Making believers out of the skeptical night after night, Saxsquatch brings the myth, magic, and music as only a legendary cryptid can.
Being part rave, part jazz fusion fest, part elevator music tones, and part Bigfoot cosplay, the Saxsquatch show at The Radio Room in Greenville, SC was unlike anything I’ve seen before, yet perfectly recognizable for what it was: a good time on a Saturday night.
Saxsquatch, who goes by his alter-ego name of Dean Mitchell when not on stage, is a product of Chapel Hill, NC. Who knew Bigfoot was a local boy? Graduating from playing saxophone with the Marcus King Band, Saxsquatch broke out on his own when his cover of Daft Punk’s “One More Time” went viral in 2019. Millions of viewers became believers and Saxsquatch became a phenomenon. Tours ensued and other mythical beings came out to support him alongside his new believers. Most importantly though, as Saxsquatch himself states repeatedly during his live show, he believes in YOU as much as you believe in him and therein lies the true magic that Mitchell conjures as Saxsquatch.
The one man show that is Saxsquatch is something to behold, and it’s not just the 7 foot bigfoot wailing on a saxophone between the trees, fog machine excretions, and spaced out laser lights emanating from the stage. Saxsquatch has the natural ability to draw out fellow squatches, spacemen, aliens (greens and greys), and humans ranging from grade school age to near retirement home age. Uniting such a diverse crowd of humans and beings under disco ball cast stars that shine through a haze of sax, dub, and beats is all in a night’s stomp for this cryptid.
Saxsquatch isn’t all X-Files kitsch though. Mitchell is quite the serious musician. Aside from his serious sax skills, he is also a talented electronica composer and performer. His postmodern mix of sultry, swinging, and bebopping saxophone riffs and electronic sampling, rhythms, and atmospherics is actually something unique in an era of cookie cutter pop songs and unoriginal studio manufactured rock. Mitchell indulges in some covers, most notably “Wayward Son” by Kansas and the “Mos Eisley Cantina Song” composed by John Williams, but also performs a set of original compositions such as “Hide and Seek Pt. 2” and “Madness.”
The most striking thing about a Saxsquatch show though is the vibe. Repeatedly expressing verbal displays of love for his believers, fellow cryptids, and fans of all ages, Saxsquatch simply radiates good feeling, joy, community, and hope. “Remember, I believe in YOU!” isn’t just a mantra for Saxsquatch to repeat to get the crowd going. It’s strangely transcendent. Never in my wildest dreams did I think a musician in a bigfoot costume who played the saxophone over electronic beats would be so inspiring, but that’s kinda the point of belief in the fantastic isn’t it? I no longer want to believe. Thanks to saxsquatch, I do believe.
