Of all the bands to hop aboard the surf culture resurrection, Vancouver space rock band Black Mountain seemed least likely. Yet this April, they’ll release the soundtrack to the upcoming post-apocalyptic surf film Year Zero.

According to a press release, the film takes place in a “damaged but stunningly beautiful place, a world where the reset button has been hit, where we hold onto the vestiges of the things we love.” More than just Mad Max meets Blue Crush, the project is “ultimately as much a ‘surf movie’ as it is a movie about Earth illustrated through surfing.”

For the soundtrack, Black Mountain has contributed both new and previously-released material, creating “one dense, 45-minute acid tab of music.” Among the newer selections on the nine-song LP is the magnum opus “Mary Lou”. Clocking in at nearly eight minutes, it’s an unceasing blast of twisted, psychedelic guitar perfect for shredding waves or fighting for survival. Stream it below (via Stereogum).

The Year Zero soundtrack is in stores on April 3rd via Jagjaguwar. Below, you’ll find the album tracklist followed by the movie’s trailer.

Year Zero Original Soundtrack Tracklist:
01. Phosphorescent Waves
02. Bright Lights
03. Mary Lou
04. Embrace Euphoria
05. Tyrants
06. Modern Music
07. In Sequence
08. Wilderness Heart
09. Breathe

“Not considering this opening worthy of more attention, I continued our pursuit to the Northwest, being desirous to embrace the advantages of the prevailing breeze.” – George Vancouver, 17th century English explorer

Breathtaking describes a lot of things. It’s typically a “go-to” adjective for anything remotely awe-inspiring. For Sasquatch! Music Festival, it’s the only word that works. There’s little room for where it doesn’t work, come to think of it. Even the drive in from Seattle, WA is enough to yank tears from the eyes. Driving through the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, you can’t miss the ominous Douglas-firs, or pry your hands from the wheel at the unpredictable roads that weave and snake through the mountainous terrain. It’s an adventure in every sense of the word.

But, that’s just the drive. Once you’re there, snuggled between the small towns of Quincy & George, you’re essentially cut off from the traditional confines of society. You’re a free spirit, roaming the natural habitat. It’s a liberating feeling, but also somewhat frightening. You’re at the hands of society’s loose change. Actually, it’s very frightening. But, that risk is what makes it so extraordinary. After everyone’s settled and the traffic conditions slacken, festivalgoers, musicians, and staff co-exist together in a melting pot within a melting pot. It’s madness, it’s a little chaotic, but it’s raw. It harkens back to the age-old American idealism of venturing beyond, exploring the uninhabited abyss.

What an abyss, though. It’s so easy to just say, “Well, the Gorge is out of this world. Duh.” But, that’s really it. Natural wonders retain that title for a reason. The Gorge earns it triple-fold. There are colors baked into its natural walls that haven’t even been named yet. Even more spellbinding, these colors evolve every minute, every hour, and each day. So at first glance, it’s something you’ll remember forever, but that feeling never leaves you.

Couple that with music and it’s truly a win-win.

-Michael Roffman
President/Editor-in-Chief

Friday, May 27th

Rival Schools – Bigfoot Stage – 4:00 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

“Hey there,” Rival Schools‘ vocalist Walter Schreifels muttered, cracking open the four-day Sasquatch! weekend. As the still evolving crowd poured in from the nearby gates – which had only opened 15-20 minutes prior to the set – the New York rockers breezed through a slightly raucous if not traditional set. Opener “Wring It Out”, their current single supporting this year’s Pedals, wrenched some acclaim from fanatics who scattered around the mid-sized Bigfoot stage, granting the band access to segue straight into other new material, specifically “69 Guns”, which turned things up a notch. It didn’t take long for the quartet to scale back to older material, either. Oldie ”Everything Has Its Point”, a track that dates back to their 2001 debut, United by Fate, popped up rather quickly. Then the rest just fell into place. -Michael Roffman

Mariachi El Bronx – Yeti Stage – 4:30 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

There’s a moment in every festival where a band conjures up the wonderful “freak flag” moment. For Sasquatch!, it came an hour into the weekend, when Los Angeles’ own The Bronx donned the sombreros and dove head first into mariachi music. Dubbed Mariachi El Bronx, after the group’s WTF 2009 LP of the same name, the group really stirred the proverbial post-modern fiesta hippy pot, to which everyone just sort of let their souls run wild. Sometime amidst the chaos, one of the band members exclaimed, “There’s some badass shit going on today.” Although it was a tad too early to admit this, that pretty much summed up the remainder of the day. Mariachi men or fortune tellers? Hmm. -Michael Roffman

Biffy Clyro – Bigfoot Stage – 5:00 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

I was lucky enough to catch Biffy Clyro at the Illosaarirock Festival in Finland last year and was completely won over by the Scottish trio’s driving live act and larger-than-life sound. Though the catchy prog-metal band isn’t well known in North America, and they were one of the first bands to play at the start of the festival, they still managed to draw a sizeable crowd of fans who knew all lyrics by heart and were moshing out during some of the harder numbers. The Biff (as their fans affectionately call them) were quick and bouncy, turning their more pop-based songs into metal numbers and causing lead singer and guitarist (and Jesus lookalike) Simon Neil to break his strings several times over. -Karina Halle

Bob Mould – Mainstage – 5:45 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

Similar to Paul Westerberg, Bob Mould travels alone these days. Actually, the major difference between the two is that the latter actually travels. However, their stage show is strikingly similar – at least when Westerberg last toured. It’s bare bones logic: a famed songwriter, alone, with an electric guitar, and a largely celebrated discography in the noggin. That might sound like a match made in heaven, but when you’re playing the Gorge Amphitheatre, it’s a tad…vacuous? Still early in the schedule, with the sun blazing beyond the hills and mountainous plains (if that makes sense), Mould, decked out in red flannel and some jeans, strolled out to a small yet adoring fan base. (Small in the sense that he’s performing at the fucking Gorge.) Still, as he patrolled through Hüsker Dü classics like “Hardly Getting Over It” or solo hits a la “Wishing Well”, he maintained an edge that was hard to dismiss. In the middle of the set, one fan nearby caught his attention, screaming, “Just rock on man! You’re doing great!” A sweaty, rather exhausted Mould replied back, “I’m trying, man.” In the end, you have to respect that. -Michael Roffman

Against Me! – Bigfoot Stage – 6:10 p.m.

Photo by Christopher Nelson

In keeping with Friday’s theme of nonstop hard rock, Against Me! played a consistently high-energy set to close the Bigfoot Stage for the evening. No acoustic breakdowns or intimate stage banter, just rocker after rocker, including highlights “Pints of Guinness Make You Strong”, “T.S.R. (This Shit Rules)”, and “I Was a Teenage Anarchist”. At one of the Florida punk band’s headlining shows it would have been tiring, but this was an ideal one-hour festival set. Outside of maybe Dave Grohl, Wayne Coyne, and Dave King, Tom Gabel was quietly the most likable frontman at Sasquatch!. Against Me! also earns points for choosing plain black tees over the flannel everyone else was wearing throughout the weekend. - Harry Painter

The Bronx – Mainstage – 6:45 p.m.

Photo by Jackie Kingsbury

“I want to see all of you move out there! There’s a Sasquatch in all of you!” – Matt Caughthran

Not many bands received two sets at Sasquatch this weekend; although, it’s arguable you could even count The Bronx’s shows as two sets. After an upbeat Mariachi show, they wandered to the Sasquatch stage where they stripped off the gear, but turned up the volume. There, the band screamed and thrashed, while the nearby pit proceeded to go ape-shit. They slammed through tracks like “They Will Kill Us All (Without Mercy)” and “White Tar”, and set a much different vibe than the Mariachi set, as body parts were actually smashed at this show. To go from playing sexy salsa tunes to hardcore numbers with names like “Heart Attack America” was more or less a bloody and triumphant transition. -Ted Maider

Death From Above 1979 – Mainstage – 8:00 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

The banner behind what would eventually become the DFA riot was a picture of a tombstone that read: “DFA 1979, 2001-2006”. Far more interesting than the tombstone, however, were the ghoulish images of Jesse Keeler and Sebastian Grainger emerging from the gravesite. The secret’s been out for some time (see: Coachella and SXSW), but Death From Above 1979 are back from the dead and sounding better than ever.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

Not ones to stop and chat, the pioneering duo took the stage and began melting faces right off the bat. The two took the slow afternoon from zero to 60 in a matter of milliseconds, and they didn’t relent for the entire time they were allotted. Mosh pockets opened up in literally every part of the Gorge, from the very front of the pit to the lawn seating, which made sense, considering DFA1979 has the power to bring human beings the insatiable urge to push one another. The set climaxed with a three song KO – “Sexy Results”, “Romantic Rights”, and “Do It!” – and as one might expect, everyone left the pit drenched in other people’s sweat, blood, and booze. Which I’m sure is what DFA consider a complete triumph. -Winston Robbins

Foo Fighters – Mainstage – 9:30 p.m.

When Sasquatch first announced that the festival would be four days long instead of three, many people wondered how on Earth they’d be able to draw in the crowds on Friday, the day that wasn’t a national holiday. Then they announced the Foo Fighters were headlining that night and everything fell into place. If there is any band that fans would skip out on work for, it’s the Foo Fighters.

Of course, it’s always been kind of “cool” to rag on the Foo for being too commercial or “happy”, but riding high on the success of their latest album, Wasting Light, even cynical festival-goers were at least stopping by the main stage to check out their act. And if they checked their cynicism at the door, it was hard to walk away disappointed.

From the moment Dave Grohl and his plaid-clad crew of chain-smoking Pat Smear, Chris Shiflett, Nate Mendel, and Taylor Hawkins (the only one not in flannel), took to the stage, the audience was treated to two hours of wailing guitars, singalong anthems, and never ending energy. They opened with Wasting Light’s raucous “Bridge Burning” and sailed all the way through to “Everlong” (forgoing the encore, as Grohl said, “We’d rather keep playing until the end”) and the enthusiasm from the band and the crowd never dipped for a second. Though I would have loved for all songs off of Wasting Light to be played, they did pull out a fair chunk of it including “White Limo”, “Arlandria”, and “Dear Rosemary” (featuring Bob Mould who played the same stage earlier). The soaring, feel-good “Walk” united the crowd as much as their older hits such as “My Hero” and “Learn to Fly” did, and they even tossed out lesser-played songs such as “I’ll Stick Around” and “Generator”.

The thing about the Foo Fighters is that they never just play their songs as is, they have to take them a step beyond. At Sasquatch this meant an extra epic jam session for “Monkey Wrench”, a drum solo courtesy of the tireless Hawkins, and numerous bridge breakdowns and build ups. Though it’s an effective live tool, the technique became repetitive after the 10^th song, but as soon as Grohl slams back into the chorus, you were singing along with him and bumping elbows with people in the world’s happiest mosh pit. There were rumors that Grohl’s ex-bandmate Krist Novoselic was there watching from the side stage, which would have been an amazing opportunity for him to come out and join the band (especially since he contributed to Wasting Light’s heartfelt “I Should Have Known”), but perhaps he wanted this moment to be all about the Foo Fighters and not a quick Nirvana reunion, which is understandable. The Foo Fighters ended Friday with a sea of smiles and set the bar high for the whole festival. -Karina Halle

Photo by Heather Kaplan

Friday Gallery by Heather Kaplan

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Saturday, May 28th

Seattle Rock Orchestra – Bigfoot Stage – 12:00 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

On paper, an orchestra performing the songs of Radiohead sounds worthwhile — and what better venue to house such an event than the stage closest to the entrance of a hip music festival as a bunch of likely Radiohead fans walk in? Last year was a similar deal, with the Seattle Rock Orchestra instead performing an Arcade Fire tribute. For whatever reason, this time around, people were not moved to sing along, dance, or even pay much attention. Seattle Rock Orchestra, which has at times been comprised of over 60 members, brought out a couple dozen at most to play hits from The Bends and OK Computer. The problem was it felt more like a standard cover band with a string section than a real orchestra as the abridged SRO recited uninspired arrangements of “Just”, “Airbag”, “Paranoid Android”, and “My Iron Lung”.

There were bright spots, however. “Exit Music”, “Electioneering”, and “Karma Police”, despite never approaching the emotional gusto of the originals, at least did some justice to them and made the strings and horns feel necessary. Using multiple decidedly un-Yorkeian vocalists (including a female) was a good call, and the performances never felt cheesy. - Harry Painter

The Radio Dept. – Mainstage – 1:05 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

For as long as The Radio Dept.’s been at it, and for how very little they tour, they should have been placed later in the day. But beggars can’t be choosers, and no matter the time of day, The Radio Dept. in the flesh is The Radio Dept. in the flesh. Touring behind their latest singles collection Passive  Aggressive, their setlist consisted entirely of the singles they’ve released over the past decade and a half. From Lesser Matters’ “Ewan” to the more recent “Heaven’s On Fire” off their last LP, 2010′s Clinging To A Scheme. The three piece Swedish outfit timidly went about their 45 minutes to a fairly full floor, which makes sense, given the fact that they’re somewhat reclusive and playing to a very, very large Gorge lawn crowd. Never ones to crack under the pressure, they played a beautiful set note for note. -Winston Robbins

k-os – Bigfoot Stage – 3:00 p.m.

Photo by Karina Halle

Toronto-based musician k-os (nee Kevin Brereton) brought a lively dose of his grooving rap-rock to the Bigfoot stage. There was a distinct lack of hip-hop acts at Sasquatch, so savvy festival-goers were quick to catch his set, his reggae-induced beats suiting the blue-sky and sunshine perfectly. Songs like “Sunday Morning”, “I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman”, and “Man I Used to Be” went over well despite the stage’s frequent sound problems that plagued his microphone and interrupted a few of the songs. -Karina Halle

Local Natives – Mainstage – 3:15 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

It would have been easy to overlook the Local Natives as the band that played Sasquatch! because Fleet Foxes can’t be there every year. That is, it would have been easy had they not turned so many heads. Besides it being a little hard to take seriously a folk band led by a guy with a porn star mustache, Local Natives earned their stripes with what frontman Taylor Rice said was their biggest gig yet (the list includes their appearance at Sasquatch! 2010 on the smaller Bigfoot Stage). Local Natives played the usual Gorilla Manor material, before reporting they would be heading home to L.A. to record the next album. - Harry Painter

Trailer Park Boys – Banana Shack – 3:45 p.m.

Photo by Karina Halle

What to say about the Trailer Park Boys? Because Canada’s answer to Reno 911 follows the lives of Nova Scotian ex-convicts Bubbles (Mike Smith), Ricky (Rob Wells), and Julian (John Paul Tremblay) in a trailer trash mockumentary style, it was interesting to see how the show would play out as a live comedy show (at a US festival, too). Though it was hard to hear and see at times, the trio managed to titillate the mainly Canadian crowd (this I deduced from the “Go Canucks Go” chant just prior) and maybe win over a few new fans. The free hot dogs that Julian tossed into the crowd probably helped too. -Karina Halle

Wolf Parade – Mainstage – 4:20 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

This set was doubly tragic. Not only did indie veterans Wolf Parade only get 45 minutes to play, but it would (possibly, probably) be the last time they performed for a very long time. They announced months ago that they were going on an indefinite hiatus, Sasquatch! Music Festival being the last stop before calling it quits. The enormity of the situation wasn’t lost on the crowd, either. Wolf Parade drew the largest group of people for any band non head or sub-headlining. Seemingly undaunted by any of these stressors, they put on a historic show. Once again, it was tragically short, but it was bursting at the seams with the best work of their career. Obviously, the tracks from Apologies To Queen Mary (“You Are A Runner And I Am My Father’s Son” and “Fancy Claps” in particular) were the best received, but they gave each track the treatment it deserved. Expo 86 cut “What Did My Lover Say? (It Always Had To Go This Way)” primed the crowd before they played themselves off with a rendition of “I’ll Believe In Anything” that sent chills down the spines of all those who grasped the reality of the situation. -Winston Robbins

J. Mascis – Yeti Stage – 4:35 p.m.

Photo by Christopher Nelson

The demographics that made up Sasquatch! couldn’t have been expected to know or care who J. Mascis was, and it appeared most didn’t. But it wasn’t much of a challenge for the silver-maned, baseball cap-wearing Dinosaur Jr. frontman to win people over. Featuring songs off his debut solo album, Several Shades of Why, as well as some Dino Jr. favorites, Mascis’ set alternated between accessible acoustic folk rock and the noisy guitar solos for which he is known. The 1993 Dino Jr. track “Get Me”, in particular, had the Yeti crowd in a trance. Mascis wins the old guy award for the weekend, as great as Bob Mould was. - Harry Painter

Jenny & Johnny – Bigfoot Stage – 5:10 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

It was not a secret that the crowd kept very well, they were absolutely at this set just to see Jenny Lewis. And why wouldn’t they be? She was true to form: beautiful, endearing, and immensely talented. Joke was on the Lewis-driven crowd, though, when they realized that singer-songwriter Johnathan Rice (the Johnny portion of the duo) was no laughing matter. The two (with the help of Rilo Kiley and Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band drummer Jason Boesel) put on a sweet show, singing songs about love and loss with unmatched pop sensibility. I’m Having Fun Now tracks “Scissor Runner” and “Pet Snakes” seemed to particularly catch the attention of the crowd. But in the end, the hapless Jenny Lewis fans got what they wanted when she broke out Acid Tongue epic “The Next Messiah”. -Winston Robbins

Wye Oak – Yeti Stage – 5:40 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

Saturday’s breakout act was a hell of a follow-up to J. Mascis. Baltimore’s Wye Oak, which consists of singer/guitarist Jenn Wasner and drummer/keyboardist (simultaneously!) Andy Stack, is a duo that has all the depth of a standard four-piece. Wasner could work on emphasizing her vocals, but between Wye Oak and The Radio Dept., Saturday was a good day for dream pop. -Harry Painter

The Antlers – Bigfoot Stage – 6:20 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

Fresh off the release of their impeccable Burst Apart, it was uncertain how this set would go for The Antlers. It was so vastly different from its predecessor, it seemed impossible that the two albums could ever share the same stage. This worry was alleviated when it was revealed track by track that they were playing Burst Apart in the order it appears on the LP tracklist. Coming out with the enormous “I Don’t Want Love”, the Brooklyn trio (with a backing drummer) destroyed the Bigfoot Stage fearlessly. There wasn’t time for them to play the album in its entirety, unfortunately, in the 45 minutes they were allotted, but they got the first six of the 10 tracks in, and peaked during an almost post-rock version of “Rolled Together”. They closed with the only track from their 2009 hit album Hospice they’d play all night, “Two”. But even that old track had been altered to sound a tad more Burst Apart-y, for lack of a better phrase. It will be interesting to see how The Antlers go about splicing these two vastly different pieces of work into a coherent live set, but it was something we were fortunately (or unfortunately?) spared of having to deal with. But after seeing them play a sunset performance at The Gorge, there seem to be very few things The Antlers can’t do right. -Winston Robbins

The Thermals – Yeti Stage – 6:45 p.m.

There are some pros and cons to the Yeti Stage. On the positive side, it faces the outside horizon; the area that surrounds the festival; the natural habitats that bring people here week after week. On the downside, it also faces the setting sun. Many artists have had problems with this; after all, who wants to rock out with a blinding sun? However, Portland’s own The Thermals remained true to their name, using the sun’s radiant energy to, and please pardon the use of the pun, thermally ignite. With an agreeable combination of both new and old, the minimalistic trio punched and kicked through nearly 20 songs in the evening’s transitioning hour. During an incendiary opening cut of “Time to Lose”, vocalist Hutch Harris took things to the floor, channeling his inner Chuck Berry, and kept things going with “Returning to the Fold”, “Not Like Any Other Feeling”, and “It’s Trivia”. Blame it on their tour with the always thrilling Matt & Kim, but The Thermals were fiddling with an energy that hasn’t been this exciting for awhile. The crowd fed off it, too. Before they trekked forward, Harris observed: “Oh yeah, it’s getting rowdy out there. Keep it going Sasquatch.” They did, but so did the band. -Michael Roffman

Photo by Heather Kaplan

Washed Out – Banana Shack – 7:00 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

The newly re-vamped Verizon Banana Shack seemed the perfect home for chillwave pioneers Washed Out. But hindsight’s 20/20, and they would have been better suited at a regular stage. The Banana Shack is more commonly home to house/dance music, and it took an extremely long time to get the band’s gear onstage. They finally managed to start 20 minutes after their scheduled time, and seemed very scattered throughout their set as a result. Leading man Ernest Greene was the glue that held the set together as he ran through a shortened set that incorporated old favorites (“New Theory, “Feel It All Around”), introduced a new song, and closed with a rendition of their latest single “Eyes Be Closed” that was almost good enough to redeem the flaws of the show. Washed Out started out as Ernest Greene, and as it has expanded to a five-piece, some of his earlier songs seemed very crowded with five instruments trying to create a fairly small sound. But as for the song they debuted and “Eyes Be Closed”, the band couldn’t have sounded better, and Washed Out’s forthcoming Within And Without will no doubt be a bigger, bolder record. But this particular show? Washed Out dropped the ball. -Winston Robbins

Bright Eyes -Mainstage – 8:15 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

The veteran cast of Bright Eyes (along with their backing band, which includes Rilo Kiley/Mystic Valley Band drummer, Jason Boesel) took the stage one at a time -legendary producer/artist Mike Mogis, followed by the master of quiet intangibles Nate Walcott, all leading to the centerpiece of the indie legends: Conor Oberst. Oberst emerged from the side of the stage throwing his arms around, while wearing a hood that covered most of his face, which made him look uncannily like B. Rabbit from 8 Mile. The music that ensued was far from rap battling, however, and Oberst took no time getting into his all too short sub-headlining set with a massive rendition of The People’s Key single “Firewall”, which sent the crowd into an uproar. It was deathly cold and getting colder by the minute, but that didn’t deter the insanely devoted Oberst fans down in the pit.

Every movement he made, every word he said (of course he had something to say about politics and the state of affairs in our day and age), and every song he sung inspired the crowd to get more and more worked up. Their hour set included songs from every era of the Bright Eyes career: tracks from I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning, Lifted or the Story is in the Telling, Cassadaga, and even one from Fevers & Mirrors, which he dedicated to his contemporaries that he’d been in the business with since late 90’s: Iron & Wine and Death Cab For Cutie. And while I’m sure they appreciated the gesture, the set was about the fans.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

“Four Winds”, “Lover I Don’t Have To Love”, and a combination of “Road To Joy” and  “One For You, One For Me” caused a particularly large uproar. The latter of the three mentioned was possibly the most moving of the entire weekend. Oberst left the stage to join his adoring fans, one of whom hurdled the barrier and kissed him passionately on the lips before being escorted away by security. As the voice over to “One For You, One For Me” played over the PA, Oberst remained at the front of the crowd hugging and shaking the hands of fans, some of whom were literally weeping to be in his presence. Love him or hate him, Conor Oberst has an immovable charisma that speaks powerfully to some. -Winston Robbins

Robyn – Bigfoot Stage – 9:00 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

It wasn’t really fair to pit Robyn between Bright Eyes and Death Cab for Cutie – especially since the latter hasn’t toured in quite awhile. However, the Swedish treat sweetened enough folks by name alone to create a massive scene at the Bigfoot Stage. Technical difficulties pushed the set back 25 minutes, which turned the crowd into a tepid mob scene. Several fans chanted “Robyn!”, plenty walked away, and one guy wholeheartedly attempted to sell the crowd on chanting “18 minutes late!” (which soon evolved into “25 minutes late!”), though no one joined him. They didn’t have to because once the international sensation appeared, all energy was focused on dancing. Strictly dancing. Smiling, waving, and stripping down – even amidst the chilly winds rolling through – Robyn powered through a close pocketed 45 minute set, starting with “Fembot”, continuing on with “Bad Gal”, and naturally including her scorching single (and Gossip Girl burner), “Dancing On My Own”. A double dosage of percussion injected some adrenaline into an already impressive stage set up, tailoring songs like “Indestructible” with an epic sheen. Basically, if you haven’t seen her live, then you’re not just missing out, you’re selling your heart short. -Michael Roffman

Death Cab for Cutie – Mainstage – 9:30 p.m.

Writer’s Note: Ben Gibbard needs a haircut.

As it was the 10^th anniversary of Sasquatch, it seemed reasonable to book some of the Pacific Northwest’s finest modern acts to carry on the torch for another year. Seattle’s own Death Cab for Cutie was a perfect choice for such an occasion as they continue to embody the Washington spirit. As time has raced on by, Death Cab has gone from an indie sensation to a slew of pop-stars with constant airplay. Only in Seattle, right?

To prove that they were worthy of a headlining title, Gibbard  & Co. took the stage to deliver one of the most surprising shows of the weekend. The energy was quite high – especially for a Death Cab gig. Opener “I Will Possess Your Heart” lasted for ages, but its thumping bass line and stirring percussion were enough to stir the crowd. This sort of chemistry washed over other gems like “Movie Script Ending”, an electrifying “Cath”, and a version of “Long Division” that brought people to crowd surf. Hit after hit, and song after song, Death Cab for Cutie rattled their catalog for a show that would not only impress the Sasquatch crowd, but also make every fan jealous that they missed this show.

The true highlight of the set though was when Gibbard came out alone to strum away Plans favorite, “I Will Follow You Into the Dark”. Feeling the raw intimacy of the song, the crowd joined along and sang in unison, their voices echoing off the walls of the Gorge. People will follow Gibbard anywhere, I guess. -Ted Maider

Photo by Kyle Johnson

Sleigh Bells -Banana Shack – 10:10 p.m.

Photo by Winston Robbins

The Banana Shack was hands down the best addition to this year’s installment of Sasquatch!. Very much like Coachella’s Sahara Tent, the Banana Shack was solely for the purpose of comedians during the day and electro raves at night. So, of course, this is the stage where Sleigh Bells landed. Their set was unfortunately stuck in the middle of Death Cab’s and Robyn’s respective sets, but it mattered very little in the end. They were 20 minutes late to start, but they made up for that by not only going an extra half hour longer than they were scheduled, but by rocking especially hard. Sleigh Bells are admittedly more flash than music, but their flash is so illustrious that it enhances the music to levels many of their contemporaries could only hope to achieve. After an instrumental cover of “Iron Man” by Derek Miller, Alexis Krauss joined him for what would be an hour of sheer sweaty chaos. Sleigh Bells is best played at maximum volume, and the sound in the Banana Shack more than accommodated this ideal. Being that Treats is a fairly short album they played almost every track, the highlights being “Riot Rhythm”, “Infinity Guitars”, and a very funky version of “Rill Rill”. -Winston Robbins

Bassnectar – Bigfoot Stage – 11:30 p.m.

Photo by Kyle Johnson

Disclaimer: I hate dub-step.

Prior to this show, an audience member informed me humans are conditioned to enjoy heavy bass, as the vibrations remind our subconscious of time spent in the womb and the comfort we received within it. This has to be true because thousands of people crammed in for Bassnectar’s late night show…. and, well, he delivered. The DJ, whose popularity has clearly skyrocketed within the past couple years, blew out speakers, mixed Nirvana, and played one of the highest energy sets possible. The only thing more insane than the DJ himself was the crowd. People tossed glow sticks, moshed, crowd-surfed and went ballistic. It was hands down the best dance show of the weekend.

Disclaimer: I still hate dub-step. -Ted Maider

Saturday Gallery by Heather Kaplan

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Sunday, May 29th

The Drums – Mainstage – 1:05 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

For the past year or two, New York post-punk rockers The Drums have raised eyebrows in critics’ circles for making Joy Division sound sunny and fun. Their self-titled debut hit plenty of End of the Year lists last year and despite some lineup changes, they continue to truck on and maintain a some gravitas in the indie community. None of that’s changed. If their early spot at the Mainstage is any indication, they’re not going anywhere. Songs like “Best Friend”, “Let’s Go Surfing”, and “Down by the Water” are all classics by now. They’re great. But when beach blonde Jonathan Pierce introduced new song “Money”, and reported that the band wrapped up recording their sophomore follow up, things took a turn for the best. Sounding like a spunky outtake from New Order’s Movement, “Money” whisked on by with a sharp noise that made cuts in everyone’s ears. That’s a good thing. Waiting until we hear the studio version? Not a good thing. Either way, the boys continue to look hip (from hair to toe) and sound fresh. At this point, they can continue championing the whole surfer rock thing, even if that whole image has been burned to the ground. They at least earned it. -Michael Roffman

Fitz & The Tantrums – Mainstage – 2:10 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

There is nothing new going on here. Fitz & The Tantrums play a predictable blend of funk and neo-soul designed, of course, to get the dance floor moving. But these guys are really good at it. Fitz, full name Michael Fitzpatrick, is a David Bowie lookalike in a flashy suit who puts in his 110 percent to get the crowd involved. How often do you see a frontman request a clap or mass kneel and fail miserably? In Fitz’s case, he had everyone, lawn included, complying with his every command — so you know he’s doing something right. Highlights included “Rich Girls”, the single “MoneyGrabber”, and a cover of “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)”. - Harry Painter

S. Carey – Bigfoot Stage –  3:00 p.m.

Sean Carey has come a long way from being the guy that timidly confronted Justin Vernon at a show to tell him he admired his music. Not only did he shortly thereafter join Bon Iver, but he embarked on a solo career of his own while Justin Vernon was off doing other things (you know, hanging out with Kanye West and stuff). Over the past year or so, S. Carey has toured behind his debut solo record, All We Grow, with a notable spot opening up for last year’s biggest folk sensation The Tallest Man On Earth. Carey came out confident and played his quiet, beautiful post-rock to a very large crowd, considering how early in the day he was scheduled to play. He and his five piece brought their A game and finished big with an impromptu cover of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks theme song, followed by a very subtle cover of Bjork’s “Unravel”, and an emotional version of the title track, “All We Grow”. This was surely one of his last solo performances, as he will be joining back up with Bon Iver, who is about to take over the world yet again when their new album drops later this June (don’t pretend for a second you haven’t downloaded the leak…). -Winston Robbins

Tokyo Police Club – Mainstage – 3:15 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

Tokyo Police Club has been whoring out their Canadian goodness to all the festivals in the past year, so it seemed natural that they’d show up at Sasquatch! (considering how many Canadians were there to support them). The band was definitely a decent way to fill some time throughout the day’s heat, and they actually played a pretty good set. They got the crowd to help them out with “Tessellate” and jammed on gems like “Elephant Shell” and “Nature of the Experiment”. The real show though was when the band brought their good friend on stage, not to rock, but to propose to his girlfriend. Perfect for an indie-rock festival. -Ted Maider

Sam Roberts Band – Bigfoot Stage – 4:05 p.m.

