Photo by Ted Maider

Most people who came to Sasquatch! camped in tents and RVs in either the more peaceful VIP camping section or the favela on the hill camping section. Fellow writer/photographer Harley and I were in the very small minority of people who drove home every night after the whole festival was over. During the night drive back to Quincy, WA, we’d try to suss out and synthesize the day’s music, the people we saw, what costumes they were wearing, what native culture those costumes were appropriating, the things that were mumbled to us by a guy two vials deep into the evening, or “did you see that husband just yelling at his wife just then?” and were we possibly the only sober people there and should we just try to buy some drugs at the camp grounds tomorrow and oh look there’s the fourth ambulance of the week coming toward us racing back to the festival grounds. Then we argued for a long time about Bon Iver. Maybe we should stay sober.

All this handwringing led to this: You can’t really report honestly about a music festival unless you really allow yourself to accept the festival culture, which, for better or for worse, is what prevailed at Sasquatch! this year. Much of the middle card included fantastic bands finishing up long tours with a stop at The Gorge (e.g. Explosions in the Sky, tUnE-yArDs, Charles Bradley, Kurt Vile, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, The War On Drugs, The Head & The Heart, The Joy Formidable, etc..) and despite the lack of non-Seattle hip-hop and any kind of metal/hardcore/punk band, the four-day holiday weekend appeared to be less about connecting with the music of the festival and more crafting an “epic weekend” to remember forever.

I don’t think it’s hyperbole to call the first view coming up over the hill of the Gorge breathtaking. The topographical setting of the festival lends itself to a larger-than-life experience, which is certainly what the sequencing of the lineups were aiming for:  swelling lines of guitars, big beat stompy folk rock, Girl Talk b/w Pretty Lights, and Tenacious D being the most metal thing at the festival. There were a few magnetic moments, some special little minutes from the days that resonated in the realm of music, like Deer Tick’s impromptu covers set, or Jack White’s flawless headlining set, or Spiritualized closing the second largest stage playing to a crowd of less than 200. But in the end, Sasquatch! went for the big feelings and for the most part scored. The music heard at The Gorge just sounds better, feels better, is better because of Sasquatch! being what it is: a vacation.

Since I didn’t go all Vice Magazine and paint my face, don a poncho and a day-glo trucker hat, and get “mangled” as one guy told me, Sasquatch! was really what you made of it. It’s your trip and how much of it you want to remember is entirely up to you. I think the lineup this year wasn’t as strong as it was in previous years, but you’re surrounded by people who are trying — chemically or otherwise — to have a good time. There was a group of people who asked me to take a photo of them with their phone as the sun set on Monday night and against my exhaustion, frustration, they all looked so happy. That’s how you do it.

-Jeremy D. Larson
Managing Editor 

Friday

honeyhoney – Yeti Stage – 5:05 p.m.

As one of the first artists of the day, honeyhoney was late for load-in thanks to the traffic entering the festival. Fortunately, they arrived just in time to tackle the unenviable task of opening a festival. There may be shades of country to honeyhoney, especially in the voice of banjo-shredding frontwoman Suzanne Santo, but their brand of Americana was delivered with a spirited rock energy that captivated the few and faithful among the crowd. At the halfway point, guitarist Ben Jaffe marveled at how the view from the stage looked like a Bob Ross painting, but without the “crazy people.” Also under the spell of the Gorge’s unparalleled beauty, Santo commented that she would have painted us into such a work. -Frank Mojica

Of Monsters and Men – Sasquatch Stage – 6:05 p.m.

The topographically stark Gorge was the perfect backdrop for Icelandic six-piece Of Monsters and Men, who have stepped into a Mumford and Sons-sized footprint with their high-stepping version of the folk power ballad. Vocalist and guitarist Ninna Hilmarsdottir—who bore an uncanny resemblance to Maggie Gyllenhaal, especially on the basketball court-sized screens flanking the Sasquatch Stage—led the band in anthems like “Little Talks”, which roused the sizable audience with “Hey!”s punctuating trumpet rotundas and acoustic guitars. They closed with “kind of a new song” (which doesn’t seem to be new at all, since it appeared on My Head Is An Animal along with the rest of their set), “Mountain Sound”, whose title and repeated mantra, “Sleep until the sun goes down,” seemed appropriate in light of the soon-to-be-setting sun and the venue’s rocky acoustics. -Harley Brown

Poliça – Bigfoot Stage – 6:30 p.m.

Photo by Jeremy D. Larson

After the ominous intervals of set opener “Fist, Teeth, Money”, vocalist Channy Leneagh’s voice had dropped a few octaves. I’m a little embarrassed to admit that it was later pointed out to me that she simply didn’t Auto-tune her set. It’s a choice reveal that the band’s confidence has grown even since South by Southwest in March. The dual drums and Chris Bierden’s bass thundered as always, but Leneagh allowed herself to depart from their compartmentalized rhythm, riffing on “Lay Your Cards Out” and new song “Raw Exit” (formerly “Exit Raw”), which they’ve been playing live for a while and hopefully will make it onto their next album. I couldn’t tell if the audience knew of Polica or simply happened to wander over in a substance-induced stupor, but given the applause and bodies movin’, it appeared that many left converted. -Harley Brown

Little People – Banana Shack – 6:40 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

The Banana Shack was dismally underdeveloped this year. Shortening and widening the tent was great for the late night sets, but if you were slated for a day slot at the Banana Shack, that basically meant you were in for an all too sunny electronic appearance. Little People was among the first of many to experience this misfortune. He looked so out of place, sitting in the sun with his mixing board, a whimsical array of looping instruments. He even messed up on recording the looping segment on one of his songs, and took about a full noticeable minute to correct it, but he got there, against all odds. Impressive stuff live and in the flesh. -Winston Robbins

Santigold – Sasquatch Stage – 7:10 p.m.

Photo by Jeremy D. Larson

Whenever conversing with my international festival-going friends about covering Sasquatch!, the response was always along the lines of “That’s the one with the dancing guy, right?” That viral video of the dance party to Santigold’s 2009 performance of “Unstoppable” has become a festival legend and was the top conversation topic among fans on the hill and in the pit over what would happen for a sequel. Such a follow-up never happened, as Santigold left that moment preserved in time and pushed forward for a new adventure. Supported by a band in aquamarine Egyptian costume and backup dancers whose choreography seamlessly flowed from retro to hammer-wielding robotic stylings, Santi White created an all-inclusive carnival that offered something for even the pickiest music aficionados. Drawing upon everything from rock to dancehall to hip-hop, Santigold distilled various genres down to what makes each uniquely fun and blended them into a breathless 45 minute party that reassured the crowd that they didn’t need to follow anyone’s lead to let loose and just dance. -Frank Mojica

Mark Lanegan Band – Bigfoot Stage – 7:45 p.m.

Photo by Jeremy D. Larson

It’s fitting that at least one critic has compared Mark Lanegan’s voice to leather, specifically something along the lines of “a well-oiled baseball mitt,” because he took the stage like an all-star up to bat: His gargantuan frame was clad in a straight-brimmed Starter and windbreaker, and he gripped the mic stand like a—you got it—baseball bat. Ball-playing metaphors aside, Lanegan’s supple rasp texturizes more than anything else, and lacking anything substantial to rub up, makes for a boring performance. His Band’s slow jams showcase its uniqueness but don’t add anything even close to Screaming Trees’ screamadelia or his scary/sweet collaborations with Isobel Campbell. -Harley Brown

Girl Talk – Sasquatch Stage – 8:30 p.m.

