Saxsquatch brings folklore-filled Bigfoot Rave to San Diego

I’ve always heard of the mystical and elusive character Saxsquatch: a wily upright ape-man, wandering around the Pacific Northwest with instrument in hand. The legend of Saxsquatch actually dates back to the first saxophone ever created by 19th Century musician and outdoorsman Gilhorn Von Bugle Sax, who carelessly left his invention on a tree stump during an overnight camping trip in a dastardly uninhabitable stretch of woods of what is now known as Oregon. The sax prototype was never seen again. Ever since that day, reports of a jazzy beast have flooded the Internet, popping up out for a rare photo on conspiracists’ websites… or to simply rave you silly.

This is a story of the latter.

Music Box in the Little Italy district of downtown San Diego was subjected to a night of folklorish revelry on Sunday, April 14th, when Saxsquatch and friends took over the venue for what they deemed the “Bigfoot Rave”. Flyers circling social media encouraged all to “dress in what they believe in — bigfoot, alien, and fairy attire encouraged”. Obviously, this was going to be a weird one, just the way I like it.

Arriving at doors to get a front-row spot in this standing-room-only joint, the charismatic deejay Knob Ross started spinning away, getting early bird attendees on their feet and dancing. Honestly, if there was ever someone or something to believe in in this world, Bob Ross is it. Well done, sir. With afro and hat shading the electric rays emanating from the stage, Knob Ross spun a fantastic set of throwback mashups, ending with his own rendition of the Backstreet Boys‘ “I Want It That Way”. Brilliant.

Next up was high-tempo DJ Hyper Potions (aka, Ian Tsuchiura), known for blending his love of video games with EDM. The moment he dropped the “Overworld Theme” of Super Mario World, the whole place went BANANAS. Clearly, there were a lot of classic gamers in the house.

Last, but certainly not least, was the main manimal himself — Saxsquatch. Little known fact: the bandana-wearing bigfoot we saw before us was once the saxophonist for The Marcus King Band before Planet of the Apes took over. Sticking to mainly classic rock jams remixed to an electro beat, Saxsquatch went through a litany of familiar tracks. Obviously, “Careless Whisper” was involved. When the backing tracks started playing Sting, Saxsquatch reminded the crowd that “no matter what, I’ll be squatching you.” What a legend.

As the night turned up, a very special guest was announced — GoldFish!!

Hot from the first weekend of Coachella, this South African electro dance duo drove all the way to San Diego from Palm Springs for this surprise appearance; considering they had to turn right back around for Coachella Weekend Two, this live collab was beyond unexpected. The whole place erupted. Hardcore GoldFish fans were screaming from the front row “FISH! FISH! FISH! FISH!” as the band’s golden-gilled mascot took the stage behind standup bassist Dominic Peters, all the while David Poole took to a saxxy duet with Saxsquatch stage right. Bubbles were cascading into the air, laser lights were slicing the sky, and absolutely zero people were having a bad time. And this was before the big “Cantina” finalé.

In all, I have never had more fun at the Music Box. The sacrifice of staying up way, way, way too late on a Sunday was worth it. Cheers to this magical mystery rave in all its glory!

Photography by Kristy Rose

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