Photo by Karina Halle

Juno-award winning (you know, the Canadian Grammys) singer/songwriter Sam Roberts is perfect festival fodder and his appearance on the Big Foot stage was no exception. His brand of smooth-voiced rock and roll is simple enough for sunny days but catchy enough to keep an audience moving on their toes, which is exactly what he did. Even people who weren’t planning on catching the show were stopping by the stage and joining along with the singalongs and hand-waving to such songs as “Brother Down” and “The Last Crusade”. Watching the smiling festival-goers jump and flail around to “Them Kids” made you think that the song’s lyrics were wrong and the kids do “know how to dance to rock and roll” after all. Well, at least they try. -Karina Halle

Beach House – Mainstage – 4:20 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

Three years ago, Beach House‘s Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally were performing at intimate venues like Chicago’s own Schubas. You know, to maybe 300 people tops? So seeing them entertain thousands at the Gorge on Sunday evening was beyond surreal. Here’s a place that acts like Pearl Jam or Dave Matthews Band have used for their landmark live efforts. Now, this Baltimore dream pop duo can say they’ve matched them – sort of. They may not be able to rope in that many on their own, but they’re certainly up for the task, at least if their stage presence is any indication. Tighter, more intense, and highly personable, Legrand and Scally actually look alive these days. In between their lush and gorgeous ballads like “Zebra” or “Walk in the Park”, the two committed to some friendly banter. Legrand even remarked on the group’s questionable set time: “We like that our set started at 4:20, but we don’t really care about that. That makes me sound like a pothead.” As the sun glazed the surrounding fields, everyone was at peace with themselves, including a little indie toddler, who tossed dirt around and brought smiles from passerby’s. “Humans are meant to cooperate. Good job, human beings,” Scally observed. Yes, kudos. -Michael Roffman

Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears – Yeti Stage – 4:35 p.m.

Austin, TX’s Black Joe Lewis likes to have a good time. His Honeybears make that happen each time they’re on stage together. As the sun started to spill over, the bluesy octet owned the Yeti Stage, and its many inhabitants. Lewis’ trademark swagger has finally worked. For the past two years, they’ve been a festival staple, though in smaller capacities. Although the Yeti Stage is technically the smallest of the Sasquatch! venues, the crowd proved he needs to move up next time he’s in “town.” This wasn’t a group of passerby’s; no, this was more like a loyal following. And by the time they started grooving to a muddy rendition of “Louie, Louie” or “Bird is the Word!”, they had hundreds of fans screaming their hearts out. Too bad the nearby BBQ was overpriced. It could’ve added to the great backyard jam. Oh well. -Michael Roffman

Photo by Jackie Kingsbury

Mad Rad – Yeti Stage – 5:40 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

It’s hard to explain Seattle’s Mad Rad. They’re essentially a slew of Caucasians that create nasally-sounding hipster hip-hop. But it’s loud, it’s obnoxious, and it’s enigmatic. For a small group that’s technically still unheard of, they commandeered one of the largest crowds at the Yeti Stage. They didn’t waste any time roping them in, either. The band’s ensemble includes Buffalo Madonna, Terry Radjaw, DJ Darwin, and P Smoov and all of them shared the spotlight equally. Throughout their then potentially hazardous set, Buffalo, Terry, and P Smoov tossed toilet paper into the crowd and rapped while crowd surfing over fans. Some of the best crowd interaction of the weekend happened during songs like ”Love in a Strange World” or “I Want Your Blood”, which have deeper meanings than their titles imply. Then again, they’re just not the same without the ridiculous introductions before them. Bottom line: Look ‘em up. -Michael Roffman

Archers of Loaf – Bigfoot Stage – 6:20 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

So, was the reunion worth it? Archers of Loaf, known for their weird songs in the ’90s, played the Bigfoot Stage to one of the smallest crowds of the entire weekend. In fact, I saw more people with artist wristbands at the show than kids with festival wristbands. It didn’t stop the band from rocking out, though, and dishing out numerous classics like the dreary “You and Me” or the thrashing “Audiowhore”. But considering nobody seemed to know who they were, it makes one think, are reunions even important anymore, or just a bunch of Internet hype? -Ted Maider

Das Racist – Yeti Stage – 6:45 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

You know what, we’ll try and cut Das Racist some slack, as they traveled all the way from performing a show at Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona, Spain the night before. But even if we gave them the most slack in the history of slack cutting, this was still one of the worst performances at Sasquatch. Things got off to a bad start when they didn’t go on until 40 minutes after they were supposed to. The crowd was visibly restless, and were on the verge of eating and/or maiming each other when Das Racist finally came on. And from there, one would assume that they were never able to fully recover. Das Racist’s bread and butter is drunken, lazy, nonsensical raps. It’s just part of their charm. But for this particular performance they were either remarkably jet lagged, or especially drunk. Even when they finally started performing, they barely moved, and their raps should be more accurately described as very quick mumbling. Not even their extremely popular “hahahaha jk?” could save them. And what had been one of the largest crowds at the Yeti Stage quickly dispersed, either to find some floor space for The Flaming Lips, or to bump up the hill to see Gayngs. -Winston Robbins

Gayngs – Bigfoot Stage – 7:30 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

Gayngs were tragically scheduled against The Flaming Lips, which obviously took away from a crowd that should have been bigger. But for those who stuck around, it was well worth the small portion of The Flaming Lips that had to be missed. All eyes were intensely glued to the stage, hoping Justin Vernon and Mike Noyce of Bon Iver would show up, but when the suave 10-piece band took the stage neither of the men were to be found. After the initial disappointment wore off, the crowd began to get into Gayngs’ slow, sexy jams. Ryan Olson has enough charisma and then some to make up for the lack of Vernon. The backing band consisted of relatively unknown individuals, (other than Zach Coulter) but were all immensely impressive. With Olson at the helm, the backing musicians rapidly seeing limelight, and Bon Iver members popping in and out, Gayngs very well might one day be America’s answer to Broken Social Scene. “The Gaudy Side of Town”, “The Crystal Rope”, and set closer “The Last Prom On Earth” were all met with huge fanfare and massive sing-a-longs despite a no-showing Justin Vernon. -Winston Robbins

The Flaming Lips – Mainstage – 8:00 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

The Flaming Lips are no stranger to the festival scene. Not only do they seem to play every notable festival year after year, their music feels expertly tailored for the events filled with drug-infused music lovers and experimental looky-loos. Their appearance at Sasquatch though had one change from the norm; they were playing their beloved album, 1999′s The Soft Bulletin, in its entirety. Of course they had their trademark theatrics to wow over the general public, such as guns that shot pastel confetti, the cast of The Wizard of Oz dancing on the sides of the stages, singer Wayne Coyne in a giant hamster ball, multi-colored balloons, and crazy video projections. But hardcore fans were also delighted to hear the psychedelic harmonies and orchestrations of the acclaimed album. It started off at a good pace with “Race for the Prize” luring people into the set’s vibe.

By the time they reached “The Spiderbite Song“, Coyne began to tell stories about the band members Steven Drozds and Michael Ivins, which slowed the momentum down. Sure, Coyne can sometimes yammer on too much, but at least he’s always engaged and always sincere with his interaction with the audience, and appreciative of the set’s stunning location. Even if you weren’t high off your gourd, you still felt a bit of magic at the playful atmosphere and the sight of the orange sun setting behind the rugged hills of the Columbia River Gorge.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

The set ended on a rather somber note which might have pulled some of the crowd down before Modest Mouse hit the stage, but there’s no doubt Lips fans walked away satisfied. It was a good way for the band to marry their over-the-top theatrics with their spared down melodies, making it feel that even though you were surrounded by many, the Lips were singing just for you. -Karina Halle

Flying Lotus – Banana Shack – 8:40 p.m.

Photo by Christopher Nelson

Let’s think of this set in terms of stocks and bonds. Skipping The Flaming Lips for Flying Lotus is obviously a high risk investment. But every now and again on Wall Street, sheer dumb luck makes Franklins fall from the sky, and your payout becomes exponentially larger than what you invested to begin with, making your initial investment worth the risk. The 2,500 people that were either brave or drunk enough to make this gamble came out of Flying Lotus’ set feeling like masters of stocks and bond; it was truly one of the greatest risks they ever took.

Even Steven Ellingson (Flying Lotus) himself was surprised to see so many people in the crowd, remarking “I made the two and a half, three hour drive here thinking the whole time no one would show up. But you did! And I thank you from the bottom of my heart for it.” And it was with that grateful sentiment that FlyLo started his set, which was an hour of pure electronic/hip-hop bliss. Ellingson was literally smiling the entire time, and the wheat had been separated from the chaff, if you will, leaving only the truest of true fans to party with Flying Lotus, creating an even more legitimate environment.

Photo by Luke Johnson

As a result of FlyLo’s appreciation and the crowd’s enthusiasm, he rolled out a set that will go down in history as one of his most spectacular. Incorporating Radiohead, Lil’ Wayne, and dozens of other artists in with his own infectious beats sent chills down the spines of those watching. The Banana Shack nearly toppled over (figuratively, of course) when he mixed the sheer grit of Tyler, The Creator’s “Yonkers” on top of one of his most bass-heavy tracks, “Melt!”. Word spread quickly and a major topic of conversation between festival-goers for the rest of the weekend was about how bummed they were that they went with The Flaming Lips (all due respect to Mr. Coyne and Mr. Drozd) over Flying Lotus. -Winston Robbins

Yeasayer – Bigfoot Stage – 9:00 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

After The Flaming Lips fizzled out, thousands flocked to the Bigfoot Stage, where Yeasayer turned the heat up. (Actually, it was getting pretty cold, so it made sense that people would want to dance.) Though the lights were impressive and Chris Keating, Ira Wolf Tuton, and Anand Wilder all maintained a stoic composure, a few tracks felt a tad hollow. On record, “O.N.E.” feels so all encompassing, but on stage it felt lacking. Maybe it was just too loud or too open of a space, but the tracks didn’t leave any bruises upon impact. Instead, they just warmed things up. “Ambling Alp” solved a lot of these issues, but by then, most were flocking away towards Modest Mouse. See you in the clubs, guys. -Michael Roffman

Modest Mouse – Mainstage – 9:45 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

Prior to this show, I heard countless horror stories about Modest Mouse, and people’s experiences with them. Stories like “I’ve seen them three times and they sucked for all of them” were quite popular, as well as, “Last time, Issac Brock was so drunk he couldn’t even sing ‘Dramamine’”. One must assume that the people who organize Sasquatch! know what they’re doing, because they billed Modest Mouse as Sunday’s headliner, and it seemed to be one of the headliners most people were concerned about. But when Brock and friends took the stage, everyone swelled and wondered what was going to come next. Brock stood in front of the mic quietly as feedback filled the Gorge until finally, he took a deep breath and screamed, “THIS PLANE IS DEFINITELY CRASHING!”, which meant one thing: “Shit Luck”. For those in attendance, as a Modest Mouse fan, you can die happy now.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

They didn’t stop there either. The band dipped all over their catalog for the next two hours. A soothing “Gravity Rides Everything” followed, a fantastic rendition of “Dramamine” (complete with all the lyrics) was delivered, two new songs were debuted (“Lampshades on Fire”, “Poison”), and even more recent stranger songs like “King Rat” were played, too. People danced, people sang, yet all were genuinely pleased that, for once, Modest Mouse was fucking killing it. They even played their most mainstream hit, “Float On”, which was more than enough to get the crowd on their feet and rocking out with every ounce of strength. But by far the most epic part of the night was the encore that included “World at Large”, especially as every “Ba ba ba” bounced off the Gorge. Only at Sasquatch kids… -Ted Maider

MSTRKRFT – Banana Shack – 10:00 p.m.

Photo by Jackie Kingsbury

Leave it to Jesse Keeler to be responsible for creating not one but two of the most out of control shows at Sasquatch! 2011. His other project, the recently reincarnated Death From Above 1979, rocked the Gorge to its knees two days prior, and he did it again, only this time in a completely different vein of music. Keeler and his producer cohort Al-P took to the Sasquatch! equivalent of Coachella’s Sahara Tent, The Banana Shack, to throw what would be the biggest rave at this year’s installment of the festival. In the past, MSTRKRFT haven’t been known for their studio music being extremely rave-centric. But with the release of this year’s singles “Back In the USSA” and “Beards Again” (both of which were played during the set), it seems as though MSTRKRFT may be headed that way if and when they decide to drop a new full-length.

Photo by Jackie Kingsbury

With the exception of a few of the hip hop samples that appeared on their (pretty lackluster) sophomore album, Fist of God, they didn’t play a single song off their two LPs; they played only new music that was a menagerie of smart sampling, well placed drops, and house-savvy beats. When it came for them to leave, Keeler announced to the crowd that they wanted to keep playing, and that they would soldier on well past their time slot and wouldn’t leave until the crowd didn’t want to hear them anymore or until an authority figure told them they couldn’t go on any longer. Obviously the ravers didn’t want them to stop (how do ravers go for 12 hours at a time and barely even break a sweat? They’re a rare sub-species, who I find to be particularly interesting), especially when they  combined their “Beards Again” with Daft Punk’s “Da Funk”. They ended up playing until 11:40, 40 minutes after when they were scheduled to stop. Eat your heart out, Sahara Tent. -Winston Robbins

Ratatat – Bigfoot Stage – 11:00 p.m.

Photo by Christopher Nelson

Ratatat has found their niche in the music world. After two solid releases – their self-titled, and Classics – the instrumental duo found themselves immensely popular, giving them the leniency to sort of do whatever the hell they want, musically. And they’ve done just that. They’ve gone down an alley of quick, bright sampling that is fairly different than their first two releases, but impressive all the same, especially in a live setting.

They pulled the late night slot at Sasquatch, which screams perfection in terms of time slot placement. And even though MSTRKRFT and Modest Mouse ate through a good bit of their set, Ratatat drew a huge crowd, especially once the aforementioned bands were done. People returning to camp were naturally drawn in by the enormously catchy sound, and even more so by the bizarre visual arrangements.

Photo by Christopher Nelson

Not only did the stage lighting involve some of the most elaborate sets at Sasquatch! (other than The Flaming Lips, of course), the montages being played over  the massive screens were so visually captivating, it was nearly impossible to look away. From bad infomercial acting to wildly shifting arrangements of birds, the screens were nearly as fun to watch as the band itself, who were quite impressive. No longer touring solely behind LP4, they were allowed to visit old favorites like “Loud Pipes”, “Kennedy”, and “Wildcat”. But that didn’t stop them from playing some of the strongest new material such as “Falcon Jab”, “Shempi”, and “Neckbrace”. But no track even held a candle to the one encore song they played as they approached one in the morning: an incredibly well re-arranged version of all-time classic “Seventeen Years”. It was the perfect way to end the most dance heavy day of the festival. -Winston Robbins

Sunday Gallery by Heather Kaplan

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Monday, May 30th

Wavves – Mainstage – 11:30 a.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

Perhaps it was the fact that they were a late addition, but Wavves was scheduled far too early in the morning. It’s not like Nathan Williams’ surf-punk project needs the extra exposure or anything, they get plenty of that from every musically oriented output in the civilized world. But after three days of hard festival partying, 11:30 a.m. was a little too early for everyone but the absolute biggest Wavves fans. Regardless, they put on one of the most energetic shows of the day, peaking with the one two punch combo of “King of the Beach” and “Idiot”. -Winston Robbins

Young the Giant – Mainstage – 12:35 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

Young the Giant had its work cut out for it following a morning Wavves set, and results were mixed. The energy lagged a little, perhaps because of the heat and everyone being tired by Monday. But Sameer Gadhia and co. did their best to counteract this, and had the pit jumping during the set-closing single “My Body”. - Harry Painter

Twin Shadow – Yeti Stage – 1:00 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

Brooklyn’s George Lewis, Jr., aka Twin Shadow, crafted an excellent album in Forget. It’s sad, it’s haunting, and it’s beautiful all at once. But none of that came across live, which may sound like a knock, but is a huge compliment. Lewis and his confident five-piece band went about their songs tirelessly for their 50 minute set. As well as debuting two new songs (which hopefully means he’s working on a follow-up with Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor, who produced the first record), Twin Shadow did ultra dance versions of their ominous new wave songs (in the order that they appear on the record) “Tyrant Destroyed”, “When We Were Dancing”, and “I Can’t Wait”. If Lewis doesn’t become a prominent figure in the rise of chillwave, whatever the hell that means anymore, I’ll be thoroughly surprised. The man is an incredible performer, has great stage presence, and best of all writes fantastic music. -Winston Robbins

Old 97′s – Mainstage – 1:40 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

Once again, maybe it has to do with playing in the heat on a tired Monday afternoon when everyone was trying to nap, but the Old 97′s completely failed to get a reaction out of anyone outside the front rows. And it’s just as likely the Old 97′s were the ones putting everyone to sleep. One song blended into another, into another. The songs that made an impression were “I’m a Trainwreck”, “Every Night Is Friday Night (Without You)”, and “Timebomb”. -Harry Painter

Chromeo – Mainstage – 2:45 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

On paper, a midday Chromeo show sounds as enthralling as watching Miami Vice on a sick day. It’s just not the right mood. However, early Sunday at the Gorge, Montreal’s unlikely duo Dave 1 and P-Thugg delivered all the glitz and glamour of their traditional live show. The fans helped make it magical, too. In addition to dancing and sweating a storm under the scorching hot sun, thousands of fans tossed around inflatable sea animals, exclaiming as each shark or octopus made its way toward them. Surrounded by his back up singers, an idea no doubt borrowed from the late Robert Palmer, Dave 1, remarked, “Pretty lively for a Monday afternoon, I’d say.” Between set opener (and last year’s hit single) “Don’t Turn the Lights On” to the lyrical madness that’s “Momma’s Boy”, the two prowlers of the night became close friends with the sun. Judging from the sea of festivalgoers flooding the area, Chromeo made a connection there, too. -Michael Roffman

Black Mountain – Bigfoot Stage – 3:00 p.m.

God bless Black Mountain for adding a little classic rock pep to what was an exasperatingly slow morning. I guess even festivals sometimes suffer from cases of“The Mondays”. The Vancouver-based hard rockers took the stage to a massive hometown(ish) crowd. It seemed as though every member of the audience knew every word to every song. They opened big with Wilderness Heart duet “The Hair Song”, blending male and female vocals to perfection. The set got even bigger with the trippy In The Future track “Wucan”, followed by the climactic “Tyrants” with its epic drum solo, followed by the metal-worthy guitar solo. Not a whole lot of crowd interaction went on, but when you are that naturally talented, that matters little. They were certainly a fan favorite of the morning. -Winston Robbins

Guided by Voices – Mainstage – 3:50 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

Sadly and incredibly, Guided by Voices was the victim of the largest exodus of the weekend, one only possible because of Chromeo’s humongous crowd. The hordes of youngins that turned up for Chromeo’s mid-afternoon dance party and filled out the floor somehow found their way out in 20 minutes to watch Paul F. Tompkins or something. GBV, a reunion act that appears to be nearing the end of its current run, was left with maybe 200 people in the pit and a largely apathetic lawn crowd.

The liquor-swigging Robert Pollard commented on the disparity, observing that no one seemed to care about GBV. He mockingly wondered aloud, “Who was that last shitty band?” and his loyal pit-dwellers screamed back “Chromeo” at him before engaging in a “GBV” chant. The negativity ended there, however, and Pollard twice expressed gratitude for being invited to Sasquatch! and “all these lovely events.”

The presence of acts like GBV, J. Mascis, and Archers of Loaf was a sweet reminder of a time when being “indie” didn’t mean being a huge pussy. The crunchy indie rock began with “Over the Neptune / Mesh Gear Fox” and continued with favorites like “Kicker of Elves” and “Game of Pricks”. It was a set enjoyed by a select few, which used to be part of the fun of indie rock. - Harry Painter

Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings – Mainstage – 5:10 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

People love to dance, but sometimes they like to watch other people dance even more. That’s why Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings were so much fun to watch; not only can Jones sing her soul out, but she packs a mean shuffle as well. And while people will likely remember that Jones and her band sounded like a vintage soul band, and a good one at that, they will remember more vividly a young hipster named Patrick, whom Jones pulled on stage upon seeing him go nuts in the pit. “Come on, security, let him go,” pleaded Jones before yanking him up and singing at him. Patrick, a skinny white kid dressed in thigh-length shorts and a red and green striped hoodie, showed no nerve dancing in front of thousands plus cameras. The contrast was priceless; think DJ Qualls and his large black girlfriend in Road Trip. - Harry Painter

Surfer Blood – Bigfoot Stage – 6:20 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

“Thanks for sticking around and watching us in the rain!” –John Paul Pitts

It seems dreary weather and Surfer Blood’s sludgy sound go together perfectly, but all in all, there needs to be more bands like this in indie music these days. Sure, their sound is a bit murky, but it’s totally distinct, and the band constantly exerts loads of energy. For example, singer and guitarist John Paul Pitts has a tendency to thrash his guitar about like it’s a toy (although he claimed their equipment had been stolen prior), and he likes to run up on the amps and into the crowd. During “Take it Easy” he wandered through the audience, shaking hands (including our very own Winston Robbins). And the band played such a high-octant version of “Fast Jabroni” and dedicated it to all of us “living the gremlin life”. They even revealed new material with tracks entitled “Miranda” and “Golden Boys” to show that this isn’t the last we have heard of Surfer Blood…and thank God for that one. -Ted Maider

Rodrigo y Gabriela – Mainstage – 6:35 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

Rodrigo y Gabriela are so talented you can’t help but laugh at how small they make everyone else look. Their coordination is flawless, they make it look easy, and now they apparently do it without sitting on a stool. Both players, but Rodrigo especially, genuinely love the stage. Rodrigo wears a knowing smile on his face, one that says “You think that was good? Then watch this.” They even controlled the weather; it begun to suddenly pour rain when Rodrigo y Gabriela came on, then stopped after 15 minutes. The set included tributes to Jimi Hendrix and Metallica, but only a tease of the beginning of “Stairway to Heaven” (denied!). - Harry Painter

Best Coast – Yeti Stage – 6:45 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

For awhile, Monday looked like the perfect day for the sunny cadence of Best Coast. For one, it was by far the hottest of the four days and, what’s more, the sun graced every corner of the Gorge Amphitheatre grounds. You couldn’t hide from it. However, after a surprisingly demanding set by Foster the People, a five minute session of heavy rain (the heaviest of the weekend) came down and pretty much changed the scenery. Throw in a chilly breeze and some dusty clouds and you suddenly had a very unlikely setting for Bethany Cosentino & Co. “I feel like I’m at Woodstock or some shit,” Cosentino, the sweet tongue songwriter with the grungy underbelly, observed. “But seriously, this shit is fucked up.” In addition to pounding away favorites like “Miss You”, “Boyfriend”, and “When I’m With You”, Cosentino also got fuzzy and dirty on “The End” and “Crazy for You”. By the time she rang through “Our Deal”, she had the very dedicated yet very wet crowd feeding out of the palm of her hand. Nice try, weather. -Michael Roffman

The Decemberists – Mainstage – 8:00 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

It was a bit of a bittersweet moment watching The Decemberists, finding out it would be Jenny Conlee’s last appearance with the band for a while as she fights breast cancer. But Conlee was in great spirits, and The Decemberists played happy songs; in fact, it was an all-around feel-good set.

The band mainly stuck to The King Is Dead material, with a couple off of 2009′s The Hazards of Love and some older ones. Early on, Colin Meloy’s acoustic guitar began to experience problems, which was a blessing in disguise. Because guitarist Chris Funk, also in disguise as the Russian Sasquatch, is a born entertainer, a fact that manifested while Meloy had his guitar fixed. Funk told a “Sasquatch joke” that consisted of incoherent growls, before becoming “Jazzquatch” and displaying his scat-singing skills. Bassist Nate Query joined in with some slap bass, while Sara Watkins topped it all off with some yodeling. By the time Meloy came back into the fold, The Decemberists had begun leading the audience in a sing-along of The Outfield’s “Your Love”.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

By this point it wasn’t clear anyone wanted to hear The Decemberists play their own music anymore, but they did just in case. The band redeemed the set after the guitar problems, and closed by taking crowd participation to the next level. They played (and acted out) a full rendition of “The Mariner’s Revenge”, leading the whole amphitheatre in screaming as if everyone had been eaten by a giant whale. Tens of thousands of honest-to-goodness dorks complied, and it was delightful. - Harry Painter

Deerhunter – Bigfoot Stage – 9:00 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

Admittedly, I was embarrassed for the people of Sasquatch! when 10 minutes before Deerhunter were to start, there were hardly 200 people in attendance. But as Bradford Cox came on to help speed up the sound check and equipment set up (they were a good 10 minutes behind schedule), I got so busy watching him, I didn’t notice that that 200 had multiplied to thousands. And as a light rain began to fall and the deepest purple thunderclouds loomed overhead, people began to don their ponchos and garbage bags.

Photo by Ted Maider

Rushed by all of these factors, Bradford Cox and his Georgia outfit dove right into things and didn’t stop more than one or two times to tune or say thank you. It all became one beautiful cohesive piece of music, beginning with “Desire Lines”  bleeding into their new, unreleased “60 Cycle Hum”, which then turned rapidly into “Little Kids”, making for a 15 minute cohesive jam. The stormy clouds still threatened, but never quite made their move, but that didn’t stop the cold. The crowd was obviously spellbound, but for tracks that are in theory very danceable (“Nothing Ever Happened”), it was very hard to make the human body do anything other than just try and survive. The wind howled across the lands and up onto the stage, which added an epically ethereal touch to some already very ethereal rock music. And finally the lights all dimmed to leave one spotlight on Bradford Cox, who stood alone while he buzzed into a slow, chilly version of “Helicopter” that perfectly encapsulated the set. -Winston Robbins

Wilco – Mainstage – 9:30 p.m.

Photo by Christopher Nelson

“This is the place where Wilco had our worst show ever,” Jeff Tweedy said of the band’s 2004 Sasquatch! set (blame Arcade Fire). The deck was stacked against them this time around too — Wilco was the only Sasquatch! headliner without roots in Washington; Wilco’s set came in the middle of a much more energetic Deerhunter set on the Bigfoot Stage; and lastly, Wilco’s kind of a sad band, which doesn’t necessarily make for good festival-closing material. Tweedy even acknowledged it was hard to follow The Decemberists’ happy alt-rock tunes with a bunch of sad songs, but “I guess that’s what we do.”

Admittedly, if you like to end a weekend of music by partying, you were better off just watching Deerhunter and Major Lazer and heading back to the tent. Admittedly, the Chicago rockers started off by playing slow folksy songs, and didn’t exactly offset them with arena rock anthems. But what Wilco did do was play a set of 20-plus great songs with style and precision, which is all you can ask.

Photo by Christopher Nelson

Wilco’s set included Yankee Hotel Foxtrot selections like “Ashes of American Flags”, “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart”, “War On War”, and “Jesus Etc.”, the last of which Tweedy implored the crowd to sing along to; it complied. Other favorites scattered throughout were the rarely played “Company In My Back”, “Misunderstood”, “Via Chicago”, “Spiders (Kidsmoke)”, and “Impossible Germany”.

One thing that can’t be stressed enough is how much Nels Cline made the show. Whether it was his screeching guitar solos, his slide guitar twangs, or his keyboard noodling, Cline’s roles took precedence in almost every song; he’s so crucial to the performance, it’s almost hard to imagine how this band made do before 2004.

Photo by Christopher Nelson

Wilco ended the night with “Hoodoo Voodoo”, with Tweedy all smiles. A fan threw a glowstick at him, and Tweedy responded, “You missed.” More glowsticks came, and Tweedy invited them. More glowsticks, and even half-full water bottle came flying toward the stage, almost nothing hitting the target. Right when you thought Tweedy might be mad, he simply said, “You guys suck” and “good night.” Maybe this wasn’t Wilco’s worst show ever, but like Sasquatch!, Wilco had an anniversary to celebrate, and that’s just what the band did. - Harry Painter

Monday Gallery by Heather Kaplan

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The Culture of Sasquatch!

