Day Four of the 10th annual Sasquatch Music Festival provided one final dose of music for the Gorge’s weekend warriors. Lines were much shorter, be it from lower attendance or more efficient security searches. The weather complied again, aside from a short rain storm during Rodrigo y Gabriela’s set. And sets from Chromeo, Foster the People and Deerhunter made sure the festival went out on a bang.
[All photos copyright of Live Nation]

With George Lewis’ first American show after a European tour, he shared that the crowd was much hairier than Europeans. “It’s very noticeable,” he noted. Fortunately, that was not the highlight of the set. Twin Shadow’s deep synth, neo-80’s tunes and their emotional undertow kept the Bigfoot stage packed early Monday.
Stream Twin Shadow’s Set

On record, Chrome’s electronic, funky, dance jams can come across a bit zany. But in the live setting, their party ethic translated phenomenally. The main stage and lawns above were as packed for Chromeo’s afternoon set as any headliner’s counterpart. Inflated orcas, neon signs and a good ole’ fashion dance party on the upper hill “chill zone” were all part of Chromeo’s stand-out show. Reminiscent of  Vampire Weekend’s performance last year, Chromeo had the entire Gorge bowl on it’s feet and dancing. Plus their three dancing backup singers were a delightful addition.

I really wanted the Guided by Voices set to be awesome. The original lineup was reunited. I had been diggin Bee Thousand in the weeks leading up to Sasquatch. And Chromeo left the main stage as crowded as could be. But as an early indication, the crowd’s poured out of the main stage for GBV’s set. Juxtaposed against Chromeo’s max-capacity show, GBV had perhaps the smallest main stage crowd of the weekend. I am not sure exactly what was missing, but honestly it was one of the least enjoyable performances of the weekend. Perhaps it was rust from not playing together. It could’ve been a poor mixing. And maybe Pollard, who was taking rips from a whisky fifth on-stage, was just drunk. But altogether the show was definitely a disappointment.

Coming into Sasquatch, the Austin, TX guitar rockers had just released their new album D and a captivating video for single “Drug”. Their Yeti Stage set offered incredibly tight guitar work with polished and intricate rhythms. The gang might have benefitted more from an early festival show, as festival goers were a bit more weary by the Monday evening set. But all in all, it was an excellent representation of what White Denim has been perfecting.

Stream Sharon Jones’ Set

It seems Foster the People have been blowin up, certainly due in part the the ridiculously catchiness of “Pumped Up Kicks”. So when they arrived to the Yeti Stage Monday evening, the crowd was more than ready. All of the material from their Torches album was received well. But closer “Foster the People” ignited the crowd. It was the first time I’ve ever seen multiple people dancing atop the roofs of neighboring concession stands.

The flamenco guitar duo began with few words, a theme which ran through the set. But words were quite unnecessary as their blisteringly quick, mechanistically intricate rhythms captured the attention of the crowd. The ventured through gems from multiple albums’, featured a Jimi Hendrix tribute song and ushered in the weekend’s strongest rainstorm.

Stream Wilco’s Set