NO HEADLINE
With three stages and close to 30 bands on the lineup, the beast that is this year’s Sasquatch Music Festival will rage all day Saturday at the Gorge Amphitheatre.
The Gorge is opening its 2005 concert season with one of the hippest, hottest shows to hit the region this year.
Three stages – Sasquatch, Wookie and Yeti – will host some of the most name-dropped bands on college radio’s heavy rotation. The Sasquatch mainstage will feature the Pixies, Modest Mouse and Wilco. The Wookie stage sees The Frames, The Be Good Tonyas and Menomena, while the Yeti stage gets Visqueen, Blue Scholars and She Wants Revenge.
There is plenty of ground to cover and, with so many bands spread throughout the concertgrounds, it could be easy to miss any of the day’s top shows.
With that in mind, here is a list of the must-see bands for Sasquatch.
Tickets are $55, through Ticketmaster.
Pixies
Sasquatch stage, 10:30 p.m.
The Pixies answered prayers of indie-rock kids everywhere when the erratic quartet reunited last year for a national tour.
While the clashing personalities of singer/guitarist Black Francis (aka Charles Thompson, bka Frank Black) and bassist Kim Deal were enough to keep the Pixies apart for more than a decade, the demand from legions of fans enticed the Pixies to get over themselves enough to embark on a historical tour that consistently sold out shows in less than five minutes.
The unlikely reunion allowed the Pixies to bask in the limelight the band never really enjoyed in its younger years.
Like a 17th century artist that becomes immortal only in death, the Pixies became revered as the most influential, pioneering band of the late 1980s alternative rock.
But the bulk of their fans didn’t know who the Pixies were until they already had broken up.
Modest Mouse
Sasquatch stage, 8:30 p.m.
Name-dropping Modest Mouse doesn’t mean nearly what it used to now that the once-underground darling has signed with Sony and its music can be heard on car commercials.
And yet, hipsters still deniably repeat to themselves: “I liked Modest Mouse before it was cool.”
Influenced by bands like Pavement and the Pixies, the Issaquah-based indie-art-rock bunch made its start on the West Side’s K Records before launching a full-scale assault on the unsuspecting mainstream public.
Kanye West
Sasquatch stage, 7 p.m.
With his Midas magic for hip-hop production and surprising prowess with wordplay, Kanye West is on his way to being regarded as the best producer on the mike since Dr. Dre.
He’s hammered out classics for Jay-Z, Talib Kweli and Scarface. But he apparently kept the best material for himself. On the shoulders of his debut album, “The College Dropout,” West won 10 nominations at the 2005 Grammy Awards. “The Dropout” won the Grammy for Best Rap Album; “Jesus Walks” won for Best Rap Song.
Wilco
Sasquatch stage, 5 p.m.
Wilco is well-known, even loved, for taking Americana textures and balling them into strangely orchestrated pop arrangements that are as baffling as they are beckoning.
Throughout Wilco’s decade-long career, its warped take on alt-country has, at times, been overshadowed by label beef and roster changes leading up to and following the release, or rather unrelease, of “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.”
The Arcade Fire
Sasquatch stage, 3:45 p.m.
“Funeral,” The Arcade Fire’s 2004 debut album, is aptly titled.
Raked with organ, bass, synths and percussion, The Arcade Fire’s odd mix of bossa nova, punk and classically laced songs was recorded amid a string of family tragedies for the band’s members.
Bloc Party
Sasquatch stage, 12:45 p.m.
It’s a bit odd that Bloc Party gets confused with the retro-wave ‘80s-reborn bands of today, especially because Bloc Party applies what the band calls “worthy variations” on existing templates.
The Be Good Tanyas
Wookie stage, 5:15 p.m.
This trio of ladies is fast-catching heads for its hauntingly ambient renderings of old-time country-tinged folk rock.
Warped Tour
Punk rock summer school is on for another scamper across the country.
The 2005 installment of the Warped Tour – now in its 11th year – again features a multitude of Mohawk-clad, chain-wallet toting punk rockers, beating the summer heat for their chance to impress with 30-minute sets, playing 49 shows in 59 days.
