Grandpa Goes to Sasquatch: Day 3 Recap
Sasquatch! 2014 Recap
Day 3: Sunday, May 25
By Andy Bookwalter
First up on my Sasquatch! Festival Day 3 agenda was TacocaT, who were absolutely the perfect band to play what was, for most attendees, an “early morning show.” (It was 1:00 p.m.) The Seattle band’s pop-punk-surf party vibe just plain ruled and, for approximately one million bonus points, they closed their set with “Crimson Wave” joined by a guest dancer in a giant red crab suit. At the end of the song the sound guys put on a Miley Cyrus song and since the party wasn’t over the big red crab guy stuck around and danced with the crowd. It was probably the happiest moment of the weekend for me, and I wasn’t even dancing.
Next up was Brody Dalle, who I tried very hard to like when she was singing in the L.A. punk band The Distillers. Unfortunately, I already really liked Rancid, fronted by her then-husband Tim Armstrong, and I didn’t need two Rancids. Still, Dalle’s charisma and crunchy howl are pretty potent. Now divorced from Armstrong and married to Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age, Dalle’s got a new band and a new album, Diploid Love. Like it or not (and I assume she doesn’t like it), comparisons with Courtney Love are inevitable, but to be fair she would have to be compared to the talented, angry Courtney from the early days of her band Hole. Anyway, Brody Dalle should have been quite out of place on a huge outdoor stage on a pleasant, sunny Sunday, but she put on a hell of a show. Apparently Josh and their two adorable little kids were just just out of site backstage. Sadly, no matter how much Dalle rocks, some day those kids are still going to think she’s lame because she’s their Mom.
My need to temporarily escape the main stage made me miss all but the very last song by Tune-Yards (or tUnE-yArDs, as the cool kids capitalize it), which is too bad. What I heard reminded me of Belle Stars, an 80’s band that I’ve always loved.
Brody Dalle at Sasquatch 2014
Elbow came out while I was lounging on the grass watching drunken bros doing back flips and flinging tortillas like Frisbees. I wasn’t excited about the British band’s set (or the drunken bros) so I was easily distracted when I heard a distant blast of horns between songs. (If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my many years on this earth, it’s that you NEVER ignore a distant blast of horns.) I sauntered down the hill into a funk-soul-punk blast of energy from Austin, Texas band Black Joe Lewis. A little James Brown, a little Dirtbombs and a long haired mustachioed bass player – these guys have the whole package. After discovering Shovels and Rope last year I was glad to find another great band that weren’t previously on my radar. Holy Crapamoly, what a show!
I’m not going to lie; at this point I was beat. I resigned myself to missing Rodriguez but committed to staying for Bob Mould, which was a good move since Bob ended up playing to about 25 people and a big field full of garbage. Bob was perfectly happy with a smaller crowd; I suspect that he gets paid the same either way. His set was heavy on the newest solo stuff, with a little Sugar and Husker Du thrown in for context.
A set by an old guy, played to an old guy (me), hanging out with my brother in law Todd, also an old guy, seemed like the perfect closing to my Sasquatch 2014 adventure. After hiking the long dusty trail one last time I packed up the little trailer and headed out. As I headed down the driveway I noticed that there were still drunks on the trampoline.
Read Andy’s Day 1 Recap
Read Andy’s Day 2 Recap