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CoS at Sasquatch!: Mini Documentary

Cameras: Michael Roffman, Ted Maider
Edited By: Colin Peterson

]]> "Not considering this opening worthy of more attention, I continued our pursuit to the Northwest, being desirous to embrace the advantages of the prevailing breeze." - George Vancouver, 17th century English explorer Breathtaking describes a lot of things. It's typically a "go-to" adjective for anything remotely awe-inspiring. For Sasquatch! Music Festival, it's the only word that works. There's little room for where it doesn't work, come to think of it. Even the drive in from Seattle, WA is enough to yank tears from the eyes. Driving through the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, you can't miss the ominous Douglas-firs, or pry your hands from the wheel at the unpredictable roads that weave and snake through the mountainous terrain. It's an adventure in every sense of the word. But, that's just the drive. Once you're there, snuggled between the small towns of Quincy & George, you're essentially cut off from the traditional confines of society. You're a free spirit, roaming the natural habitat. It's a liberating feeling, but also somewhat frightening. You're at the hands of society's loose change. Actually, it's very frightening. But, that risk is what makes it so extraordinary. After everyone's settled and the traffic conditions slacken, festivalgoers, musicians, and staff co-exist together in a melting pot within a melting pot. It's madness, it's a little chaotic, but it's raw. It harkens back to the age-old American idealism of venturing beyond, exploring the uninhabited abyss. What an abyss, though. It's so easy to just say, "Well, the Gorge is out of this world. Duh." But, that's really it. Natural wonders retain that title for a reason. The Gorge earns it triple-fold. There are colors baked into its natural walls that haven't even been named yet. Even more spellbinding, these colors evolve every minute, every hour, and each day. So at first glance, it's something you'll remember forever, but that feeling never leaves you. Couple that with music and it's truly a win-win. -Michael Roffman President/Editor-in-Chief Friday, May 27th Rival Schools - Bigfoot Stage - 4:00 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan "Hey there," Rival Schools' vocalist Walter Schreifels muttered, cracking open the four-day Sasquatch! weekend. As the still evolving crowd poured in from the nearby gates - which had only opened 15-20 minutes prior to the set - the New York rockers breezed through a slightly raucous if not traditional set. Opener "Wring It Out", their current single supporting this year's Pedals, wrenched some acclaim from fanatics who scattered around the mid-sized Bigfoot stage, granting the band access to segue straight into other new material, specifically "69 Guns", which turned things up a notch. It didn't take long for the quartet to scale back to older material, either. Oldie "Everything Has Its Point", a track that dates back to their 2001 debut, United by Fate, popped up rather quickly. Then the rest just fell into place. -Michael Roffman Mariachi El Bronx - Yeti Stage - 4:30 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan There's a moment in every festival where a band conjures up the wonderful "freak flag" moment. For Sasquatch!, it came an hour into the weekend, when Los Angeles' own The Bronx donned the sombreros and dove head first into mariachi music. Dubbed Mariachi El Bronx, after the group's WTF 2009 LP of the same name, the group really stirred the proverbial post-modern fiesta hippy pot, to which everyone just sort of let their souls run wild. Sometime amidst the chaos, one of the band members exclaimed, "There's some badass shit going on today." Although it was a tad too early to admit this, that pretty much summed up the remainder of the day. Mariachi men or fortune tellers? Hmm. -Michael Roffman Biffy Clyro – Bigfoot Stage - 5:00 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan I was lucky enough to catch Biffy Clyro at the Illosaarirock Festival in Finland last year and was completely won over by the Scottish trio’s driving live act and larger-than-life sound. Though the catchy prog-metal band isn’t well known in North America, and they were one of the first bands to play at the start of the festival, they still managed to draw a sizeable crowd of fans who knew all lyrics by heart and were moshing out during some of the harder numbers. The Biff (as their fans affectionately call them) were quick and bouncy, turning their more pop-based songs into metal numbers and causing lead singer and guitarist (and Jesus lookalike) Simon Neil to break his strings several times over. -Karina Halle Bob Mould - Mainstage - 5:45 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan Similar to Paul Westerberg, Bob Mould travels alone these days. Actually, the major difference between the two is that the latter actually travels. However, their stage show is strikingly similar - at least when Westerberg last toured. It's bare bones logic: a famed songwriter, alone, with an electric guitar, and a largely celebrated discography in the noggin. That might sound like a match made in heaven, but when you're playing the Gorge Amphitheatre, it's a tad...vacuous? Still early in the schedule, with the sun blazing beyond the hills and mountainous plains (if that makes sense), Mould, decked out in red flannel and some jeans, strolled out to a small yet adoring fan base. (Small in the sense that he's performing at the fucking Gorge.) Still, as he patrolled through Hüsker Dü classics like "Hardly Getting Over It" or solo hits a la "Wishing Well", he maintained an edge that was hard to dismiss. In the middle of the set, one fan nearby caught his attention, screaming, "Just rock on man! You're doing great!" A sweaty, rather exhausted Mould replied back, "I'm trying, man." In the end, you have to respect that. -Michael Roffman Against Me! - Bigfoot Stage - 6:10 p.m. Photo by Christopher Nelson In keeping with Friday's theme of nonstop hard rock, Against Me! played a consistently high-energy set to close the Bigfoot Stage for the evening. No acoustic breakdowns or intimate stage banter, just rocker after rocker, including highlights "Pints of Guinness Make You Strong", "T.S.R. (This Shit Rules)", and "I Was a Teenage Anarchist". At one of the Florida punk band's headlining shows it would have been tiring, but this was an ideal one-hour festival set. Outside of maybe Dave Grohl, Wayne Coyne, and Dave King, Tom Gabel was quietly the most likable frontman at Sasquatch!. Against Me! also earns points for choosing plain black tees over the flannel everyone else was wearing throughout the weekend. - Harry Painter The Bronx – Mainstage – 6:45 p.m. Photo by Jackie Kingsbury “I want to see all of you move out there! There’s a Sasquatch in all of you!” – Matt Caughthran Not many bands received two sets at Sasquatch this weekend; although, it’s arguable you could even count The Bronx’s shows as two sets. After an upbeat Mariachi show, they wandered to the Sasquatch stage where they stripped off the gear, but turned up the volume. There, the band screamed and thrashed, while the nearby pit proceeded to go ape-shit. They slammed through tracks like "They Will Kill Us All (Without Mercy)" and "White Tar", and set a much different vibe than the Mariachi set, as body parts were actually smashed at this show. To go from playing sexy salsa tunes to hardcore numbers with names like “Heart Attack America” was more or less a bloody and triumphant transition. -Ted Maider Death From Above 1979 - Mainstage - 8:00 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan The banner behind what would eventually become the DFA riot was a picture of a tombstone that read: “DFA 1979, 2001-2006”. Far more interesting than the tombstone, however, were the ghoulish images of Jesse Keeler and Sebastian Grainger emerging from the gravesite. The secret’s been out for some time (see: Coachella and SXSW), but Death From Above 1979 are back from the dead and sounding better than ever. Photo by Heather Kaplan Not ones to stop and chat, the pioneering duo took the stage and began melting faces right off the bat. The two took the slow afternoon from zero to 60 in a matter of milliseconds, and they didn’t relent for the entire time they were allotted. Mosh pockets opened up in literally every part of the Gorge, from the very front of the pit to the lawn seating, which made sense, considering DFA1979 has the power to bring human beings the insatiable urge to push one another. The set climaxed with a three song KO – “Sexy Results”, “Romantic Rights”, and “Do It!” - and as one might expect, everyone left the pit drenched in other people’s sweat, blood, and booze. Which I’m sure is what DFA consider a complete triumph. -Winston Robbins Foo Fighters – Mainstage - 9:30 p.m. When Sasquatch first announced that the festival would be four days long instead of three, many people wondered how on Earth they’d be able to draw in the crowds on Friday, the day that wasn’t a national holiday. Then they announced the Foo Fighters were headlining that night and everything fell into place. If there is any band that fans would skip out on work for, it’s the Foo Fighters. Of course, it’s always been kind of “cool” to rag on the Foo for being too commercial or “happy”, but riding high on the success of their latest album, Wasting Light, even cynical festival-goers were at least stopping by the main stage to check out their act. And if they checked their cynicism at the door, it was hard to walk away disappointed. From the moment Dave Grohl and his plaid-clad crew of chain-smoking Pat Smear, Chris Shiflett, Nate Mendel, and Taylor Hawkins (the only one not in flannel), took to the stage, the audience was treated to two hours of wailing guitars, singalong anthems, and never ending energy. They opened with Wasting Light’s raucous “Bridge Burning” and sailed all the way through to “Everlong” (forgoing the encore, as Grohl said, “We’d rather keep playing until the end”) and the enthusiasm from the band and the crowd never dipped for a second. Though I would have loved for all songs off of Wasting Light to be played, they did pull out a fair chunk of it including “White Limo”, “Arlandria”, and “Dear Rosemary” (featuring Bob Mould who played the same stage earlier). The soaring, feel-good “Walk” united the crowd as much as their older hits such as “My Hero” and “Learn to Fly” did, and they even tossed out lesser-played songs such as “I’ll Stick Around” and “Generator”. [vimeo 24549112 500 325] The thing about the Foo Fighters is that they never just play their songs as is, they have to take them a step beyond. At Sasquatch this meant an extra epic jam session for “Monkey Wrench”, a drum solo courtesy of the tireless Hawkins, and numerous bridge breakdowns and build ups. Though it’s an effective live tool, the technique became repetitive after the 10th song, but as soon as Grohl slams back into the chorus, you were singing along with him and bumping elbows with people in the world’s happiest mosh pit. There were rumors that Grohl’s ex-bandmate Krist Novoselic was there watching from the side stage, which would have been an amazing opportunity for him to come out and join the band (especially since he contributed to Wasting Light’s heartfelt “I Should Have Known”), but perhaps he wanted this moment to be all about the Foo Fighters and not a quick Nirvana reunion, which is understandable. The Foo Fighters ended Friday with a sea of smiles and set the bar high for the whole festival. -Karina Halle Photo by Heather Kaplan Friday Gallery by Heather Kaplan [nggallery id=220] Saturday, May 28th Seattle Rock Orchestra - Bigfoot Stage - 12:00 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan On paper, an orchestra performing the songs of Radiohead sounds worthwhile -- and what better venue to house such an event than the stage closest to the entrance of a hip music festival as a bunch of likely Radiohead fans walk in? Last year was a similar deal, with the Seattle Rock Orchestra instead performing an Arcade Fire tribute. For whatever reason, this time around, people were not moved to sing along, dance, or even pay much attention. Seattle Rock Orchestra, which has at times been comprised of over 60 members, brought out a couple dozen at most to play hits from The Bends and OK Computer. The problem was it felt more like a standard cover band with a string section than a real orchestra as the abridged SRO recited uninspired arrangements of "Just", "Airbag", "Paranoid Android", and "My Iron Lung". There were bright spots, however. "Exit Music", "Electioneering", and "Karma Police", despite never approaching the emotional gusto of the originals, at least did some justice to them and made the strings and horns feel necessary. Using multiple decidedly un-Yorkeian vocalists (including a female) was a good call, and the performances never felt cheesy. - Harry Painter The Radio Dept. - Mainstage - 1:05 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan For as long as The Radio Dept.’s been at it, and for how very little they tour, they should have been placed later in the day. But beggars can’t be choosers, and no matter the time of day, The Radio Dept. in the flesh is The Radio Dept. in the flesh. Touring behind their latest singles collection Passive  Aggressive, their setlist consisted entirely of the singles they’ve released over the past decade and a half. From Lesser Matters’ “Ewan” to the more recent “Heaven’s On Fire” off their last LP, 2010's Clinging To A Scheme. The three piece Swedish outfit timidly went about their 45 minutes to a fairly full floor, which makes sense, given the fact that they’re somewhat reclusive and playing to a very, very large Gorge lawn crowd. Never ones to crack under the pressure, they played a beautiful set note for note. -Winston Robbins k-os – Bigfoot Stage - 3:00 p.m. Photo by Karina Halle Toronto-based musician k-os (nee Kevin Brereton) brought a lively dose of his grooving rap-rock to the Bigfoot stage. There was a distinct lack of hip-hop acts at Sasquatch, so savvy festival-goers were quick to catch his set, his reggae-induced beats suiting the blue-sky and sunshine perfectly. Songs like “Sunday Morning”, “I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman”, and “Man I Used to Be” went over well despite the stage's frequent sound problems that plagued his microphone and interrupted a few of the songs. -Karina Halle Local Natives - Mainstage - 3:15 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan It would have been easy to overlook the Local Natives as the band that played Sasquatch! because Fleet Foxes can't be there every year. That is, it would have been easy had they not turned so many heads. Besides it being a little hard to take seriously a folk band led by a guy with a porn star mustache, Local Natives earned their stripes with what frontman Taylor Rice said was their biggest gig yet (the list includes their appearance at Sasquatch! 2010 on the smaller Bigfoot Stage). Local Natives played the usual Gorilla Manor material, before reporting they would be heading home to L.A. to record the next album. - Harry Painter Trailer Park Boys – Banana Shack - 3:45 p.m. Photo by Karina Halle What to say about the Trailer Park Boys? Because Canada’s answer to Reno 911 follows the lives of Nova Scotian ex-convicts Bubbles (Mike Smith), Ricky (Rob Wells), and Julian (John Paul Tremblay) in a trailer trash mockumentary style, it was interesting to see how the show would play out as a live comedy show (at a US festival, too). Though it was hard to hear and see at times, the trio managed to titillate the mainly Canadian crowd (this I deduced from the “Go Canucks Go” chant just prior) and maybe win over a few new fans. The free hot dogs that Julian tossed into the crowd probably helped too. -Karina Halle Wolf Parade - Mainstage - 4:20 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan This set was doubly tragic. Not only did indie veterans Wolf Parade only get 45 minutes to play, but it would (possibly, probably) be the last time they performed for a very long time. They announced months ago that they were going on an indefinite hiatus, Sasquatch! Music Festival being the last stop before calling it quits. The enormity of the situation wasn’t lost on the crowd, either. Wolf Parade drew the largest group of people for any band non head or sub-headlining. Seemingly undaunted by any of these stressors, they put on a historic show. Once again, it was tragically short, but it was bursting at the seams with the best work of their career. Obviously, the tracks from Apologies To Queen Mary (“You Are A Runner And I Am My Father’s Son” and “Fancy Claps” in particular) were the best received, but they gave each track the treatment it deserved. Expo 86 cut “What Did My Lover Say? (It Always Had To Go This Way)” primed the crowd before they played themselves off with a rendition of “I’ll Believe In Anything” that sent chills down the spines of all those who grasped the reality of the situation. -Winston Robbins J. Mascis - Yeti Stage - 4:35 p.m. Photo by Christopher Nelson The demographics that made up Sasquatch! couldn't have been expected to know or care who J. Mascis was, and it appeared most didn't. But it wasn't much of a challenge for the silver-maned, baseball cap-wearing Dinosaur Jr. frontman to win people over. Featuring songs off his debut solo album, Several Shades of Why, as well as some Dino Jr. favorites, Mascis' set alternated between accessible acoustic folk rock and the noisy guitar solos for which he is known. The 1993 Dino Jr. track "Get Me", in particular, had the Yeti crowd in a trance. Mascis wins the old guy award for the weekend, as great as Bob Mould was. - Harry Painter Jenny & Johnny - Bigfoot Stage - 5:10 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider It was not a secret that the crowd kept very well, they were absolutely at this set just to see Jenny Lewis. And why wouldn’t they be? She was true to form: beautiful, endearing, and immensely talented. Joke was on the Lewis-driven crowd, though, when they realized that singer-songwriter Johnathan Rice (the Johnny portion of the duo) was no laughing matter. The two (with the help of Rilo Kiley and Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band drummer Jason Boesel) put on a sweet show, singing songs about love and loss with unmatched pop sensibility. I’m Having Fun Now tracks “Scissor Runner” and “Pet Snakes” seemed to particularly catch the attention of the crowd. But in the end, the hapless Jenny Lewis fans got what they wanted when she broke out Acid Tongue epic “The Next Messiah”. -Winston Robbins Wye Oak - Yeti Stage - 5:40 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan Saturday's breakout act was a hell of a follow-up to J. Mascis. Baltimore's Wye Oak, which consists of singer/guitarist Jenn Wasner and drummer/keyboardist (simultaneously!) Andy Stack, is a duo that has all the depth of a standard four-piece. Wasner could work on emphasizing her vocals, but between Wye Oak and The Radio Dept., Saturday was a good day for dream pop. -Harry Painter The Antlers - Bigfoot Stage - 6:20 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider Fresh off the release of their impeccable Burst Apart, it was uncertain how this set would go for The Antlers. It was so vastly different from its predecessor, it seemed impossible that the two albums could ever share the same stage. This worry was alleviated when it was revealed track by track that they were playing Burst Apart in the order it appears on the LP tracklist. Coming out with the enormous “I Don’t Want Love”, the Brooklyn trio (with a backing drummer) destroyed the Bigfoot Stage fearlessly. There wasn’t time for them to play the album in its entirety, unfortunately, in the 45 minutes they were allotted, but they got the first six of the 10 tracks in, and peaked during an almost post-rock version of “Rolled Together”. They closed with the only track from their 2009 hit album Hospice they’d play all night, “Two”. But even that old track had been altered to sound a tad more Burst Apart-y, for lack of a better phrase. It will be interesting to see how The Antlers go about splicing these two vastly different pieces of work into a coherent live set, but it was something we were fortunately (or unfortunately?) spared of having to deal with. But after seeing them play a sunset performance at The Gorge, there seem to be very few things The Antlers can’t do right. -Winston Robbins The Thermals - Yeti Stage - 6:45 p.m. There are some pros and cons to the Yeti Stage. On the positive side, it faces the outside horizon; the area that surrounds the festival; the natural habitats that bring people here week after week. On the downside, it also faces the setting sun. Many artists have had problems with this; after all, who wants to rock out with a blinding sun? However, Portland's own The Thermals remained true to their name, using the sun's radiant energy to, and please pardon the use of the pun, thermally ignite. With an agreeable combination of both new and old, the minimalistic trio punched and kicked through nearly 20 songs in the evening's transitioning hour. During an incendiary opening cut of "Time to Lose", vocalist Hutch Harris took things to the floor, channeling his inner Chuck Berry, and kept things going with "Returning to the Fold", "Not Like Any Other Feeling", and "It's Trivia". Blame it on their tour with the always thrilling Matt & Kim, but The Thermals were fiddling with an energy that hasn't been this exciting for awhile. The crowd fed off it, too. Before they trekked forward, Harris observed: "Oh yeah, it's getting rowdy out there. Keep it going Sasquatch." They did, but so did the band. -Michael Roffman Photo by Heather Kaplan Washed Out - Banana Shack - 7:00 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider The newly re-vamped Verizon Banana Shack seemed the perfect home for chillwave pioneers Washed Out. But hindsight’s 20/20, and they would have been better suited at a regular stage. The Banana Shack is more commonly home to house/dance music, and it took an extremely long time to get the band’s gear onstage. They finally managed to start 20 minutes after their scheduled time, and seemed very scattered throughout their set as a result. Leading man Ernest Greene was the glue that held the set together as he ran through a shortened set that incorporated old favorites (“New Theory, “Feel It All Around”), introduced a new song, and closed with a rendition of their latest single “Eyes Be Closed” that was almost good enough to redeem the flaws of the show. Washed Out started out as Ernest Greene, and as it has expanded to a five-piece, some of his earlier songs seemed very crowded with five instruments trying to create a fairly small sound. But as for the song they debuted and “Eyes Be Closed”, the band couldn’t have sounded better, and Washed Out’s forthcoming Within And Without will no doubt be a bigger, bolder record. But this particular show? Washed Out dropped the ball. -Winston Robbins Bright Eyes -Mainstage - 8:15 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan The veteran cast of Bright Eyes (along with their backing band, which includes Rilo Kiley/Mystic Valley Band drummer, Jason Boesel) took the stage one at a time -legendary producer/artist Mike Mogis, followed by the master of quiet intangibles Nate Walcott, all leading to the centerpiece of the indie legends: Conor Oberst. Oberst emerged from the side of the stage throwing his arms around, while wearing a hood that covered most of his face, which made him look uncannily like B. Rabbit from 8 Mile. The music that ensued was far from rap battling, however, and Oberst took no time getting into his all too short sub-headlining set with a massive rendition of The People’s Key single “Firewall”, which sent the crowd into an uproar. It was deathly cold and getting colder by the minute, but that didn’t deter the insanely devoted Oberst fans down in the pit. Every movement he made, every word he said (of course he had something to say about politics and the state of affairs in our day and age), and every song he sung inspired the crowd to get more and more worked up. Their hour set included songs from every era of the Bright Eyes career: tracks from I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning, Lifted or the Story is in the Telling, Cassadaga, and even one from Fevers & Mirrors, which he dedicated to his contemporaries that he’d been in the business with since late 90’s: Iron & Wine and Death Cab For Cutie. And while I’m sure they appreciated the gesture, the set was about the fans. Photo by Heather Kaplan “Four Winds”, “Lover I Don’t Have To Love”, and a combination of “Road To Joy” and  “One For You, One For Me” caused a particularly large uproar. The latter of the three mentioned was possibly the most moving of the entire weekend. Oberst left the stage to join his adoring fans, one of whom hurdled the barrier and kissed him passionately on the lips before being escorted away by security. As the voice over to “One For You, One For Me” played over the PA, Oberst remained at the front of the crowd hugging and shaking the hands of fans, some of whom were literally weeping to be in his presence. Love him or hate him, Conor Oberst has an immovable charisma that speaks powerfully to some. -Winston Robbins [vimeo 24559363 500 325] Robyn - Bigfoot Stage - 9:00 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan It wasn't really fair to pit Robyn between Bright Eyes and Death Cab for Cutie - especially since the latter hasn't toured in quite awhile. However, the Swedish treat sweetened enough folks by name alone to create a massive scene at the Bigfoot Stage. Technical difficulties pushed the set back 25 minutes, which turned the crowd into a tepid mob scene. Several fans chanted "Robyn!", plenty walked away, and one guy wholeheartedly attempted to sell the crowd on chanting "18 minutes late!" (which soon evolved into "25 minutes late!"), though no one joined him. They didn't have to because once the international sensation appeared, all energy was focused on dancing. Strictly dancing. Smiling, waving, and stripping down - even amidst the chilly winds rolling through - Robyn powered through a close pocketed 45 minute set, starting with "Fembot", continuing on with "Bad Gal", and naturally including her scorching single (and Gossip Girl burner), "Dancing On My Own". A double dosage of percussion injected some adrenaline into an already impressive stage set up, tailoring songs like "Indestructible" with an epic sheen. Basically, if you haven't seen her live, then you're not just missing out, you're selling your heart short. -Michael Roffman Death Cab for Cutie – Mainstage – 9:30 p.m. Writer’s Note: Ben Gibbard needs a haircut. As it was the 10th anniversary of Sasquatch, it seemed reasonable to book some of the Pacific Northwest’s finest modern acts to carry on the torch for another year. Seattle’s own Death Cab for Cutie was a perfect choice for such an occasion as they continue to embody the Washington spirit. As time has raced on by, Death Cab has gone from an indie sensation to a slew of pop-stars with constant airplay. Only in Seattle, right? To prove that they were worthy of a headlining title, Gibbard  & Co. took the stage to deliver one of the most surprising shows of the weekend. The energy was quite high - especially for a Death Cab gig. Opener “I Will Possess Your Heart” lasted for ages, but its thumping bass line and stirring percussion were enough to stir the crowd. This sort of chemistry washed over other gems like “Movie Script Ending”, an electrifying “Cath”, and a version of “Long Division” that brought people to crowd surf. Hit after hit, and song after song, Death Cab for Cutie rattled their catalog for a show that would not only impress the Sasquatch crowd, but also make every fan jealous that they missed this show. The true highlight of the set though was when Gibbard came out alone to strum away Plans favorite, “I Will Follow You Into the Dark”. Feeling the raw intimacy of the song, the crowd joined along and sang in unison, their voices echoing off the walls of the Gorge. People will follow Gibbard anywhere, I guess. -Ted Maider Photo by Kyle Johnson [vimeo 24552419 500 325] Sleigh Bells -Banana Shack - 10:10 p.m. Photo by Winston Robbins The Banana Shack was hands down the best addition to this year’s installment of Sasquatch!. Very much like Coachella’s Sahara Tent, the Banana Shack was solely for the purpose of comedians during the day and electro raves at night. So, of course, this is the stage where Sleigh Bells landed. Their set was unfortunately stuck in the middle of Death Cab’s and Robyn’s respective sets, but it mattered very little in the end. They were 20 minutes late to start, but they made up for that by not only going an extra half hour longer than they were scheduled, but by rocking especially hard. Sleigh Bells are admittedly more flash than music, but their flash is so illustrious that it enhances the music to levels many of their contemporaries could only hope to achieve. After an instrumental cover of “Iron Man” by Derek Miller, Alexis Krauss joined him for what would be an hour of sheer sweaty chaos. Sleigh Bells is best played at maximum volume, and the sound in the Banana Shack more than accommodated this ideal. Being that Treats is a fairly short album they played almost every track, the highlights being “Riot Rhythm”, “Infinity Guitars”, and a very funky version of “Rill Rill”. -Winston Robbins Bassnectar – Bigfoot Stage – 11:30 p.m. Photo by Kyle Johnson Disclaimer: I hate dub-step. Prior to this show, an audience member informed me humans are conditioned to enjoy heavy bass, as the vibrations remind our subconscious of time spent in the womb and the comfort we received within it. This has to be true because thousands of people crammed in for Bassnectar’s late night show…. and, well, he delivered. The DJ, whose popularity has clearly skyrocketed within the past couple years, blew out speakers, mixed Nirvana, and played one of the highest energy sets possible. The only thing more insane than the DJ himself was the crowd. People tossed glow sticks, moshed, crowd-surfed and went ballistic. It was hands down the best dance show of the weekend. Disclaimer: I still hate dub-step. -Ted Maider Saturday Gallery by Heather Kaplan [nggallery id=221] Sunday, May 29th The Drums - Mainstage - 1:05 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan For the past year or two, New York post-punk rockers The Drums have raised eyebrows in critics' circles for making Joy Division sound sunny and fun. Their self-titled debut hit plenty of End of the Year lists last year and despite some lineup changes, they continue to truck on and maintain a some gravitas in the indie community. None of that's changed. If their early spot at the Mainstage is any indication, they're not going anywhere. Songs like "Best Friend", "Let's Go Surfing", and "Down by the Water" are all classics by now. They're great. But when beach blonde Jonathan Pierce introduced new song "Money", and reported that the band wrapped up recording their sophomore follow up, things took a turn for the best. Sounding like a spunky outtake from New Order's Movement, "Money" whisked on by with a sharp noise that made cuts in everyone's ears. That's a good thing. Waiting until we hear the studio version? Not a good thing. Either way, the boys continue to look hip (from hair to toe) and sound fresh. At this point, they can continue championing the whole surfer rock thing, even if that whole image has been burned to the ground. They at least earned it. -Michael Roffman [vimeo 24496576 500 325] Fitz & The Tantrums - Mainstage - 2:10 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan There is nothing new going on here. Fitz & The Tantrums play a predictable blend of funk and neo-soul designed, of course, to get the dance floor moving. But these guys are really good at it. Fitz, full name Michael Fitzpatrick, is a David Bowie lookalike in a flashy suit who puts in his 110 percent to get the crowd involved. How often do you see a frontman request a clap or mass kneel and fail miserably? In Fitz's case, he had everyone, lawn included, complying with his every command -- so you know he's doing something right. Highlights included "Rich Girls", the single "MoneyGrabber", and a cover of "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)". - Harry Painter S. Carey - Bigfoot Stage -  3:00 p.m. Sean Carey has come a long way from being the guy that timidly confronted Justin Vernon at a show to tell him he admired his music. Not only did he shortly thereafter join Bon Iver, but he embarked on a solo career of his own while Justin Vernon was off doing other things (you know, hanging out with Kanye West and stuff). Over the past year or so, S. Carey has toured behind his debut solo record, All We Grow, with a notable spot opening up for last year’s biggest folk sensation The Tallest Man On Earth. Carey came out confident and played his quiet, beautiful post-rock to a very large crowd, considering how early in the day he was scheduled to play. He and his five piece brought their A game and finished big with an impromptu cover of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks theme song, followed by a very subtle cover of Bjork’s “Unravel”, and an emotional version of the title track, “All We Grow”. This was surely one of his last solo performances, as he will be joining back up with Bon Iver, who is about to take over the world yet again when their new album drops later this June (don’t pretend for a second you haven’t downloaded the leak…). -Winston Robbins Tokyo Police Club – Mainstage – 3:15 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider Tokyo Police Club has been whoring out their Canadian goodness to all the festivals in the past year, so it seemed natural that they’d show up at Sasquatch! (considering how many Canadians were there to support them). The band was definitely a decent way to fill some time throughout the day’s heat, and they actually played a pretty good set. They got the crowd to help them out with “Tessellate” and jammed on gems like “Elephant Shell” and “Nature of the Experiment”. The real show though was when the band brought their good friend on stage, not to rock, but to propose to his girlfriend. Perfect for an indie-rock festival. -Ted Maider [vimeo 24559422 500 325] Sam Roberts Band – Bigfoot Stage - 4:05 p.m. Photo by Karina Halle Juno-award winning (you know, the Canadian Grammys) singer/songwriter Sam Roberts is perfect festival fodder and his appearance on the Big Foot stage was no exception. His brand of smooth-voiced rock and roll is simple enough for sunny days but catchy enough to keep an audience moving on their toes, which is exactly what he did. Even people who weren’t planning on catching the show were stopping by the stage and joining along with the singalongs and hand-waving to such songs as “Brother Down” and “The Last Crusade”. Watching the smiling festival-goers jump and flail around to “Them Kids” made you think that the song’s lyrics were wrong and the kids do “know how to dance to rock and roll” after all. Well, at least they try. -Karina Halle Beach House - Mainstage - 4:20 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan Three years ago, Beach House's Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally were performing at intimate venues like Chicago's own Schubas. You know, to maybe 300 people tops? So seeing them entertain thousands at the Gorge on Sunday evening was beyond surreal. Here's a place that acts like Pearl Jam or Dave Matthews Band have used for their landmark live efforts. Now, this Baltimore dream pop duo can say they've matched them - sort of. They may not be able to rope in that many on their own, but they're certainly up for the task, at least if their stage presence is any indication. Tighter, more intense, and highly personable, Legrand and Scally actually look alive these days. In between their lush and gorgeous ballads like "Zebra" or "Walk in the Park", the two committed to some friendly banter. Legrand even remarked on the group's questionable set time: "We like that our set started at 4:20, but we don't really care about that. That makes me sound like a pothead." As the sun glazed the surrounding fields, everyone was at peace with themselves, including a little indie toddler, who tossed dirt around and brought smiles from passerby's. "Humans are meant to cooperate. Good job, human beings," Scally observed. Yes, kudos. -Michael Roffman Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears - Yeti Stage - 4:35 p.m. Austin, TX's Black Joe Lewis likes to have a good time. His Honeybears make that happen each time they're on stage together. As the sun started to spill over, the bluesy octet owned the Yeti Stage, and its many inhabitants. Lewis' trademark swagger has finally worked. For the past two years, they've been a festival staple, though in smaller capacities. Although the Yeti Stage is technically the smallest of the Sasquatch! venues, the crowd proved he needs to move up next time he's in "town." This wasn't a group of passerby's; no, this was more like a loyal following. And by the time they started grooving to a muddy rendition of "Louie, Louie" or "Bird is the Word!", they had hundreds of fans screaming their hearts out. Too bad the nearby BBQ was overpriced. It could've added to the great backyard jam. Oh well. -Michael Roffman Photo by Jackie Kingsbury Mad Rad - Yeti Stage - 5:40 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan It's hard to explain Seattle's Mad Rad. They're essentially a slew of Caucasians that create nasally-sounding hipster hip-hop. But it's loud, it's obnoxious, and it's enigmatic. For a small group that's technically still unheard of, they commandeered one of the largest crowds at the Yeti Stage. They didn't waste any time roping them in, either. The band's ensemble includes Buffalo Madonna, Terry Radjaw, DJ Darwin, and P Smoov and all of them shared the spotlight equally. Throughout their then potentially hazardous set, Buffalo, Terry, and P Smoov tossed toilet paper into the crowd and rapped while crowd surfing over fans. Some of the best crowd interaction of the weekend happened during songs like "Love in a Strange World" or "I Want Your Blood", which have deeper meanings than their titles imply. Then again, they're just not the same without the ridiculous introductions before them. Bottom line: Look 'em up. -Michael Roffman Archers of Loaf – Bigfoot Stage – 6:20 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider So, was the reunion worth it? Archers of Loaf, known for their weird songs in the '90s, played the Bigfoot Stage to one of the smallest crowds of the entire weekend. In fact, I saw more people with artist wristbands at the show than kids with festival wristbands. It didn’t stop the band from rocking out, though, and dishing out numerous classics like the dreary “You and Me” or the thrashing “Audiowhore”. But considering nobody seemed to know who they were, it makes one think, are reunions even important anymore, or just a bunch of Internet hype? -Ted Maider Das Racist - Yeti Stage - 6:45 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan You know what, we’ll try and cut Das Racist some slack, as they traveled all the way from performing a show at Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona, Spain the night before. But even if we gave them the most slack in the history of slack cutting, this was still one of the worst performances at Sasquatch. Things got off to a bad start when they didn’t go on until 40 minutes after they were supposed to. The crowd was visibly restless, and were on the verge of eating and/or maiming each other when Das Racist finally came on. And from there, one would assume that they were never able to fully recover. Das Racist’s bread and butter is drunken, lazy, nonsensical raps. It’s just part of their charm. But for this particular performance they were either remarkably jet lagged, or especially drunk. Even when they finally started performing, they barely moved, and their raps should be more accurately described as very quick mumbling. Not even their extremely popular “hahahaha jk?” could save them. And what had been one of the largest crowds at the Yeti Stage quickly dispersed, either to find some floor space for The Flaming Lips, or to bump up the hill to see Gayngs. -Winston Robbins Gayngs - Bigfoot Stage - 7:30 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider Gayngs were tragically scheduled against The Flaming Lips, which obviously took away from a crowd that should have been bigger. But for those who stuck around, it was well worth the small portion of The Flaming Lips that had to be missed. All eyes were intensely glued to the stage, hoping Justin Vernon and Mike Noyce of Bon Iver would show up, but when the suave 10-piece band took the stage neither of the men were to be found. After the initial disappointment wore off, the crowd began to get into Gayngs’ slow, sexy jams. Ryan Olson has enough charisma and then some to make up for the lack of Vernon. The backing band consisted of relatively unknown individuals, (other than Zach Coulter) but were all immensely impressive. With Olson at the helm, the backing musicians rapidly seeing limelight, and Bon Iver members popping in and out, Gayngs very well might one day be America’s answer to Broken Social Scene. “The Gaudy Side of Town”, “The Crystal Rope”, and set closer “The Last Prom On Earth” were all met with huge fanfare and massive sing-a-longs despite a no-showing Justin Vernon. -Winston Robbins The Flaming Lips - Mainstage - 8:00 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan The Flaming Lips are no stranger to the festival scene. Not only do they seem to play every notable festival year after year, their music feels expertly tailored for the events filled with drug-infused music lovers and experimental looky-loos. Their appearance at Sasquatch though had one change from the norm; they were playing their beloved album, 1999's The Soft Bulletin, in its entirety. Of course they had their trademark theatrics to wow over the general public, such as guns that shot pastel confetti, the cast of The Wizard of Oz dancing on the sides of the stages, singer Wayne Coyne in a giant hamster ball, multi-colored balloons, and crazy video projections. But hardcore fans were also delighted to hear the psychedelic harmonies and orchestrations of the acclaimed album. It started off at a good pace with “Race for the Prize” luring people into the set's vibe. By the time they reached “The Spiderbite Song“, Coyne began to tell stories about the band members Steven Drozds and Michael Ivins, which slowed the momentum down. Sure, Coyne can sometimes yammer on too much, but at least he’s always engaged and always sincere with his interaction with the audience, and appreciative of the set’s stunning location. Even if you weren’t high off your gourd, you still felt a bit of magic at the playful atmosphere and the sight of the orange sun setting behind the rugged hills of the Columbia River Gorge. Photo by Heather Kaplan The set ended on a rather somber note which might have pulled some of the crowd down before Modest Mouse hit the stage, but there’s no doubt Lips fans walked away satisfied. It was a good way for the band to marry their over-the-top theatrics with their spared down melodies, making it feel that even though you were surrounded by many, the Lips were singing just for you. -Karina Halle Flying Lotus - Banana Shack - 8:40 p.m. Photo by Christopher Nelson Let’s think of this set in terms of stocks and bonds. Skipping The Flaming Lips for Flying Lotus is obviously a high risk investment. But every now and again on Wall Street, sheer dumb luck makes Franklins fall from the sky, and your payout becomes exponentially larger than what you invested to begin with, making your initial investment worth the risk. The 2,500 people that were either brave or drunk enough to make this gamble came out of Flying Lotus’ set feeling like masters of stocks and bond; it was truly one of the greatest risks they ever took. Even Steven Ellingson (Flying Lotus) himself was surprised to see so many people in the crowd, remarking “I made the two and a half, three hour drive here thinking the whole time no one would show up. But you did! And I thank you from the bottom of my heart for it.” And it was with that grateful sentiment that FlyLo started his set, which was an hour of pure electronic/hip-hop bliss. Ellingson was literally smiling the entire time, and the wheat had been separated from the chaff, if you will, leaving only the truest of true fans to party with Flying Lotus, creating an even more legitimate environment. Photo by Luke Johnson As a result of FlyLo’s appreciation and the crowd’s enthusiasm, he rolled out a set that will go down in history as one of his most spectacular. Incorporating Radiohead, Lil’ Wayne, and dozens of other artists in with his own infectious beats sent chills down the spines of those watching. The Banana Shack nearly toppled over (figuratively, of course) when he mixed the sheer grit of Tyler, The Creator’s “Yonkers” on top of one of his most bass-heavy tracks, “Melt!”. Word spread quickly and a major topic of conversation between festival-goers for the rest of the weekend was about how bummed they were that they went with The Flaming Lips (all due respect to Mr. Coyne and Mr. Drozd) over Flying Lotus. -Winston Robbins Yeasayer - Bigfoot Stage - 9:00 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan After The Flaming Lips fizzled out, thousands flocked to the Bigfoot Stage, where Yeasayer turned the heat up. (Actually, it was getting pretty cold, so it made sense that people would want to dance.) Though the lights were impressive and Chris Keating, Ira Wolf Tuton, and Anand Wilder all maintained a stoic composure, a few tracks felt a tad hollow. On record, "O.N.E." feels so all encompassing, but on stage it felt lacking. Maybe it was just too loud or too open of a space, but the tracks didn't leave any bruises upon impact. Instead, they just warmed things up. "Ambling Alp" solved a lot of these issues, but by then, most were flocking away towards Modest Mouse. See you in the clubs, guys. -Michael Roffman Modest Mouse – Mainstage – 9:45 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan Prior to this show, I heard countless horror stories about Modest Mouse, and people’s experiences with them. Stories like “I’ve seen them three times and they sucked for all of them” were quite popular, as well as, “Last time, Issac Brock was so drunk he couldn’t even sing ‘Dramamine’”. One must assume that the people who organize Sasquatch! know what they're doing, because they billed Modest Mouse as Sunday’s headliner, and it seemed to be one of the headliners most people were concerned about. But when Brock and friends took the stage, everyone swelled and wondered what was going to come next. Brock stood in front of the mic quietly as feedback filled the Gorge until finally, he took a deep breath and screamed, “THIS PLANE IS DEFINITELY CRASHING!”, which meant one thing: “Shit Luck". For those in attendance, as a Modest Mouse fan, you can die happy now. Photo by Heather Kaplan They didn’t stop there either. The band dipped all over their catalog for the next two hours. A soothing “Gravity Rides Everything” followed, a fantastic rendition of “Dramamine” (complete with all the lyrics) was delivered, two new songs were debuted ("Lampshades on Fire", "Poison"), and even more recent stranger songs like “King Rat” were played, too. People danced, people sang, yet all were genuinely pleased that, for once, Modest Mouse was fucking killing it. They even played their most mainstream hit, “Float On”, which was more than enough to get the crowd on their feet and rocking out with every ounce of strength. But by far the most epic part of the night was the encore that included “World at Large”, especially as every “Ba ba ba” bounced off the Gorge. Only at Sasquatch kids… -Ted Maider [vimeo 24559386 500 325] MSTRKRFT - Banana Shack - 10:00 p.m. Photo by Jackie Kingsbury Leave it to Jesse Keeler to be responsible for creating not one but two of the most out of control shows at Sasquatch! 2011. His other project, the recently reincarnated Death From Above 1979, rocked the Gorge to its knees two days prior, and he did it again, only this time in a completely different vein of music. Keeler and his producer cohort Al-P took to the Sasquatch! equivalent of Coachella’s Sahara Tent, The Banana Shack, to throw what would be the biggest rave at this year’s installment of the festival. In the past, MSTRKRFT haven’t been known for their studio music being extremely rave-centric. But with the release of this year’s singles “Back In the USSA” and “Beards Again” (both of which were played during the set), it seems as though MSTRKRFT may be headed that way if and when they decide to drop a new full-length. Photo by Jackie Kingsbury With the exception of a few of the hip hop samples that appeared on their (pretty lackluster) sophomore album, Fist of God, they didn’t play a single song off their two LPs; they played only new music that was a menagerie of smart sampling, well placed drops, and house-savvy beats. When it came for them to leave, Keeler announced to the crowd that they wanted to keep playing, and that they would soldier on well past their time slot and wouldn’t leave until the crowd didn’t want to hear them anymore or until an authority figure told them they couldn’t go on any longer. Obviously the ravers didn’t want them to stop (how do ravers go for 12 hours at a time and barely even break a sweat? They’re a rare sub-species, who I find to be particularly interesting), especially when they  combined their “Beards Again” with Daft Punk’s “Da Funk”. They ended up playing until 11:40, 40 minutes after when they were scheduled to stop. Eat your heart out, Sahara Tent. -Winston Robbins Ratatat - Bigfoot Stage - 11:00 p.m. Photo by Christopher Nelson Ratatat has found their niche in the music world. After two solid releases – their self-titled, and Classics - the instrumental duo found themselves immensely popular, giving them the leniency to sort of do whatever the hell they want, musically. And they’ve done just that. They’ve gone down an alley of quick, bright sampling that is fairly different than their first two releases, but impressive all the same, especially in a live setting. They pulled the late night slot at Sasquatch, which screams perfection in terms of time slot placement. And even though MSTRKRFT and Modest Mouse ate through a good bit of their set, Ratatat drew a huge crowd, especially once the aforementioned bands were done. People returning to camp were naturally drawn in by the enormously catchy sound, and even more so by the bizarre visual arrangements. Photo by Christopher Nelson Not only did the stage lighting involve some of the most elaborate sets at Sasquatch! (other than The Flaming Lips, of course), the montages being played over  the massive screens were so visually captivating, it was nearly impossible to look away. From bad infomercial acting to wildly shifting arrangements of birds, the screens were nearly as fun to watch as the band itself, who were quite impressive. No longer touring solely behind LP4, they were allowed to visit old favorites like “Loud Pipes”, “Kennedy”, and “Wildcat”. But that didn’t stop them from playing some of the strongest new material such as “Falcon Jab”, “Shempi”, and “Neckbrace”. But no track even held a candle to the one encore song they played as they approached one in the morning: an incredibly well re-arranged version of all-time classic “Seventeen Years”. It was the perfect way to end the most dance heavy day of the festival. -Winston Robbins Sunday Gallery by Heather Kaplan [nggallery id=222] Monday, May 30th Wavves – Mainstage - 11:30 a.m. Photo by Ted Maider Perhaps it was the fact that they were a late addition, but Wavves was scheduled far too early in the morning. It’s not like Nathan Williams’ surf-punk project needs the extra exposure or anything, they get plenty of that from every musically oriented output in the civilized world. But after three days of hard festival partying, 11:30 a.m. was a little too early for everyone but the absolute biggest Wavves fans. Regardless, they put on one of the most energetic shows of the day, peaking with the one two punch combo of “King of the Beach” and “Idiot”. -Winston Robbins [vimeo 24559430 500 325] Young the Giant - Mainstage - 12:35 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan Young the Giant had its work cut out for it following a morning Wavves set, and results were mixed. The energy lagged a little, perhaps because of the heat and everyone being tired by Monday. But Sameer Gadhia and co. did their best to counteract this, and had the pit jumping during the set-closing single "My Body". - Harry Painter Twin Shadow – Yeti Stage - 1:00 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider Brooklyn’s George Lewis, Jr., aka Twin Shadow, crafted an excellent album in Forget. It’s sad, it’s haunting, and it’s beautiful all at once. But none of that came across live, which may sound like a knock, but is a huge compliment. Lewis and his confident five-piece band went about their songs tirelessly for their 50 minute set. As well as debuting two new songs (which hopefully means he’s working on a follow-up with Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor, who produced the first record), Twin Shadow did ultra dance versions of their ominous new wave songs (in the order that they appear on the record) “Tyrant Destroyed”, “When We Were Dancing”, and “I Can’t Wait”. If Lewis doesn’t become a prominent figure in the rise of chillwave, whatever the hell that means anymore, I’ll be thoroughly surprised. The man is an incredible performer, has great stage presence, and best of all writes fantastic music. -Winston Robbins Old 97's - Mainstage - 1:40 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan Once again, maybe it has to do with playing in the heat on a tired Monday afternoon when everyone was trying to nap, but the Old 97's completely failed to get a reaction out of anyone outside the front rows. And it's just as likely the Old 97's were the ones putting everyone to sleep. One song blended into another, into another. The songs that made an impression were "I'm a Trainwreck", "Every Night Is Friday Night (Without You)", and "Timebomb". -Harry Painter Chromeo - Mainstage - 2:45 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan On paper, a midday Chromeo show sounds as enthralling as watching Miami Vice on a sick day. It's just not the right mood. However, early Sunday at the Gorge, Montreal's unlikely duo Dave 1 and P-Thugg delivered all the glitz and glamour of their traditional live show. The fans helped make it magical, too. In addition to dancing and sweating a storm under the scorching hot sun, thousands of fans tossed around inflatable sea animals, exclaiming as each shark or octopus made its way toward them. Surrounded by his back up singers, an idea no doubt borrowed from the late Robert Palmer, Dave 1, remarked, "Pretty lively for a Monday afternoon, I'd say." Between set opener (and last year's hit single) "Don't Turn the Lights On" to the lyrical madness that's "Momma's Boy", the two prowlers of the night became close friends with the sun. Judging from the sea of festivalgoers flooding the area, Chromeo made a connection there, too. -Michael Roffman Black Mountain – Bigfoot Stage - 3:00 p.m. God bless Black Mountain for adding a little classic rock pep to what was an exasperatingly slow morning. I guess even festivals sometimes suffer from cases of“The Mondays”. The Vancouver-based hard rockers took the stage to a massive hometown(ish) crowd. It seemed as though every member of the audience knew every word to every song. They opened big with Wilderness Heart duet “The Hair Song”, blending male and female vocals to perfection. The set got even bigger with the trippy In The Future track “Wucan”, followed by the climactic “Tyrants” with its epic drum solo, followed by the metal-worthy guitar solo. Not a whole lot of crowd interaction went on, but when you are that naturally talented, that matters little. They were certainly a fan favorite of the morning. -Winston Robbins Guided by Voices - Mainstage - 3:50 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan Sadly and incredibly, Guided by Voices was the victim of the largest exodus of the weekend, one only possible because of Chromeo's humongous crowd. The hordes of youngins that turned up for Chromeo's mid-afternoon dance party and filled out the floor somehow found their way out in 20 minutes to watch Paul F. Tompkins or something. GBV, a reunion act that appears to be nearing the end of its current run, was left with maybe 200 people in the pit and a largely apathetic lawn crowd. The liquor-swigging Robert Pollard commented on the disparity, observing that no one seemed to care about GBV. He mockingly wondered aloud, "Who was that last shitty band?" and his loyal pit-dwellers screamed back "Chromeo" at him before engaging in a "GBV" chant. The negativity ended there, however, and Pollard twice expressed gratitude for being invited to Sasquatch! and "all these lovely events." The presence of acts like GBV, J. Mascis, and Archers of Loaf was a sweet reminder of a time when being "indie" didn't mean being a huge pussy. The crunchy indie rock began with "Over the Neptune / Mesh Gear Fox" and continued with favorites like "Kicker of Elves" and "Game of Pricks". It was a set enjoyed by a select few, which used to be part of the fun of indie rock. - Harry Painter Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings - Mainstage - 5:10 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan People love to dance, but sometimes they like to watch other people dance even more. That's why Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings were so much fun to watch; not only can Jones sing her soul out, but she packs a mean shuffle as well. And while people will likely remember that Jones and her band sounded like a vintage soul band, and a good one at that, they will remember more vividly a young hipster named Patrick, whom Jones pulled on stage upon seeing him go nuts in the pit. "Come on, security, let him go," pleaded Jones before yanking him up and singing at him. Patrick, a skinny white kid dressed in thigh-length shorts and a red and green striped hoodie, showed no nerve dancing in front of thousands plus cameras. The contrast was priceless; think DJ Qualls and his large black girlfriend in Road Trip. - Harry Painter Surfer Blood – Bigfoot Stage – 6:20 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider “Thanks for sticking around and watching us in the rain!” –John Paul Pitts It seems dreary weather and Surfer Blood’s sludgy sound go together perfectly, but all in all, there needs to be more bands like this in indie music these days. Sure, their sound is a bit murky, but it's totally distinct, and the band constantly exerts loads of energy. For example, singer and guitarist John Paul Pitts has a tendency to thrash his guitar about like it’s a toy (although he claimed their equipment had been stolen prior), and he likes to run up on the amps and into the crowd. During “Take it Easy” he wandered through the audience, shaking hands (including our very own Winston Robbins). And the band played such a high-octant version of “Fast Jabroni” and dedicated it to all of us “living the gremlin life”. They even revealed new material with tracks entitled “Miranda” and “Golden Boys” to show that this isn’t the last we have heard of Surfer Blood…and thank God for that one. -Ted Maider [vimeo 24559407 500 325] Rodrigo y Gabriela - Mainstage - 6:35 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan Rodrigo y Gabriela are so talented you can't help but laugh at how small they make everyone else look. Their coordination is flawless, they make it look easy, and now they apparently do it without sitting on a stool. Both players, but Rodrigo especially, genuinely love the stage. Rodrigo wears a knowing smile on his face, one that says "You think that was good? Then watch this." They even controlled the weather; it begun to suddenly pour rain when Rodrigo y Gabriela came on, then stopped after 15 minutes. The set included tributes to Jimi Hendrix and Metallica, but only a tease of the beginning of "Stairway to Heaven" (denied!). - Harry Painter Best Coast - Yeti Stage - 6:45 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan For awhile, Monday looked like the perfect day for the sunny cadence of Best Coast. For one, it was by far the hottest of the four days and, what's more, the sun graced every corner of the Gorge Amphitheatre grounds. You couldn't hide from it. However, after a surprisingly demanding set by Foster the People, a five minute session of heavy rain (the heaviest of the weekend) came down and pretty much changed the scenery. Throw in a chilly breeze and some dusty clouds and you suddenly had a very unlikely setting for Bethany Cosentino & Co. "I feel like I'm at Woodstock or some shit," Cosentino, the sweet tongue songwriter with the grungy underbelly, observed. "But seriously, this shit is fucked up." In addition to pounding away favorites like "Miss You", "Boyfriend", and "When I'm With You", Cosentino also got fuzzy and dirty on "The End" and "Crazy for You". By the time she rang through "Our Deal", she had the very dedicated yet very wet crowd feeding out of the palm of her hand. Nice try, weather. -Michael Roffman [vimeo 24559343 500 325] The Decemberists - Mainstage - 8:00 p.m. Photo by Heather Kaplan It was a bit of a bittersweet moment watching The Decemberists, finding out it would be Jenny Conlee's last appearance with the band for a while as she fights breast cancer. But Conlee was in great spirits, and The Decemberists played happy songs; in fact, it was an all-around feel-good set. The band mainly stuck to The King Is Dead material, with a couple off of 2009's The Hazards of Love and some older ones. Early on, Colin Meloy's acoustic guitar began to experience problems, which was a blessing in disguise. Because guitarist Chris Funk, also in disguise as the Russian Sasquatch, is a born entertainer, a fact that manifested while Meloy had his guitar fixed. Funk told a "Sasquatch joke" that consisted of incoherent growls, before becoming "Jazzquatch" and displaying his scat-singing skills. Bassist Nate Query joined in with some slap bass, while Sara Watkins topped it all off with some yodeling. By the time Meloy came back into the fold, The Decemberists had begun leading the audience in a sing-along of The Outfield's "Your Love". Photo by Heather Kaplan By this point it wasn't clear anyone wanted to hear The Decemberists play their own music anymore, but they did just in case. The band redeemed the set after the guitar problems, and closed by taking crowd participation to the next level. They played (and acted out) a full rendition of "The Mariner's Revenge", leading the whole amphitheatre in screaming as if everyone had been eaten by a giant whale. Tens of thousands of honest-to-goodness dorks complied, and it was delightful. - Harry Painter Deerhunter – Bigfoot Stage - 9:00 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider Admittedly, I was embarrassed for the people of Sasquatch! when 10 minutes before Deerhunter were to start, there were hardly 200 people in attendance. But as Bradford Cox came on to help speed up the sound check and equipment set up (they were a good 10 minutes behind schedule), I got so busy watching him, I didn’t notice that that 200 had multiplied to thousands. And as a light rain began to fall and the deepest purple thunderclouds loomed overhead, people began to don their ponchos and garbage bags. Photo by Ted Maider Rushed by all of these factors, Bradford Cox and his Georgia outfit dove right into things and didn’t stop more than one or two times to tune or say thank you. It all became one beautiful cohesive piece of music, beginning with “Desire Lines”  bleeding into their new, unreleased “60 Cycle Hum”, which then turned rapidly into “Little Kids”, making for a 15 minute cohesive jam. The stormy clouds still threatened, but never quite made their move, but that didn’t stop the cold. The crowd was obviously spellbound, but for tracks that are in theory very danceable (“Nothing Ever Happened”), it was very hard to make the human body do anything other than just try and survive. The wind howled across the lands and up onto the stage, which added an epically ethereal touch to some already very ethereal rock music. And finally the lights all dimmed to leave one spotlight on Bradford Cox, who stood alone while he buzzed into a slow, chilly version of “Helicopter” that perfectly encapsulated the set. -Winston Robbins Wilco - Mainstage - 9:30 p.m. Photo by Christopher Nelson "This is the place where Wilco had our worst show ever," Jeff Tweedy said of the band's 2004 Sasquatch! set (blame Arcade Fire). The deck was stacked against them this time around too -- Wilco was the only Sasquatch! headliner without roots in Washington; Wilco's set came in the middle of a much more energetic Deerhunter set on the Bigfoot Stage; and lastly, Wilco's kind of a sad band, which doesn't necessarily make for good festival-closing material. Tweedy even acknowledged it was hard to follow The Decemberists' happy alt-rock tunes with a bunch of sad songs, but "I guess that's what we do." Admittedly, if you like to end a weekend of music by partying, you were better off just watching Deerhunter and Major Lazer and heading back to the tent. Admittedly, the Chicago rockers started off by playing slow folksy songs, and didn't exactly offset them with arena rock anthems. But what Wilco did do was play a set of 20-plus great songs with style and precision, which is all you can ask. Photo by Christopher Nelson Wilco's set included Yankee Hotel Foxtrot selections like "Ashes of American Flags", "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart", "War On War", and "Jesus Etc.", the last of which Tweedy implored the crowd to sing along to; it complied. Other favorites scattered throughout were the rarely played "Company In My Back", "Misunderstood", "Via Chicago", "Spiders (Kidsmoke)", and "Impossible Germany". One thing that can't be stressed enough is how much Nels Cline made the show. Whether it was his screeching guitar solos, his slide guitar twangs, or his keyboard noodling, Cline's roles took precedence in almost every song; he's so crucial to the performance, it's almost hard to imagine how this band made do before 2004. Photo by Christopher Nelson Wilco ended the night with "Hoodoo Voodoo", with Tweedy all smiles. A fan threw a glowstick at him, and Tweedy responded, "You missed." More glowsticks came, and Tweedy invited them. More glowsticks, and even half-full water bottle came flying toward the stage, almost nothing hitting the target. Right when you thought Tweedy might be mad, he simply said, "You guys suck" and "good night." Maybe this wasn't Wilco's worst show ever, but like Sasquatch!, Wilco had an anniversary to celebrate, and that's just what the band did. - Harry Painter Monday Gallery by Heather Kaplan [nggallery id=223] The Culture of Sasquatch! [nggallery id=218] CoS at Sasquatch!: Mini Documentary [vimeo 24701991 500 325] Cameras: Michael Roffman, Ted Maider Edited By: Colin Peterson ]]> http://consequenceofsound.net/2011/06/festival-review-cos-at-sasquatch-11/feed/ 19 http://consequenceofsound.net/2011/02/foo-fighters-death-cab-for-cutie-wilco-head-sasquatch-2011/ http://consequenceofsound.net/2011/02/foo-fighters-death-cab-for-cutie-wilco-head-sasquatch-2011/#comments http://c438342.r42.cf2.rackcdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2011/02/saquatch-2011.jpg Mon, 07 Feb 2011 14:39:01 +0000 Alex Young http://consequenceofsound.net/?p=101683