Photo by Jeremy D. Larson

Greg Gillis has one of the most simple business models in music: a compendium of popular samples that run the scales from Biggie Smalls to Kelly Clarkson, and a straight “party or die” attitude. Feed The Animals and All Day were well represented, with prominent samples like Lil Wayne and Birdman’s “Stuntin’ Like My Daddy” to Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer”. Far more intriguing, however, were the new samples, which involved M83’s “Midnight City” versus Missy Elliott’s “Work It” and Adele’s “Rolling In The Deep” juxtaposed against Drake and Lil’ Wayne’s “The Motto”. In other words, look out for some great mixes from Girl Talk in the near future. There’s a time and a place for each genre of music, and Greg Gillis takes it upon himself to make it that time and that place whenever he dons his sweatsuit and picks up his confetti cannons. He pulled out all the stops for Sassy, though, closing out the night with an impressive firework show that included a spark shower straight out of a Michael Jackson Pepsi commercial. -Winston Robbins

Explosions in the Sky – Bigfoot Stage – 9:15 p.m.

Photo by Colin Athens

It took more than a little willpower to tear myself away from Girl Talk’s piece-by-piece striptease and onstage dance party to go see Explosions in the Sky, which I knew would place me squarely back in the time when Explosions graciously provided the soundtrack to my final thesis. One of the first things I noticed was that I have never seen a band take themselves so seriously: Bent over their instruments, all the members of the band kept their eyes closed for the duration of their songs. Their fingers stretched wide across the frets, enormous on the Bigfoot Stage’s screens, to achieve those raw, open chords that make listening to their prog-rock so visceral.

It was the perfect time of night to listen to them, too, since the darkness allowed everyone to fully absorb their resonance without visual distractions. Explosions closed with “The Only Moment We Were Alone”, putting their dubstep neighbors to shame with that nine-minute build—which in and of itself climaxes several times—before finally, finally unleashing a wall of noise that shuddered through everyone at the same time. It was one of many moments reminding the festival attendees that we weren’t alone. -Harley Brown

Pretty Lights – Sasquatch Stage – 10:15 p.m.

Photo by Jeremy D. Larson

After Explosions in the Sky, Pretty Lights’ variations in dubstep minor were a whole different exercise in tension and release, starting with the countdown to his set flashing on Sasquatch’s aforementioned giant screens. Derek Vincent Smith’s one-man electronic outfit deals more in mid- and down-tempo than some of his EDM contemporaries, but he still sprinkled enough wubbery drops to satisfy what must have been the attendees raining confetti of glowsticks down from the hillside. Even though his set lacked the immediacy and WTF factor of Girl Talk’s instantly recognizable mashups just a half hour before, I appreciated Pretty Lights taking its time, segueing into “Finally Moving” as the glowsticks rained down in wave after wave. -Harley Brown

Saturday

Charles Bradley – Sasquatch Stage – 1:05 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

Charles Bradley was born in 1945, making him a dogged 67. And instead of worrying about hip replacement, he’s more concerned with pelvic thrusts – a great way to gauge his performing ethos. The “Screaming Eagle of Soul” hit the stage looking slick with a grateful smile running from ear to ear. As he ran through hits from his solo debut, No Time For Dreaming, the crowd (a healthy mix of devoted fans and innocent morning passers-by) grew increasingly more receptive to his illustrious showmanship. It was wildly apparent that Bradley has the pipes to match his stage persona, especially as he crooned “The World Is Going Up In Flames” to a just-rousing Gorge. -Winston Robbins

Rob Delaney – Banana Shack  - 2:00 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

“Always open with not a joke,” Rob Delaney remarked, after commenting on a fan’s Montreal Expos hat. As a Twitter sensation, Delaney has posted countless laugh-out-loud moments under 140 characters, but onstage he proved equally adept at spinning a short story long. He seamlessly transitioned from an all too-revealing critique of anal sex to Danzig fan letters, selling him as a captivating teller of the dirtiest and most personal of stories. -Frank Mojica

Portlandia – Banana Shack – 3:00 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

Sasquatch!’s Portlandia live experience began with a simple but memorable gem of awkward humor as Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein each read alleged text messages from the other to the crowd, with Armisen’s increasingly affectionate closings rebutted by more and more cold formality from Brownstein. The slideshows of old family photos, second-place Dracula poems, and cycling, and the Q&A session that followed all proved chuckle-worthy to some starstruck fans, but the shortage of surprise guests and traditional skits increasingly dwindled the over-capacity crowd to a more modest showing. -Frank Mojica

The Civil Wars – Sasquatch Stage – 3:15 p.m.

After the trashy beats and flashing lights of Girl Talk and Pretty Lights just the previous night, I was a little skeptical that a folk duo from Nashville could fill Sasquatch!’s cavernous depths with just two voices and a guitar. But once again, the screens saved the day, broadcasting images of the happy (and pregnant) couple, which made up for what they may have lacked in ingenuity with charm. Onstage, the Civil Wars’ carefully harmonized folk alternated between the embarrassingly honest choruses of contemporary country and Bible-belt stompers like “Barton Hollow”, and the latter fit the Gorge’s craggy, unforgiving landscape much better than the majority of the songs they played. But then frontman John Paul White would say something like, “This is the biggest audience we’ve ever played to, and we’re so happy to be here, and there’s a lot of times when people really don’t give a shit, so thank you so much!” and I’d have a hard time finding fault with their music because it was too pretty. -Harley Brown

THEESatisfaction – Yeti Stage – 3:30 p.m. 

Photo by Harley Brown

Across the festival from the Civil Wars, another couple was making their version of baby-making music at the Yeti Stage. Catherine Harris-White and Stasia Irons, otherwise known as Seattle future-funk duo THEESatisfaction, were bumping, grinding, and talk-singing over an engaging backbeat that drew just as much from variegated African percussion as it did 808s. I usually approach vocalists with a pre-recorded soundtrack with trepidation, but Irons and Harris-White assuaged any fears I had with synchronicity between verses along the lines of MC Lyte and the group’s instrumentals. Even though Shabazz Palace’s Palaceer didn’t make an appearance for his guest spot on “Enchantruss”—girls can dream, can’t they?—lyrics like “You’re breaking my bad habits/So we can wake and bake instead” still went over just as well, especially with this crowd. Unfortunately, awE naturalE’s subtleties, like the duo’s subtle mouth sounds and call and responses on “Bitch”, were lost live. -Harley Brown

Kurt Vile and the Violators – Bigfoot Stage – 4:15 p.m.

Photo by Jeremy D. Larson

It was still a sluggish afternoon at the Gorge as Kurt Vile began his sound check, and he wasn’t about to change that mood. Sluggish is Vile’s bread and butter. His shoegaze folk kept the pace evenly for his set’s entirety, and as he sported cuts from last year’s Smoke Ring for My Halo, the crowd wasn’t unresponsive, but they weren’t ecstatic by any means. They were somewhere in the middle for “Jesus Fever”, but by the time he closed with “Freak Train”, the webbed-shoes and the bare feet started moving and kicking up dust. -Winston Robbins

Dum Dum Girls – Bigfoot Stage – 5:10 p.m.

Photo by Colin Athens

In the five o’clock hour, the sky at the Gorge was heavily overcast with rays of especially bright light peeking through the clouds. Similarly, the ’60s girl group-themed vocals of Dum Dum Girls were wrapped in a garage and shoegaze haze. While the pieces fell into place on set highlights “Bedroom Eyes” and “Only in Dreams”, the lively choruses aimed for catchy but lacked sharpness in their hooks, while harmonies were lost in a sea of reverb and persistent sound issues. Like a Dum Dum Pop, the set offered a little sweet but not completely satisfying treat. -Frank Mojica

Childish Gambino – Sasquatch Stage – 5:25 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

We all know Donald Glover is a jokester, but the more you listen to his raps and see his performances, you start to feel he’s found his true niche. On Saturday afternoon, Gambino took to the Sasquatch stage as a blazing force in hip-hop, opening with the club-influenced “Firefly”, which automatically sent the crowd into a frenzy. After that, everyone was bobbing up and down as he dropped a new jam for Questlove, touched fans with “Freaks and Geeks”, and sparked a riot of a crowd with “Bonfire”. Gambino knows how to throw down on the mic, and it might not be long before Donald Glover becomes something of the past and Childish Gambino becomes his true identity. -Ted Maider

araabMuzik – Banana Shack – 5:40 p.m.

