THE GORGE, Washington--Funny thing about Mother Nature: She giveth, and she taketh away.

Following a spectacular first day of music and scenery at the Sasquatch Music Festival along the Columbia River Gorge, the weather turned a bit nasty on Sunday, with severe winds forcing the main stage to shut down for a stretch and cutting short a promising set of new material from the Polyphonic Spree.

The wind was so strong at times that the lighting and sound rigs high above the main stage were crashing into one another. Even later in the night, when the schedule was shifted to get things back on course, high winds and icy temps forced event staff to remove its "no ins and outs" policy to allow fans to go back to their campsite to grab warmer clothing.

But unlike last year, when a freak hailstorm caused mayhem at Sasquatch, order was restored and good music won out. Good comedy did not however, as billed MC Sarah Silverman, who described the Sasquatch vibe the day before as a mix of "diarrhea and patchouli," was nowhere to be found. That left the main stage gaps to be filled by Aziz Ansari, who dished on porta-potty provider Honey Bucket but otherwise had little to say.

Here's a Day Two recap, in reverse order of performance.

Beastie Boys

Far more than any other group, the legendary Beastie Boys dominated the 2007 Sasquatch Festival. Whether it was their set on the smaller Wookie Stage on Day One, their hilarious roundtable with MP3.com and other media on Day Two, or their headlining set later that night, the litany of new, emerging, and acclaimed bands at Sasquatch took a back seat to the Beasties. As Ad Rock said as the group took the stage Saturday, "the motherf*****' Beastie Boys in your area!"

Although they mixed in some hip-hop and vocal tracks into their Day One set, the Beasties promised to bring the hits on Day Two. Taking the stage again in natty suits and shades, the trio was again joined by percussionist Alfredo "Fredo" Ortiz and Money Mark on keys, and longtime group member DJ Mixmaster Mike was there to do the heavy lifting when the trio dropped their instruments to focus on their hip-hop songs.

"Gratitude" and "Remote Control" were up first, and the group also played the new song "Electric Worm," which featured Fredo banging away on an amplified garbage can lid. The Beasties have a new instrumental album, The Mix Up in stores June 26. The between-song banter was a highlight as usual, with Ad Rock introducing "The Maestro" by saying, "A lot of people on the Internet chat about me on this song. My Twitter account is blowing up right now."

The group then quickly backed up what Ad Rock had said at the roundtable earlier in the day: "We got a LOT of hits." From "Body Movin'" and "Sure Shot" to "Shadrach," "Shake Your Rump," and "So What'cha Want," the Beasties have hits for days, and they kept coming Sunday night.

The energy waned a bit during the instrumental portions of the set, but the group revived it quickly with a barrage of an encore that included "Intergalactic" and "Ch-Check It Out." The final song of the night was "Sabotage," a track that perfectly summed up the group's pioneering '90s mash-up of old-school rhymes and new-school electronic funk.

Interpol

With a slick, dark sound and an overall detached cool, NYC-based Interpol delivered a compelling performance that was light on theatrics but heavy on well-crafted rock for the brooding set. The band took the stage as darkness arrived, temperatures dropped, and the wind remained, sending festival-goers searching for hot beverages.

Wearing all black and a winter hat and scarf, frontman Paul Banks exuded cool, singing in a stern-yet-engaging voice and limiting his interaction with the crowd to a few terse thank you's. The band kicked off with "Pioneer to the Falls," the opening track from the band's forthcoming album, Our Love to Admire, which hits stores July 10.

The set was brief--only six songs in all--as event organizers possibly sensed that they were losing the crowd to the cold.

Spoon

Britt Daniel and company were exactly what Sasquatch needed as the afternoon wound down on Sunday and a chill surged throughout the crowd. Following a long delay that forced Michael Franti & Spearhead to move their set to the Wookie stage, Spoon took the stage more than two hours after their scheduled time. Daniel led the group through old favorites like "Paper Tiger," "Jonathan Fisk," and "The Way We Get By," as well as a number of tracks from the band's forthcoming album, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga.

If the Austin, Texas-based indie vets' set hadn't been so good, Interpol and the Beastie Boys might have found themselves playing to an empty venue.

Dandy Warhols

Technical problems delayed the Dandies' start about 20 minutes, but that didn't keep the crowd from entertaining itself. With gusts of winds whipping across the packed outdoor area from the right side of the stage to the left, one merry prankster turned a bunch of corn tortillas into impromptu Frisbees that came crashing back down into the crowd. Soon, dozens of the south-of-the-border staples were flying above the crowd, like UFOs piloted by inebriated aliens.