Sasquatch! Music Festival celebrates 10 years in 2011, and along with the previously confirmed Foo Fighters, the festivities will be headed by Death Cab for Cutie, Modest Mouse, Wilco, and The Flaming Lips, who will perform their 1999 classic, The Soft Bulletin, in its entirety.

Set to take place from May 27th-30th at the Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington, the 2011 bill also features The Decemberists, Bright Eyes, Iron & Wine, Robyn, Wolf Parade, Chromeo, Beach House, Yeasayer, and three recently reunited outfits: Death From Above 1979, Guided By Voices, and Archers of Loaf.

Other confirmed notables include Bassnectar, Flogging Molly, Ratatat, Against Me!, Matt & Kim, Flying Lotus, Local Natives, Cold War Kids, Best Coast, Sleigh Bells, MSTRKRFT, Deerhunter, Major Lazer, Pink Martini, Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, Jenny & Johnny, Surfer Blood, !!!, The Thermals, CSS, GAYNGS, Tokyo Police Club, Black Mountain, Das Racist, Noah and the Whale, The Radio Dept., Old 97′s, Reggie Watts, Fitz & the Tantrums, Smith Westerns, and The Head & the Heart.

Rounding out the lineup are The Antlers, The Drums, Sharon Van Etten, K-os, Bonobo (DJ Set), City and Colour, Young the Giant, Moondoggies, Twin Shadow, Secret Sisters, Aloe Blacc, Villagers, Sam Roberts Band., Wye Oak, Rival Schools, Foster the People, Alberta Cross, S. Carey, White Denim, Cotton Jones, Basia Bulat, Other Lives, The Bronx, Gold Panda, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Tim Minchin, and Pepper Rabbit.

Update: You can find Sasquatch!’s day-by-day schedule here or below.

Four-days passes are now available through LiveNation. Stay tuned for an extraordinary giveaway very soon.

Well, today we bring you some ideas for keeping your finances on the brink of disaster, your workdays unproductive, and your body out of the house – except when you need to make your daily stop at CoS, that is. (Please note: We fully endorse those three hours you veg-out on our site.) So, without further adieu, here’s our “Simple Cures for the No-Festival Blues”…

Arcade Fire

Treatment Method: Arcade Fire is the event live-band in the world, drawing on three stellar albums for a career spanning show, assuring you will like pretty much every song they play.

Prognosis: West Coast has ample opportunity, and I’d guess they’ll do it again next year.

When and Where:
09/22 – St. Paul, MN @ Roy Wilkins Arena
09/23 – Winnipeg, MB @ MTS Centre
09/25 – Saskatoon, SK @ Credit Untion Centre
09/26 – Calgary, AB @ Stampede Corral
09/28 – Vancouver, BC @ Pacific Coliseum
09/29 – Seattle, WA @ Key Arena
09/30 – Portland, OR @ Memorial Coliseum
10/02 – Berkeley, CA @ Greek Theatre
10/05 – Big Sur, CA @ Henry Miller Library
10/07 – Los Angeles, CA @ Shirne Auditorium
10/08 – Los Angeles, CA @ Shirne Auditorium
10/10 – Mexico City, MX @ Palacio de los Deportes
10/12 – Monterrey, MX @ Banamex Theater
11/18 – Lisbon, PT @ Atlantica Pavilion
11/20 – Madrid, ES @ Palacio de Deportes
11/21 – Barcelona, ES @ Palau Sant Jordi
11/24 – Marseille, FR @ Le Dome
11/26 – Lyon, FR @ Halle Tony Garnier
11/28 – Munich, DE @ Zenith
11/29 – Dusseldorf, DE @ Philipshalle
12/01 – London, UK @ Arena
12/02 – London, UK @ Arena
12/05 – Dublin, IE @ O2
12/08 – Birmingham, UK @ LG Arena
12/09 – Cardiff, UK @ Arena
12/11 – Manchester, UK @ Central
12/12 – Glasgow, UK @ SECC

Sample Setlist: Ready to Start/Neighborhood #2 (Laika)/No Cars Go/Haïti/Half Light II (No Celebration)/Empty Room/The Suburbs/The Suburbs (Continued)/Ocean of Noise/Keep the Car Running/We Used to Wait/Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)/Rebellion (Lies)/Month of May/Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)/Encore/Intervention/ Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)/Wake Up  {Atlanta}

Buy: Seatgeek.com.

