Camp Revival

I attended Sasquatch on Saturday. Being the poor planner that I am I brought zero food, I didn’t slam any shots in the parking lot and I brought $0 in cash with me to pay the obscene $9 beer price. All of these failed efforts meant that I was most likely the only sober person at Sasquatch. Wallowing in my sobriety I made my way to the Wookie stage to get a good spot for King Khan & The Shrines. I had heard a lot about this band prior to Sasquatch, but had never acted on any opportunities to see them live. This band kicked so much ass live. Despite the lack of alcohol in my system King Khan & The Shrines had me feeling drunk; so drunk that I started movin’ my hips to the music, which is an incredible feat for a 25 year old white male.

If you are unfamiliar with King Khan & The Shrines, I’ll make it very simple for you. James Brown’s soul has been reincarnated into a Canadian (King Khan). Some of my favorite songs that the group performed were: “Land Of The Freak”, “Welfare Bread” and “I want to be a Girl”. One antic of note was when The Shrine’s saxophone player fully depantsed himself during “I want to be a Girl” and played the remainder of the song with his parts blowing freely for the entire audience to see. Although they are strange, it’s antics like the aforementioned that set apart King Khan & The Shrines from traditional Motown acts. They are Motown without the rules. The next night Mark Sultan played a show in Seattle and was accompanied by a couple members of The Shrines. We were able to chat with some of them at the show and they turned out to be incredible guys.

I caught some photos of King Khan & The Shrine’s performance. I also posted my favorite King Khan live video (thanks Punkrockvids.com). Enjoy!

Sasquatch! Music Festival is a natural exhibition of the awe inspiring visuals that the Gorge Amphitheater provides its patrons. The performances are diverse in many respects, but all serve as compliments to the Gorge’s overwhelming beauty. I will be highlighting a band that will serve as a perfect compliment to this setting; this band is Black Moth Super Rainbow.

Black Moth Super Rainbow (BMSR) started in 2000 under the name Stanstompingcaterpillars. It was not until 2003 that the five piece ensemble brandished the name BMSR. They hail from the rural woods of Western Pennsylvania; think Witness. I regard this band’s sound as impressionist as the experience of listening to their music often feels like an after thought. BMSR will be performing on the Wookie! Stage on Monday at 1:40PM. Their performance should be a relaxing departure from Deerhoof, who perform right before them on the Sasquatch! mainstage (Way to go Deerhoof! You were born for the mainstage!). Camp Revival will be at the BMSR performance chillin’ with a $11 $9 PBR tall boy >:(