, despite certainly adding its own unique stuff to the mixture: the Replacements came from punk and rock, Husker Du from hardcore, the Cure from post-punk. REM, the Smiths, the Jesus & Mary Chain, the Go-Betweens were all pop acts at heart. By the late 80s, alternative had been established as a definite genre, one which Sonic Youth solidified beyond all shadow of a doubt with 1988’s Daydream Nation. But as a mutation of what had come before, alternative was not in a category all its own.

It wasn’t until ’91, when Nirvana brought alternative to the fore with Nevermind, that a separate category was truly created. Once alternative was mainstream, it was no longer an alternative to anything–instead, it was all over the radio. Almost immediately, there was a retreat by artists “with integrity” back underground. What blossomed then was indie music.

People often contrast Nevermind with Pavement’s 1992 full-length debut Slanted & Enchanted, with the former representing the behemoth of 90s alternative, and the latter quirky, experimental groups everywhere deliberately avoiding the mainstream–in other words, indie groups. In a startling and quick change of roles, alternative had become Dane Cook and indie Louis CK (with a few exceptions, most notably Radiohead). The reason every critic has such a hard-on for Pavement is because, according to consensus, they were the first indie band (although one could make a case for Tom Waits or Camper Van Beethoven).

Indie was the realization of where alternative was going in the 80s; it broke away from rock, like the moon splitting from the earth, to become its own Genre with a capital G. Pavement defined the movement, but acts like Liz Phair, Yo La Tengo, Guided by Voices, Built to Spill, and Beck were quick to follow, producing music that captured the huge amounts of energy that float around after any big bang. You can hear the same contagious exuberance in rock music from the late 60s–rock was so new and so exciting. “Drive My Car,” the first track on Rubber Soul, is full of that energy, as are the first tracks from any Pavement album, or Exile in Guyville, There’s Nothing Wrong with Love, Mellow Gold… any indie album from that era you want to point to.

Unlike rock in the late 60s, 90s indie was for the most part below the national radar, at least for a while. It grew steadily until the turn of the millennium, when it overtook alternative to become the most iconic contemporary form of pop music in the country (aside from hip hop). If you had to attribute this to two albums, you might say 2000’s Kid A by Radiohead–which showed in a bigger way than Nirvana’s 1993 disownment of the mainstream, In Utero, that a major act could spurn popularity and take big risks–and 2004’s Funeral by the Arcade Fire–which brought beauty to catchy arena rock.

Since 2000 indie music has exploded into a thousand different scenes, with each year seeing wildly different releases. For example, 2011 has had Fleet Foxes’ second album, Helplessness Blues–mostly acoustic, gorgeously melodic and contemplative–but also Fucked Up’s David Comes to Life–loud enough to ruin your ears, insistently energetic, driven by electric guitars and screams, and emotive in the extreme whether that involves anger or happiness or sadness. Due to this huge diversity, the 2000s are similar to the 1970s, which added nuance and depth to the sounds and themes of the late 60s.

One more parallel between the 60s and 70s, and the 90s and 2000s is that indie currently has its own Rolling Stone, in the form of Pitchfork. (If you’re not a fan, then realize too that even in its prime Rolling Stone didn’t perfectly represent rock.) These two music publications are probably the most significant in pop history, the two that stand out historically and in terms of cultural heft. It’s no coincidence that the successor to Rolling Stone emerged in response to indie; its arrival is one of many signals of major change in pop music. As with Rolling Stone, Pitchfork is principally concerned with the creation of a new genre and the aftermath of that creation.

And in the same way that the public has come to glorify the late 60s over all other music decades, due in no small part to the influence of Rolling Stone’s characteristic hang-up, it’s entirely possible that the public will in the future look back on the 1990s and perhaps the 2000s as a phenomenal era in music, on par with the late 60s. That we are witnesses to the crazy, gorgeous, incredibly productive aftermath of the indie big bang may be just as amazing to the youngsters of tomorrow as are Woodstock survivors today.