Photo by Jeremy D. Larson

And now for something completely different: Not only did araabMuzik, the MPC-destroying performing and recording moniker of Abraham Orellana, take the stage after Portlandia, he suddenly became a dubstep artist when I had been expecting Instrumental University’s low-slung trap claps and airy synthpads. After araabMuzik’s hype man took the stage, providing a bigger, louder version of his recorded hypewoman (“You are now listening to araabMuzik” with the frequency of a radio personality), Orellana took the distorted piano that opens “1, 2, 3 Grind” and dropped it into that telltale wub-wub. Crowd control staff got involved shortly thereafter, practically lifting people out of the way to attend to multiple flower-tiara’d girls atop their boyfriends’ shoulders, who couldn’t have been more than 12 or 14 years old. You’d be hard pressed to say araabMuzik didn’t know his audience, but the question is, which audience? -Harley Brown

Metric – Sasquatch Stage – 6:40 p.m.

Photo by Jeremy D. Larson

After playing a very brief acoustic set in the Kokanee Tent comprised of “Help I’m Alive”, “Youth Without Youth”, and the world debut of “Synthetica”, Emily Haines and co. took to the Sasquatch stage to play to the masses at a very boisterous Gorge. Metric has gained a considerable following, and sure as the sun, they all showed up to sing along with every word – even the songs off the group’s forthcoming effort, Synthetica. In fact, their set was very Synthetica heavy, which weighed down the pacing for casual fans, but with help of old favorites like “Satellite Mind” and “Dead Disco”, they still made it a full-fledged pop-rock extravaganza. -Winston Robbins

tUnE-yArDs – Bigfoot Stage – 7:30 p.m.

Photo by Colin Athens

Among a small sampling of people I talked to at Sasquatch!, all had polarizing views on tUnE-yArDs’ music. “Oh, you’ve got to see them live,” I said, knowing that Merrill Garbus is a theatrical virtuoso that will mesmerize hapless bystanders with her clarion yawp. Sadly, the sprawl the Bigfoot stage and the dubious acoustics proved somewhat of a foil to tUnE-yArDs’ set, as jittery onlookers around me enjoyed bopping to “Gangsta”, but were definitely looking for something that hit harder. Even “Powa”, which was played early in the set and usually silences whole clubs, came out tepid (the vocal loops Garbus recorded in the beginning didn’t seem to ignite later in the song, as evinced by Garbus’ big goofy grin to the bass player at the end). All the elements were there, though– her gesticulations, her spot-on voice, her theatrical flair — everything that made tUnE-yArDs so impressive when she started this very same tour over a year ago. -Jeremy D. Larson

The Shins – Sasquatch Stage – 8:10 p.m.

Photo by Jeremy D. Larson

The Shins’ set was nearly upstaged by a hang glider. First one, and then a few, and then many people suddenly pointed at what seemed to be a flying go-cart zooming low over the canyon toward the setting sun (Choice excerpt: “What the fuck? Did you see that or were you too busy looking at your hand?” and a few seconds later, noticeably more distressed, “What is happening?”). But Mercer’s tenor commanded attention no matter the surroundings, especially while wailing the chorus on “Kissing the Lipless”, which opened the Shins’ set. For this performance, the band upped classical piano keys in the mix, softening the edges around the clipped enunciations on “Caring Is Creepy”. It still sounds smoother on record, but I appreciated the experimentation. The Shins played a good mix of old and new songs, indulging in “New Slang” and taking the time to jam out on tracks like “The Rifle’s Spiral”. The Sasquatch himself even made an appearance: Toward the end of the Shins’ set, he snuck out from behind the stage setup, essentially Port of Morrow’s album art. But Mercer is a professional and, of course, the band played on. -Harley Brown

St. Vincent – Bigfoot Stage – 9:00 p.m.

Photo by Colin Athens

Once the night finally rolled in, St. Vincent took the crowd at the Bigfoot stage to an even darker place. Annie Clark ferociously pummeled her guitar until it surrendered its utter jagged wickedness, jolted along like a haunted robot to her band’s twisted rhythms, and even attacked a theremin on “Northern Lights”, all while unleashing angelic cries. The effect was akin to being kicked in the gut and hugged simultaneously. After tearing through a cover of The Pop Group, Clark left the safety of the stage to be thrown around like a rag doll by a completely enthralled crowd during the riot grrrl rager “Krokodil”. As hard-hitting as the juxtapositions between the hideous and the gorgeous on the live interpretations of Strange Mercy and Actor highlights were, it was this set-closing one-two punch of punk rock appropriation that stole not just the St. Vincent show but the weekend as well.  -Frank Mojica

Jack White – Sasquatch Stage – 10:00 p.m.

Photo by Jeremy D. Larson

If anyone’s going to break the set-in-stone festival set times, not to mention his own rules about live performances, it’s Jack White. After playing almost until his allotted time of 11:30 p.m., he left the stage with his all-male backing band and returned with the same when I had been expecting his all-female band, since he almost always switches halfway through his set. And then he blew through his end time with “We’re Going to Be Friends”, “Hotel Yorba”, and “Seven Nation Army”.

But that wasn’t nearly the best part of Jack White’s set. Nor was his ability to noodle through rock and roll’s evolution over the past 60 years or so years, or the prodigious talent of the predominantly Nashville- and Detroit-based Los Buzzardos, nor was it the millions of dollars worth of equipment on stage. No, the best part was probably when he played the Raconteurs’ “Steady, As She Goes”. “Here’s the part where I ask you to sing along. I don’t care if you don’t know the words, or if you don’t want to sing the words, or if you can’t sing the words, or if you don’t know what the words mean, or if you won’t know what they mean until you drive home tonight.” With that, he commanded the audience to sing, “Are you steady now?” At the third repetition, White and Los Buzzardos crashed into the final verse and got two thousand people to jump up and down, hands in the air, in unison. No glow sticks necessary.  -Harley Brown

The Roots – Bigfoot Stage – 11:30 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

Saturday was stacked in terms of artists that warranted seeing. It seemed as though I was running all day to catch so and so’s set at a different stage, and I don’t think I was the only one. As a result, there was not much energy left in the reserves of most of the festival-goers. Those that stayed were yawning and standing on weak legs, but it was no fault of The Roots. They, as always, brought their “A” game and then some. In fact, as the masses migrated from Jack White back to camp or their cars, many were sucked in as The Roots crew dipped into their back catalogue, playing their anthemic “Proceed” followed by a funky off-the-cuff version of “Jungle Boogie”.

Drummer/hip-hop guru Questlove was sporting a different haircut (I guess he decided on cornrows for the evening), but the sound remained the same. Both Quest and Black Thought kept the ensuing massive hoard entertained throughout, dusting off more oldies like “The Seed 2.0” and “Mellow My Man” both of which were folded into choice cuts from their previous two albums, How I Got Over and Undun. By the end of the night, they were playing to the largest audience The Bigfoot stage saw all weekend. And yes, they played the Jimmy Fallon song. -Winston Robbins

Sunday

Hey Marseilles - Sasquatch Stage  - 12:00 p.m.

Photo by Jeremy D. Larson

Fully aligned with those squinty-eyed early birds, the seven-piece Seattle chamber met the first crowd of Sunday with warm cello, fiddle, squeeze box, trumpet, and acoustic guitars backed with that big beat stomp. Props to their arrangements, which despite the all too familiar sound, flow in and out of the music without lulling a song into a weepy sleep. Eager, earnest, and polite — perfect for the first smile-and-nod of the day. -Jeremy D. Larson

Reignwolf – Yeti Stage – 1:20 p.m.