Sufjan Stevens

Treatment Method: Sufjan Stevens rarely gets out of New York these days, so when his fall tour was announced, something seemed fishy. Then came the spontaneous EP, All Delighted People, and all was explained, but not really because another, actual album will be out in October. Confused? We all are. Sort out who Stevens is in concert, and hopefully gain an appreciation for how his catalog, old and new, works together. I guess this is advice for both the concert goer and Stevens.

Prognosis: You will swoon no matter what he plays, but hopefully he remembers his audience.

When and Where:
10/12 – Montreal, QC @ Metropolis Theater
10/13 – Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall
10/14 – Royal Oak, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theater
10/15 – Chicago, IL @ Chicago Theater
10/16 – Minneapolis, MN @ Orpheum Theater
10/17 – Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theater
10/19 – Austin, TX @ The Long Center for Performing Arts
10/20 – Dallas, TX @ McFarlin Memorial Auditorium
10/22 – Mesa, AZ @ Mesa Arts Center – Ikeda Theater
10/23 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern
10/24 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern
10/26 – Oakland, CA @ The Paramount Theater
10/28 – Vancouver, BC @ Orpheum Theater
10/29 – Portland, OR @ Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
10/30 – Seattle, WA @ The Paramount Theatre
11/01 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kingsbury Hall
11/02 – Denver, CO @ Paramount Theatre
11/04 – Indianapolis, IN @ Hilbert Circle Theatre
11/05 – Knoxville, TN @ Bijou Theatre
11/06 – Atlanta, GA @ The Tabernacle
11/07 – Asheville, NC @ Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
11/10 – Philadelphia, PA @ Kimmel Center
11/11 – Boston, MA @ Orpheum Theatre
11/14 – New York, NY @ Beacon Theatre
11/15 – New York, NY @ Beacon Theatre

Sample Setlist: The Mistress Witch From McClure (Or, the Mind That Knows Itself)/Impossible Souls/Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois/The Transfiguration/All Delighted People/Majesty Snowbird/Casimir Pulaski Day/There’s Too Much Love/Owl & Tanager (Barn Owl, Silent Killer)/Seven Swans/Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head! (Rebuild! Restore! Reconsider!)/John Wayne Gacy, Jr./Age of Adz/Come On! Feel the Illinoise!/Encore/The Dress Looks Nice on You/Jacksonville {Brooklyn}

Buy: Ticketmaster.com.

Gorillaz

Treatment Method: For a group that’s used to producing special engagements, taking the show on the road will not be easy, but if the Gorillaz can make every night feel like a festival headlining set, it might be the must-see show of the fall.

Prognosis: Keep your expectations reasonable, appreciate any special guest that may appear, and enjoy one of the best musical minds in rock history bring tunes that should be able to stand on their own.

When and Where:
10/03 – Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
10/05 – Wallingford, CT @ Oakdale Theatre
10/06 – Boston, MA @ Agganis Arena
10/08 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
10/10 – Camden, NJ @ Susquehanna Bank Center
10/11 – Fairfax, VA @ Patriot Center
10/13 – Detroit, MI @ Fox Theatre
10/14 – Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre
10/16 – Chicago, IL @ UIC Pavilion
10/17 – Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center
10/19 – Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
10/20 – Dallas, TX @ Verizon Theatre
10/22 – Austin, TX @ Frank Erwin Center
10/24 – Denver, CO @ Wells Fargo Theatre
10/26 – Phoenix, AZ @ Dodge Theatre
10/27 – Los Angeles, CA @ Gibson Amphitheatre
10/30 – Oakland, CA @ Oracle Arena
11/02 – Seattle, WA @ Key Arena
11/03 – Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena
11/11 – Dublin, IE @ O2 Arena
11/12 – Manchester, UK @ Evening News Arena
11/14 – London, UK @ O2 Arena
11/15 – Amsterdam, NL @ Heineken Music Hall
11/16 – London, UK @ O2 Arena
11/17 – Birmingham, UK @ NIA
11/18 – Brighton, UK @ Centre
11/21 – Berlin, DE @ Velodrom
11/22 – Antwerp, BE @ Lotto
11/23 – Paris, FR @ Zenith
11/25 – Antwerp, BE @ Lotton
12/03 – Hong Kong @ Asia World Arena
12/06 – Perth, AU @ Burswood Dome
12/08 – Adelaide, AU @ Entertainment Centre
12/11 – Melbourne, AU @ Rod Laver
12/16 – Sydney, AU @ Entertainment Centre
12/19 – Brisbane, AU @ Entertainment Centre
12/21 – Auckland, NZ @ Vector Arena

Sample Setlist: Orchestral Intro/Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach/Last Living Souls/Kids With Guns/O Green World/Stylo/On Melancholy Hill/Rhinestone Eyes/Broken/Empire Ants/Dirty Harry/White Flag/Superfast Jellyfish/DARE/Glitter Freeze/Some Kind of Nature/El Mañana/Cloud of Unknowing/Pirate Jet/Encore/Fire Coming Out of the Monkey’s Head/To Binge/Feel Good Inc./Clint Eastwood {London}

Buy: Seatgeek.com.

LCD Soundsystem w/ Hot Chip and/or Sleigh Bells

Treatment Method: James Murphy has the LCD Soundsystem live show down to a science, which means if you’ve already seen it this year, you might be short on surprises. But if you haven’t, then this could be the last chance and probably the best time, with excellent support in former labelmates Hot Chip and up-and-coming electronic nu-rock act Sleigh Bells.

Prognosis: Murphy said the project may be done after this record and this seems like it should be the end of touring for it… so… so…

When and Where:
09/23 – Montclair, NJ @ The Wellmont Theatre
09/24 – Philadelphia, PA @ Philadelphia Naval Shipyard Pier #1
09/25 – Columbia, MD @ Virgin Mobile FreeFest
09/27 – Burlington, VT @ Memorial Auditorium
09/28 – Boston, MA @ Orpheum Theatre
10/01 – Clinton, NY @ Hamilton College
10/02 – Charlottesville, VA @ Charlottesville Pavilion
10/04 – Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
10/05 – Orlando, FL @ Hard Rock Live
10/06 – Miami, FL @ The Fillmore
10/08 – Houston, TX @ Verizon Amphitheater
10/09 – Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits
10/12 – Las Vegas, NV @ Pearl
10/15 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl
10/16 – San Francisco, CA @ Treasure Island Festival
10/20 – Denver, CO @ The Fillmore
10/22 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
10/23 – St. Paul, MN @ Roy Wilkins Auditorium
10/25 – Chicago, IL @ Aragon Ballroom
10/27 – Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore
11/06 – Barcelona, ES @ Razzmatazz
11/08 – Paris, FR @ Blackrock Festival
11/10 – London, UK @ Alexandra Palace
11/12 – Cardiff, UK @ Cardiff Arena
11/13 – Sheffield, UK @ Arena
11/15 – Manchester, UK @ Apollo
11/17 – Glasgow, UK @ Barrowlands
11/18 – Glasgow, UK @ Barrowlands
11/19 – Dublin, IE @ Tripod
11/20 – Dublin, IE @ Tripod
11/21 – Dublin, IE @ Tripod

Sample Setlist: Us v Them/Drunk Girls/Get Innocuous/Yr City’s a Sucker/Pow Pow/Daft Punk Is Playing At My House/All I Want/All My Friends/I Can Change/Tribulations/Movement/Yeah/Encore/Someone Great/Losing My Edge/New York, I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down {Ghent}

Buy: Seatgeek.com.

Massive Attack w/ Thievery Corporation

Treatment Method: If Massive Attack keeps touring like this, people will forget that their tours are few and far between. But they sure made up for the four years without a traveling show, surprising fans with a second trip across the states to match their spring stops. This time, though, the venues are bigger, making way for Thievery Corporation to bring some of their fans in every night.

Prognosis: Here you get two festival all-stars who could be absent from your town for a long time. But bring a date and not the homies.

When and Where:
10/15 – Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre
10/18 – Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
10/19 – Boston, MA @ Orpheum Theater
10/21 – New York, NY @ Beacon Theatre
10/22 – New York, NY @ Beacon Theatre
10/23 – Atlantic City, NJ @ Borgata Hotel
10/26 – Miami, FL @ Bayfront Park Amphitheater
10/27 – Orlando, FL @ Hard Rock Live
10/29 – Atlanta, GA @ Fox Theatre
10/30 – Asheville, NC @ Asheville Civic Center (MoogFest)
11/01 – Dallas, TX @ Palladium Ballroom
11/04 – San Diego, CA @ RIMAC Arena
11/05 – Santa Barbara, CA @ Santa Barbara Bowl
11/06 – Berkley, CA @ Greek Theatre
11/07 – Los Angeles, CA @ Gibson Ampitheatre

Sample Setlist: United Snakes/Babel/Risingson/Girl I Love You/Future Proof/Invade Me/Teardrop/Mezzanine/Angel/Safe From Harm/Inertia Creeps/Encore/Splitting The Atom/Unfinished Sympathy/Atlas Air

Buy: Seatgeek.com.

A Perfect Circle

Treatment Method: A reunion of sorts, though not really a surprising one, as the five-piece has been discussing a tour or an album or both since 2008. But Maynard James Keenan is a busy man, so you can’t blame A Perfect Circle for waiting until the timing was right. And at least they are making it special, performing multiple dates in cities and playing their albums in its entirety.

Prognosis: This may be a warm-up for something more, it might be a quick paycheck. Either way, look into getting a pass for all the shows in your city if you live out west.

When and Where:
11/04 – Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre (Mer de)
11/05 – Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre (Thirteenth Step)
11/06 – Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre (eMOTIVe)
11/08 – Los Angeles, CA @ Avalon (Mer de)
11/09 – Los Angeles, CA @ Avalon (Thirteenth Step)
11/10 – Los Angeles, CA @ Avalon (eMOTIVe)
11/12 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox at the Market (Mer de)
11/13 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox at the Market (Thirteenth Step)
11/14 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox at the Market (eMOTIVe)
11/16 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore (Mer de)
11/17 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore (Thirteenth Step)
11/18 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore (eMOTIVe)
11/20 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Pearl (Mer de)
11/21 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Pearl (Thirteenth Step)

Sample Setlist: Um, they are playing the albums…

Buy: Ticketmaster.com.

Brandon Flowers

Treatment Method: Let’s face the facts: No matter what critics say about Flowers’ first solo offering, his rabid fans will love him and his music. Maybe seeing B. Flow in concert will provide answers to the fiery debate. Maybe it will further polarize people’s opinions. Regardless, it’s a big fall tour and he’ll probably throw in a couple Killers’ cuts.

Prognosis: If you’re into him, you’re probably already in line…

When and Where:
09/22 – Dublin, IE @ The Academy
09/26 – Cologne, DE @ E-Werk
09/27 – Brussels, BE @ Ancienne Belgique
09/28 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
09/29 – Paris, FR @ Cabaret Sauvage
10/01 -  Berlin, DE @ Huxleys
10/03 – Zurich, CH @ Kaufleuten
10/04 – Milan, IT @ Alcatrazz
10/05 – Rome, IT @ Circolo Degli Artisti
10/08 – Barcelona, ES @ Razzmatazz
10/09 – Madrid, ES @ La Riviera
10/12 – Glasgow, UK @ Academy
10/13 – Leeds, UK @ Academy
10/14 – Liverpool, UK @ O2 Academy
10/16 – Manchester, UK @ Academy
10/17 – London, UK @ HMV Forum
10/18 – Birmingham, UK @ Academy
10/19 – London, UK @ O2 Academy
11/10 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern
11/11 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
11/13 – Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
11/14 – Seattle, WA @ Shoowbox SoD
11/15 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
11/17 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot
11/18 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
11/21 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
11/24 – Royal Oak, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre
11/26 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues
11/28 – Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
11/29 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
12/02 – New York, NY @ Hammerstein Ballroom
12/04 – Toronto, ON @ Sound Academy

Sample Setlist: Gentle Sons/On the Floor/Crossfire/Magdalena/Bette Davis Eyes/Jilted Lovers & Broken Hearts/Was it Something I Said?/Hard Enough/Are You Lonesome Tonight?/Losing Touch/Only the Young/Swallow It/Playing With Fire/When You Were Young {London}

Buy: Seatgeek.com.

Grinderman

Treatment Method: It’s been nearly three years since the screeching guitars of Nick Cave’s Grinderman project have played in the states. But Cave is a professional showman, and the room that these shows are at will keep things intimate. No sample setlists.

Prognosis: These shows are not something you should regularly expect, so take advantage while you can.

When and Where:
09/25 – Nottingham, UK @ Nottingham Rock City
09/27 – Leeds, UK @ Leeds University
09/28 – Glasgow, UK @ Barrowlands
09/29 – Manchester, UK @ Manchester Academy
10/01 – London, UK @ Hammersmith Apollo
10/02 – London, UK @ The Coronet
10/04 – Lausanne, CH @ Les Docks
10/05 – Zurich, CH @ Volkhaus
10/06 – Milan, IT @ Live
10/07 – Rome, IT @ Atlantico
10/09 – Ljubljana, SL @ Krizanke
10/10 – Vienna, AT @ Gasometer
10/11 – Munich, DE @ Muffathalle
10/13 – Leipzig, DE @ Haus Auensee
10/14 – Berlin, DE @ Columbiahalle
10/15 – Cologne, DE @ E-Werk
10/17 – Brussels, BE @ Ancienne Belgique
10/18 – Brussels, BE @ Ancienne Belgique
10/20 – Utrecht, NL @ MCV
10/21 – Hamburg, DE @ Docks
10/23 – Copenhagen, DK @ Falkoner Theatre
10/24 – Randers, DK @ Power Station
10/26 – Paris, FR @ Cite de la Music
10/28 – Groningen, NL @ Groningen De Oosterpoort
11/11 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix
11/12 – Montreal, QC @ Metropolis
11/13 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues
11/14 – New York, NY @ Nokia Theatre
11/16 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
11/18 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
11/19 – Nashville, TN @ Cannery Ballroom
11/20 – Memphis, TN @ Minglewood Hall
11/22 – Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre
11/23 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
11/26 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
11/27 – Seattle, WA @ King Cat Theater
11/29 – San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield
11/30 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Music Box
12/01 – San Diego, CA @ House of Blues

Sample Setlist: None

Buy: Ticketmaster.com.

Interpol

Treatment Method: While a vocal contingent may be shouting “play your old songs” from the back, you’ll be sure to get a big helping of tracks from their new, self-titled album. Although the rooms will be less than intimate, Interpol‘s moody atmosphere should have no problem filling it.

Prognosis: I’d expect to see Interpol to t0ur well into next year, but this will be your best chance to enjoy the new songs while they’re still fresh.

When and Where:
09/22 – Brussels, BE @ Stade Roi Boudoin
09/23 – Brussels, BE @ Stade Roi Boudoin
09/25 – Bordeaux, FR @ Le Vigean
09/26 – San Sebastian, ES @ Estadio Anoeta
09/28 – Granada, ES @ La Industrial Copera
09/29 – Seville, ES @ Olympic Stadium
10/01 – Santiago, ES @ Santiago De Compostela
10/02 – Coimbra, PT @ Estadio Cidade Coimbra
10/03 – Coimbra, PT @ Estadio Cidade Coimbra
10/05 – Bilboa, ES @ Rockstar Barakaldo
10/06 – Toulouse, FR @ Li Bikini
10/08 – Rome, IT @ Olympic Stadium
10/16 – Mexico City, MX @ Capital Festival
10/18 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
10/19 – Pomona, CA @ Fox Theater
10/21 – San Diego, CA @ SOMA
10/22 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Joint
10/23 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Greek
10/25 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theater
10/27 – Dallas, TX @ Palladium
10/28 – Austin, TX @ Stubb’s
10/29 – Houston, TX @ Verizon Wireless Theater
10/31 – New Orleans, LA @ Voodoo Experience
11/01 – Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
11/03 – Washington, DC @ Constitution Hall
11/04 – Philadelphia, PA @ Tower Theatre
11/05 – New York, NY @ United Palace
11/12 – Lisbon, PT @ Campo Pequeño
11/13 – Madrid, ES @ Palacio Vistalegre
11/14 – Barcelona, ES @ San Jordi Club
11/16 – Marseille, FR @ Dock Du Sud
11/17 – Milan, IT @ Palasharp
11/18 – Vienna, AT @ Gasometer
11/20 – Berlin, DE @ Tempodrom
11/21 – Amsterdam, NL @ Heineken Music Hall
11/22 – Dortmund, DE @ Westfalenhalle 2
11/24 – Nottingham, UK @ Rock City
11/25 – Newcastle, UK @ O2 Academy
11/26 – Birmingham, UK @ O2 Academy
11/27 – Edinburgh, UK @ Corn Exchange
11/29 – Dublin, IE @ Olympia
11/30 – Dublin, IE @ Olympia
12/01 – Dublin, IE @ Olympia
12/03 – Manchester, UK @ Apollo
12/04 – Liverpool, UK @ Liverpool University
12/06 – London, UK @ O2 Academy Brixton
12/07 – London, UK @ O2 Academy Brixton

Sample Setlist: Success/Say Hello To The Angels/C’Mere/Summer Well/Rest My Chemistry/Evil/Barricade/Lights/Narc/Take You On A Cruise/Stella Was A Diver And She Was Always Down/Try It On/Not Even Jail/Obstacle 1/Encore/NYC/Slow Hands/PDA {Paris}

Buy: Seatgeek.com.

Standing Room Only

Besides the aforementioned concert events, not to mention tours from countless 0thers, there is a nearly overwhelming collection of small shows to keep you busy throughout the colder months. Hell, see one everyday and you’ll feel like you are at a festival…a  festival where it’s perpetually daylight and the night bands never come. Here’s a few that we want to see:

Black Mountain/The Black Angels: Major cities on both coasts and a healthy swing through the south will allow fans of the darker rock world to get their fix.

10/28 – Chicago, IL @ Metro
10/30 – Buffalo, NY @ Tralf Music Hall
10/31 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre
11/01 – Montreal, QC @ La Tulipe
11/02 – Boston, MA @ Paradise
11/03 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
11/06 – Philadelphia, NY @ Theatre of Living Arts
11/07 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
11/09 – Louisville, KY @ Headliners
11/10 – Asheville, NC @ Grey Eagle
11/11 – Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge
11/12 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
11/13 – Orlando, FL @ The Social
11/15 –  Birmingham, AL @ The Bottletree
11/16 – New Orleans, LA @ Tipitina’s
11/17 – Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live
11/19 – Austin, TX @ La Zona Rosa
11/20 – Dallas, TX @ Kessler Theater
11/22 – Tempe, AZ @ The Clubhouse
11/24 – Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre
11/26 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
11/28 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
11/29 – Seattle, WA @ The Showbox
11/30 – Vancouver, BC @ The Commodore Ballroom

The Thermals: Sure, singer Hutch Harris is a friend of the site, but they’re still pretty rad in concert, where you will get plenty of thoughtful lyrics and punk-influenced backing in an intimate setting.

09/25 – Bellingham, WA @ Wild Buffalo
09/26 – Spokane, WA @ The Seaside
09/27 – Billings, MT @ The Railyard Ale House
09/29 – Fargo, MD @ The Aquarium (Dempsey’s Upstairs)
09/30 – Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock Social Club
10/01 – Iowa City, IA @ The Mill
10/02 – Madison, WI @ The Annex
10/03 – Chicago, IL @ Logan Square Auditorium
10/04 – Bloomington, IN @ Rhino’s
10/06 – Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick
10/07 – Cincinnati, OH @ Northside Tavern
10/08 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
10/09 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
10/10 – Ithaca, NY @ Castaways
10/12 – Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church
10/13 – New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
10/14 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
10/15 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat
10/17 – Mt. Pleasant, SC @ Village Tavern
10/19 – Athens, GA @ 40 Watt
10/20 – Nashville, TN @ Exit/In
10/21 – Birmingham, AL @ Bottle Tree
10/22 – New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks
10/23 – Austin, TX @ Red 7
10/24 – Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater
10/28 – Denver, CO @ The Bluebird Theater
10/29 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
10/30 – Boise, ID @ Neurolux

Delorean – One of my favorite discoveries of the year, even though we first started listening last year. Their live show owns their already excellent albums. Don’t miss out!

09/25 – Brisbane, AU @ Parklife Brisbane
09/26 – Perth, AU @ Parklife Perth
10/02 – Melbourne, AU @ Parklife Melbourne
10/03  - Syndey, AU @ Parlife Sydney
10/04 – Adelaide, AU @ Parklife Adelaide
10/21 – Madrid, ES @ La Riviera
10/23 – Sevilla, ES @ Teatro Central
11/05 – Denton, TX @ Hailey’s
11/06 – Austin, TX @ Fun Fun Fun Fest
11/08 – Phoenix, AZ @ Rhythm Room
11/10 – San Francisco, CA @ GAMH
11/13 – Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret
11/16 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St. Entry
11/17 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
11/18 – Toronto, ON @ Mod Club
11/19 – Montreal, QC @Le Belmont
11/20 – Cambridge, MA @ Middle East Downstairs
11/21 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
11/22 – Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church
11/23 – Washington, DC @ Rock and Roll Hotel
11/24 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

Best Coast - The Michael Roffman-approved sunny-day soundtrack comes with a quick wit and a band next-door personality. Plus, their songs catch you… whether you like it or not.

09/21 – Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
09/22 – Columbus, OH @ The Summit
09/23 – Cincinnati, OH @ Midpoint Music Festival
09/24 – Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick
09/25 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
09/27 – Montreal, QC @ La Sala Rossa
09/28 – Cambridge, MA @ Middle East
09/29 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
09/30 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
10/02 – Lawrence, KS @ Scion Garage Fest
10/26 – San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
10/28 – Portland, OR – Holocene
10/29 – Vancouver, British Columbia – Cobalt
10/30 – Seattle, WA – Neumo’s
10/31 – Spokane, WA – Stage 54
11/02 – Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge
11/03 – Denver, CO – Bluebird
11/05 – Dallas, TX – Granada
11/06 – Houston, TX – Mango’s
11/07 – Austin, TX – Fun Fun Fun Fest
11/09 – Phoenix, AZ – Rhythm Room
11/10 – San Diego, CA – Casbah
11/13 – West Hollywood, CA – Troubadour
11/14 – West Hollywood, CA – Troubadour
11/29 – Manchester, UK @ Ruby Lounge
11/30 – Birmingham, UK @ Glee Club
12/01 – London, UK @ Scala
12/03 – Paris, FR @ Noveau Casino
12/04 – Zurich, CH @ Mascotte
12/05 – Munich, DE @ Atomic Cafe
12/07 – Cologne, DE @ MTC
12/08 – Brussels, BE @ AB Club
12/10 – Minhead, UK @ The Bowlie Weekender 2
12/12 – Amsterdam, NL @ Bitterzoet
12/13 – Hamburg, DE @ Beatlemania
12/14 – Berlin, DE @ Magnet
12/15 – Malmo, SE @ Debaser
12/16 – Malmo, SE @ Debaser

Deerhunter – With Halcyon Digest currently making its way around the internet, fans can start plotting the logistics of when and where they will see how Bradford Cox and Co. can transform these songs and create what is becoming a reputable and unpredictable live experience. One time I saw him try to eat a microphone. Seriously. Plus, chances are that Real Estate or Deakin will be opening in your city…

10/01 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
10/09 – Chapel Hill, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
10/12 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
10/13 – Philadelphia, PA @ Starlite Ballroom
10/15 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
10/17 – Montreal, QC @ La Tulipe
10/19 – Toronto, ON @ Opera House
10/20 – Detroit, MI @ Metro
10/21 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
10/22 – Chicago, IL @ Metro
10/23 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line
10/26 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore
10/27  – Seattle, WA @ Showbox
10/28 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
10/29 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
10/30 – San Francisco, CA @ Slim’s
11/01 – Los Angeles, CA @ Henry Fonda Theatre
11/03 – Phoenix, AZ @ Clubhouse
11/05 – Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater
11/07 – Austin, TX @ Fun Fun Fun Fest
11/08 – New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues
11/09 – Birmingham, AL @ Bottletree
11/10 – Nashville, TN @ Exit In

Superchunk – Often forgotten as the influential indie-artists that they are, both on record and behind the scenes with Merge Records, Superchunk just released a solid album and delving into their back catalogue would be a rewarding experience for the uninitiated. They don’t tour often, so see them if you can

09/22 – Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero
09/23 – Montreal, QC @ Le National
10/02 – Las Vegas, NV @ Matador At 21
10/13 – Vancouver, BC @ Venue
10/14 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox at the Market
10/15 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
10/17 – San Francisco, CA @ Treasure Island Festival
10/19 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Music Box
12/09 – Toronto, ON @ Sound Academy

Dean Wareham - Another influential and underrated band, Galaxie 500, didn’t have a long existence, but their songs will be revisited by mastermind Dean Wareham on a tour made for music geeks. Have no idea who I am talking about? Combine with Superchunk and have a great week discovering new old music. Or check out Wareham at small venues in select cities.

11/10 – San Diego, CA @ Anthology
11/11 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Troubadour
11/13 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
12/03 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
12/04 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall

No Age - Everything in Between is one of the best albums of the year, and No Age are going to tour the world in support of it. If you have any sort of inclination to like No Age, their live show will make you like them more. If you don’t, it won’t convince you and you’ll be upset when you leave sweaty, banged-up, drunk and alone. But that’s the way the rest of us like it.

10/04 – Sussex, UK @ Audio
10/05 – Cardiff, UK @ Barfly
10/06 – Norwich, UK @ Art Centre
10/07 – Newcastle, UK @ The Cluny
10/08 – Sheffield, UK @ Rollerpalooza
10/09 – Glasgow, UK @ Stereo
10/10 – Dublin, IE @ Whelans
10/12 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
10/13 – Manchester, UK @ Night And Day
10/14 – London, UK @ XOYO
10/15 – Amsterdam, NL @ Trouw Amsterdam
10/16 – Paris, FR @ Point Ephemere
10/18 – Antwerp, BE @ Trix
10/19 – Kortrijk, BE @ De Kreun
10/23 – Prague, CZ @ Meet Factory
10/24 – Colmar, FR @ Le Grillen
10/25 – Lasaunne, CH @ Le Romandie
10/27 – Slovenia, SL @ Menza pri koritu
10/29 – Turin, IT @ Spazio 211
10/30 – Bologna, IT @ Covo Club
10/31 – Winterthur, CH @ Salzhaus
11/02 – Berlin, DE @ Festsaal Kreuzberg
11/04 – Copenhagen, DK @ Loppen
11/05 – Stockholm, SE @ Debaser
11/06 – Oslo, NO @ Garage
11/07 – Aarhus, DK @ Voxhall
11/13 – Princeton, NJ @ Terrace F. Club
11/16 – Cambridge, MA @ Middle East
11/17 – Montreal, QC @ La Sala Rossa
11/18 – Toronto, ON @ Polish Combatants Hall
11/19 – Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick
11/20 – Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
11/22 – Madison, WI @ Majestic Theatre
11/23 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
11/26 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos
11/27 – Vancouver, BC @ The Rickshaw Theatre
11/28 – Portland, OR @ Holocene
11/29 – Nampa, ID @ Flying M Coffee
11/30 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
12/01 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater
12/02 – Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad
12/03 – Tempe, AZ @ The Clubhouse
01/08 – Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
01/10 – Dallas, TX @ Sons of Hermann
01/11 – Austin, TX @ The Mohawk
01/12 – Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald’s
01/16 – Gainsville, FL @ Common Grounds
01/18 – Miami, FL @ Grand Central
01/19 – Orlando, FL @ Blackbooth
01/21 – Atlanta, GA @ Drunken Unicorn
01/22 – Asheville, NC @ The Grey Eagle
01/23 – Knoxville, TN @ Pilot Light
01/24 – Nashville, TN @ Exit/In
01/25 – Memphis, TN @ Hi Tone Cafe
01/26 – Little Rock, AR @ Revolution Music
01/27 – Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom

Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti /Os Mutantes - Despite whether or not I would enjoy this show, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Grafitti are becoming a live presence on the scene and have lined-up 60′s Tropicalia pioneers Os Mutantes to help them convert new fans accross the states. Seriously, this is like a hipsters wet dream. If you have a mustache or enjoy wearing Larry Bird-style gym shorts, have a fun, drug-induced night with these bands.

11/05 – Dallas, TX @ Palladium Showroom
11/06 – Austin, TX @ Fun Fun Fun Fest
11/07 – Houston, TX @ Fitzgeralds
11/08 – New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jack
11/09 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety
11/10 – Chapel Hill, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
11/11  - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
11/12 – Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero
11/13 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
11/14 – Boston, MA @ Royale Boston
11/16 – Montreal, QC @ National
11/17 – Toronto, Ontario – Opera House
11/18 – Bowling Green, OH - Clazel Theater
11/19 – Chicago, IL – Metro
11/20 – Minneapolis, MN – Cedar Cultural Center
11/23 – Denver, CO – Bluebird
11/24 – Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge
11/26 – Vancouver, British Columbia – Vogue
11/27 – Seattle, WA - Neumos
11/28 – Portland, OR - Berbati’s
11/30 – San Francisco, CA – Regency
12/01 – Santa Cruz, CA – Rio Theater
12/02 – Los Angeles, CA – Henry Fonda Theater

Now, that almost sounds like a negative opening, but don’t let me mislead you. Wilderness Heart comes packed with gems that bring Black Mountain beyond a genre project, which is what many could dismiss the Canadian five-piece as. Though never leaving the 70′s sounds their aesthetic is so firmly rooted in, there is a new pop sensibility apparent, replacing the long, moody jams of previous album, In The Future. “The Hair Song”, the album’s opener, even takes a step away from the psychedelic rock of Black Sabbath to a more rootsy, southern rock sound. Not that this is a strange leap for the band, who has always had catchy moments if only for the sheer familiarity people with naturally have to their retro reference points. But they actually pull off the shorter pop songs quite well. And though some fans may be turned off from the anti-stoner turn, as “The Hair Song” says, it’s “children having their fun with the blues.” Maybe they wanted to step away from being completely pigeon-holed before it was too late.