In ’97 Robert Christgau wrote of riot grrrl-kinda-sorta group Sleater-Kinney, “One reason you know they’re young is that they obviously believe they can rock and roll at this pitch forever.” But Sleater-Kinney did keep rocking and rolling with crazy energy until the broke up in 2006. Who knows how long indie will retain its newness? During the early 70s, when rock stopped being new and became the norm, music certainly didn’t see any drop-off in quality. Hopefully indie will remain powerful in the same way, and remain that way in people’s memory once the next new Capital-G Genre comes along. We should savor being in the here and now to hear this incredible phenomenon.

Datsik’s remix of Diplo and Lil Jon’s tune, “You don’t like me,” turned the (already maxed out) energy level of the crowd and switched it to hyper speed.  People wildly chanted the simple lyrics to the song while also forming a mini mosh-pit.  Although I’d never choose to be in one of the grimey and aggressive pushing battles, I’m always extremely entertained to watch from a close angle.  Mosh-pits are a necessity to any head banging, body shaking, hand waving, colorful lighting, bass-in-yo-face type show.

When Datsik dropped his remix of the Don Diablo’s ft. Dragonette, “Animale” track, I looked back at the pleased crowd and saw smiles sweeping across the large hall.  Between the perfect bass drops, singable melodies, a touch grime, and a couple womp womps, Datsik has nailed the recipe for the perfect track….”I guess he’s got his swagga back,” (even though it’s never left his side).

There’s several developed subgenres of dubstep (brostep, moonbahton, filthstep) and Dastik covered a handful of them that night.  His variation of tracks was a solid variety which appealed to all.  I know people always question the future of dubstep and where is it going to go next, or if it’s going to last as a staple in electronic music.  Judging from Friday’s utterly insane crazy-licious dubstapades, I think it’s safe to say, dubstep will be here for the long haul. Thank gawd. I’m also thanking Datsik for providing me with one hell of the rage-your-face-off night. Gracias.

#dubstep4life

The last day of the festival and it appears it won’t be without a bang. It’s also arguably the day we’re most excited about. Rodrigo Y Gabriela on the mainstage as well as Chromeo, though just so you’re aware Dave – the camera woman was my girlfriend that you were hitting on! I’m not bitter though, I’ve just held resentment for eight months or so and have been plotting out my own electro-pop funk outfit inspired by Roger Troutman. Nevertheless, I digress. Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings will also grace the mainstage, and I cannot wait. Her soulful sound and signature image with a full band performing behind her (the Dap Kings of course) will be quite the sight.

The Bigfoot stage is also not without it’s highlights. Noah and the Whale, the guys behind the fantastic “5 Years Time” will grace the stage at 2pm followed by Vancouver’s own Black Mountain, Stornoway plus Mackelmore and Ryan Lewis.

The Yeti stage also can’t be forgotten as rapidly emerging Foster The People perform have a set, as well as Best Coast and White Denim.

And you know by now what The Banana Shack is about – comedy with Scott Aukerman, Paul F. Tompkins, Skrillex and Major Lazer.

Quite the note to end everything on.

Monday May 30th

Performing at Sasquatch’s Mainstage:
Wilco
The Decemberists
Old 97s
Rodrigo y Gabriela
Chromeo
Guided by Voices
Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings
Young the Giant

Performing at Sasquatch’s Bigfoot stage:
Deerhunter
!!!
Surfer Blood
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
Stornoway
Noah and the Whale
Black Mountain
Twin Shadow

Performing at Sasquatch’s Yeti Stage:
Best Coast
Foster the People
White Denim
Jaill
The Young Evils
White Arrows

Performing at Sasquatch’s Banana Shack:
MSTKRFT
Skillrex
Bonobo – DJ Set

Day Two: Matt & Kim and Aloe Blacc

Day Two was without question when first timer’s to Sasquatch (like myself) realize what the festival is and how it compares to the other established festivals throughout the world. Campers continued to arrive throughout the morning, afternoon and evening, more camping space had to be allocated at the sheer volume of people got closer to the 50,000 mark; the amount in tickets sold.

