Sasquatch is calling my name.

No, the hairy mythical beast is not calling my name; the Sasquatch Music Festival, held at the Gorge in Washington state, is beckoning me, and I must heed its call.  Music festivals are a music lover's Mecca, a pilgrimage that needs to be made at least once in a lifetime.  I have been to two festivals in the last two years, Coachella near Palm Springs in late-April 2007 and Lollapalooza in Chicago in August 2008.  It's difficult to adequately describe a three-day music festival.  There are so many bands in such a short amount of time that scheduling conflicts often force you to miss a band you'd like to see in order to catch another, seemingly endless walking from one stage to the next, overpriced food and beverages that you have to purchase in order to survive, hordes of people everywhere, often intense heat and/or humidity, very little shade for refuge, and yet, it is a glorious experience.  Nowhere else can you get so much quality live music at one time, and for me that trumped all the discomfort and expenses of the experience.  Though at the end of both three-day festivals I've attended, I have been absolutely exhausted.  Happy but exhausted.

Earlier this year I had spoken with my brother, Mike, and my friend, Devin, both of whom have joined me in the music festival pilgrimage, and we all expressed desire to attend a festival this year.  Coachella announced its lineup, and it was decent, nothing too special.  Then Bonnaroo, held in Tennessee, announced its lineup, and it also failed to impress.  We then hoped that Sasquatch, held in late May, would field a decent lineup.  It seemed like our best bet because it's not too far away, the weather will actually be quite bearable, and it's in a beautiful location we all want to see.  

Well, Sasquatch announced its lineup earlier this week.  I was looking through the bands, making note of the bands I would want to see, when I came upon the trump band, so to speak:  The Wrens.  The Wrens are pretty much my favorite band.  Justin and I once drove to Seattle in late-December to see The Wrens play a benefit show, and then we slept a few hours and returned to Utah.  It was an unforgettable trip, and The Wrens's show was remarkable and intense and everything we had hoped it would be.  Seeing them play again has always been a dream of ours, but due to the band's circumstances, they very rarely play anywhere near Utah.  But once I saw that they were scheduled to play Sasquatch, I knew I had to be there.

Thus, I announce my intention to attend the 2009 Sasquatch Music Festival.  Here are a list of the bands that I am excited to see perform: The Wrens, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Decemberists, Animal Collective, Bon Iver, Doves, Shearwater, TV on the Radio, Of Montreal, Calexico, The Walkmen, The Dodos, John Vanderslice, Fleet Foxes, Grizzly Bear, Explosions in the Sky, Girl Talk, Blitzen Trapper, and some others I'm not too familiar with at this point but will be before the festival rolls around.  There are apparently more bands to be announced in the future, and I'm hoping some more big name (big by indie standards) groups will be announced.  I'd be ecstatic to see The Arcade Fire or the National again, but the already-announced lineup still makes me happy.  The Wrens are really enough for me, but I'll take those other acts as well.

Justin, we really need to make this happy.  I think that Mike will be down with it, but I still need to talk to him.  Anyone reading this who might be interested in attending an awesome music festival, let me know.  The 3-day pass is selling for $154 until the beginning of March, then the price will go up.  This will likely be my big road trip of the year, and I am already very excited for it.  I'll work on getting some music from the Sasquatch lineup on my playlist soon.  Anyway, I just had to say a few things about this festival.

That's all.