Photo by Jeremy D. Larson

He’s the kind of band that makes other bands roll their eyes at him — but that’s part and parcel why I stood and watched Reignwolf’s whole set. He’s Jordan Cook from Saskatoon, clearly a Jack White acolyte, and a complete cock-ass showman on guitar, playing pentatonic riffs with one hand and holding the mic with the other. For the first part of the show, it was Cook alone on stage, stomping on a drum, pleasing the living shit out of himself playing guitar and singing unabashed blues. His band came on a couple songs later and added a bit of a Black Sabbath via Spinal Tap groove-metal to the sound– a foreign vibe for most of the bands playing Sasquatch!. Of course, he was wearing a black leather jacket, doing The Lip Curl, pointing to screaming women in the crowd, standing on the bass drum, and sitting on the security guy’s shoulders. He’s without a record, but full of so much unabashed spirit, theatrics, and style that his live show is all he needs for now.  -Jeremy D. Larson

Here We Go Magic – Bigfoot Stage – 3:00 p.m.

Photo by Colin Athens

“Is everyone stoned?” Everyone probably should have been for this colorless start to the afternoon, which evaporated almost as soon as it pulsed from Jen Hunter’s admittedly formidable bass. I don’t know if it was the fact that Here We Go Magic’s bass-heavy blend of krautrock and psychedelic afterthoughts should be heard in a dark, enclosed space (i.e. headphones) as opposed to the blinding light and wind of midday in the Gorge, but the heavy atmosphere the band was trying to drive home with rhythm fell flat. They were effective when combined with more engaging foils, like vocalist Luke Temple’s Hayden Thorpe-like falsetto on “Tunnelvision” or the uptempo “Collector” with its synthesizers and catchy repetition of “I’ve got a mild fascination.” -Harley Brown

Blind Pilot – Sasquatch Stage – 3:30 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

Sunday was a bit of a slow morning, so to hear Blind Pilot’s keen harmonizing and to see their smiling faces was truly a much-needed energy booster. Since last playing at The Gorge, they released We Are the Tide, a far more ambitious album than their debut and one that’s primed for a live setting. The best of the new bunch was the astoundingly beautiful “Half Moon”, and they left just enough time to play some of their golden oldies like “Oviedo” and “The Story I Heard”. Their tight, Northwest folk struck a chord with the Northwesterners at ease, who all came out in droves to see local rock on the mainstage. -Winston Robbins

The War On Drugs – Bigfoot Stage – 4:10 p.m.

Photo by Colin Athens

The hairs were grayer in the crowd for The War On Drugs’ set as Adam Granduciel’s humbuckers made their bossgaze music spiral out across the field. This was my first time seeing the band at a big festival on a sizable stage, though they hardly seem suited for any other environment. Their rolling guitar lines, no longer tangled in a small club, are given the chance to stretch and breathe in the wind. “Baby Missles” could stand tall next to any Springsteen song at Wrigley Field, and even the moseying “I Was There” wrapped around the crowd as Granduciel merely suggested the melody for those great lyrics: “I was there to catch a man/I thought I had him by the hand/I only had him by the glove.” Oh, and a fairly large dance circle broke out during “Come To The City”, instigated by a guy in a top hat wearing a black shirt with neon letters that read, “I’m In Cancun, Bitches.” Won’t find that at a rock club. -Jeremy D. Larson

Beat Connection – Banana Shack – 4:40 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

Sunday was the windiest day of all at Sasquatch!, so to hole up in the Banana Shack to catch Beat Connection’s electro-savvy surf rock was a major relief. Not only did it get everyone out of the wind, it invited them into an atmosphere of rock ‘n’ roll straight from the beach. They ran through most of their Surf Noir EP over their short set, hitting triumphant strides during “In The Water” and “Silver Screen”. -Winston Robbins

M. Ward – Sasquatch Stage – 5:25 p.m.

Among the list of names that could have potentially headlined the festival over Pretty Lights was M. Ward, a man who needs very little introduction. If you’re a rock enthusiast, the man shreds like there’s no tomorrow. If you’re an indie vet, he’s written some of the best indie folk of our generation, and to the layman, he’s the other half of Zooey Deschanel’s She & Him project. I feel like any one of those criteria would deem him an eligible suitor for headlining, but alas, he was mid-day on the mainstage. None of that mattered once he started plunging deep into his enormous back catalogue. His latest effort, A Wasteland Companion, was well represented, but he also played a surprising amount of 2009’s Hold Time. What’s more, “For Beginners” and his cover of Buddy Holly’s “Rave On” were greeted with special warmth. He and his band (which included Bright Eyes mainstay Nate Walcott) played a tight, enjoyable set to finish off the afternoon at the Gorge. -Winston Robbins

Active Child – Yeti Stage – 5:40 p.m.

Photo by Colin Athens

Admittedly, I was hesitant about how Active Child could pull off their affecting, unconventional sound live. Any doubts promptly dissolved upon witnessing Pat Grossi belt “You Are All I See” with a power only hinted at on the album of the same name. Instruments outnumbered people by at least a two-to-one ratio, but the trio switched back and forth to recapture the intricately layered nature of the album. The pacing picked up after Grossi switched from harp to synth for “Playing House”, with the crowd breaking out in one of the weekend’s unlikeliest sessions of clapping and dancing along. -Frank Mojica

Wild Flag – Bigfoot Stage – 6:20 p.m.

Photo by Colin Athens

Right after Wild Flag’s set, I tweeted “Wild Flag > Jack White,” which elicited more responses than I’ve ever gotten, with people asking, “Are you sure about that?” I’d like to blame such an inflammatory statement on the comedown from Flag frenzy, but the truth is, the post-Sleater Kinney/Helium/Autoclave supergroup singlehandedly overturned my predilection for male-fronted rock. Their whole set simply annihilated, acting as the antithesis to White’s testost-rock: On “Racehorse”, Carrie Brownstein stretched open her red-lipsticked mouth and screamed, “You’d better RIIIIDE!” after commanding her rapt audience to “pony up” and “put your money where your sweet, sweet mouth is.” She and fellow guitarist and singer Mary Timony held their instruments aloft, letting the feedback buffet an audience slightly older and tamer than the festival’s general population but no less appreciative (“They fucking rocked it!”, “That was sick!”).

Despite the sanctity of Wild Flag’s performance, the foursome indulged in light moments like the falsetto harmonies on “Electric Band” and Brownstein’s infamous Portlandia humor (“We’re happy to be here in this Whitesnake video wind tunnel onstage”). During a cover of Patti Smith’s “Ask the Angels”, Brownstein took a moment to push against Timony’s forehead while the latter riffed, finally butting her away to finish the song. It was such a classically rock ‘n roll moment that reminded me of the age-old question: Are men necessary? Probably, but the ladies onstage certainly made me think twice about it. -Harley Brown

The Walkmen – Bigfoot Stage – 7:30 p.m. 

Photo by Jeremy D. Larson

Anyone who had the foresight to stick around at the Bigfoot Stage for the early evening also had the privilege to see the veteran musicians of Wild Flag and The Walkmen put on two of the weekend’s best sets back-to-back. While the former technically hasn’t been around for that long, The Walkmen have been playing together for a decade, and it shows. Hamilton Leithauser moves seamlessly from the Bing Crosby croon of brand new material like “We Can’t Be Beat” to throaty favorites like A Hundred Miles Off’s “All Hands and the Cook”, all the while busting the veins in his neck with his signature wail. Cuts off Heaven bounced with enthusiasm, but older songs sounded well-worn with years of experience and ceaseless touring. After such a professional performance, it was surprising to hear Leithauser say dryly, “We’re rarely invited in the first place, so it’s an honor to be invited back.” But when several shirtless young men crowd-surfed during “The Rat”, slamming the front row into the barricade, I think I understood where he was coming from. -Harley Brown

Apparat – Banana Shack – 8:00 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

I’m going to come right out and say it: I have a very rudimentary knowledge of Apparat and its history. All I know is that someone handed me a copy of The Devil’s Walk earlier this year, and I was infatuated by Apparat’s collected combination of the sentimentality of Aqualung with the beat-centricity of Modeselektor. I don’t want to jump the gun and say anything prematurely, but there were some serious Radiohead vibes coming off the Berlin outfit’s stage. As they drifted in and out of songs it was easy to get lost in their melodic beats. “Sweet Unrest” even evoked chorus chanting from those fans who were relishing the opportunity to see the out-of-towners play Sasquatch. And like I said, I’m not overly familiar with the band’s complete works, but I know for certain they put on a hell of a show for a very big audience (many of whom were just lining up early to see Mr. James Murphy).  -Winston Robbins

Beirut – Sasquatch Stage -8:10 p.m.

