CONCERT: Sasquatch '09

I don't even know where to begin. (And by the length of this post, I don't know when to stop either.)
Except maybe to say, "Never forget your camera."
Followed by, "Don't stand too close to the guy with no pants."

Two adages I learned the hard way this year at the Sasquatch Music Festival.

Right now I'm in some pretty dire financial straits and in the weeks leading up to Sasquatch the $60 some odd dollars I spent on my one-day Saturday ticket months before seemed ill-advised. ($60 can purchase a fair number of Hot and Ready pizzas. 12 before taxes.)

Then the prospect of driving from Provo to the Gorge was pretty daunting. We've had a lot of good memories Idaho, but driving through your southern portion...not one of them. I only stopped to go to the bathroom there. Seemed like a fitting tribute...

At the Gorge I started thinking of the full day I was about to endure in the hot sun, craning my neck for a better view, all the while avoiding having the drunk co-eds who sneaked alcohol in plastic baggies stuffed into their bikini tops (point for creativity) from vomiting on me. I became prematurely exhausted and muttered to myself, "Maybe I'm getting too old for this stuff." (For the record, I'm 25)

So that was my attitude going into this. Pretty crappy. (And $10 for a personal pizza didn't help my already cash-strapped self)

Then the music started and 800 miles suddenly seemed like nothing. A paltry distance to travel for what I was suddenly seeing and hearing.

I forgot about the sun, I forgot about the heat, and I forgot that I really didn't have the money to be there, but I was reminded why I love music.
I was entranced. I simply could not believe that there were people not fixed 100% on the stage. Were they not hearing what I was hearing or did they simply want pleasant background music to enjoy their $9 beer?

Why I love music and who reminded me of that love...playlist style.

How much crazy fun can music be? Whatever the answer is to that question Animal Collective is pushing that. They turned it up to '11'
mp3: Animal Collective - Summertime Clothes

The Hazards of Love from beginning to end. Simply astounding. The Rake Song blew me away. Heck, the whole thing blew me away. (And as though you need any other reason to see them, they're touring with Blind Pilot. Another festival fave.)
mp3: The Decemberists - The Rake Song
mp3: Blind Pilot - Oviedo

The Kings of Leon were always meant to play the Gorge. Their huge arena rock sound deserves to be played at such venues. This song has been played in the back of my mind since. ("...given the chance I'm gonna be somebody. If for one dance I'm gonna be somebody.")
mp3: Kings of Leon - Be Somebody

And at the top of everything. The King of Whisper Rock and the Queen of the Taiga. Breathtakingly beautiful.
mp3: Bon Iver - Flume



Thanks for reading.

ALBUM: Three Rounds and a Sound

Back in January Blind Pilot were softly rocking my world, but what with a wedding and stuff going on, I didn't get around to writing about them. That's a shame, because this duo from Portland, Oregon are making some darn purdy music. And not just that, these guys tour by bicycle! And what am I doing to save the world? Hm.

Anyway, my cousin in Portland tipped me off to these guys clear back in October of last year, and while I loved the first song I heard, 'One Red Thread', I didn't immediately check them out. At the time I had a lot of new music I was cycling through, and sometimes when that happens I just have to put some stuff on the back-burner until I can really give them the attention they're due. This happened to Bon Iver and Dr. Dog's fantastic albums last year, as well as countless other albums and artists over the years. I almost never regret putting off the listening though, because when I finally am able to sit down and really take it in, I'm always glad I didn't just plow through it. Everything in it's own due time, right?

Anyway, enough about my listening habits. Let's focus on yours. Yours should include listening to Blind Pilot's debut album, Three Rounds and a Sound. It's earthy and un-forced, taking equal cues from folk music and indie rock, turning in an album of beautiful slow-burners. Israel Nebeker's breathy vocals are right at home over the bare acoustic guitar and Ryan Dobrowski's spare drumming, but that's seldom all that's going on here. Small accents and flourishes are scattered throughout, from the horn-tinged outro on 'Oviedo' to the stand-out 'One Red Thread' to the string-laden 'Go On, Say It'. 'Two Towns from Me' flirts with alt-country, with it's shuffling drumbeat and dusty organ, and 'Things I Cannot Recall' (my personal favorite) has an almost 70's retro feel wrapped up in the chorus's trumpet parts. There's a lot going on on Three Rounds and a Sound, but it never detracts from what the record is at heart - a beautiful, understated piece of music, and one you should check out.

AND if you can, you should go see these guys play with Laura Gibson in Salt Lake on Monday, March 9th. It's gonna be hot.

Blind Pilot - One Read Thread
from the album Three Rounds and a Sound (Amazon/iTunes)


Blind Pilot - Things I Cannot Recall
from the album Three Rounds and a Sound (Amazon/iTunes)