Sasquatch Festival

Who: The Pixies, Modest Mouse, Wilco, Kanye West, The Arcade Fire, Ray LaMontagne, Jem, Matisyahu, Smoosh, Bloc Party, U.S.E., Aqueduct, AC Newman & more
When: May 28, 2005
Where: The Gorge Ampitheatre, George, WA

I have been meaning to get to this mini-festival since its first year of existence, but never before could I scrounge enough motivation (or accompanying friends) to make it to the Gorge on Memorial Day weekend. Even the stellar lineups of past years weren’t enough to get me there. This year, however, I had no excuse. With a bill as strong (and as eclectic) as this was, I had to get to lovely George, Washington for what has quickly become a nice little younger brother to the bigger, better Northwest summer festival, Bumbershoot.

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Mike Doughty

Who: Mike Doughty with Kelly Buchanan
When: May 17, 2005
Where: Neumo’s, Seattle, WA

My friend insisted that we get there when the doors opened at 8. I was not very interested in doing so, but obliged all the same, expecting to sit in total boredom for 2+ hours until Doughty came onstage around 10:30. We actually go there before eight, which made me all the more frustrated. Then, while standing in line (waiting for the doors to open!!), there was a bit of commotion, and out walked the man himself, Mike Doughty, guitar in hand.

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Josh Rouse

Where: The Triple Door, Seattle, WA
When: April 18, 2005
Who: Josh Rouse with Tim Seely

Always one of my favorite artists, the pop-country Nebraskan Josh Rouse writes songs that are perfect for those lazy summer days where you can just enjoy the day slowly creeping into twilight. I finally saw him perform live tonight in support of his excellent new album, Nashville. He’s finishing up his tour right now, but lucky for us in Seattle and Portland, he came by himself. The crowd at the luxurious Triple Door, a sort of cabaret room that hearkens back to old-time dinner entertainment, was treated to a top-notch performance by one of today’s most underrated singer-songwriters.

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Ben Lee

Where: The Crocodile Cafe, Seattle, WA
When: March 30, 2005
Who: Ben Lee with Har Mar Superstar and Zykos

Wednesday night’s show at the Crocodile was a bit surreal for this lifelong Ben Lee fan. The last time I had seen Ben headline a show at the Croc he played to maybe 100 devotees, introducing a batch of new songs that would become his 5th album, Awake Is the New Sleep.

Sure, it was a tour between albums, but the crowd then was like most of the Ben Lee shows I have attended over the years: knowledgeable fans who knew Ben as something more than “Claire Danes’ rocker boyfriend.” That’s about all people seemed to know of Ben. He got little mainstream press or radio airplay, and his constantly evolving musical style (befitting an artist who recorded his first (solo) album at age 15.

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Before Sunrise/Before Sunset

The more I explore the work of writer/director Richard Linklater, the more I realize what a unique talent he is. A Texas slacker with a penchant for long tangential dialogue, he’s not afraid to let his characters and his words lead the action in his films. So after having seen and loved Dazed and Confused, Waking Life, Slacker and School of Rock, I finally got around to seeing Before Sunrise recently. Thanks to Netflix, I was able to make it a double feature by viewing the sequel Before Sunset immediately afterward. I’ll admit right off it’s a bit odd watching these two films back-to-back. They were filmed nine years apart, and if I had seen the first all those years ago, I would have probably thought a sequel would be a bit of a cop out and cheapen the power of the original. But I would have been wrong.

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