Yeah Yeah Yeahs Sasquatch 2009

Yeah Yeah Yeahs provided the highlight of Sasquatch Saturday. From opener Heads Will Roll all the way through to the closing Y Control, Karen O and company delivered the goods. Highlights included Black Tongue and Kiss Kiss, but in truth every song rocked and left me wanting more more more. The entire festival is talking this morning about the awesomeness of Karen O's stage presence and the greatness of Nick Zinner's guitar. Even predictable songs like Maps got a slightly different treatment (a lovely acoustic guitar from Zinner) and attitude (Karen screaming a dedication to all "the f&*king lovers in the Gorge tonight!")

Please, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, come to the Front Range soon!

Animal Collective Sasquatch 2009

Animal Collective played during the hottest part of the day Saturday at Sasquatch. They led off with Summertime Clothes followed immediately by My Girls, pleasing pretty much all in attendance. They emphasized new material throughout, and their set sounded great reverberating through the vastness of the Gorge.

King Khan and the Shrines Sasquatch 2009

King Khan and the Shrines brought full energy to the 90 degree Gorge Saturday. A flapper dancer, Khan's headdress, cape and staff, and a partially nude and tucked band member during "Wish I was a Girl" kept an over-heated crowd at full attention.

Passion Pit Sasquatch 2009

Day 1 of Sasquatch Festival started off with Passion Pit. A huge crowd gathered for the boys, but it dwindled as the live performance paled next to their recorded work. Disappointment for some fans, others stuck it out.

Teenage Bottle Rocket w/ Cobra Skull, Laramie, WYs

Laramie punk heroes Teenage Bottle Rocket appeared in their home town this month, much to the delight of the overflow crowd full of locals, students, and roller derby dames.

They played like they meant it, offering fast short punk songs one right after the other well into the night.

Reno openers Cobra Skulls got the crowd going with their blend of Spanish rockabilly punk.

For Laramie, this is an exceptional sized crowd:

Monolith Festival announces dates

It looks like September 12-13, 2009 at Red Rocks is a GO for Monolith this year. Hooray!

Not too many details yet, but they are soliciting suggestions for bands to include in the lineup on their facebook page...

Elton John, Laramie, 4-4-2009

The Rocket Man visited wee little Laramie this weekend to the delight of thousands of fans in the Arena Auditorium.

The set up looked rather different than traditional events in the arena, namely graduations and basketball games:



He opened with Your Song and proceed to play, just Sir Elton and the piano, for nearly three solid hours. He spoke movingly about Matthew Shepard and part of the playlist was less rocking and more sentimental. Even my cold crusty heart melted during Candle in the Wind, a song I formerly despised. Crowd favorites included Crocodile Rock and Benny and the Jets. I was delighted to hear Levon. The event raised over $550,000 for the Matthew Shepard Foundation and the crowded hotels and snowed in guests did wonders for the Laramie economy!



[p.s. my pictures are so-so, check out Saranay's for better images!]