Disappointingly, as you’d expect, not many showed up right as doors opened to the festival grounds and so a good portion of people missed the Seattle Rock Orchestra, a volunteer community orchestra that performed a variety of excellent Radiohead covers on the Bigfoot stage. This served as a great opener for the afternoon. On the other side of the premises, Pepper Rabbit amassed a decent enough crowd opening the Yeti stage, and seemed to grab some smiles at the same time.

Throughout the day the Yeti stage had it’s moments, Vancouver’s Dan Mangan performed an excellent set with an extremely large audience surrounding the smallest stage. For the first time in the festival, someone had proven far too big for their stage as over a thousand crowded his set. J. Mascis and Wye Oak also had significant responses over at the Yeti stage. The Thermals also put on a good show closing the stage for the rest of the evening with an hour long set.

The Mainstage didn’t have as much support as it did the night before, despite having more people there. Although the crowd attendance went up to a point that ridiculed yesterday’s gathering, the enthusiasm for the music wasn’t really there.

Sweden’s own The Radio Dept. performed well early in the afternoon, they had the crowd enjoy their laid-back vibe, as did Alberta Cross beforehand, but it wasn’t until The Head and The Heart and Local Natives that the crowd really got into it. The Head and The Heart’s set won over the fans at the front of the stage as well as all those covering the hills on blankets. Their chemistry together and occasional cameos by friends leaping onto the stage from behind the setup and dancing did nothing but improve the crowd’s mood and feelings toward them. I even saw an elderly couple walk down the side of the hills leading to the Gorge, join hands at it’s base and head to the mainstay to hear them. Local Natives were also fantastic, the crowd’s response reminded me of something like an Arcade Fire performance in their enthusiasm.

As the evening drew own, the Mainstage which is of course aimed for the headliners received lukewarm responses. Large crowds stayed for Wolf Parade and Pink Martini, both of which performed well, but weren’t met with the response you’d expect from that many spectators. The same can be said for Iron & Wine’s set which came later on. The pit of fans by the stage remained consistently happy to be viewing their group, but further back the same definitely couldn’t be said. Pink Martini also suffered from their genre of music. Fantastic as it undoubtedly was, they presented a more traditional and classical sound of an era most there weren’t interested in indulging in.

Iron & Wine’s set also suffered from poor mixing. The overall sound for the first several songs was too low to reach over the whole Gorge area, and the vocals weren’t high enough. Bright Eyes felt a slight improvement, performing well, but with the fact that there was such a mellow vibe to his music, a good number of fans visited other stages. Much better sound mixing.

As for Death Cab For Cutie, the Seattle group that rounded everything up, they performed their music brilliantly. However, I don’t believe their generally mellow and somber sound is geared for this sort of audience or setting, Foo Fighters’ set the night before suited the vibe much more. Overall the mainstay was best for a few sets in the afternoon. Besides that, Bigfoot was where the real fun happened.

Regardless of the lukewarm crowd response, the camera work for the Gorge’s Mainstage was fantastic. Everything was shot and timed superbly, every moment captured and cameras alternated right on time to showcase the performances.

After the Seattle Rock Orchestra kicked everything off at the Bigfoot stage, the Secret Sisters came along and to a small crowd, charmingly performed their material. The sweet Southern country sound had the crowd smile as they performed such songs as “Why Worry,” which they prefaced saying at the heart of everything they’re just hopeless romantics.

K-Os came on shortly afterwards, considerably more sober than I’ve seen him perform at other festivals. Without question, he was focused and ready to deliver a great show, although at points the audience weren’t doing their job and had to be reminded to get involved. As he motioned around the stage K-Os lost his hat, regardless, he didn’t miss a beat and just continued on. Aloe Blacc came on following K-Os, and didn’t start performing until about 10 minutes after his scheduled set start. As anyone who has attended a festival knows, this is an issue as several artists perform simultaneously daily, so to plan who you see, you need people to be there when they should, at least he didn’t pull a Robyn though.