Photo by Jeremy D. Larson

Meanwhile, over at the Sasquatch! stage, every single couple at the festival was settling into what would be three hours of some of the most unabashedly romantic indie music today, starting with Beirut (which one friendly, older gentleman in a tie-dyed Pink Floyd t-shirt next to me called “tragically romantic”). I got to Beirut’s set just in time for “Postcards from Italy”, as Zach Condon’s ukulele washed over a field of blankets and ketchup-stained curly fry containers with the setting sun. And then the horns kicked in, mirroring the tenor and vibrato of Condon’s own warble, which should be patented or put in a glass case somewhere for future generations—I’m sure more than a few were conceived that night—to marvel at. I was pleased that synth-based songs, like “My Night with the Prostitute from Marseilles” and Gulag Orkestar’s version of “Scenic World”, which sound thin on record, were fleshed out with a live drum and Beirut’s copious instrumentation.

When I asked my musically-trained fellow correspondent why “Scenic World” was so good, he didn’t have an answer. Instead, he asked, “Why is Beirut so good?” Maybe like the Gorge, both have an inherent beauty that’s difficult to explain or scientifically reconcile. The bassist, who threw his hands up in ecstasy during “Rhineland (Heartland)”, seemed to think so, too. -Harley Brown

James Murphy – Banana Shack – 9:30 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

And then it was time to choose. Do you go with the uber-hip funky disco of James Murphy or the crowd-friendly fest of pristine folk that Bon Iver had to offer? It might be the most important decision you ever make. This decision could ostensibly define you as a person. Okay, maybe not. But there were enough bodies in the Banana Shack to consider that the ratio may have been much, much closer to 50/50 for Bon Iver/James Murphy than one might have guessed. And those in attendance to see Mr. Murphy were certainly not let down. He began his set with a humble question – “Can I play some records now?” – not aimed at the crowd, but at the sound guy.

Regardless, both gave him their adamant approval, and that’s how it was for the next two hours: Murphy in his headphones, going back and forth between his turntables and the table he had set up behind him, full of vinyl (a formidable collection, to be sure) and drinks. The man brought the party so nonchalantly, it was easy to forget he was the ringleader. What wasn’t easy to forget, though, was the constant flux of disco and rave he kept thudding for the next two hours. And perhaps the most endearing part of his set was that he didn’t play a single song that anyone was familiar with, and it was still a solid two-and-half-hours of non-stop dancing. After going half an hour longer than he was scheduled for, he announced that this was “the most fun festival show in a long, long time,” and I doubt anyone in attendance would argue. One of the strongest sets of the festival, through and through.-Winston Robbins

Bon Iver – Sasquatch Stage – 10:00 p.m.

Photo by Jeremy D. Larson

Full disclosure: “Skinny Love” made me cry. Right after a guy wearing what appeared to be a faux-fur head wrap and a tie-dyed tank top asked me if I was “journaling” and asked me for a hug, this hardened journalist got a little verklempt. It’s hard not to when thousands of people shout, “Now all your love is wasted/Then who the hell was I?” at the top of their lungs. Like the other cuts off For Emma, Forever Ago, it received the Bon Iver backing band treatment, swelling with lush strings and horns that would have sounded out of place on Justin Vernon’s mostly acoustic debut. Fortunately, he didn’t take himself too seriously, pausing after “Perth” to say, “This is pretty fucking cool!” and admitting that “Towers” was about “sweet, sweet college” while “Holocene” was about drugs and alcohol.

Another disclosure: I did not enjoy Bon Iver’s set on Saturday night, Colin Stetson’s mind-bending circular breathing aside. The swaying burlap curtains hanging from the light fixtures, glowing tiki lights onstage, and “Towers”’ 10-minute jam session was all too much. I was probably the only one who felt that something was missing—except the people next to us who wondered if this was a dubstep show—but I had a hard time finding For Emma-era’s emotion behind songs like the almost unrecognizably orchestral “Blood Bank”. After a performance so far removed from Vernon’s original intent, I wasn’t surprised to hear he’s taking five years off from Bon Iver. -Harley Brown

Monday

Gary Clark Jr. – Sasquatch Stage – 2:10 p.m.

Photo by Jeremy D. Larson

Before he even started his first song, the crowd down in the pit chanted “Gar-ry! Gar-ry! Gar-ry!” It’s an unusual reception for someone playing so early in the day, but Gary Clark Jr. is the latest guitar god. Under a scorching sun, Clark shredded some vicious guitar solos and scraped his guitar strings with wild abandon in a manner more intimidating than anything in the swamps of the Delta. The blues may have been around for decades, but Clark proves that there is still freshness and innovation to be drawn from that world. -Frank Mojica

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – Sasquatch Stage – 3:15 p.m.

 I last saw Clap Your Hands Say Yeah at Bonnaroo in 2006, fresh off the success of their self-titled debut. Even though the tent had been dark and hot as a jockstrap and the set was plagued with technical difficulties, the band’s wild-eyed enthusiasm made it worthwhile. Six years later, I approached another Clap Your Hands Say Yeah festival set, this time post-Hysteria, with some reservation. Even though the band members stayed static onstage, “Same Mistake” and “Hysteria” swept big and clean across the dancers—two of which held their right hands and clapped their left hands together, embodying the happy-go-lucky spirit of my first CYHSY show—in the front section, and old cuts like “Heavy Metal” still invigorated in a live setting. The telltale buzzing keys cuing “The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth”, however, sounded old and tired, as though the band couldn’t muster the energy to play their most popular song anymore. It only reminded me that there will never be another Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. -Harley Brown

The Joy Formidable – Sasquatch Stage  - 4:20 p.m.

Photo by Jeremy D. Larson

Thankfully the rocky landscape of the Gorge is a sturdy one, because The Joy Formidable fired a set of catchy pop backed by the kind of shoegaze noise that could cause an avalanche. The Welsh power trip performed like rock stars and were given a likewise response, especially for set high point “Whirring”. After a promise of a return and a completed album, the Welsh power trio ripped into “A Heavy Abacus” for a fast-paced, roaring close, which ended with drummer Matt Thomas pummeling solo for the finale. If anyone in The Joy Formidable deserved their own time in the spotlight, it was Thomas because his especially frantic style was one of the hardest-hitting of the entire weekend. -Frank Mojica

fun. – Bigfoot Stage – 4:40 p.m.

Photo by Colin Athens

After reading lackluster reviews of Some Nights, judging the album tracklist by its cover, and getting sick of the person who drives around my block blasting “We Are Young”, I didn’t have high hopes for fun.’s Monday afternoon set. I was the only one, apparently, since the band drew the second-largest crowd to the Bigfoot Stage after the Roots’ performance on Saturday night. And I have to admit, everyone else was right. Fun.’s set was, well, fun. Frontman Nate Ruess, who sported a “FUN.” basketball jersey with his name on the back, sounds uncannily like Freddie Mercury. His band also specializes in Queen’s bombastic, theatrical rock, minus the sense of humor. Their arena rock gets people singing along to ridiculous lyrics like “my friends are higher than the Empire State” (although that was probably because in this context, it was true). It’s true that Ruess’ stale soliloquy on “Some Nights”—“I sold my soul for this/Washed my hands of that for this/Miss my mom and dad for this?”—is kind of cringe-worthy, but who has time to think about that when you’re singing along? -Harley Brown

Feist – Sasquatch Stage – 5:30 p.m.