This year’s class includes the Offspring, MXPX, My Chemical Romance and a host of eager classmates looking to join the ranks of Warped graduates Blink-182, Green Day and Eminem as pop-culture icons, or at least the luxury of taking consecutive days off between shows.
The tour hits the Gorge on July 9 for a 2:30 p.m. show. Tickets are available for $31.25 through Ticketmaster.
As always, the tour features an entourage of sponsor booths and attractions. The “Girlz Garage” aims to be “a resource for all things relating to the center of what is going on for girls in music, action sports and all things hot for girls in 2005,” according to www.warpedtour.com. There is even a “Reverse Daycare,” with sound-proof headphones, air conditioning and beverages for parents to enjoy while their children mosh and crowd surf in the sun-beaten desert of George, Wash.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers with the Black Crowes
Pairing Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers with the Black Crowes for a summer tour sounds like a no-brainer, which is why it’s so surprising that it’s actually going to happen.
This summer’s tour, with the Crowes in the supporting spot, may as well be dubbed the “True Rock ‘n’ Roll Revue.” Petty and company bring the songwriter’s repertoire of bar-band staples to the Gorge for a Labor Day weekend show on Sept. 2 at 7 p.m. For music fans, it’s a convenient stopover on the way to Seattle’s Bumbershoot. Tickets to the show are available for $29.95 and $59.95 through Ticketmaster.
The notoriously tumultuous Crowes – known as much for the fighting of brothers (vocalist) Chris and (guitarist) Rich Robinson as its no-holds-barred breed of rock ‘n’ roll – recently resurfaced after a seemingly permanent hiatus that began in 2001.
During the time away, Chris Robinson formed the New Earth Mud and released a self-titled album in 2002 and “This Magnificent Distance” in 2004. The band toured constantly and its run included shows last summer with the Allman Brothers Band. Rich Robinson also worked the solo angle, releasing “Paper” in 2004.
ZOOMA
The 20-something job market has been flooded for the past couple of years. Some believe a lack of available entry-level jobs is the problem.
Here’s another theory: It could be because legendary jam band Phish broke up, so the dedicated, countryside-touring Phish-heads had to get jobs.
OK, maybe not.
But one thing’s for certain – once Jerry Garcia died and the Grateful Dead died with him, Phish led the next generation into a world of free-spirited, noodle-scaled goodness.
And Trey Anastasio led Phish.
Anastasio will bring his virtuosic guitar style to the Gorge for the Zooma Tour on July 31 at 5 p.m., which he is co-headlining with blues-rock-folk heavy Ben Harper.
The tour features an activity village and two stages, with G. Love & Special Sauce, Z-Trip and more to fill the day with chilled-out tunes.
Tickets are $45 through Ticketmaster.
Festival at Sandpoint
For 23 years the Festival at Sandpoint has brought a rich and diverse lineup of live music to Memorial Field on the shores of Lake Pend Oreille in Sandpoint.
That tradition continues Aug. 4 through Aug. 14 with alt-country dynamo Ryan Adams, Grammy-winning Latin jazz and funkateer Poncho Sanchez, and indie-folk singers The Be Good Tanyas paired with Celtic songstress Natalie MacMaster.
Individual show tickets are available by calling (888) 265-4554 or through TicketsWest (800-325-SEAT or www.ticketswest.com). Tickets also can be purchased at www.FestivalAtSandpoint.com.
Here’s the full schedule:
Aug. 4: The Spokane Symphony performs Broadway favorites from the likes of George Gershwin and Andrew Lloyd Webber. $26.95.
Aug. 5: Ryan Adams and his new band, The Cardinals, make a Northwest debut. $29.95.
Aug. 6: Super Bluegrass Saturday features The Drew Emmitt Band plus Sam Bush. $36.95.
Aug. 7: The Spokane Youth Orchestra along with arts and games are the main attractions for the Family Concert. $5.
Aug. 11: Sandpoint goes Canadian with The Be Good Tanyas and Natalie MacMaster. $29.95.
Aug. 12: Six-time Grammy winner Ronnie Milsap brings his crossover country hits. $29.95.
Aug. 13: Super Salsa Saturday sees Rolando Morales and Poncho Sanchez. $29.95.
Aug. 14: The Spokane Symphony does the best of Beethoven. $29.95/adults, $9.95/those younger than 18.