But much of their signature sound remains: The mean organ licks, bass distortion, and, of course, Stephen McBean and Amber Webber’s dual vocals. Having the songs function primarily as duets is one of Black Mountain’s great charms, which is only amplified by the improvement in strong songwriting. “Roller Coaster” is a gem that allows the two to draw out their words and milk the music for all its drama, all the while allowing their voices to intertwine with one of the best guitar riffs to be played since the genre’s hay-day. “Let Spirit’s Ride” shows they can do fast too. Sounding like Judas Priest, it’ll have the listener casually wondering if he’s accidentally praising Satan by humming along. But, Black Mountain would probably take “it’s so good it sounds evil” as the highest compliment.

Webber, in particular, is a joy to hear, specifically in light of her Black Mountain side project, Lightning Dust. If you’ve had the privilege of hearing that band, you wouldn’t think it’s the same vocalist. With Lightning Dust, her vibrato pushes the limits of tolerance, and creates a unique and stirring experience, akin to other challenging vocalists like Antony Hegarty or Joanna Newsom. But when singing heavy metal in Black Mountain, the same vibrato is overwhelmed; still present but not something you would comment on. Probably because so many of the female 70′s rock icons had similar shakes to their singing, maybe taking their cues from Grace Slick.

So what holds Wilderness Heart back? It’s the unfortunate inclusion of the stereotypical heavy metal ballads. You know the ones I’m taking about, with the finger-picked classical guitar riffs and the singer’s mane blowing in the wind, the waxed chest hair, the masturbatory vocals that try to show range without substance, and the painfully serious or sentimental lyrics. They aren’t much different than the rest of the album, either, but the hushed environment makes you pay attention. In particular, “Radiant Hearts” pushes into this parody territory rather than exhibiting homage. When the song begins with the line “children are playing around the explosions,” try not to roll your eyes. The fact that they take themselves so seriously here takes away from the fun of the whole project. Where most of Wilderness Heart showcases great pop sense through the language of early 70′s metal, “Radiant Hearts” risks derailing the entire thing.

The album’s two concluding quiet tunes are also weaker, but not nearly as distracting as the former. “The Space In Your Mind” even offers some of the best vocals on the album, ringing with sincerity. But ultimately, these slow songs remind the listener why punk happened. And Lightning Dust’s work proves that one of these vocalists, at least, can write a slow song with the best of them. So the solution for McBean’s glaring weakness, or possibly just the genre’s, should seem obvious: Don’t write ballads. The best part of living in 2010 is we have the entire history of human civilization to learn from, and when drawing from the past, we can revise the parts that didn’t work and improve. But I guess there is that other cliche, too. Something about repeating the mistakes of our fathers.

But even with the one, or sometimes two, track skips necessary for me to listen and fully enjoy the record, most of Wilderness Heart is tremendously enjoyable. It’s exciting because this Black Sabbath sound–though it will always be cool–isn’t particularly hip right now. You just don’t get to hear bands like Black Mountain if you’re not really looking for them. It’s catchy, reverent, fun, and, ultimately, satisfying. The jams are plentiful and, if you’re like me, might cause you to make outlandish claims after a couple listens. But, Wilderness Heart isn’t the best album of the year.

I just hope this wasn’t Black Mountain’s only chance to make a statement record, since they narrowly missed a home run. I can’t help thinking that while listening to the title track, with lines like “this is now or never” and “it won’t last forever.” Because, 70′s rock eventually became 80′s rock, and so it would seem Black Mountain’s sound would have to evolve, too. But, some more fine-tuning is in order before any major changes to this psych-metal-pop project’s sound. Because they’re capable of a masterpiece with what they’ve got. And with the right tweaking, this could have been it.

It’s funny watching the studio audience sway and clap in the background as singer Amber Webber very nonchalantly rocks back and forth in between delivering lines about not staying straight-laced forever and asking if it’s “foolish to know what you want before you’ve begun.” The song isn’t as hyper-kinetic as “Stormy High” from their last album – 2008’s In the Future – but “Old Fangs” sounds good with trippy synth buoying the chugging guitar riff.

Check the video out below, then check the band out on one of their upcoming tour dates. They play this weekend’s Electric Picnic in Ireland and return to North America on October 28th for a tour that lasts until December. Tickets are available through Black Mountain’s website.

Black Mountain 2010 Tour Dates:
09/03 – Stradbally, IE @ Electric Picnic
09/04 – Oxford, UK @ Academy 2
09/05 – Birmingham, UK @ Hare & Hounds
09/08 – Brighton, uK @ Concorde 2
09/09 – Tourcoing, FR @ Radar Festival
09/10 – Isle of Wright, UK @ Bestival (SOLD OUT)
09/11 – Dorset, UK @ End of the Road Festival
09/12 – Leeds, UK @ TJ’s Woodhouse
09/14 – Glasgow, UK @ Oran Mor
09/15 – Manchester, UK @ Academy 3
09/16 – Nottingham, UK @ Rescue Rooms
09/17 – Tilburg, NL @ Incubate Festival
09/18 – Groningern, NL @ Take Root, De Oosterpoort
09/20 – Koln, DE @ Gebaeude 9
09/21 – Hamburg, DE @ Grünspan
09/22 – Copenhagen, DK @ Leppon
09/23 – Göteborg, SE @ Pusterviksbaren
09/24 – Oslo, NO @ John Dee
09/25 – Stolckholm, SE @ Debaser
09/27 – Berlin, DE @ Festsaal Kreuzberg
09/28 – Munich, DE @ 59:1
09/29 – Milan, IT @ Salumeria della Musica
09/30 – Ravenna, IT @ Bronson
10/01 – Rome, IT @ Circolo degli Artisti
10/03 – Lausanne, CH @ Le Romandie
10/04 – Paris, FR @ La Maroquinerie
10/05 – Brussels, BE @ Ancienne Belgique
10/06 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
10/07 – London, UK @ Shepards Bush Empire
10/28 – Chicago, IL @ Metro
10/30 – Buffalo, NY @ Tralf Music Hall
10/31 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre
11/01 – Montreal, QC @ La Tulipe
11/02 – Boston, MA @ Paradise
11/03 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
11/06 – Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts
11/07 – Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club
11/09 – Louisville, KY @ Headliners
11/10 – Asheville, NC @ Grey Eagle
11/11 – Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge
11/12 – Atlanta, GA @ the Earl
11/13 – Orlando, FL @ The Social
11/15 – Birmingham, AL @ The Bottletree
11/16 – New Orleans, LA @ Tipitinas
11/17 – Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live
11/19 – Austin, TX @ La Zona Rosa
11/20 – Dallas, TX @ Kessler Theater
11/24 – Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theater
11/26 – San Francisco, CA @ Fillmore
11/28 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
11/29 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox
11/30 – Vancouver, BC @ The Commodore Ballroom

Among the tickets on sale Friday include Bad Religion, Deerhunter, Gorillaz, The Sword, Wolf Parade, and a few co-headlining tours: Black Mountain and The Black Angels, LCD Soundsytem and Hot Chip, Massive Attack and Thievery Corporation, and Motion City Soundtrack and Say Anything…

Bad Religion:

What: North American tour

When: October – November

Tixs: Price varies depending on location

Buy: Ticketmaster at 10:00 AM Local Time

Black Mountain & Black Angels:

What: North American tour

When: October – November

Tixs: Price varies depending on location

Buy: Ticketmaster at 10:00 AM Local Time

Deerhunter:

What: North American tour

When: October – November

Tixs: Price varies depending on location

Buy: Ticketmaster at 10:00 AM Local Time

Gorillaz:

What: North American tour

When: October – November

Tixs: Price varies depending on location

Buy: Ticketmaster at 10:00 AM Local Time

LCD Soundsystem, Hot Chip, & Sleigh Bells:

What: North American tour

When: September – November

Tixs: Price varies depending on location

Buy: Ticketmaster at 10:00 AM Local Time

Massive Attack & Thievery Corporation:

What: North American tour

When: October – November

Tixs: Price varies depending on location

Buy: Ticketmaster at 10:00 AM Local Time

Motion City Soundtrack & Say Anything:

What: North American tour

When: October – November

Tixs: Price varies depending on location

Buy: Ticketmaster at 10:00 AM Local Time (noon for some dates)

The Sword:

What: North American tour

When: October

Tixs: Price varies depending on location

Buy: Ticketmaster at 10:00 AM Local Time

Wolf Parade:

What: North American tour

When: November

Tixs: Price varies depending on location

Buy: Ticketmaster at 10:00 AM Local Time

Are we missing anything? Let us know below! Also, if you’re looking for shows for an already sold-out show, try our partner site Seatgeek.com.

Set to begin in late October, the tour will hit-up some of the most iconic mid-size venues in the U.S., including The Fillmore, The El Rey, The 9:30 Club, The Showbox, Metro, and Bowery Ballroom. Yeah, they are even playing Orlando. We’re in shock, too.

Both bands release new albums on September 14th that they will be in full support of when they come to your major city of convenience, with The Black Angels offering Phosphene Dream and Black Mountain serving up Wilderness Heart. Facebook told me that Wilderness Heart was my Native American name. Weird.

Check out the complete slate of dates below and buy a ticket for something to look forward to. If The Shawshank Redemption taught me anything, it was that hope is a good thing.

Black Mountain/The Black Angels 2010 Tour Dates:
10/28 – Chicago, IL @ Metro
10/30 – Buffalo, NY @ Tralf Music Hall
10/31 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre
11/01 – Montreal, QC @ La Tulipe
11/02 – Boston, MA @ Paradise
11/03 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
11/06 – Philadelphia, NY @ Theatre of Living Arts
11/07 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
11/09 – Louisville, KY @ Headliners
11/10 – Asheville, NC @ Grey Eagle
11/11 – Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge
11/12 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
11/13 – Orlando, FL @ The Social
11/15 –  Birmingham, AL @ The Bottletree
11/16 – New Orleans, LA @ Tipitina’s
11/17 – Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live
11/19 – Austin, TX @ La Zona Rosa
11/20 – Dallas, TX @ Kessler Theater
11/24 – Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre
11/26 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
11/28 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
11/29 – Seattle, WA @ The Showbox
11/30 – Vancouver, BC @ The Commodore Ballroom

Whatever the case may be, we decided to do it all over again. You see, our first “35 Albums to Buy in 2010″ only covered a fraction of 2010 and since then, plenty more quality new releases have been unveiled. So the CoS news team came together and etched out a list of “35 More Albums to Buy in 2010″. Below, you’ll find a paragraph preview for each of said “35 More Albums…”, complete with mp3 (if available), cover art (if available), and release date (if available). Whether you buy, steal, or download, we hope you find it as a useful resource. Just remember, musicians are people too. So please support them in some way or manner.

Eminem – Recovery

With his last album, Mr. Mathers suffered a Relapse. Now, with his seventh album, Detroit’s finest plans on entering Recovery. Not because slipping back into his vices is particularly bad, but the last album was, in the rapper’s own words, “ehhh”. In our first taste from the LP, “Not Afraid”, Eminem gets pretty serious in the pro-personal strength mantra. And while it lacks some of the jester-esque flow of his previous efforts, the rest of the album’s got us pretty stoked. With cameos from both Pink and Rihanna, plus production work by Jim Jonsin and Just Blaze, the album could be a step in the right direction toward regaining the hip-hop throne Em held before essentially taking a step back after the release of 2004′s Encore. One day at a time, Marshall, one day at a time. -Chris Coplan
June 22nd via Aftermath Entertainment

Check Out:
“Not Afraid”

M.I.A. – /\/\ /\ Y /\

Say what you will about her music; M.I.A. is a genius of self-promotion. Whether releasing made-to-be-banned videos of children getting executed or stirring up web beefs with New York Times writers, it’s the rare week where the singer doesn’t pop up in the headlines. Soon she may actually be making waves for her music (imagine that). Though it features the most godawful cover ever, /\/\ /\ Y /\ (a creative way of spelling Maya, her real name) promises to deliver 10 more world-fusion tracks ready for clubs and stoner film trailers alike. And while first single “XXXO” hasn’t exactly blown up the charts, don’t forget it took “Paper Planes” almost a year to make a splash. And if the recent controversies have shown anything, it’s that you underestimate M.I.A. at your own peril. -Ray Padgett
June 22nd via N.E.E.T.

Check Out:
“XXXO”

The Roots – How I Got Over

How far they have come. What was once a little jazz hip hop outfit out of Illidelphia is now the house band for Mr. Jimmy Fallon, lest we forget that they have cut some seminal hip hop records in the past. Maybe it’s ?uestlove watching indie band after indie band perform on Fallon that influenced The Roots’ new album  How I Got Over, featuring Jim James, Joanna Newsom, Dirty Projectors, John Legend, and a litany of other guests. Always in the pocket, always fresh, always The Roots, these guys are sure to let the needle drop on some new grooves, while still maintaining that live-band 215th sound they’ve cultivated over the years. Pick this one up OK, Player?. -Jeremy Larson
June 22nd via Def Jam

Check Out:
“Dear God 2.0″ (feat. Jim James)

Big Boi – Sir Luscious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty

As one-half of hip-hop royalty Outkast, it’s no doubt we were as giddy as school children for the first solo album of Big Boi‘s already illustrious career; now we just want it out and done with already. We first got whiff of the album as far back as 2007. Since then, it’s been coming and going at regular intervals; it was even to be joined by other Outkast albums at some point. But now the album actually seems to be a reality. And oh what a reality it will surely be. In a song so good even Big Boi loses his head, “Shutterbug” is full of lots of influences, hoping around from energy to energy and with a signature sound that only Big Boi could be the ring leader of. Whether or not the rest of the album’s as good is still up to debate. We’re just happy we get to hear it before Outkast’s kids decide to make music. -Chris Coplan
July 6th via Def Jam Records

Check Out:
“Shutterbug”

How to Destroy Angels – How to Destroy Angels [EP]

Ever since Trent Reznor began posting cryptic studio shots to his blog, fans have wondered what the Nine Inch Nails mastermind had up his sleeve. Well, the secret’s out: it’s How to Destroy Angels, a collaborative project with Reznor’s new wife Mariqueen Mandig, and NIN producer/bass player Atticus Ross. The songs are as dark and ambient as you would expect from Reznor, though the hotel-murder video is particularly gruesome. In another now-standard move, he released the EP for a free download on his website, with the option of a $2 upgrade for high-quality FLAC files. Fans who prefer a physical release will have to wait until July 6th, when the CD drops. Reznor has indicated the EP represents only the earliest experiments by the band; look for a more fleshed-out full length in early 2011. -Ray Padgett
July 6th via The Null Corporation

Check Out:
How to Destroy Angels [EP]

Best Coast – Crazy for You

If we’ve learned anything about buzz bands these past few months, it’s that most (if not all) of them fizzle out. However, as with anything, there are exceptions. Case in point: Best Coast. Maybe we’re just crazy for Bethany Cosentino, but there’s nothing better than the sunny distortion and distant melodies that the group’s 7″ singles and digital releases have trademarked. But we’ve yet to hear a solid effort from the Los Angeles trio. That’s what makes the group’s forthcoming debut, Crazy for You, so exciting, and so delectable, too. Instead of tiptoeing from one single to the next, we’ll be able to digest the fuzzy lo-fi pop punk in large, healthy quantities. The real cherry on top is that the band recorded in the same studio where they hashed out hot singles like “When I’m With You” and “This Is Real”. Hace calor! -Michael Roffman
July 27th via Mexican Summer

Check Out:
“When I’m With You”

Menomena – Mines

If there’s one tragedy to remember in the indie circuit, it’s that 2007′s Friend and Foe didn’t land on any critic’s top year-end lists. In addition to some of the most incredible cover art in recent memory, Menomena‘s third LP packed in so much instrumentation you’d think an orchestra came on board. But truth be told, only three members were responsible. Three musical geniuses, really. Now the Portland geniuses return, ready to make good on their untold promise of creating more with very, very little. Mines, the group’s long awaited fourth LP, culls together portions and portions of material to become something that, as Justin Harris insists, is “more emotional than any previous album.” We’ve had a taste of the new sound with non-album track “Pilgrim’s Progress” on Record Store Day, in addition to current haunt of a single “FIVE LITTLE ROOMS”, but come July 27th, we’re likely to pounce on the whole shebang. -Michael Roffman
July 27th via Barsuk

Check Out:
“FIVE LITTLE ROOMS”

Arcade Fire – The Suburbs

The status of Arcade Fire‘s new album as everyone’s most anticipated of 2010 has not changed — if anything, we should all be hungrier after all the details. Between now and August 3rd, there will be two more months of idle talk (natural, being that this is the world’s biggest indie band that’s actually still indie). There will be elitism: “The new singles are so uninspired and mainstream; this album’s gonna suck.” There will be fanboyism: “Arcade Fire can do no wrong; just look at those thematic new song titles! Best band alive.” And there will be obsessive analyses of meaningless minutiae: “Win Butler’s new haircut is… what the hell is he thinking? This album’s gonna suck!” And while the hair is awful, the healthy thing to do is to calm down, listen to The National’s High Violet on repeat, and not build up expectations to unrealistic proportions. That being said, we’re still incredibly psyched. -Harry Painter
August 3rd via Merge

Check Out:
“The Suburbs”

Autolux – Transit Transit

While Autolux has had some trouble (six years’ worth) getting a second album out, the band has been playing tracks off of it live for years. It’s a shame that the live show has been the only chance for most people to hear these songs, because they’re every bit as good as much of the neo-shoegaze trio’s 2004 debut Future Perfect. Furthermore, Autolux is one of those bands that should be much bigger than they are. Come August 3rd, if the record, titled Transit Transit, doesn’t drown in the half-decade of anticipation, Autolux has a chance to make that happen. -Harry Painter
August 3rd via TBD Records

Wavves – King of the Beach

Here’s how to describe Wavves’ sound on the Nathan Williams-led project’s last two albums: Place two speakers on either side of your ears, turn it way up, and enjoy as cascade after cascade of lo-fi surf rock annihilates your inner ear and shatters your bones in the most nihilistic groove you’ll ever experience, dude. But not one to be predictable, Williams (and new backing band made up of the old Jay Reatard band) has decided to switch things up. Williams has claimed in interviews that King of the Beach is going to be an album unlike anything else the unit has produced. And based on the first couple of tracks, that means high-end production value, lots of experimentation with sounds and layering, and, gasp, songs more than a couple minutes long. Growing up is totally rad, bro. -Chris Coplan
August 3rd via Fat Possum

Check Out:
“Cool Jumper”

Chromeo – Business Casual

The lovable soul-pop throwbacks known as Chromeo return with their first album since 2007’s Fancy Footwork. Singer Dave 1 told the Wall Street Journal the record is more “sophisticated” than previous releases, but added, “Our music is music you play when you’re making out or getting ready – for when your suit-with-no-tie comes on or comes off.” Unsophisticated track titles include “You Make It Rough”, “I’m Not Contagious”, and “Hot Mess”, which is about the most perfect Chromeo song title imaginable. In a blog post Dave cited Michael Jackson, the Alan Parsons Project, and keytar player Reggie Griffin as inspirations for the album, which can only mean more smooth lady-killing funk. Another likely muse: mentor Daryl Hall, with whom the pair will perform at Bonnaroo next week. -Ray Padgett
August 17th via Atlantic

!!! – Strange Weather, Isn’t It?

Less than a year after the tragic death of drummer Jerry Fuchs, the un-Googleable dance-punk outfit !!! is ready to soldier on and release its fourth LP this August. “AM/FM”, the first single from their fourth album, bounces along as spastically as any of their previous work, though frontman Nic Offers promises “really dark moments” elsewhere. Yet somehow it’s hard to imagine anything too sinister coming from Sacramento’s most unabashedly dance-happy octet. Like MGMT before them, the band claim Brian Eno as a heavy influence, which suggests perhaps more dense production that previous efforts. If all that isn’t enough to get you excited for the party record of the fall, tracks titled “Wannagain Wannagain” and “Jamie, My Intentions Are Bass” sound like must-listens. -Ray Padgett
August 24th via Warp Records

Check Out:
“AM/FM”

Ra Ra Riot – The Orchard

Ra Ra Riot is already a relatively poppy band (we’re inclined to make a joke about the band and the dictionary definition of “poppy”). With lots of quaint melodies and both a cello and violin in the band, they’re a pop band who wear their love of all that is sweet and bittersweet on their vintage tees. But for their sophomore album, they’re promising to go beyond The Rhumb Line and its effervescent aura and orchestral arrangements . According to the band, its sophomore LP The Orchard is going to be “so poppy you will want to throw up on yourself.” Whether or not that means we actually suffer from some kind of insulin overload or this is a slight but of hyperbole from Syracuse, NY’s second best export is neither here nor there; we’re counting the days till August, that’s for sure. -Chris Coplan
August 24th via Barsuk Records

Röyksopp – Senior

After taking four years between albums the last two times around, Röyksopp is dishing out a sequel to 2009′s Junior rather quickly. This doesn’t spell haste, though — the two albums are, as the names suggest, closely connected. The band described Junior as having a spring feel, while Senior will have an autumn feel (out in late August). So, despite the off-chance Senior could turn out to be a really corny atmosphere piece, we have high hopes for the Norwegian electronic duo’s fourth effort. -Harry Painter
August via Astralwerks

The Thermals – Personal Life

You’d think we wouldn’t be so hungry for new tunes by The Thermals. After all, it’s only been a year or so since they released Now We Can See. But, lo and behold, here we are now, and yes, we’re demanding that Hutch Harris, Kathy Foster, and Westin Glass entertain us. That they will, come September 7th, when Personal Life, the trio’s fifth LP to date, surfaces. We don’t anticipate much change (nor do we want to), but if we’re to believe the band’s latest press release, we should expect a darker and deeper LP. One that, and we quote, “obsesses over love and lies with the same passion The Thermals have reserved for politics and death in the past.” Given Harris’ “sunny” lyricism on those subjects, we anticipate this shit is gonna be heavy. Right on time for the angsty weather of autumn. Choice. -Michael Roffman
September 7th via Kill Rock Stars

Black Mountain – Wilderness Heart

Everyone needs help once in a while, an idea which Black Mountain is currently implementing for its third record, Wilderness Heart, set for release on September 15th. On the followup to 2008′s In The Future, the Canadian psych-rock band is using outside producers for the first time in its career, as the reins have been handed over to Dave Sardy (Oasis) and Randal Dunn (Sunn O). According to vocalist Amber Webber, “We knew exactly what it would sound like if we did this own our own. It just seemed like if we were going to do the third album, we just needed to do something different that would be exciting to us.” Those of you familiar with the band’s past work, get ready for a change. Gone are the epic 10 minute tracks; instead, replaced by short, straightforward rockers and an improvised, lyrical approach. Case in point, the album’s first single “Old Fangs”.  -Joe Marvilli
Fall/Winter 2010 via Jagjaguwar

Check Out:
“Old Fangs”

Grinderman – Grinderman 2

Though we’re promised something different from the first Grinderman installment, Nick Cave and his grunge cohorts are sure to churn out some massive tracks on the forthcoming sequel. Cave and his three separatists from The Bad Seeds engaged in a grunge-heavy, sex-fueled mayhem first time around that razed clubs with their tour with The White Stripes, so expect similar results this time around both live and out your speakers. We’re still hanging on [read: drooling over, perplexed regarding, and a little aroused by] band member Warren Ellis’ quotes from last year regarding the album, “It’s kind of like stoner rock meets Sly Stone via Amon Düül… Nick’s got a different thing going on with the lyrics than he would have from the Bad Seeds. Less sex? I wouldn’t say that.” I wouldn’t suggest it, either, Warren. -Jeremy Larson
September 14th via ANTI-

Kid Cudi – Man on The Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager

Oh, Cudi. What can we say about Mr. Cleveland himself? He’s worked with Kanye West and Jay-Z, kind of toured with Lady Gaga, and genuinely been pushed as a guy to watch out for. And while there’s been talk of him quitting after a certain number of albums and then talk of some kind of collaborations album, it seems as if his second LP will be a trip back to the moon. This time, though, Cudi says it’s not about taking us into his bad dreams; instead, Cudder will be “bringing you into my reality, good and bad. It will explain more of who I am as well as pushing the envelope musically.”And that envelope involves working with hip-hop mastermind Jim Jonsin, cameos from Ratatat, Chip Tha Ripper, Cage, and Mr. West himself, and even some Duran Duran sampling. One ticket, please. -Chris Coplan
September 14th via GOOD Music

Beastie Boys – Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 1

The Brooklyn hip-hop trio was all set to release Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 1 in 2009, but was forced to delay the effort when Adam “MCA” Yauch was diagnosed with cancer. Thankfully, he seems to be on the road to recovery, as does the album. What we do know is that the outfit’s first traditional LP since 2004′s To the 5 Boroughs, Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 1 is said to be loaded with obscure samples, hardcore punk (“Lee Majors Come Again”), and even an a cappella piece (“B-Boys in the Cut”). What we don’t know is whether the album originally announced will be the one we actually hear. After letting it age for a year though, the Beastie Boys are currently looking over the tracklisting and songwriting to see if any adjustments need to be made. “We finished the record over a year ago, so we want to take a look at it and re-evaluate and make sure it is what we want to put out there and that we are still happy with it,” explained Yauch to NME. Whatever the end result may be, it finally appears the Beastie Boys’ long-awaited comeback is finally within our reach. -Joe Marvilli
September 2010 via Capitol

Check Out:
“Lee Majors Come Again”

Brandon Flowers – Flamingo

Ever since The Killers announced their hiatus at the end of last year, the band members have quickly scattered to various side projects. Perhaps what may be the least surprising but most anticipated of them all is Brandon Flowers’ forthcoming solo debut Flamingo. While not much has been said about the upcoming album, a few tidbits have slipped out to the Internet. First off, it’s chockful of big name producers, including Daniel Lanois (U2, Neil Young), Brendan O’Brien (Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen), and Stuart Price (The Killers, Madonna). Flowers also confirmed a duet with Rilo Kiley frontlady Jenny Lewis on a song called “Hard Enough”, and that the album also features a Gospel song. A release date for single number one is set for the end of June, with the release of his album Flamingo in September. -Joe Marvilli
September via Island Records

Interpol – Interpol

Things weren’t looking good for our dapper post-punk heroes. In the bottom of the whatever, they were down a bass player, a tour, and a release date or name for their new album. But as is the way of most Disney sports movies, Interpol pulled it together, hired a great bass player, and announced a release date for their forthcoming self-produced, self-titled album Interpol. And they also added a bunch more UK and Europe tour dates. Cue Angles In The Outfield theme song. Though, I guess there’s the whole “what does this album sound like” deal. The Interpol boys have baffled us with polarizing statements such as, “it certainly doesn’t sound like anything we’ve ever done before” and “the new record falls back towards the first.” Take those two statements, add “Lights”–their first release from Interpol– divide by overcoming adversity and you get a no contest spot on this list. It certainly can’t be boring and stuff, right? -Jeremy Larson
September 14th via Matador

Check Out:
“Lights”

Kanye West – Good Ass Job

If you take much stock in the comments of fellow rappers and the recently revealed first single “Power”, Kanye West is back to doing what Kanye West does best — good ol’ fashion raps behind equally thrilling samples and beats. Tentatively titled Good Ass Job, the Chicago rapper’s fifth LP promises to be a throw back affair, one which hears Kanye abandoning the Auto-Tune of 808s & Heartbreak in favor of the styles that made him into the hip-hop super force that he is today. There’s also guests a plenty, with everyone from Q-Tip and Kid Cudi to Mr Hudson and Soulja Boy said to be making an appearance. And if all that hype wasn’t enough, Drake is already calling the record “one of the best hip-hop albums of the last 10 years.” Time will tell about that, but, at the very least, this is going to be one captivating listen. -Alex Young
September via Roc-A-Fella Records

Check Out:
“Power”

Les Savy Fav – TBA

Woods, LCD Soundsystem, and Superchunk are synonymous with the labels they are on, Woodsist, DFA, and Merge respectively, because they (or their members) are the owners. Les Savy Fav also holds this distinction, but flies under the radar in this class because its focal point is larger than life singer Tim Harrington, not Frenchkiss owner and bassist Syd Butler (their acts include The Dodos, The Hold Steady and Passion Pit). The five-piece will return in September with a still untitled follow-up to Let’s Stay Friends that Butler told NME will be “heavier” than the previous record, with the sound going back to the 90’s, to which Harrington added “we’re trying to get back to when we didn’t have any friends.” Judging from new songs CoS heard at their recent LA show, “Outta Here” and “Appetites”, it’s not hard to imagine falling in love with this band all over again. -Phil Cosores
September via Frenchkiss

Mark Ronson & The Business – Record Collection

It’s been a few years since Mark Ronson focused on his solo career. Following his 2007 acclaimed cover album Version, the English artist has mostly stayed busy by serving as a producer for the likes of Nas, the Kaiser Chiefs, Adele, and Daniel Merriweather. However, this year promises to see Mark Ronson, now accompanied with the backing band The Business Intl., at center stage again. Titled Record Collection, Ronson’s third album is also his first of all originals in seven years. The first single, “Bang Bang Bang”, features Q-Tip on rapping duties and MNDR, Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ touring keyboard player, on vocals. (Both that song and another new track, “Circuit Breaker,” can be found on his official website.) The record will also include appearances by Boy George, The Drums’ Jonathan Pierce, Kaiser Chiefs’ Nick Hodgson, and Miike Snow. -Joe Marvilli
September via Sony BMG

Check Out:
“Bang Bang Bang”

Of Montreal – False Priest

Kevin Barnes, Of Monreal’s flamboyant frontman, has kept uncharacteristically quiet about the band’s new album, its first since 2008’s Skeletal Lamping. Here’s what we know. The band teamed up with veteran producer Jon Brion, who has worked with everyone from Kanye West to Elliott Smith in the past, for False Priest, tentatively due in September.  The quintet recorded the disc at L.A.’s Ocean Way Studios, where the Beach Boys cut “Good Vibrations”. Song titles include “Enemy Gene”, “Famine Affair”, and “Teenage Unicorn Fisting” (we shudder to imagine the lyrics for that one). Most enticingly, Solange Knowles, Beyoncé’s sis and longtime buddy, recorded with the band, so expect her to make an appearance or two. -Ray Padgett
September via Polyvinyl

Panda Bear – Tomboy

Animal Collective was sooo 2009. But vocalist Noah Lennox, aka Panda Bear, will keep his crew on the radar when he releases his fourth solo album in September, titled Tomboy. Details are still being held under wraps, but we do know a series of singles, including the title track in July, will precede the record. But whether you see this as the followup to his beloved album Person Pitch (the album beat LCD Soundsystem’s Sound Of Silver for #1 on Pitchfork’s 2007 album of the year list) or as the followup to last year’s inescapable release Meriwether Post Pavilion, the expectations are probably through the roof. Can’t wait? Go to YouTube and search for his performance clips from the Primavera Sound Festival where he performed almost exclusively new tracks, including “Drone” and “Surfers Hymn”. -Phil Cosores
September via Paw Tracks

The Walkmen – TBA

The Walkmen and The National are like opposite sides of the same coin. Both New York based, with singers who exude cool without really trying. Both bands combine instantly recognizable voices with technically adventurous yet unassuming backing bands, five pieces strong, and filled with people with long-term connections. Prior to this year, both had four albums of original material, have been shifting from rockers to more moody material, and find general acclaim from the critics. So will the upcoming untitled album from The Walkmen, speculated for a September release date, be as successful as High Violet? Doubtful. Who knows why one band is given the key to the city while the other is examined for chinks in their armor, but The Walkmen don’t let their music sound like underdog fair. And with dates at Reading & Leeds and Lollapalooza scheduled, having something to prove may be their greatest asset. -Phil Cosores
September? via Gigantic Music

Antony & The Johnsons – Swanlights

With Antony & The Johnsons, you are either along for the ride, or you are not. If you want to look into its new album, Swanlights, on the band’s official website, you will encounter the image of two men jailed for homosexuality in Malawi, Antony’s personal environmental concernsm and news of the death of Kazuo Ohno, the Japanese dancer who appears on the cover of their last album, 2009’s The Crying Light. This is not light reading, and Antony Hagarty’s music is not light listening, but it is often beautiful and reflects a point of view generally ignored in the arts. Antony uses his warbly voice for more than singing, and on October 6th, we will see what the record, alone with the accompanying 144 page art book featuring Antony’s paintings, collages and writing, have to say. If history is any indicator, it will be worth seeking out. -Phil Cosores
October 5th via Secretly Canadian

Fleet Foxes – TBA

Fleet Foxes was, without question, one of 2008′s best albums and gave rise to not only the band, but a jump in the popularity of indie folk in general. Fleet Foxes set an unbelievably high standard for themselves, and anticipation will be appropriate for the band’s sophomore effort. They’ve said it will be rawer, as well as less poppy and upbeat than the first album. While that likely means no more songs like “Ragged Wood”, “Blue Ridge Mountains”, and “He Doesn’t Know Why”, it is comforting to know the band is recording honest material. Unless the band is just pulling an MGMT and disowning pop to be contrarian; after all, Robin Pecknold has shown in the past to be very unwilling to enter the mainstream. Either way, while the last bit of new information we have is an evil little MySpace blog post from January reading “Progress is being made,” the album is planned for the early- or mid-second half of the year. -Harry Painter
Fall via Sub Pop

Tron: The Original Soundtrack

It’s time I leveled with you. I’m what you guys call a User…er…Tron nerd. My geek factor is so through the roof with this I  don’t think I can even write in complete sentences from here on out. Remake of Tron? How about yeah! Amazing trailer? How about of course! Jeff Bridges is in it? How about shut the hell up! Oh and you know what? What! Daft Punk is scoring the entire movie. Je t’encule! Incredible. So there’s the hype. There’s also a purported tour supporting Tron and purported cameo in Daft Punk will make in Tron and the fact that this will be some of the first new Daft Punk we’ll be hearing in like half a decade. A caveat: publicists for Daft Punk aren’t even sure if it’s going to be a 2010 release, but here’s hoping they come in close. End of line. -Jeremy Larson
December?

