This was kind of an unusual event for a few reasons; who wants to go to a party on a Sunday night when they’re probably too dunk to drive and have to wake up early in the morning for work? The people who are dedicating to the Sasquatch Festival! Still, the lineup was on a live feed and would be on the internet immediately after its announcement. The tickets to this party were also free! But it was on a first come first service basis and there was no guarantee you’d get in even if you got a ticket. Picking up tickets was also inconvenient for the working class as you had to drive to a specific Verizon outlet store to pick them up. To me, this just meant the people who were dedicated enough to come to the show were there to have a good time, for sure. Also, the Steelers lost, so it was a good day.

I missed most of Mad Rad but Das Racist were a showcase of weirdness like I’ve never seen before. They are a hip hop band who beats are mostly based in dub step but this is where they cease from normality. They jump around on stage, making strange faces, taking off their shoes, waving their butts in the air, and pretty much having a good time. They reminded me of a group of friends who were making music in their bedroom but were surprised to find out they were on stage.

The Thermals were fun, fast, and hard, like always. One of the things about The Thermals is the progression in their sound; when they first started as a band they were recording with a tape deck and with album they’ve gained a cleaner sound. I had seen them a couple weeks earlier in a hole in the wall venue in Olympia, which, based on the venue’s capabilities, sounded very raw and brought out some nostalgia of their old sound. The Showbox makes most bands sound pretty great and on this occasion The Thermals were no exception. They raced through a quick set but the crowd was more than willing to jump up and down and let loose. Especially with hits like “Here’s Your Future,” “How We Know” and “It’s Trivia”.

When they came back for an encore members of Das Racist, Mad Rad, and Champagne Champagne came out and ran through an improvised rap on top of Thermals’ “Never Listen to Me”. This was a party!

There was also a lot of suspense in air for Sasquatch’s lineup. For months people have been anticipating who could possibly playing and based on the crowd reaction, most were satisfied. The lineup includes: Foo Fighters, Modest Mouse, Death Cab For Cutie, Wilco, The Flaming Lips, Iron &Wine, Bright Eyes, Bassnecktar, Wolf Parade, Chromeo, Local Natives, Matt & Kim, The Decemberists, !!!, Deerhunter, Best Coast, Surfer Blood, The Globes and many more.

Check out the complete lineup and ticket information here: http://www.sasquatchfestival.com/#/