Photo by Jeremy D. Larson

On the Sasquatch stage, Leslie Feist illustrated how she can grip a crowd while actively avoiding shortcuts, even going as far as to omit obvious old favorites such as the iPod commercial sensation “1 2 3 4″ and reinvent others. For opener “When I Was a Young Girl”, Feist took the stage backed by only a drummer as she gave the song a makeover with country-tinged guitars, while “Mushaboom” was stripped down to an almost unrecognizable form. For penultimate “Comfort Me”, Feist asked the crowd to channel Bon Jovi or their favorite ’80s band to wave their hands and sing along all the “na na na’s”. The result may have reminded her of New Kids on the Block, but for the crowd it was the latest in a nonstop series of engrossing moments. -Frank Mojica

The Cave Singers – Bigfoot Stage – 6:50 p.m.

Photo by Colin Athens

Seattle-based folk outfit The Cave Singers both managed to follow fun.’s anthems and set the stage for Deer Tick, whose covers set was to take Mogwai’s place after them. Frontman Derek Fudesco even sounded like John J. Macaulay, spitting gravel into the mic while he shook duct-taped maracas. The group’s more angular cuts, like “Black Leaf” and “At the Cut” from several years ago, got a four-day-tired audience on their feet—literally, a guy was wrapped in a blanket at my feet, rising only to tell his friend, “I’ve never been so tired in my life” before going to lean against the barricade—more than their quieter, more acoustic ballads. All in all, though, it was a good mix. I was just disappointed they didn’t have time to play their 10-minute version of ZZ Top’s “Legs”, which they promised they would later play acoustically next to the frozen margaritas. -Harley Brown

Silversun Pickups – Sasquatch Stage – 7:00 p.m.

Photo by Jeremy D. Larson

Sometimes a band’s meant to play a festival at a certain point, and the Silversun Pickups were destined to perform at the Sasquatch stage, amidst the sun’s last plunge into the Gorge on this Memorial Day weekend. As exhausted as the crowd was, the California rockers’ loud fuzz breathed some life into the wary spectators, and frontman Brian Aubert even offered some comedic respite. ”Be excellent to each other and party on, dudes,” he exclaimed, quoting Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, all before launching into classics like “Panic Switch” and Lazy Eye”. How could we not oblige? -Ted Maider

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists  - Yeti Stage – 7:50 p.m.

Like The Cave Singers, Ted Leo also realized he was fighting a battle against festival fatigue. “Thanks for sticking it out for all four days,” he said, peppering his high-wattage set with Paul Stanley quotes and regret that there wasn’t an Erin Esurance hologram onstage with him (“But in this light, it probably wouldn’t work anyway”). The knot of fans clustered against the oncoming cold yelled things like “More of the same! Similar to before!” after Leo ripped through fan favorites like “Me and Mia” and “The One Who Got Us Out”. His band rocked so hard that they broke a bass drum pedal on “arguably their wimpiest song,” “Bottled In Cork”. Even though the crowd was small and the night was getting cold, Ted Leo’s warm stage presence and brutally intimate performance gave off enough energy to last the rest of Sasquatch! 2012. -Harley Brown

Deer Tick – Bigfoot Stage – 8:00 p.m. 

Photo by Jeremy D. Larson

Mogwai’s performance was cancelled due to travel issues, and Spiritualized was promoted to their closing timeslot, while a second Deer Tick set was added to the schedule. “We’re not here to play any Deer Tick songs”, announced frontman John McCauley before tearing into a special covers set that included Chuck Berry’s “Maybelline” and The Replacements’  ”Waitress in the Sky”. High points were a raucous rendition of “La Bamba” and becoming Deervana for “On a Plain”. It may not have been the post-rock giants, but Deer Tick’s cover set was still a special treat that made the most of the moment. -Frank Mojica

Tenacious D – Sasquatch Stage – 8:15 p.m.

Photo by Jeremy D. Larson

Those who remained Monday evening quite possibly stuck around just for Tenacious D. Not only did they attract one of the largest crowds of the weekend, but also the liveliest. When JB and KG arrived on stage in comedic white fur coats, everyone surged (like an At the Drive-In reunion sort of surge), and things got tough. “We want to shut this motherfucker down,” Jack Black screamed, backing this statement up with on-target renditions of “Tribute”, “Kickapoo”, “Senorita”, and plenty more. The set’s true highlight, however, was when the festival’s mascot arrived for Pick of Destiny gem “Sasquatch” to shred some mean guitar solos in the name of rock. Only at the Gorge– and only with Tenacious D– could such a memorable performance take place. -Ted Maider

Spiritualized – Bigfoot Stage – 9:30 p.m.

 Photo by Colin Athens

Due to Mogwai’s late cancellation, Spiritualized was moved back an hour and a half, forcing everyone to wait longer, but giving them the last slot on the Bigfoot stage, with plenty of time to go over – which they did. After opening with a blistering rendition of “Hey Jane”, Jason Pierce and his band ran through a very sizable portion of their latest LP, Sweet Light, Sweet Heart. The party didn’t really begin, though, until they dropped “Ladies And Gentlemen, We’re Floating In Space” in tandem with the quiet ballad from the same album, “Stay With Me”. At 11:00 p.m., half an hour after they were supposed to be finished, they began a rousing live version of “Come Together” that had the dismally small crowd rocking back and forth in unison. That would be their last song of the night, but it was as triumphant a note to end with as the one they rode in on. In all seriousness, there should have been a lot more people at The Bigfoot stage to see the legendary UK outfit (to be fair, he was competing against Beck’s headlining set), but Pierce was unphased by the small turnout, and he rocked just like everyone knew he would. -Winston Robbins

Beck  - Sasquatch Stage – 10:00 p.m.

Photo by Jeremy D. Larson

Before the final set of the weekend, the main stage screens ceased the cycling of advertisement slides for corporate sponsors and upcoming concerts to show footage of a raccoon climbing the rafters. The surreal moment was the perfect segue for a performance by a weirdster chameleon such as Beck. Earlier in the week in Los Angeles, Beck reunited with his Sea Change band for the first time since it was recorded, and at the Gorge they took advantage of this special assembly to perform album standouts “Lost Cause” and “Sunday Sun”. As stirring as the renditions of these heartbreak odes were, it was the more upbeat hits like “Devil’s Haircut”, “E-Pro”, and “Loser” that predictably drew the biggest response, even if the man himself seemed somewhat disinterested.

Near the end, Beck and company were joined by Tenacious D for a rare performance of “Mutherfuker”, giving this year’s Sasquatch! its final “can you believe that happened?” moment. Beck may have been an odd choice for a headliner, namely for the lack of any new material, but he showed how fun it can be to just hear the crowd-pleasing hits combined with oddities for the more seasoned fans. -Frank Mojica

Gallery

Photographer(s): Jeremy D. Larson, Ted Maider

This is the third album to be recorded under the Here We Go Magic moniker, and only the second to include a full band. While Pigeons was a psych-rock experiment, as front man Luke Temple tried to grasp a certain sound, A Different Ship is a refined counterpart, capitalizing on the band’s ability to densely layer sound and create an album rich in trademarks of  Godrich’s production.

Pigeons-era material has the feel of an accidental jam session, cramming each spare second with sound, but this album utilizes much-needed moments of pause. “Alone But Moving” uses ripples of synths and vocal effects to shake up soft, gorgeous piano, while the tip-toeing of instruments and soaring vocals on the title track unravel into an ending of heavy Godrich-created experiments. The best of this spatial understanding is found in the serene “Over the Ocean”; the story of in-flight pondering uses dreary guitar and quivering keys to warm with Temple’s falsetto, and finishes in an ocean of intangible sound.

