By: Gracie Roberts

Looking in from the outside, one wouldn’t be able to tell that Monday was the last day of Sasquatch! Music Festival. Rushing into the gates, the crowds were more amped up for the performances than ever. It seemed that they wanted to soak up every second of the festival that they could. And with Monday’s epic lineup, there was a lot to soak up.

Although most electronic artists started sometime around sunset, Chromeo valiantly took the Sasquatch! stage at 2:45 p.m. As the only electronic artist to perform on the festival’s main stage, the duo deserved a gold medal even before they started performing. Dave 1, David Macklovitch, and P-Thugg, Patrick Gemayel, took the stage with two of their signature light-up leg keyboards. “Intro” from Fancy Footwork welcomed the pair onstage, as well as three alluring backup vocalists dressed in black dresses and fishnet tights. Dave 1, continuously flashing his million-dollar smile, encouraged the crowd to “Make some noise, y’all!”, while P-Thugg spoke to the audience through the talk box tube in his mouth, distorting his voice into a wide range of notes. Chromeo kept their set simple, playing all the hits that their fans know and love. “Don’t Turn the Lights On”, “Tenderoni”, “Call Me Up”, “Bonafied Lovin’”, “You’re So Gangsta”, and “Momma’s Boy” were all played back to back, with fans screaming nonstop at the handsome men onstage. When the crowd started chanting “Needy Girl”, Dave 1 topped the performance off with the #1 hit.

The electrofunk duo formed in 2004 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The pair’s name describes their music style perfectly—a mixture of chrome and romeo. Their debut album, She’s in Control, was released in 2004 and made Chromeo a name for themselves. “Needy Girl” became a worldwide hit and was played by DJs everywhere. Three years later, Chromeo released Fancy Footwork, their most well-known album that was quite positively reviewed. Their most recent release, Business Casual, came out in early Fall 2010. With their slick, harmonious songcraft, it’s easy to see why Chromeo has such a loyal fanbase.

A large gap stood between Chromeo and the next electronic artist to perform. Meanwhile, sounds of artists such as Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Foster The People, and Surfer Blood filled the stages of Sasquatch! Bonobo got the electronic train back on its tracks for the last night of the festival.

Bonobo, a.k.a. Simon Green, is a musician, producer, and DJ that hails from Britain. Active since 2000, Green has also performed under the name of Barackas, and together with Robert Luis from Tru Thoughts as Nairobi and Barackas. As Bonobo, however, he has released four albums from 2000 to 2010: Animal Magic, Dial ‘M’ For Monkey, Days to Come, and Black Sands.

Playing a DJ set, the only song Bonobo performed from his catalog was “Kiara” from Black Sands. Most of the set consisted of drum and bass sounds, with complex basslines and intricate drum work. Green kept the audience guessing by changing the tempo and key of the music he was playing- and people seemed to enjoy it. He really wowed the crowd near the end of his set when he busted out a clip from “NY Is Killing Me” by Jamie XX and Gil Scott-Heron. After an impressive end to his set, fans were left wanting to know more about this artist with the name of a monkey. Hopefully, Bonobo will offer more of his work in the coming future.

With two more electronic artists to go, Sasquatch! saved two of the most high-impact, buckwild for last. After Bonobo, Skrillex quickly jumped up on stage. This was the artist that everybody had been waiting for in the Banana Shack. From the second his tracks hit the speakers, Skrillex started what was one of the most crazy dance parties that took place at Sasquatch. The mob was jumping up and down, crowd surfing hordes of bodies at a time, and sending festival security into a bit of a panic. Skrillex gave his fans what they wanted, playing and remixing his tracks “All I Ask of You” and “Kill Everybody.”

Sonny Moore, now better known as Skrillex, is a 23-year-old producer from Los Angeles, California. Moore was the former frontman for the band From First to Last. In 2008, Sonny began producing and performing under the name of Skrillex in clubs in the L.A. area. On June 7, 2010, Skrillex released his official debut EP, My Name is Skrillex. Later that year, Moore began a nationwide tour with Deadmau5 after being signed to Mau5trap recordings and released his second EP, Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites. Last week, on June 2, Moore announced the release of a mini EP and remix compilation to Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites titled More Monsters and Sprites. There has also been talk about an upcoming full-length album. Clearly, Skrillex is on top of his game and is happy to keep feedings his fans with his extraordinary music.

Last to perform, but most definitely not least, was Major Lazer at the Banana Shack stage. Major Lazer is a collaborative project flowing from the bright minds of DJs and producers Diplo and Switch. The duo’s first album, Guns Don’t Kill People... Lazers Do, was recorded in Jamaica and released on June 16, 2009. On June 20, 2010, the group released an EP titled Lazers Never Die.

Oddly, Diplo was the sole DJ present for the Sasquatch performance of Major Lazer. However, hype man Skerrit Bwoy provided the real “party” for the crowd. While Diplo kept bassy beats playing from the DJ booth, Bwoy, with vodka bottle in hand, created a sexually-charged spectacle with a featured female dancer onstage, clad in black and pink lingerie. While the two entertained the crowd, Diplo interwove his beats with samples from the album Guns Don’t Kill People... Lazers Do and punctuated them with various sound effects, such as laser gun shots and the words “Major Lazer” spoken in a Jamaican accent. The hit “Pon De Floor” and remixes of Rihanna, Swedish House Mafia, and Chris Brown kept the audience on the balls of their feet, bobbing to the heavy beats spun by Diplo.

The party that was Major Lazer left the crowd feeling out of their minds with excitement. The only thing that the concert goers could do was to continue the party at the campgrounds, which they did. The last night of Sasquatch! was one of epic proportions, and needless to say, no one ever wanted it to end. From DJ Anjali to Bassnectar to Ratatat to Skrillex, audience members were taken through an unforgettable electronic journey.

Now, we wait until Sasquatch! Music Festival 2012, where the legend will continue.

Fancy Footwork - Chromeo

Reptile's Theme (from Mortal Kombat 9 Soundtrack) - Skrillex