Sasquatch Music Festival

Story by Jordan Minnick 

| Published Sep 7, 2010

At the 2010 Sasquatch! Music Festival, My Morning Jacket’s performance was all an MMJ enthusiast could hope for. Other festival goers and lesser-fans were happy to sit tight at their main stage performance until the Deadmau5 late show. But with a two-hour set and so many song-turned-jams, the show wasn’t for the weary or weathered as the cool night progressed.

MMJ shared festival headliner recognition with Massive Attack and Ween. The Gorge Amphitheater on the banks of the Columbia River has hosted Sasquatch over Memorial Day weekend for eight years, and going strong.

With nightfall elapsed by the time MMJ took stage, the show played up the darkness as a pattern of flashing white lights followed by immediate pitch black.

The band-to-crowd energy ratio was high and amazingly matched. Also matched was the amount of equal material the band used from albums “It Still Moves,” “Z” and their last release “Evil Urges.” Their hit “I’m Amazed” got a crowd chorus going a few songs deep into the set. MMJ played the lengthy “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 2” prior to the encore.

James was quite the showman, stomping across stage in silver moon boots. The weirdness of the theatrical lead singer gained momentum as he draped his jacket cape over one arm in Dracula-manner and loomed here and there. Not to mention the band had a life-size animal idol that resembled a donkey standing upright center stage.

Not even reunited indie-pioneers Pavement, who played before Massive Attack the next night, could outperform MMJ. They wrapped up day one of the festival with a devilish grin and an unexpectedly superb performance.