Even with the newfound production assistance, there’s still an updated version of their signature bustling psychedelia. “I Believe In Action” and “Make Up Your Mind” intermingle stout kickdrums with New Wave synths, and the infectious tale of reluctant love on “How Do I Know” builds a colorful collage of subtle instrumentation. Enhancing their previous sound, Godrich allows for an album that shows us the first realization of what Here We Go Magic can be. This isn’t a new band, just a well-honed new direction.

Essential Tracks: “Alone But Moving” , “Over the Ocean”, and “A Different Ship”

“A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.” -Willy Wonka

The Big Pink – “Lose Your Mind”

Dr. Dog singer/bassist Toby Leaman is one sadistic dude. Why else would he kidnap and torture his entire band? But I guess on the grand scale of torturing people, getting flour and confetti thrown in your face isn’t exactly like spending a weekend at Guantanamo Bay.

Finn Riggins – “Plural”

Here, Finn Riggins entice you to come and see the wonders of Idaho with shots of rugged and pastoral scenery. Surprisingly enough, however, not one potato.

Here We Go Magic – “How Do I Know”

This video takes 2007′s Lars and the Real girl to its logical next step. I wonder how happy Ryan Gosling’s character would have been had he gotten to bust some moves with his not-so-human lover before she “died”. Oh, spoiler alert.

Nas – “The Don”

It’s kind of rare that you see Nas boast so openly about his considerable wealth. At least more rare than, say, the notoriously flashy Kayne West or Jay-Z. Yet even stepping out of his comfort zone, the Queensbridge MC still knows how to kill it. Then again, that’s why they call him the Illmatic One.

Paul & Linda McCartney – “Heart Of The Country” (Remastered)

Beatles Fun Fact of the Day: The Sheepdog seen in the video is the subject of McCartney’s White Album deep cut, “Martha My Dear”.

Perfume Genius – “Dark Parts”

Check out this video from Perfume Genius if you’re in the mood for a touching portrait of a son’s love for his mother. It also might just make you feel guilty about the crappy $10 bouquet of flowers you got your mom for Mother’s Day.

POP ETC – “Live It Up”

Chris Chu of the newly renamed POP ETC dons a tight tank top and utilizes the close-up in this new video. It’s actually the perfect visual accompaniment for this hipsterific R&B slow jam.

Simian Mobile Disco – “Put Your Hands Together”

Depending on how cultured you are, you’ll either see this video as a brilliant piece of computer-generated surrealist art or as a level of Space Invaders.

The Static Jacks – “Young Guns”

The fifties were a simpler time. There was no internet, gas only cost a few cents a gallon, and familial disputes were solved by good old living room boxing matches.

Tennis – “My Better Self”

This local cabaret bar doesn’t seem to be very enthralled by Tennis and their squeaky clean indie pop. They stare blankly back at the band even as frontwoman Alaina Moore showcases some killer dance moves.

What: In Here We Go Magic’s music video for “How Do I Know”, a man goes through life with two wives, one real and one robotic. The end results, sadly, aren’t as awesome as one might have expected. The band’s latest album, A Different Ship, is due out out May 8th via Secretly Canadian.

Directed by: Sean Pecknold

Here We Go Magic’s Nigel Godrich-produced third LP, A Different Ship, is out May 8th via Secretly Canadian. Following “Make Up Your Mind”, the album’s second single is called “How Do I Know”, and you can listen to it below.

[soundcloud width="500"]http://soundcloud.com/secretlycanadian/hdik/s-IScok[/soundcloud]

“How Do I Know”, b/w the unreleased track “My Plate’s on Fire”, is available today via all digital retailers, and will be released on 7″ vinyl on May 22nd.

A Different Ship Tracklist:
01. Intro
02. Hard to Be Close
03. Make Up Your Mind
04. Alone but Moving
05. I Believe in Action
06. Over the Ocean
07. Made to Be Old
08. How Do I Know
09. Miracle of Mary
10. A Different Ship

Armed with a few lights, a smoke machine, and some primo editing skills, bedroom pop composer Mauro Remiddi (aka Porcelain Raft) makes something out of a whole lotta nothing in the music video for “Drifting In and Out”. The resulting visual affair features swirling, smoke-laden imagery ripped straight from some fevered dream of Remiddi patrolling the very innards of his own mind. Equal parts intimate and jarring, grandiose and soothing, one can only imagine what he’d forge with a bigger toolbox. Watch the video below (via NPR First Watch).

Porcelain Raft’s debut album, Strange Weekend, is out now via Secretly Canadian. The “Drifting In And Out” b/w “Chain” 7″ single is due out June 26th. Remiddi will be on tour throughout the spring and summer, with the full schedule listed below.

Update: Porcelain Raft has also announced new U.S. tour dates for later this spring/summer, which you can find listed out below.

Porcelian Raft 2012 Tour Dates:
04/04 – Chicago, IL @ Metro ^
04/05 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom ^
04/06 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
04/08 – Denver, CO @ Hi-Dive
04/10 – Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Ballroom ^
04/11 – San Diego, CA @ Porter’s Pub ^
04/12 – Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour ^
04/13 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent ^
04/15 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
04/16 – Seattle, WA @ Crocodile Cafe
04/17 – Vancouver, BC @ Electric Owl
04/23 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall +
05/04 – Bucharest, RO @ Control
05/05 – London, UK @ The Sebright Arms #
05/06 – Manchester, UK @ Deaf Institute #
05/08 – Liverpool, UK @ Shipping Forecast
05/10-12 – Brighton, UK @ The Great Escape
05/14 – Bristol, UK @ The Louisiana
05/15 – London, UK @ White Heat
05/16 – Ghent, BE @ Kantine
05/18 – Paris, FR @ Cafe De La Danse
05/19 – Amsterdam, NL @ London Calling
05/23 – Brighton, UK @ The Haunt *
05/24 – London, UK @ Village Underground *
05/25 – Kortrijk, BE @ De Kreun *
05/27 – Berlin, DE @ Volksbuhne *
05/29 – Paris, FR @ La Maroquinerie *
05/30 – Cambridge, MA @ TT the Bears
05/31 – Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie
06/02 – Washington, DC @ Red Palace
06/03 – Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506
06/04 – Atlanta, GA @ 529
06/06 – St. Louis, MO @ The Firebord
06/07 – Chicago, IL @ Schuba’s
06/08 – Pontiac, MI @ Vernor’s Room
06/09 – Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop’s B-Side Lounge
06/10 – Buffalo, NY @ Ninth Ward
06/12 – Montreal, QC @ Il Motore
06/16 – Hultsfred, SE @ Hultsfred Fest
09/01-02 – Salisbury, UK @ End of the Road Festival
09/06-09 – Isle of Wight, UK @ Bestival

^ = w/ Youth Lagoon
+ = w/ The Vaccines
# = w/ Here We Go Magic
* = w/ Beach House

Here We Go Magic returns on May 8th with their Nigel Godrich-produced third LP A Different Ship. You’ve already heard the lead single in mp3 form; now watch its music video, which sees a leather clad Luke Temple partaking in some voodoo magic.

The band has also revealed spring tour dates, in addition to festival appearances at Sasquatch! and Bonnaroo. Check out the full schedule underneath the music video.