Aloe Blacc’s set was one of the day’s highlights. He came out to his waistcoats clad, smartly dressed band performing the instrumental to “I Need A Dollar” before quickly switching it up into other album songs. The crowd, largely familiar only with “I Need A Dollar,” lapped it up. Blacc’s smile, dancing and smooth movements won the audience over, when he imitated Stevie Wonder, Al Green and Marvin Gaye briefly, he had everyone’s attention solidified. What stood out was the fact that he really knew how to control the audience, relatively new to recognition,

Blacc had the crowd completing the hook for “You Make Me Smile” after the first verse. Clearly he was happy performing, even dedicating a song about lies and trust to the former Governor of California about his infidelities. The set concluded, of course, with “I Need A Dollar,” in which everyone in the surrounding area headed as close to the stage as possible to sing alongside.

Also on the Bigfoot stage Sharon Van Etten performed. She was interesting to watch, and it being her first festival, she was cute in her awkwardness, Early on she asked the crowd “How many of you are drunk right now?” Which at just after 4pm was met with a flurry of hand raises and roars.

The Antler’s followed Sharon van Etten, and though they did perform well, their melancholy lyrics didn’t work as hoped with their audience. Many were confused as to how to react, although the music behind the lyrics was enough for some.

Matt and Kim though, Matt and Kim! I was a fan before, but they’ve now sold me on whatever they decide to do in the future. One of the best shows I’ve seen, and the best Sasquatch saw that day. Clearly a little drunk, Kim sat behind her drums and Matt behind the keyboard/sampler. The duo, known for their massive hit “Daylight” showcased how to command a stage by literally taking the reigns of their show’s horse. Covering various songs throughout their catalogue, and covering portions of others, Matt and Kim were nothing if not energetic and passionate. Both couldn’t seem to lose their smiles, nor drive for showcasing their music.

Kim stole the show though, she would frequently get out from behind her drums to come to the front of the stage and try to get the crowd to sing along to chorus, but more often than not she would jump up onto her bass drum and stand, dancing along or doing some form of interpretation to their material. She was quite literally the happiest drummer I’ve ever seen, and the audience went on and on and on.

At one point they started dancing along suggestively to “It Takes Two,” they headed back behind their instruments and Matt remarked about Kim “I like to say Kim’s a freak on the streets, and a lady in the sheets.” To which she responded “I wasn’t a lady this morning” before laughing and dropping her jaw staring at an audience member.

Truly, I didn’t expect them to blow me away today. But they did, their personalities were shown on stage.

Throughout the set, when Kim graced the mic she referenced the mainstage, “Let’s make them hear this over at the mainstage!” Thankfully, their set despite it’s huge crowd, was at the 2nd largest setup. People were able to gather as close as possible and still see the actual performers as opposed to their likeness on a larger stage’s screen. Kim even crowd surfer in an unusual manner, asking members of the audience to put their hands up, she picked a cluster of strong looking guys with a few girls around them, and stood on their hands (there were several clustered together holding each ankle. Once comfortable she was stable she began dancing and gyrating above. She did this a few times over.

Of course, the set concluded with “Daylight” followed by Kim running off the stage and jumping to hug everyone in the front row, almost segmenting where she gave her hugs.

Robyn showed up 30 minutes late which was a huge disappointment. Her set was fantastic, the electro sound, with her ad-libbing and surreal stamina, dancing throughout her set and being as sexually suggestive as possible. Had she started earlier, an overly drunk man may have been able to consume his three beers, but “Beverage Enforcement” spotted him, confiscating the beers and marking his arms with “X”s s as not to allow him to be served later and to show that he’d been flagged for potentially drinking too much and the consequences being dire. Robyn’s set was a colourful feast, despite her lateness she left people satisfied. That was unless they wanted to catch the beginning of Sleigh Bell’s set which was meant to fall immediately after Robyn’s at the Banana Shack.