Belle & Sebastian – TBA

If any band needed a break, it was Belle and Sebastian. After releasing seven albums in 10 years and touring relentlessly behind The Life Pursuit, the T-Rex influenced record that many considered the band’s finest since The Boy With The Arab Strap, the Glasgow popsters took a four year break and are just now emerging with a full tour schedule for the U.S. in the fall, including rumored appearances at the Matador at 21 and Treasure Island Festivals. Oh yeah, and they are curating Bowlie 2 for ATP in December. But when will the album be released? If you have been waiting patiently since 2006, a little while longer shouldn’t hurt. We do know that they are in LA putting the final touches on it, and I would bet releasing it sometime from their fall tour to ATP is in the cards. -Phil Cosores
TBA via Matador

Dr. Dre – Detox

Detox is one of the most anticipated albums of the past decade, but lately it’s become something of a running joke. No one — not even it’s producers — knows if it’ll ever come out, but hopes are still high. Hopefully it’s not hip-hop’s version of Chinese Democracy. In a Sirus XM radio interview, Scott Storch – whose name plasters the credits on Dre’s Chronic 2001 – said “Detox is a departure from stuff Dre and I have done it the past” and that the doc was looking for “three more records” until he finally releases the damn thing. He added that, “it should take about 400 records to get three. He has pretty high standards.” No shit. No word on whether this thing will actually drop, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed. In the meantime, start saving up for the inevitable super deluxe version that comes with a pair of Beats headphones. -Ray Roa
TBA via Aftermath/Interscope

Check Out:
“Flashing” (feat. Snoop Dogg)

Jenny and Johnny – I’m Having Fun Now

Even though it’ll always be ladies first in this relationship, we’re sure that Jonathan Rice doesn’t mind riding the coattails of his girlfriend’s popularity on this still untitled recording. In fact, one could argue that, in this instance, the 27-year-old Rice might be the brain behind the beauty. He wrote the Elvis Costello collaboration “Carpetbaggers” from Lewis’ sophomore release, Acid Tongue, and Costello liked singing his part so much that he invited the duo to work on his own 2008 album, Momofuku. No release date has been set, so for now you’ll just have to catch the lovebirds when they support Pavement and play a show with Superchunk in September. -Ray Roa
TBA

Justice – TBA

Even though the Paris-based duo been accused of being dance music’s MIlli Vanilli, fans are still eagerly awaiting their next proper LP. Justice‘s last album was 2007’s “disco-opera” — † — and a 2008 live disc/documentary barely satiated a thirst for new music. Last year, they won a Grammy for remixing MGMT’s “Electric Feel”, and tapped the newly reformed Elektra Records to handle stateside distribution of this still untitled record. God knows what it will sound like, but let’s hope it’s gets us dancing. -Ray Roa
TBA via Elektra/Ed Banger

The always present threat of a new Radiohead album

We know Radiohead has made substantial progress on its upcoming eighth album, but we don’t know much else. But as curious as we are about Phil Selway’s solo record, a Radiohead album without details is more exciting than 99% of albums that will come out this year, including his. We can probably expect this thing to be out before the end of the year, but no way it comes out before Selway’s late-August release. We can also only speculate on how it will sound, but if “These Are My Twisted Words” tells us anything, it’s that Radiohead is weird again! Add to that Ed O’Brien tossing around words like “different” and “new,” and it sounds at face value like another successful Radiohead album. -Harry Painter
TBA

Check Out:
“These Are My Twisted Words”

Update: Fanfarlo, The Black Keys, The Dead Weather, and a few others join the list!

I don’t know anyone who actually enjoys the Twilight movies. If you do you’re probably lying to yourself. But there’s no denying that the people behind the film’s soundtrack do a pretty awesome job of scoring some of music’s best names. Today, the tracklist for The Twilight Saga: Eclipse soundtrack is being revealed Bonnaroo style and so far the likes of Beck w/ Bat For Lashes, Vampire Weekend, and Metric are confirmed participants. We already know Muse is as well. And none of these bands are sharing previously released material. No, for Twilight soundtrack, everything is new. That’s what you get when you have oodles of cash to shell out after all.

If you feel like staring at your computer screen for the next six hours, keep your eyes peeled on the tracklist here. We’ll of course post about the end result once it’s all over. Wait no more! Scroll down to find the end result!

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse soundtrack arrives in stores on June 8th.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse Soundtrack Tracklist:
01. Metric – “Eclipse (All Yours)”
02. Muse – “Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever)”
03. The Bravery – “Ours”
04. Florence + The Machine – “Heavy In Your Arms”
05. Sia – “My Love”
06. Fanfarlo – “Atlas”
07. The Black Keys – “Chop And Change”
08. The Dead Weather – “Rolling On A Burning Tire”
09. Beck and Bat For Lashes – “Lets Get Lost”
10. Vampire Weekend – “Jonathan Low”
11. UNKLE – “With You In My Head”
12. Eastern Conference Champions – “A Million Miles An Hour”
13. Band of Horses – “Life on Earth”
14. Cee-lo Green – “What Part of Forever”
15. Howard Shore – “Jacob’s Theme”

But at least we know it exists in theory, and some new Black Mountain jams might make this summer a little sunnier. And Ana will be happy to know there is a stop at the tiny Bootleg Theatre in Silver Lake.

Tickets available here.

Black Mountain 2010 Tour Dates:
06/23 - Kamloops, BC @ Pogue Mahone
06/24 - Calgary, AB @ Republik
06/25 – Edmonton, AB @ Starlite Room
06/26 – Saskatoon, SK @ Amigo’s
06/27 – Regina, SK @ The Exchange
06/28 – Winnipeg, MB @ The Garrick Centre
06/30 – Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon
07/01 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
07/02 – Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick
07/03 – London, ON @ Call the Office
07/09 – Hultsfred, SE @ Hultsfred Festival
07/10 – Brugge, BE @ Cactus Festival
07/11 – Balado, Kinross-Shire, UK @ T In The Park Festival
07/13 – London, UK @ The Lexington
07/14 – London, UK – The Lexington
07/16 – Suffolk, UK @ Latitude Festival
07/17 – Dour, BE @ Dour Festival
07/18 – Ferropolis, DE @ Melt Festival
07/23 – Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern
07/24 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
07/26 – Des Moines, IA @ Vaudeville Mews
07/27 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room w/ The Dodos
07/28 – Denver, CO @ The Bluebird Theater
07/30 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
07/31 – Boise, ID @ Neurolux
08/26 – Los Angeles, CA @ Bootleg Theater w/ Lower Heaven
08/30 – Brooklyn, NY @ Knitting Factory
09/04 – Oxford, UK @ Academy 2
09/10 – Isle of Wight, UK @ Bestival
09/11 – Dorset, UK @ End of the Road Festival
09/12 – Leeds, UK @ TJs Woodhouse
09/14 – Glasgow, UK @ Oran Mor
09/15 – Manchester, UK @ Academy 3
09/16 – Nottingham, UK @ Rescue Rooms
10/07 – London, UK @ Shepherds Bush Empire

And though its followup to 2008′s In The Future does not yet have a release date or a name, Black Mountain is doing the sensible thing by going on the road to test some tracks and reacquaint the casual fans with their psych-blues-rock. The tour will focus on major Canadian cities, but a trio of American venues will also get to hear new Black Mountain songs before the rest of the world.

Black Mountain 2010 Tour Dates:
06/23 - Kamloops, BC @ Pogue Mahone
06/24 - Calgary, AB @ Republik
06/25 – Edmonton, AB @ Starlite Room
06/26 – Saskatoon, SK @ Amigo’s
06/27 – Regina, SK @ The Exchange
06/28 – Winnipeg, MB @ The Garrick Centre
06/30 – Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon
07/01 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
07/02 – Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick
07/03 – London, ON @ Call the Office
07/09 – Hultsfred, SE @ Hultsfred Festival
07/10 – Brugge, BE @ Cactus Festival
07/11 – Balado, Kinross-Shire, UK @ T In The Park Festival
07/13 – London, UK @ The Lexington
07/14 – London, UK – The Lexington
07/16 – Suffolk, UK @ Latitude Festival
07/17 – Dour, Belgium @ Dour Festival
09/11 – Dorset, UK @ End of the Road Festival

However, in a recent interview with Exclaim! (via TFB), McBean has revealed that Black Mountain is not only again active, but currently in the studio working on its third full-length. According to McBean, the band recorded the album, tentatively titled Wilderness Heart, at two fairly well-known studios, L.A.’s Sunset Sound and Seattle’s  London Bridge Studio, with producers Dave Sardy (Oasis, Band of Horses) and Randall Dunn (Sunn 0)))). They then capped it all off by returning to the friendly confines of McBean’s home, where they laid down the album’s final two tracks.

Though still in the mixing stage, McBean can describes “a bit more folky” than the aforementioned In The Future, noting, “There’s some heavy songs on it, but there’s no 18-minute opus [a reference to the track "Bright Lights"] on this one.”

He continued: “I’d say this record is maybe more vocally-focused than riff-focused,” he explains. “I think this one’s probably going to be ten songs — standard one record.”

Black Mountain plans to release the album this summer via Jagjaguwar. Currently, the band’s live calendar only includes upcoming appearances at the UK based music festivals T in the Park and End of the Road Festival, however, a yet-to-be-announced North American leg is scheduled for this summer.

Victoria is a city of only 330,000 people, and has a reputation as a haven for the “newly wed” and “nearly dead.” So when word came that Canada’s Garden City would be the latest Pacific Northwest location to offer a summer music festival, one couldn’t help but question the decision.

But by weekend’s end, the inaugural Rifflandia Music Festival not only proved to be a success, but also another example as to why 2008 has truly been the year of the music festival.

Day One – Friday, August 29th

For anyone who has been to a music festival before, you know that there is typically some preparation that must take place before those first chords are strummed. You have to examine the schedule and handpick all of your “must-see” acts. You have to make room on your camera by deleting those drunken pictures from last weekend. You have to toss your favourite concert Tee in the wash. But most importantly, you have to let the excitement of what you are about to experience overtake you. Before this festival I did none of those things…

In fact, I had very little expectations coming into Rifflandia. My weekend began with a short 25-minute walk from my house to downtown Victoria. The festival offered six venues, each within a 5-10 minute walk. Festival organizers opted to schedule acts into a number of “showcases” a la SXSW. So really it felt more like I was going to a bunch of shows rather than a music festival.

There were a number of innovative ideas for Rifflandia that certainly added to the experience. Since it was located in the city, many local stores offered discounts to festival attendees. It was a nice incentive, and we were able to go out for lunch, do some shopping, and then hit a show. Perhaps the most revolutionary idea of all: Rifflandia Festival had its very own limited edition beer! Local brew masters Phillips Brewery formulated a magical concoction affectionately titled “Rifflandabru.” I can tell you that festival goers absolutely annihilated the entire supply by Sunday night.

5:00pm – Cobras Cobras Cobras

Cobras Cobras Cobras are a local band who could best be described as spaz rock. They brought the energy big time, and really set the tone for the rest of the weekend. Many of the songs were percussion driven, with the rhythm guitarist often switching to a single snare drum and wailing away along with the full-time drummer. Cobras X3 were a fantastic choice to open up for Man Man. A short 30-minute set definitely left me wanting more. It was also great to see the fellas checking out other shows all weekend long.

6:00pm – Man Man

I decided to attend the first of two Man Man shows on that evening because the late show conflicted with The Walkmen. The anticipation of watching the Philadelphia five-piece set up is comparable to a 6-year-old gawking at a giant sundae being assembled right before his/her eyes. I knew I was in for a big treat. I watched and wondered how the band could possibly navigate through the massive clusterf*ck of whistles, cymbals, cowbells, and other gadgets that decorated the stage. After an understandably long wait, Man Man the members of the band emerged dressed completely in white and sporting war paint on their faces.

To continue my horrible analogy, if the setup is like watching that ice creamy treat being made, then listening to the band is like eating up every last mouth-watering bite. They began with a ferocious rendition of “Mister Jung Stuffed.” The set relied heavily on material from their most recent album, Rabbit Habits.  Lead singer Honus Honus led the charge with vocals that ranged from raspy to yelping and yodelling. Let me tell you, the dude also gets his exercise on stage while jumping around sporadically. While it may look like complete, avant garde chaos, Man Man are a surprisingly tight live band. Another highlight was “The Ballad of Butter Beans,” which features a xylophone part that recalls the orchestral piece, “The Flight of the Bumblebee.” To add to the fun, a wide-eyed Honus Honus had everyone in the audience grab the keys from their pockets and shake them along to the song. Other weird and wonderful sound effects included: throwing a handful of cutlery across the stage and pouring a glass of water into a metal bowl beside the microphone. My only complaint was that they only played for about 45 minutes. But it was reasonable given that they were set to play again in another six hours. Man Man played a one song encore of “Doo Right,” which was really the cherry on top of that oh-so-delicious sundae.

7:00pm – The Whigs

The Whigs played at a venue called Alix Goolden Hall, which is a former church. Frontman Parker Gispert commented that it was the first time the band had ever played to a seated audience. It did seem a little blasphemous to have an audience seated in pews for a garage-rock show. On the plus side, Alix Goolden has amazing acoustics, and that could not have been lost on the acts that performed there.

The Whigs also commented that they were a long way from home (Athens, GA.), but that their parents were in the crowd for their first ever show in Victoria. The announcement garnered a big cheer from the audience. The set began with a slew of pop songs. I was expecting the band to rock way harder and began to wonder if the venue was the issue. After all, the atmosphere in a massive domed church with stained-glass windows is much different than in a dark, smoky bar. Just as I was beginning to jot down notes about their disappointing wimpy sound, the first notes of “Right Hand On My Heart” rang out across the hall. By the time the song ended I had crossed out everything I’d just written. The Whigs are unquestionably at their best when they are rocking out. The opening pop songs received a warm response from the “polite” crowd, as Gispert put it. But by the end of the set people were screaming and shouting for the band. Overall, The Whigs put on a very enjoyable show, but you can bet they don’t plan on playing to any more seated crowds in the near future.

8:00pm – Johnny and the Moon

Johnny and the Moon were one of the more renowned Victoria bands at the festival. They are fronted by Dante DeCaro (formerly of Hot Hot Heat, and sometimes Wolf Parade). Playing a mix of folk rock and alt-country, the band managed to incorporate harmonica, music box, and saxophone into the tunes. To be blunt, most of the songs were flat-out boring. Often channelling 60’s nostalgia with twangy guitars and lyrics about heartbreak, Johnny and the Moon seemed hardly excited to be playing. However, the apparent lack of interest may have been mistaken for frustration, as DeCaro pleaded with the sound guy to turn monitors up or down between almost every song. Things didn’t pick up until the end of the show, when the band broke into a number of banjo-infused toe-tappers including standout track “The Ballad of Scarlet Town.” While the band cranked up the energy, it wasn’t quite enough to save what turned out to be a bit of a disappointing show.

9:00pm – Black Mountain

Black Mountain drew in a huge crowd for its Friday headlining set. Things kicked off with a great introduction from a festival organizer who got everyone fired up and cheering. For the first time it really felt like Victoria had a festival to call its own.

The Vancouver-based band wasted no time getting started. The band embarked on a drawn-out, synth-heavy intro to “Stormy High” from their Polaris Prize-nominated album In The Future. As lead-guitarist Stephen McBean ripped into the Zeppelin-esque riff, the crowd decided they’d sat down long enough and the entire audience rushed towards the stage. Up next was the psychedelic ballad “Angels” which got the crowd swaying back and forth. Amber Webber’s quivering vocals on “Night Walks” were haunting enough to put the audience into a borderline coma. While the venue was not ideal for a band like The Whigs, seeing Black Mountain in a church was quite surreal. Their sweeping keyboards and guitar fuzz threatened to blow through the ceiling (and everyone’s ear drums).

But as wonderful as the first few songs were, things began to get dull quickly as the show progressed. I was surprised to read Matt Melis’ unfavourable review of the band’s appearance at New American Music Union a few weeks ago. However, after seeing Black Mountain for myself I completely understand Matt’s apparent disconnection with the live show. I’ve always had the personal opinion that Black Mountain is sort of like Wolfmother for the advanced listener. There is no doubt that the band has crafted some fascinating and complex songs, however they could also use a lesson in showmanship from Mr. Andrew Stockdale himself. I’m sure he’s got some free time on his hands…

After about 40 minutes of Black Mountain, I decided to bounce in favour of checking out my all-time favourite local band (yes, even more than Nelly Furtado).

9:45pm – The Paper Cranes

The Paper Cranes were supposed to be Victoria’s next big thing. Their first official release came in 2006 with the Veins EP. With encouraging reviews from Pitchfork and Exclaim!, and considerable buzz circulating around the net, the band was poised to take the next steps to indie rock stardom. But things don’t always work out the way they should. It’s now almost three years later, and after releasing their first full length album, Halcyon Days, in 2007, the band appears to be right back where they began.

With only two of the original members remaining (frontman Ryan McCullagh and keyboardist Miranda Roach, who also happen to be husband and wife), the band is primed for a “comeback” of sorts. Playing infectious indie pop full of hand-claps, harmonica, and tambourine, it’s a challenge not to nod your head along to the beat. Halcyon Days standouts “Middle-Class Guilt” and “I’ll Love You Till My Veins Explode” are two of the catchiest songs you’ve never heard. While I may be slightly biased, I absolutely loved every second of their live show, and encourage everyone to give The Paper Cranes a listen.

10:30pm – The Upsidedown

Up next were Portland, Oregon natives (and Dandy Warhols buddies), The Upsidedown. The band single handedly thwarted my attempt to escape from psych-rock music for the day. In the first (and only) major scheduling hiccup of the festival, organizers billed The Upsidedown directly after Black Mountain, and their sounds were annoyingly similar. They even shared vocals between a man and a woman. I won’t elaborate much on the show. After all, if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all, right?

11:30pm – You Say Party! We Say Die!

The acronym-friendly Vancouver  outfit, You Say Party! We Say Die!, brought the sexy to Sugar nightclub big time on Friday night. Frontwoman  Becky Ninkovic is up there with the likes of Karen O and Jemina Pearl when it comes to pure energy and sex appeal. While I’ll admit I’ve never been a huge fan of the band’s dance punk anthems, I’ve got to give them a ton of credit for putting on one of the most fun shows of the weekend and getting everyone dancing and sweating.

12:30am – The Walkmen

One of the biggest perks of a small festival like Rifflandia is that you can easily see your favourite bands up close and personal. For the night’s grand finale, New York’s The Walkmen graced the stage to a packed house. I opted to put away the notebook, and had no problem getting to the front row about 15 minutes before the start of the show. Good luck doing that at Bonnaroo or Coachella!

The set was dominated by material from their extraordinary new album You & Me. First up was minimalist guitar track “New Country”, a great showcase of Hamilton Leithauser’s amazing vocals for those who might have been unfamiliar with the band. The Walkmen have always been known for their unique sound and use of vintage instruments. These characteristics are even more prevalent during their live shows. New song “Canadian Girl”, which surprisingly didn’t garner much of a cheer when announced, was a perfect example of how the band have fine-tuned their sound, perhaps towards the style of music their vintage instruments were designed to play. Leithauser channeled his inner 1950s crooner as he sang, “only I still call you mine, only I’m still hangin’ on.” Another welcome change was the addition of a two-man horn section to the band. This added yet another layer to The Walkmen’s already multifaceted sound. The trumpet player seemed to agree, as he appeared to have consumed a few too many Rifflandabrus before the show. The rest of the band shot glances in his direction before each horn part, but he managed to hold it together. Other highlights from You & Me included “Four Provinces” and its thunderous hook, first single “In The New Year”, and “On The Water“, which chugs along slowly like a locomotive until it is derailed by an explosion of reverb, synths, and melodic whistling.

Toward the end of the set, The Walkmen returned to the rest of their catalogue, including barnburner “The Rat”, which nearly took the house down. An encore of Bows + Arrows favourites “What‘s In It For Me“ and “Little House of Savages” left the crowd salivating. After nearly 90 minutes of bliss, fatigue began to kick in as I braved the now seemingly not-so-short walk home.

Day Two – Saturday, August 30th

After a day overflowing with goodness, the second day of Rifflandia not boast nearly the same kind of depth as the first, however there was certainly a wide array of musical genres and talents to be had.

5:30pm – The Blakes

The Blakes are a garage-rock trio from Seattle. They are raw. They are loud. But most of all, they rock hard. Much like The Whigs on Day One, it took a few songs for the crowd to warm up to the band. While the relatively small crowd seemed reluctant to hit the dance floor, there were plenty of good times and Rifflandabru to go around. By the end of The Blakes show, I had a strange urge to crack a bottle of JD and snort a line of coke (but seriously kids, don’t do drugs).

7:30pm – Blitzen Trapper

It was a night of firsts for Blitzen Trapper. It was the Portland band’s first time playing in Victoria. It was their first show in “quite a long time.” And it was the first time they played material from their highly-anticipated new album Furr. Unfortunately, all of these firsts resulted in a pretty rough show.

Blitzen Trapper began with a couple of new songs, which I must say sounded extremely different from anything on the critically acclaimed Wild Mountain Nation. The songs were louder, more experimental, and very messy. The beginning of the set was plagued by sound issues, the worst of which included frontman Eric Earley’s guitar, which completely stopped working. He had to temporarily borrow Dan Boekner’s axe (of Handsome Furs). A few songs later, after reminding the crowd that they hadn’t played in a while, Earley had to run backstage because he forgot his capo.

Thankfully, they managed to work out the kinks by the second half of the set. The title tracks of Wild Mountain Nation and Furr steered the band back in the right direction. The latter song was reminiscent of classic Bob Dylan, featuring finger-picked guitars, wailing harmonica, and tell-tale lyrics, to boot. Interestingly, for the second time in as many days a band (the other being The Whigs) commented on the polite nature of the crowd. I wasn’t sure whether to take that as a compliment or not…

Next came the toughest decision of the festival. Whether to stick around for Handsome Furs (who were spotted hanging out with Hot Hot Heat frontman Steve Bays during Blitzen Trapper), or to head back to the church for Owen Pallett’s Final Fantasy. Ultimately the decision was made to go to Final Fantasy, mainly because my legs were aching like crazy after two days of standing and those pews were looking awfully comfy. Little did I know that not only my legs, but also my eyes and ears would be thanking me later for the decision.

9:00pm – Final Fantasy

For anyone who is unfamiliar with Owen Pallett, aka Final Fantasy, he is a violinist, pianist, and composer from Toronto. He is also essentially the coolest one-man-band you will ever see, and his compositions can only be described as amazing musicianship. Each time Owen plays a song live,  he records individual parts of the song then plays and loops the recordings back simultaneously as the song continues to build and evolve. It is truly a sight to behold and a feast for the ears.

The set was mainly comprised of new material, for which Owen unnecessarily apologized.  Mr. Pallett was alone on stage for the first few songs, which really put the focus on his incredible talent. But then he brought out a woman named Stephanie, and the concert transformed into more of a spectacle. Not only was the music awe inspiring, but the visuals were as compelling and innovative as a Radiohead show. So what kind of crazy video screens, lasers and lights did Final Fantasy have? Well, actually there was only an overhead projector, just like the one from your Grade 8 Math class. Paper stencils were layered and shifted around to create pictures and stories, often related to the songs. The projections were occasionally cast toward the ceiling to create an eerie light show while everyone in the audience gazed skyward. From start to finish, the Final Fantasy experience left me with a serious case of goosebumps and a huge smile.

12:00am – Brother Ali

The first major hip-hop act of the festival came in the form of a late-night show from Minneapolis-native Brother Ali. After a legendary show last year, Ali’s second appearance in Victoria was highly anticipated. The crowd was respectable (although not quite as large as the crowd for The Walkmen about 24 hours earlier). Brother Ali was joined on stage by long-time collaborator DJ BK-One who took control of the decks, and also right-hand-man Mr. Wright (pun intended). The politically charged lyrics and sing-along choruses were welcomed by all in attendance. My only complaint (and it is a common one at hip-hop shows), was that the bass was pounding so heavily that most of the songs’ fascinatingly complex instrumentation was virtually inaudible. Unlike the night before, severe fatigue started to become an issue for me before the end of Day Two. We opted to leave Brother Ali after a few songs, and headed home in preparation for tomorrow’s fun, which would inevitably require every last ounce of energy we had left.

Day Three – Sunday, August 31st

If Days One and Two were all about the music, then Day Three was unquestionably about the party. After a few local DJs performed earlier in the day, the third and final day of the festival really kicked off with DJ Z-Trip (who I mistakenly referred to as “Zed”-Trip all weekend. Lost in translation indeed).

8:30pm – DJ Z-Trip

After a lazy day, I arrived at the Strathcona Rooftop (a freakin’ bar on the roof, complete with beach volleyball courts!), about 15 minutes into Z-Trip’s set. We were welcomed by a sizable line, and word that the venue was already at capacity, which can’t be much more than 150 people (a far cry from the 500,000 person crowd he performed to at the Rolling Stones‘ SARS concert a few years ago in Toronto). One agonizing hour later, I finally made it onto the roof. Luckily, Z-Trip was set to play for a total of two hours.

Yes it’s true, Gregg Gillis (aka Girl Talk) may be the flavour of the week when it comes to mash-up DJs, but there is no doubt that Z-Trip is the original maestro. With cuts that included everything from Nirvana to Beastie Boys to Led Zeppelin, not only was the nearly 2.5 hour-long set a full-out dance party, but also a lesson in music history. At one point Z-Trip proclaimed, “you know what sets me apart? I play Fleetwood Mac”, before firing up a track featuring the aforementioned band. Not only is Z-Trip the king of the mash-up, but he also spins and scratches masterfully. He seemed genuinely happy to be playing to the modest crowd and thanked everyone numerous times for “getting him so drunk” as he urged them to let loose. The show ended in epic fashion with the ultimate sing-a-long song, Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

11:30pm – The Beatnuts

First, I want to quickly give props to Sweatshop Union, who opened up for The Beatnuts. They are a hip-hop collective from Vancouver, who have had some commercial success in Canada. I’ve never been a fan, but they put on an entertaining show while trading verses and rhymes between six different MCs. Between sets a few local b-boys hit the dance floor to showcase their skills. It was an entertaining way to pass the time while waiting.