While the flying Mexican food was certainly a comical sight to behold, there was still some rock and roll to be played, and the Dandy Warhols obliged. The Portland, Oregon-based four-piece is known for frontman Courtney Taylor-Taylor's bravado and its well documented tiff with The Brian Jonestown Massacre as much as its psychedelic pop songs. Though the gale force winds were bone-chilling, the crowd was able to stay warm by pogoing to the trademark Dandy Warhols guitar hooks and jarring keyboard bass.

As the sun set beyond the rolling hills of central Washington, the Dandys trudged on, working the crowd into a frenzy by tapping into their older catalog of pop hits, including "We Used to be Friends," "You Were the Last High," and "I Love You." The fans stayed to the bitter (cold) end in a showing of rabid devotion, no doubt giving Taylor another reason to call his band the best band in the universe.

Bad Brains

Having crossed the half-century mark, Bad Brains frontman H.R. is no longer willing or able to toss himself relentlessly into the crowd as he did in the band's hardcore heyday. So when this seminal DC group took the stage Sunday, it was clear that the set would lean heavier on the band's dub and reggae output than its punk material.

The band is set to release Build a Nation, its first proper studio album in 11 years, on June 26, with Beastie Boy Adam Yauch (MCA) producing. Most of the new material the band played from that record was reggae, including tracks like "Jah Love" and "Natty Dreadlocks 'Pon The Mountain Top." But guitarist Dr. Know and bassist Daryl Jenifer turned the heat up on several tracks, blasting through classics like "Attitude" and "Pay to Cum."

Black Angels

No one benefited more from the high winds on the main stage than Austin, Texas-based psych-rockers The Black Angels, who saw the Wookie Stage crowd grow dramatically as they unpacked their instruments. With the Polyphonic Spree's set cut short, fans surged over the hill and into the Wookie meadow--if they weren't going to get their Age of Aquarius indie rock, they'll take the sonic sequel to the Apocalypse Now instead.

The band tore into "The First Vietnamese War" to start the set, with frontman Alex Maas delivering his time warp vocals over droning guitar and bass and heaving drums. The band's sound is drenched in bluesy psychedelia, which seemed a good fit as things started to blow all over the place in the increasingly crazy winds. The wind caused some sound problems, but they almost seemed to enhance to spaced-out vibe of the set.

Smoosh

Most women recall their teenage years as hanging out at the mall, asking for ponies, and getting interested in boys. This probably won't be the case with Seattle-based Smoosh. The sister act features Asya, age 15, on keyboards and vocals and Chloe, age 13, on drums, but the girls are much more than a novelty. Tutored by Death Cab for Cutie's Jason McGerr, Smoosh write surprisingly mature songs that defy their blonde ponytails and throw in complex keyboard riffs and drum fills as easily as they do their times tables.

A few members of the crowd mockingly threw devil horns with their hands during the set, only later realizing that the girls did indeed rock. The band was also joined on stage by yet another sister, 10-year-old Maia, on an electric bass that was as big as she was.

The highlight of the performance--and one of the best moments of the entire festival--was the band's cover of Bloc Party's "This Modern Love," which nearly brought the crowd to tears. These girls will surely be able to buy their own ponies.

Earl Greyhound

"Thanks for coming to this grassy knoll to get your ever-loving faces rocked off." That was the promise from Earl Greyhound, and as is usually the case with this explosive band, they delivered.

Tracks like "All Better Now" and "SOS" featured guitarist Matt Whyte's wailing chord, Thomas' frenetic bass lines, and drummer Ricc Sheridan doing damage to the skins.

The band has been touring for quite a while in support of its debut, Soft Targets, and unveiled a few new songs Sunday that featured Whyte on organ, adding a soulful tinge to the rawk fest.

Stars of Track and Field

Portland's Stars of Track and Field may be named after a song from Scotland's Belle and Sebastian, but the band owes more to '90s bands from England--particularly The Catherine Wheel.

The three-piece plays fuzzy pop songs with soothing lyrics and the occasional buzz-saw guitar that shows lots of promise but isn't quite ready for heavy rotation.

The wind that plagued other bands actually enhanced Stars of Track and Field's set, particularly during the dreamy space-ballad "With You"--and the sun beaming down the gorgeous backdrop didn't hurt either.

Total Experience Gospel Choir

This diverse gospel group from Seattle was the perfect way to start a Sunday morning, delivering uplifting sing-alongs and a whirlwind of hope for a good day of music.

Although it was a bit weird to hear a gospel group cover a song by a man awaiting trial on child pornography charges (R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly"), it was a fantastic set nonetheless.