The Banana Shack was packed on Saturday. The Trailer Park Boys really kicked that off, filling the large tent and the Red Bull bar which faced opposite it. Now, although they were amusing, I think the Trailer Park Boys are better suited to their television show, live they were alright, bringing up the Kokanee promo girls on stage and generally loafing around.

The Glitch Mob, also late arrivals, were fantastic. Though many found the Shack’s setup a little too much to handle. There was literally no room to move inside the tent as it spilled outwards, the rave type setting kicking in alongside The Glitch Mob’s flashy light setups.

Sleigh Bells came on at 10pm, and just like The Glitch Mob, the tent spilled out way beyond it’s boundaries as people

Sasquatch day two proved the price of admission on this day alone. Very curious to see how MSTRKRFT will go over at the Banana Shack considering the audiences at Glitch Mob and Sleigh Bells. The main statement to be underlined with today’s events is see Matt and Kim plus Aloe Blacc live. No if’s, ands, or buts.

Definitely a great day for comedy with Reggie Watts (who most have seen performing on Conan’s TBS show) and Tim Minchin.

Music wise, MVRemix will be checking out Modest Mouse, Yeasayer, Gayngs, City and Colour and Major Lazer – if possible. That’s the double edged sword with an event like this, you can get the best of both worlds by spending lesser amounts of time with certain performers. The problem is the fact that by doing so you end up not being able to enjoy as great a view, or a full set.

Sunday May 29th:

Performing at Sasquatch’s Mainstage:

Modest Mouse
Flaming Lips
Flogging Molly
Cold War Kids
Beach House
Tokyo Police Club
Fitz and the Tantrums
The Drums

Performing at Sasquatch’s Bigfoot stage:
The Moondoggies
Ratatat
Yeasayer
Archers of Loaf
City and Colour
Gayngs
Sam Roberts Band
Villagers
Wheedle’s Groove

Performing at Sasquatch’s Yeti stage:
Das Racist
S. Carey
Cotton Jones
Mad Rad
Basia Bulat
Other Lives
Talkdemonic

Performing at Sasquatch’s Banana Shack:
Major Lazer
Flying Lotus
Reggie Watts
Hari Kondabalu
Tim Minchin
Gold Panda

Heading east along the I-90 for what seemed like an eternity was how the Sasquatch began for us and the tens of thousands of similar campers. The journey concluded at 724 Silica Road, Quincy, WA where we ended up joining a humungous car queue with signage which wasn’t far back enough. Instincts guided us into the right car lane for campers at the general campground, however many didn’t follow the same path of luck and you couldn’t help but see the panic as they tried to get into the ever mounting line.

After finally making it through into the camping area, we had the privilege of joining yet another queue inside the grounds to reach our soon to be allocated spot. The Gorge and bulk of the Sasquatch activity was completely out of sight once we had been told where to set up, and battling the rain and wind to erect our tent became the next obstacle to overcome.

Once ready, we made our way to the Gorge Amphitheater. Two main issues stuck out though; we weren’t checked for ID or tickets prior to entering the campground, that seemingly wasn’t any sort of a problem. However reaching the gates was a different story, maybe you could camp without a ticket, but not get involved in the show as a few friends of ticket holders found out. Above that was our trek to the campgrounds whereby it took us half an hour to exit the camp site, and a further ten minutes to pass over the pathway leading to the Gorge. I overheard a passer by remarking “I think by saying your four day ticket includes camping was a bit of a scam,” clearly a Sasquatch first timer, he wasn’t impressed. The scenic view proved worth it.

The camp site for general camping was organized chaos. The grass was easily a foot high, and it wasn’t the soft flexible kind; being in a sunny field, it was a mixture consisting of a good amount of sharp straw like dead grass. Once you placed down your tent, it was actually fairly comfortable to sleep on. The issue came though with your camping neighbours, but that’s to be expected. You also had scalpers parading around continuously.

Consistently on the walk from the campsite to the Gorge you would overhear criticisms. I timed the walk for myself; 20 minutes to get there, and of course, 25 or so back as it was uphill. “The Great Wall of Quincy” is how it looked from the start of the path. It wasn’t that long a walk per se, but considerably more than first timers expected.