Up next were New York-rap veterans The Beatnuts. Surprisingly, the duo of JuJu and Psycho Les did double duty by acting as their own DJ and rapping. The crowd pleasers came early and often with tracks such as “No Escapin’ This” and, of course, “Watch Out Now.” Rap fans and non-rap fans alike seemed to enjoy the ‘Nuts, as they extended the party started by Z-Trip a couple hours earlier. As was often the case over the weekend, things ended with a bang as two ladies from the crowd hopped on stage and shook it along with JuJu.

12:30pm – Guns n’ Bombs

Just when I thought the party couldn’t go any longer, I met Guns n’ Bombs. The L.A. electronic duo brought the dirty techno big time and kept everyone dancing into the wee hours. However, I was unsure why Turbotito (Filip Nikolic), was the only member on stage for about 90% of the set. While he hardly acknowledged the crowd, the music certainly did the talking.

Guns n’ Bombs are signed to French-label Kitsune Records, which is known predominately for its European acts (Bloc Party, Klaxons, Hot Chip). These guys, while clearly influenced by their label mates across the pond, appear poised to bring the spotlight back to the L.A. dance music scene. I must admit it’s difficult to give a detailed critique of the Guns n’ Bombs show, simply because I was too busy dancing the entire time. But really, I guess that’s all you need to know.

Rifflandia – The Verdict:

After all was said and done, the first ever Rifflandia Music Festival was a great success. Organizers did a fantastic job realizing that the only way the event would flourish was if they offered something unique. The city festival experience is drastically different then an outdoor festival. The best things about outdoor festivals include the opportunity to travel somewhere new, meet new people, and participate in unruly shenanigans along with thousands of other campers. However, there are often may restrictions within the confines of a festival site. At Rifflandia the options were limitless. I could go anywhere to eat, meet up with friends who weren’t at the festival, and go to sleep in my own bed at night. While I didn’t travel to the desert or a giant farm, I still discovered many new things about my city and met lots of new people.

And, true, the festival’s lineup did not feature many household names, but it did possess excellent diversity and amazing musical talent. It was also great to see the inclusion of some 40 local acts, many of which I’m sure made some new fans. Ticket prices were also very reasonable at $66 for a weekend wristband. Wristbands were also sold for single days, and single ticket sales for individual shows allowed concert goers to see as much or as little music as they liked.

With the apparent over-saturation of the music festival market, promoters should really take a close look at small-scale fests like Rifflandia. It was created by locals, for locals. Keeping everything so simple kept costs low for organizers and attendees alike, and helped everything run smoothly. There was a real sense of community among festival-goers and artists. Performers were spotted taking in the sights and sounds throughout the weekend. And seriously folks…they had their own beer! What more could you ask for?

To answer my original question: it turns out that Victoria was the perfect place to launch another music festival. But that’s not to say it was a better location then your city, or any other city for that matter. It simply illustrates that any city, big or small, has the ability to host its own festival, as long as it is tailored for that specific locale. Who knows? Maybe your city could be next…

“Too Many Headliners” should be the headline for any story about the second day of Pittsburgh’s New American Music Union. In the span of only a few hours, the likes of Gnarls Barkley, The Raconteurs, and Bob Dylan all took the stage. As I said, too many headliners. But give the fans of Pittsburgh credit. We endured being subjected to copious amounts of killer music, and I never heard one complaint…except when it was over. What can I say? We’re gluttons for punishment.

Saturday’s festivities kicked off bright and relatively early with a battle of the bands that lasted from late morning to early afternoon. Fifteen college bands from across the country were hand-selected to take part in the competition, each vying for first prize, which was a Los Angeles recording session. The Black Fortys from the University of Southern Illinois were ultimately proclaimed the winners at day’s end. Unfortunately, they played so early that many missed their first-place set. You can never do it all at any festival, and one of my regrets was that I didn’t roll out of bed and catch a few more of these up-and-coming bands. The college bands played on a free stage outside the venue’s gates, so those who couldn’t score tickets to the sold-out festival were still able to get a taste of some excellent music.

The NAMU Experience (It’s Like You Were There)

I got an ‘F’ in kindergarten for my finger painting, but allow me to try and paint a picture of the NAMU experience for you guys anyway.

You file into the South Side Works a few minutes before The Duke Spirit are set to go on. You feel your stomach growl because you slept through lunch after being blown away by The Black Keys and The Roots the night before. You pay a semi-reasonable $6.00 for a northeastern version of a southwestern wrap. You fill your complimentary NAMU water bottle with less-reasonably priced water or beer so expensive that it must be the nectar of the Gods and not Bud Light. You notice the crowd gathering in front of the stage, so you select a spot and hold firm. You don’t care what the market says; you know that real-estate has never been more valuable. You feel the sun beating down on you, so you fashion your best attempt at Yasser Arafat headgear out of your complimentary concert t-shirt and a shoe lace from your left shoe, a beat up sneaker. (Oddly enough, on your right foot is a sandal; you credit it to the rough night and don’t think too hard about it.) You try to make chitchat with the people beside you, knowing that you’ll still be next to them nine hours later when Bob Dylan finishes. You listen to all of the terrible pickup lines that nobody is having any better luck with than you did back in college. You wonder where all of these people with tattoos came from, and you begin to suspect that all of those guys who told you their girlfriends were waiting for them up front were just trying to get closer to the stage. But you let it slide. Small potatoes. Bigger fish to fry. Fish named Danger Mouse, Jack White, Britt Daniel, and some dude that used to go by the name Robert Zimmerman. In other words, who wants to worry about some punks when you’re in for one of the best concerts of your life?

You got the vibe? Ok, now for the bands.

Saturday, August 9 – Day Two Band Reviews

The Duke Spirit

Years and years of letdowns have taught me never to get too pumped up for opening acts. If they can keep a beat and manage to not butcher a cover of one of the headliner’s songs, I consider the set a success. That being said, England’s The Duke Spirit sure didn’t play like an opening act. I knew of them by name, and I had read a recent interview with lead vocalist Liela Moss, but that was all. Comparisons to Sonic Youth and The Pixies seemed appropriate, as the band effortlessly altered between garage-like barnburners and slower numbers throughout the set. Moss, however, is what makes this band special-gives The Duke Spirit its, well, spirit! The beautiful and energetic blonde, with a great voice and sexy accent, charmed the early crowd and got the place moving a bit. Not only did she carry the vocal duties, but she played tambourine, other percussion, danced the entire set and, get this, even broke out the harmonica on a couple songs (perhaps in tribute to Mr. Dylan?).  I wouldn’t be shocked to learn that Moss also drives the tour bus, fills in as a roadie, and hand-makes the band’s clothes. She was aptly backed by guitarist Luke Ford and company, as the band played a set heavy on songs from their latest album, Neptune. Highlights for me were “Neptune’s Call” and “This Ship Was Built to Last,” which I think some fans misheard as “shit” rather than “ship.” Either way it worked, and my copy of Neptune is in the mail.

Black Mountain

Vancouver’s own Black Mountain was another band that I was really excited to be seeing live for the first time. Keeping with Anthony Kiedis’s snowflake theme of no two bands being alike, Black Mountain brought along the dynamic of having lead vocal duties shared by singer, Amber Webber, and lead guitarist, Stephen McBean. The set consisted of mainly dead-slow, psychedelic rock songs that painstakingly intensified until finally erupting into distorted chaos. This was more a jam session than a series of songs, though, and the crowd never did quite get into it, even though McBean’s solos were impressive. Webber’s statuesque pose and warbling vocal style also failed to resonate with the crowd; I was close to the stage and could barely hear her. The set, which drew heavily from 2008′s In the Future, came to a close with an all-out rocker and a beautiful harmony between Webber and McBean that made me wish the set was just beginning rather than ending. The band and crowd seemed to be just warming up with that song. Unfortunately, it came about thirty-five minutes into a thirty-five minute set.

Gnarls Barkley

Gnarls Barkley was the band in the lineup that intrigued me most. They’ve never played near Pittsburgh, and I’ve only ever caught glimpses of them performing on television. I’m actually a Danger Mouse fan more than anything due to some of his collaborations, including his work with Mark Linkous’s Sparklehorse, a favorite of mine. The stage’s backdrop replicated the cartoonish skyline album art of The Odd Couple, and the backing band came out in matching, red sweater vests and white bowties. When Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse emerged in identical (except for size), mustard-colored sports jackets, the crowd went crazy. Before playing “Gone Daddy Gone,” Cee-Lo proclaimed, “This is a party town…this will get it [the party] going,” and he was true to his word. Gnarls Barkley brought just the right combination of rock and soul to the stage, and Cee-Lo, sporting the best voice on the bill, demonstrated that he is equally apt at singing rock or being Solomon Burke. The big man was having fun the whole set long, ripping his shirt open at one point and joking, “Danger Mouse on the beatzilla…Cee-Lo on the Crown Royal.” Danger Mouse is an absolute blast to watch on stage. His lanky frame hunches over the piano-his head coming perilously close to hitting the keys as he plays-almost as if he’s too big for the instrument, like an adult playing on a child’s Fisher-Price toy piano. Perhaps the best description I can give of Danger Mouse at his area on stage is simply this: a mad scientist at the bench in his laboratory. Other highlights included the obligatory “Crazy” and a soulful “Neighbors.” The only thing keeping Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse from blowing the roof off the place was the fact that we were outside. If there is a better act out there than Gnarls Barkley, I’m not aware of it.

Spoon

Some of my fellow COS writers are huge Spoon fans, and after catching their Saturday set, I can understand why. Sandwiched between Gnarls Barkley and The Raconteurs, the boys from Austin, Texas were asked to play in about as unforgiving a slot as a band could be assigned to play. But they delivered to a crowd that seemed well-versed in their catalogue and fully aware of just how good this band is live. Spoon truly was the indie-rock representative of this festival, masterfully combining hooks and pop sensibilities with an edgy style that showed they weren’t afraid to stray from the guitar tabs and experiment a little and, at times, flat-out thrash. Britt Daniel, while not having a voice that’ll blow you away, has the perfect delivery for songs like “You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb” and “I Turn on My Camera.” Other highlights of the set included the charged “Don’t Make Me a Target” and a sick cover of The Stones’ “Rocks Off.” Spoon has been around forever it seems, and if fans didn’t know about them before their Saturday set, I guarantee you they’ll remember them the next time they come through town.

The Raconteurs

Pittsburgh’s a rock town. Always has been. And just like fans turned out to see The Black Keys the previous evening, I think the crowd was most pumped about seeing The Raconteurs on Saturday. The audience was buzzing as the stage was prepped, and members of bands The Duke Spirit and Black Mountain found seats on top of tour buses, not wanting to miss Jack White’s popular side project in action. Singer/Songwriter Brendan Benson shares guitar and vocal duties with White, but it’s pretty clear that this is White’s band. While Benson sang the first song of the set, White played guitar with his back to the crowd, teasing the audience who was dying to see him. When he finally turned around, fans erupted louder than at any point in the festival. The set was tight and rocked as hard as anything you’re likely to hear. Benson has a beautiful voice, and he and the others held things together while White drifted in and out of the spotlight with vocals that ranged from rock to blues to country and guitar solos that melted faces, even if they did seem a bit repetitive at times. Highlights of the set included “Steady as She Goes” and an epic version of “Rich Kid Blues.” The fans wanted a hard-hitting set of power pop, and Benson and White delivered and then some.

Bob Dylan and His Band

Bob Dylan didn’t bring the magic on Saturday. It happens. That’s not to say it was a bad set. As always, Zimmy and band played a phenomenal show that first-time Dylan concertgoers really dug for the most part; however, having seen Dylan in concert nearly twenty times, I can honestly say that we didn’t witness one of those brilliant moments that makes you realize that something other-worldly can possess the man at times. The great part about his Never-Ending Tour  (over twenty years and going strong) is that there’s always tomorrow and another chance for one of those moments. And when they hit you, you know.

What Dylan did bring was a strong set featuring a mix of suped-up classics and songs from his recent trio of albums, all played by his crack band, which is led by bassist Tony Garnier, who has learned to translate Dylan’s nods and relay the signals to the other band members like a third base coach. “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35″ and “It Ain’t Me Babe” kicked off the show strong with songs that everyone knew at least the choruses to. Tracks from recent albums like “Honest With Me,” “Nettie Moore,” and “High Water (For Charlie Patton)” all were delivered and met with their normal gusto. A slow version of “Tangled Up in Blue,” usually a crowd favorite, never really materialized into anything memorable. A spirited “Summer Days,” got the crowd dancing again, and a down and dirty version of “Ballad of a Thin Man” was far and away the highlight of the set.

The thrills were the normal ones for a Dylan concert. During “Spirit on the Water,” Bob sang, “You think I’m over the hill/You think I’m past my prime,” which the crowd emphatically denied, and Dylan responded with, “Let me see what you got/We can have a whoppin’ good time.” On “It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding),” the crowd, as always, cheered for the line: “Sometimes even the president of the United States must have to stand naked.” Will that line ever not be relevant? Bob went to his harmonica a few times over the course of the night, which elicited cheers. I was curious if he was playing any guitar this summer, but he seems more comfortable at the keyboard these days. Still, just seeing Bob Dylan on stage can give you chills, and it’s great to see the sixty-seven-year-old making eye contact with fans and dancing behind the keyboard.

The shortened festival set meant only one song for an encore. After a couple minutes of cheering, the lights came on, and a giant banner with Dylan’s eye logo was dropped and unveiled. The band came back and did a great version of “Like A Rolling Stone,” which turned into a massive sing-along during the choruses. It would have been nice for novice Dylan fans to see Bob’s normal closer, “All Along the Watchtower,” but Bob’s legendary song about bums, jugglers, diplomats, and Siamese cats was a fitting way to close out the night and the 2008 New American Music Union.

The Aftermath (Festival Awards)

Best Overall Set: Gnarls Barkley (Honorable Mention: The Roots)

Best Guitar Solo: Capt. Kirk of The Roots

Festival Good Guy: Questlove of The Roots

Most Disappointing Performance: Black Mountain

Jack “White” of All Trades: Danger Mouse (Honorable Mention: Liela Moss)

Best Song: Crowd sing-along to Bob Dylan’s “Like A Rolling Stone.”

Worst Song: The version of Bob Dylan’s “Like A Rolling Stone” that the guy behind me was singing during the crowd sing-along to Bob Dylan’s “Like A Rolling Stone.”

Most Annoying Group: The Obama groupies that infiltrated the venue and hounded me about voting at least two dozen times. These guys wouldn’t know a g-chord from a g-string.

Luckiest Fans: The winners of the COS New American Music Union Ticket Giveaway. Glad you guys got a killer show on us.

Finally, kudos to American Eagle and Anthony Kiedis for giving Pittsburgh a great festival with a phenomenal lineup. Students got two days of great music and fun for only $25, and this also included a festival water bottle and t-shirt. Good luck finding another bargain like that.

Now, we ‘yinzers’ just have to wait until next year. Ain’t gonna be easy n’at.

– Be sure to respond and let me know if you agree or if I’m dead wrong. I love to hear from you either way. Also, be sure to check out footage from the festival now up here.

Many thanks for additional photo support by  C.C. Chapman…

———

]]> As thrilling as day one turned out to be, day two of the inaugural New American Music Union offered so much more. From acclaimed college bands to high-profile music legends, NAMU's final day certainly made the books. "Too Many Headliners" should be the headline for any story about the second day of Pittsburgh's New American Music Union. In the span of only a few hours, the likes of Gnarls Barkley, The Raconteurs, and Bob Dylan all took the stage. As I said, too many headliners. But give the fans of Pittsburgh credit. We endured being subjected to copious amounts of killer music, and I never heard one complaint...except when it was over. What can I say? We're gluttons for punishment. Saturday's festivities kicked off bright and relatively early with a battle of the bands that lasted from late morning to early afternoon. Fifteen college bands from across the country were hand-selected to take part in the competition, each vying for first prize, which was a Los Angeles recording session. The Black Fortys from the University of Southern Illinois were ultimately proclaimed the winners at day's end. Unfortunately, they played so early that many missed their first-place set. You can never do it all at any festival, and one of my regrets was that I didn't roll out of bed and catch a few more of these up-and-coming bands. The college bands played on a free stage outside the venue's gates, so those who couldn't score tickets to the sold-out festival were still able to get a taste of some excellent music. The NAMU Experience (It's Like You Were There) I got an ‘F' in kindergarten for my finger painting, but allow me to try and paint a picture of the NAMU experience for you guys anyway. You file into the South Side Works a few minutes before The Duke Spirit are set to go on. You feel your stomach growl because you slept through lunch after being blown away by The Black Keys and The Roots the night before. You pay a semi-reasonable $6.00 for a northeastern version of a southwestern wrap. You fill your complimentary NAMU water bottle with less-reasonably priced water or beer so expensive that it must be the nectar of the Gods and not Bud Light. You notice the crowd gathering in front of the stage, so you select a spot and hold firm. You don't care what the market says; you know that real-estate has never been more valuable. You feel the sun beating down on you, so you fashion your best attempt at Yasser Arafat headgear out of your complimentary concert t-shirt and a shoe lace from your left shoe, a beat up sneaker. (Oddly enough, on your right foot is a sandal; you credit it to the rough night and don't think too hard about it.) You try to make chitchat with the people beside you, knowing that you'll still be next to them nine hours later when Bob Dylan finishes. You listen to all of the terrible pickup lines that nobody is having any better luck with than you did back in college. You wonder where all of these people with tattoos came from, and you begin to suspect that all of those guys who told you their girlfriends were waiting for them up front were just trying to get closer to the stage. But you let it slide. Small potatoes. Bigger fish to fry. Fish named Danger Mouse, Jack White, Britt Daniel, and some dude that used to go by the name Robert Zimmerman. In other words, who wants to worry about some punks when you're in for one of the best concerts of your life? You got the vibe? Ok, now for the bands. Saturday, August 9 - Day Two Band Reviews The Duke Spirit Years and years of letdowns have taught me never to get too pumped up for opening acts. If they can keep a beat and manage to not butcher a cover of one of the headliner's songs, I consider the set a success. That being said, England's The Duke Spirit sure didn't play like an opening act. I knew of them by name, and I had read a recent interview with lead vocalist Liela Moss, but that was all. Comparisons to Sonic Youth and The Pixies seemed appropriate, as the band effortlessly altered between garage-like barnburners and slower numbers throughout the set. Moss, however, is what makes this band special-gives The Duke Spirit its, well, spirit! The beautiful and energetic blonde, with a great voice and sexy accent, charmed the early crowd and got the place moving a bit. Not only did she carry the vocal duties, but she played tambourine, other percussion, danced the entire set and, get this, even broke out the harmonica on a couple songs (perhaps in tribute to Mr. Dylan?).  I wouldn't be shocked to learn that Moss also drives the tour bus, fills in as a roadie, and hand-makes the band's clothes. She was aptly backed by guitarist Luke Ford and company, as the band played a set heavy on songs from their latest album, Neptune. Highlights for me were "Neptune's Call" and "This Ship Was Built to Last," which I think some fans misheard as "shit" rather than "ship." Either way it worked, and my copy of Neptune is in the mail. Black Mountain Vancouver's own Black Mountain was another band that I was really excited to be seeing live for the first time. Keeping with Anthony Kiedis's snowflake theme of no two bands being alike, Black Mountain brought along the dynamic of having lead vocal duties shared by singer, Amber Webber, and lead guitarist, Stephen McBean. The set consisted of mainly dead-slow, psychedelic rock songs that painstakingly intensified until finally erupting into distorted chaos. This was more a jam session than a series of songs, though, and the crowd never did quite get into it, even though McBean's solos were impressive. Webber's statuesque pose and warbling vocal style also failed to resonate with the crowd; I was close to the stage and could barely hear her. The set, which drew heavily from 2008's In the Future, came to a close with an all-out rocker and a beautiful harmony between Webber and McBean that made me wish the set was just beginning rather than ending. The band and crowd seemed to be just warming up with that song. Unfortunately, it came about thirty-five minutes into a thirty-five minute set. Gnarls Barkley Gnarls Barkley was the band in the lineup that intrigued me most. They've never played near Pittsburgh, and I've only ever caught glimpses of them performing on television. I'm actually a Danger Mouse fan more than anything due to some of his collaborations, including his work with Mark Linkous's Sparklehorse, a favorite of mine. The stage's backdrop replicated the cartoonish skyline album art of The Odd Couple, and the backing band came out in matching, red sweater vests and white bowties. When Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse emerged in identical (except for size), mustard-colored sports jackets, the crowd went crazy. Before playing "Gone Daddy Gone," Cee-Lo proclaimed, "This is a party town...this will get it [the party] going," and he was true to his word. Gnarls Barkley brought just the right combination of rock and soul to the stage, and Cee-Lo, sporting the best voice on the bill, demonstrated that he is equally apt at singing rock or being Solomon Burke. The big man was having fun the whole set long, ripping his shirt open at one point and joking, "Danger Mouse on the beatzilla...Cee-Lo on the Crown Royal." Danger Mouse is an absolute blast to watch on stage. His lanky frame hunches over the piano-his head coming perilously close to hitting the keys as he plays-almost as if he's too big for the instrument, like an adult playing on a child's Fisher-Price toy piano. Perhaps the best description I can give of Danger Mouse at his area on stage is simply this: a mad scientist at the bench in his laboratory. Other highlights included the obligatory "Crazy" and a soulful "Neighbors." The only thing keeping Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse from blowing the roof off the place was the fact that we were outside. If there is a better act out there than Gnarls Barkley, I'm not aware of it. Spoon Some of my fellow COS writers are huge Spoon fans, and after catching their Saturday set, I can understand why. Sandwiched between Gnarls Barkley and The Raconteurs, the boys from Austin, Texas were asked to play in about as unforgiving a slot as a band could be assigned to play. But they delivered to a crowd that seemed well-versed in their catalogue and fully aware of just how good this band is live. Spoon truly was the indie-rock representative of this festival, masterfully combining hooks and pop sensibilities with an edgy style that showed they weren't afraid to stray from the guitar tabs and experiment a little and, at times, flat-out thrash. Britt Daniel, while not having a voice that'll blow you away, has the perfect delivery for songs like "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb" and "I Turn on My Camera." Other highlights of the set included the charged "Don't Make Me a Target" and a sick cover of The Stones' "Rocks Off." Spoon has been around forever it seems, and if fans didn't know about them before their Saturday set, I guarantee you they'll remember them the next time they come through town. The Raconteurs Pittsburgh's a rock town. Always has been. And just like fans turned out to see The Black Keys the previous evening, I think the crowd was most pumped about seeing The Raconteurs on Saturday. The audience was buzzing as the stage was prepped, and members of bands The Duke Spirit and Black Mountain found seats on top of tour buses, not wanting to miss Jack White's popular side project in action. Singer/Songwriter Brendan Benson shares guitar and vocal duties with White, but it's pretty clear that this is White's band. While Benson sang the first song of the set, White played guitar with his back to the crowd, teasing the audience who was dying to see him. When he finally turned around, fans erupted louder than at any point in the festival. The set was tight and rocked as hard as anything you're likely to hear. Benson has a beautiful voice, and he and the others held things together while White drifted in and out of the spotlight with vocals that ranged from rock to blues to country and guitar solos that melted faces, even if they did seem a bit repetitive at times. Highlights of the set included "Steady as She Goes" and an epic version of "Rich Kid Blues." The fans wanted a hard-hitting set of power pop, and Benson and White delivered and then some. Bob Dylan and His Band Bob Dylan didn't bring the magic on Saturday. It happens. That's not to say it was a bad set. As always, Zimmy and band played a phenomenal show that first-time Dylan concertgoers really dug for the most part; however, having seen Dylan in concert nearly twenty times, I can honestly say that we didn't witness one of those brilliant moments that makes you realize that something other-worldly can possess the man at times. The great part about his Never-Ending Tour  (over twenty years and going strong) is that there's always tomorrow and another chance for one of those moments. And when they hit you, you know. What Dylan did bring was a strong set featuring a mix of suped-up classics and songs from his recent trio of albums, all played by his crack band, which is led by bassist Tony Garnier, who has learned to translate Dylan's nods and relay the signals to the other band members like a third base coach. "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" and "It Ain't Me Babe" kicked off the show strong with songs that everyone knew at least the choruses to. Tracks from recent albums like "Honest With Me," "Nettie Moore," and "High Water (For Charlie Patton)" all were delivered and met with their normal gusto. A slow version of "Tangled Up in Blue," usually a crowd favorite, never really materialized into anything memorable. A spirited "Summer Days," got the crowd dancing again, and a down and dirty version of "Ballad of a Thin Man" was far and away the highlight of the set. The thrills were the normal ones for a Dylan concert. During "Spirit on the Water," Bob sang, "You think I'm over the hill/You think I'm past my prime," which the crowd emphatically denied, and Dylan responded with, "Let me see what you got/We can have a whoppin' good time." On "It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)," the crowd, as always, cheered for the line: "Sometimes even the president of the United States must have to stand naked." Will that line ever not be relevant? Bob went to his harmonica a few times over the course of the night, which elicited cheers. I was curious if he was playing any guitar this summer, but he seems more comfortable at the keyboard these days. Still, just seeing Bob Dylan on stage can give you chills, and it's great to see the sixty-seven-year-old making eye contact with fans and dancing behind the keyboard. The shortened festival set meant only one song for an encore. After a couple minutes of cheering, the lights came on, and a giant banner with Dylan's eye logo was dropped and unveiled. The band came back and did a great version of "Like A Rolling Stone," which turned into a massive sing-along during the choruses. It would have been nice for novice Dylan fans to see Bob's normal closer, "All Along the Watchtower," but Bob's legendary song about bums, jugglers, diplomats, and Siamese cats was a fitting way to close out the night and the 2008 New American Music Union. The Aftermath (Festival Awards) Best Overall Set: Gnarls Barkley (Honorable Mention: The Roots) Best Guitar Solo: Capt. Kirk of The Roots Festival Good Guy: Questlove of The Roots Most Disappointing Performance: Black Mountain Jack "White" of All Trades: Danger Mouse (Honorable Mention: Liela Moss) Best Song: Crowd sing-along to Bob Dylan's "Like A Rolling Stone." Worst Song: The version of Bob Dylan's "Like A Rolling Stone" that the guy behind me was singing during the crowd sing-along to Bob Dylan's "Like A Rolling Stone." Most Annoying Group: The Obama groupies that infiltrated the venue and hounded me about voting at least two dozen times. These guys wouldn't know a g-chord from a g-string. Luckiest Fans: The winners of the COS New American Music Union Ticket Giveaway. Glad you guys got a killer show on us. Finally, kudos to American Eagle and Anthony Kiedis for giving Pittsburgh a great festival with a phenomenal lineup. Students got two days of great music and fun for only $25, and this also included a festival water bottle and t-shirt. Good luck finding another bargain like that. Now, we ‘yinzers' just have to wait until next year. Ain't gonna be easy n'at. -- Be sure to respond and let me know if you agree or if I'm dead wrong. I love to hear from you either way. Also, be sure to check out footage from the festival now up here. Many thanks for additional photo support by  C.C. Chapman… --------- ]]> http://consequenceofsound.net/2008/08/new-american-music-union-day-two-in-review/feed/ 7 http://consequenceofsound.net/2008/02/album-review-in-the-future/ http://consequenceofsound.net/2008/02/album-review-in-the-future/#comments http://c438342.r42.cf2.rackcdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2008/02/BlackMountain-InTheFuture.jpg Mon, 04 Feb 2008 21:39:52 +0000 Jay Ziegler http://consequenceofsound.net/2008/02/album-review-in-the-future/ In chemistry, Sodium (Na), an alkali metal, fuses together with Chlorine (Cl) a halogen, and creates Sodium Chloride (NaCl) or what it is commonly referred to as “table salt.” Two seemingly harmful, poisonous and deadly elements fuse together and create a perfectly peaceful hybrid. This works in the music world as well with bands such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who fused funk and punk together to create an original sound that still defines them to this day. Unfortunately, chemistry also has a way of misfiring as too. That’s what the Vancouver bred boys of Black Mountain have made on their second album, In the Future. One very interesting, yet confused misfire.

In the Future opens with the riff-chugging “Stormy High.” The intro is good and sets up what may be a mood piece, but then it switches to a dirty guitar riff from 3/4 to 4/4 timing. What sounds to be a really good and potential motive is quickly wasted into monotony. It really doesn’t catch its target and the band shies away from the potential musical passages that could keep this record more attentive. The second and third cuts “Angels” and “Tyrants” are so different from each other, you wonder if it is the same band. “Angels” is a standard indie-rock flare type song that follows the same repetitive formula. It isn’t bad, but it isn’t necessarily great either. It feels like a stale piece of bread.

There are moments of brilliance on this record, but they are far and few in between. The overall sound is a bit raw, but the drums are just too clunky and the snare drum really gnaws at your eardrums after a while. Their sparing usage of the keyboards add a nice touch of added depth to the music, but on the grand scheme of things, the song arrangements don’t work too well. In the song “Tyrants,” the first minute of an eight minute epic is great, but is wasted after a dismal anti-climactic thud into sluggish mid-tempo indie rock. It just doesn’t know what it wants to be. In fact, this whole album doesn’t know what it wants to be. Is it a metal album? Is it an indie rock album? Heck, is it southern rock? Yes, the distortion, the recording feel and even some of the vocals feel as if it is a southern rock record. Southern rock is great, but for what Black Mountain wants to achieve, I believe they’re missing their mark.

On a side note, Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton did a duet in 1983 called “Islands In The Stream” which was a big hit for two weeks at #1. This is what Black Mountain feels like, an island in the steam. It sits on the island of averaged centerfold, right in between the streams of the unfocused and the unmotivated.

This is not a great record by any stretch, but it is not ungodly horrible either. At least the band is experimenting with sounds and what not, but for the most part it’s a very hit-and-miss record.

[Order via Amazon]

Check out:
“Tyrants”
“Angels”

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