I had aimed to interview Rival Schools, but the group were in a fair amount of a rush, so after performing Sasquatch 2011′s opening set and winning over some new fans, they left for their next date.

Scottish Biffy Clyro performed on the Bigfoot stage, with the band’s signature shirtless tattooed and for their lead singer, scruffy look. However, as we’re all well versed, appearances can be deceiving as they graced over their lengthy catalogue of course touching on the hits “Many of Horror (When We Collide)” and concluding with “Mountains”.

Bob Mould was the first to grace the main stage, and despite his legacy, he may not have been the best pick for opening day on the mainstage. With the beautiful Gorge backdrop, the location is designed for huge audiences and despite a great performance, a large audience he didn’t draw. The Bronx also fell significantly short of that later on, even musing “I still can’t see no motherfuckers dancing!” Despite the fact that they started off poorly, the shredded vocals group did manage to draw a larger crowd as their set went on. But were they there for the Bronx or Death From Above 1979 who would later follow?

Over on the Bigfoot stage, Against Me! held their own. Ranging in their material from thrash rock to captivating more mellow songs, the audience continually grew and became more engrossed in the group’s set.

The Amphitheater on this 2011 Memorial Day weekend started having it’s potential realized when Death From Above 1979 graced the stage. The sun was descending, with inspiring views as it did so, and the temperature was dropping, but the un-obstructed visibility from the sun was becoming apparent and did nothing but help Sebastian Granger’s five year wait to perform again with DFA1979. Their cool form of punk won over the thousands eclipsing the Gorge’s hills.

DJ Anjali and The Incredible Kid’s set at the Banana Shack drew a huge raver crowd, touching on Indian inspired sounds amongst others to form the DJ set, Anjali’s audience spilled out of the “shack” and surrounded the area, loving every second of it. For those uninterested in the Foo Fighters, Anjali presented a very contrasting option. Excellent set.

Predictably the Foo Fighters took in the largest audience, despite people leaving to enjoy the campsite. The group of course played the Foo hits, touching on call and response chants and having their audience really enjoy the band. Grohl was definitely a captivating frontman, clearly a little drunk, cursing repeatedly, but keeping his mid song musing entertaining and sharp. As soon as the next song began, there was no shred of evidence that he wasn’t clear in his thoughts as the group performed their material amazingly live, Grohl bopping to the beat, his head resembling the movements of how the muppets were brought to live, quick snapped head bobbing. There was an amusing point in which Dave Grohl tried to get the crowd to perform alongside one of the group’s newer songs, but not enough knew it to sing along when the music stopped. Regardless, Grohl smiled, quipped about them being older Foo Fighter fans and continued on.

The first day of Sasquatch was confusingly fantastic. Despite my campground issues, for which I don’t blame the other campers, more so myself (what was I to expect? Lights out after the show and everyone falls asleep?), the offerings by the festival on the first day were definitely impressive. I’m still looking for the actual Sasquatch though, there are lots of frauds wearing his image in the crowd, but their outfits seem removable.

If you didn’t care for I’m From Barcelona’s previous two efforts, probably no use acquainting yourself with their April release Forever Today. Being said, this LP does not disappoint on it’s own terms, churning out a diverse bunch of upbeat, jolly-matic jingles at a smart pace. What’s more, Forever Today is the band’s grooviest effort yet, as ”Skipping a Beat” and first single ”Get in Line” capably demonstrate. Lead singer and songwriter Emanuel Lundgren deserves some credit too, for trying to create a more melodically nuanced album this time around; numbers like ”Game Is On” and ”Forever Today” indicate Lundgren is well aware of euphoria’s finiteness.

Ultimately, Forever Today is a worthy release if you’re looking for that breezy summer feel, far from the daily grind. I also view it as  I’m From Barcelona’s most complete effort yet. Taken for what it is, this album is bound to provide even the most cynical listeners with at least some enjoyment. OK, maybe that’s going a little far.