Here We Go Magic 2012 Tour Dates:
04/26 – New York, NY @ Knitting Factory
05/04 – Brighton, UK @ The Green Door Store
05/05 – London, UK @ The Sebright Arms
05/06 – Manchester, UK @ Deaf Institute
05/14 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat
05/15 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Brillobox *
05/16 – Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop *
05/17 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
05/18 – Milwaukee, WI @ Stonefly Brewery *
05/19 – Minneapolis, MN @ 400 Bar *
05/20 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room *
05/21 – Denver, CO @ Hi Dive *
05/22 – Aspen, CO @ Belly Up *
05/23 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge *
05/25 – Portland, OR @ Bunk Bar *
05/27 – George, WA @ Sasquatch! Festival
06/02 – London, UK @ Field Day Festival
06/04 – Newcastle, UK @ Evolution Festival
06/10 – Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo Music Festival
06/12 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
06/14 – San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar
06/15 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo
06/16 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
06/18 – Dallas, TX @ Sons of Hermann Hall
06/19 – Austin, TX @ The Parish
07/13 – Bilbao, ES @ BBK Live Festival

* = w/ Hospitality

The 11th annual Bonnaroo Music Festival runs June 7-10th in Manchester, Tennessee. This year’s bill is headlined by Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Phish, and the reunited Beach Boys, with Bon Iver, The Shins, Dispatch, Foster the People, The Avett Brothers, Skrillex, Feist, and Aziz Ansari among the other heavyweights.

Other notables include The Roots, Ben Folds Five, Black Star, Alice Cooper, St. Vincent, Mogwai, Major Lazer, Flying Lotus, Alabama Shakes, Dawes, Flogging Molly, Childish Gambino, Ludacris, tUnE-yArDs, SBTRKT, Battles, Black Lips, Kendrick Lamar, Danny Brown, The Joy Formidable, Young the Giant, Kurt Vile and The Violators, EMA, The Antlers, Delta Spirit, Das Racist, The War on Drugs, Laura Marling, Here We Go Magic,  Yelawolf, and Mac Miller.

Also playing are Umphey’s McGee, The Word (featuring Robert Randolph, John Medeski, and North Mississippi Allstars), Bad Brains, Mariachi El Bronx, The Devil Makes Three, Charles Bradley and his Extraordinaires, Gary Clark Jr., Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, Kathleen Edwards, Phantogram, Two Door Cinema Club, Fitz and the Tantrums, The Civil Wars, City and Colour, The Kooks, Big Freedia, K-Flay, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., Grouplove, White Denim, SOJA, Big Gigantic, Fruit Bats, Moon Taxi, The Soul Rebels, The Lonely Forest, ALO, Blind Pilot, Ben Howard, Trampled By Turtles, Mimosa, and Spectrum Road (featuring Santana, John Medeski, Jack Bruce, Cindy Blackman, and Vernon Reid.)

This year also promises another one of Bonnaroo’s trademark superjams; however, the participating artists have yet to be announced.

In all, over 125 bands and 20 comedians will perform across 13 stages during the four-day event. Additional artists and comedians will be revealed in the coming weeks. Below, you can watch the lineup announced by ESPN’s John Anderson.

Tickets go on sale beginning Saturday, February 18th at Noon ET via the festival’s website.

Update: Here’s the poster:

As previously reported, Here We Go Magic has teamed with Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich for their third LP. According to Pitchfork, the end result, entitled A Different Ship, will arrive on May 8th via Secretly Canadian. Below, you can download one of the album’s 10 tracks, ”Make Up Your Mind”.

The band began recording with Godrich in 2011, first in L.A. and later in London. Discussing the new album with Stereogum, Temple called it “much more organic” than the band’s 2010 album, Pigeons.

“I’m sure there will be haters saying it’s a slick sound, but actually this record is much more organic. This album is just us,” Temple explained. “There was a lot of songs that we recorded on Pigeonsthat are great recorded but took a lot of concentration to get them right since they’re a little bit out of my range. On this album I made a point to sing just within my comfortable range. I was thinking about performing this music and having it be the easiest most graceful translation from album to live show.”

A Different Ship Tracklist:
01. Intro
02. Hard to Be Close
03. Make Up Your Mind
04. Alone but Moving
05. I Believe in Action
06. Over the Ocean
07. Made to Be Old
08. How Do I Know
09. Miracle of Mary
10. A Different Ship

Photo by Greg Mitnick

Here We Go Magic has teamed up with Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich for their third studio album, as Stereogum reports. The follow-up to 2010′s Pigeons, the as-yet-untitled LP was recorded in London and Los Angeles, and is due out later this year via Secretly Canadian.

Speaking with Stereogum, Here We Go Magic frontman Luke Temple said the band first met Godrich following a performance at Glastonbury. “It was early in the morning as people were just waking up or were still awake and tired from the night before. There were a few scattered people watching us and then [Godrich and Thom Yorke] standing down in the front. So we met Nigel there and then we started playing shows in London and in France and he came to every one of them.”

The band began recording with Godrich in 2011, first in L.A. and later in London. Stereogum described the new album as “restrained and beautiful and spacious,” while Temple called it “much more organic” than Pigeons.

“I’m sure there will be haters saying it’s a slick sound, but actually this record is much more organic. This album is just us,” Temple explained. “There was a lot of songs that we recorded on Pigeons that are great recorded but took a lot of concentration to get them right since they’re a little bit out of my range. On this album I made a point to sing just within my comfortable range. I was thinking about performing this music and having it be the easiest most graceful translation from album to live show.”

At the moment, Here We Go Magic’s only upcoming tour date is an appearance at London’s Field Day on June 2nd. Stay tune for additional album details and tour dates. In the meantime, check out their video for “Collector” from Pigeons below.

We’re still two months away from South by Southwest 2012, but today the schedule for the music portion went live, adding a slew of new names to the bill. Previously confirmed acts include Built to Spill, The Magnetic Fields, Talib Kweli, Against Me!, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Cloud Nothings, and a keynote speech by Bruce Springsteen.

Update: As a number of readers have pointed out, several acts listed on the festival’s schedule yesterday have since disappeared, including Best Coast, ASAP Rocky, Dan Deacon, Zola Jesus, YACHT, Nicolas Jaar, Azari & III, Bear In Heaven, Caveman, Anika, Cerebal Ballzy, and Charlift. According to festival organizers, this is the result of a number of reasons, including incomplete paperwork. It’s also possible that an artist initially applied to play the festival, but has since changed its plans. As of now, it’s unclear which of the aforementioned acts will end up playing. Stay tuned to our Festival Outlook page for lineup additions and updates.

Now joining them are Best Coast, M. Ward, of Montreal, ASAP Rocky, Danny Brown, Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire, Dan Deacon, The Drums, Astronautalis, Bear In Heaven, Ceremony, Chairlift, Crystal Antlers, Little Boots, Deerhoof, Dragonette, Gossip, Matthew Dear, Miike Snow, SBTRKT, Sharon Van Etten, Zola Jesus, Nicolas Jaar, Oneohtrix Point Never, Thundercat, The War on Drugs, Youth Lagoon, and Tennis.

Also set to appear are Lana Del Rey, The Ting Tings, Action Bronson, Apparat, Buraka Som Sistema, Spank Rock, Corrosion of Conformity, Jimmy Cliff, Rye Rye, K’naan, YACHT, Band of Skulls, White Rabbits, Beth Jeans Houghton and The Hooves of Destiny, Supreme Dicks, Caveman, Cerebral Ballzy, Freelance Whales, Here We Go Magic, Free Energy,  Eleanor Friedberger, The Black Angels, Blondes, Busdriver, Ezra Furman, Friends, Memoryhouse, Mikal Cronin, Miniature Tigers, Zechs Marquise, and Purity Ring.

The massive bill also includes Counting Crows, Tommy Stinson, The Wedding Present, Andrew WK, Brendan Benson, Hot Water Music, Gauntlet Hair, Grieves and Budo, Imogen Heap, Ingrid Michaelson, Michael Franti and Spearhead, The Henry Clay People, Justin Townes Earle, The Love Language, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Micachu & the Shapes, The Fresh & Onlys, Gardens & Villa, P.O.S., Anika, And So I Watch You From Afar, Fake Problems, Azari & III, Sleepy Sun, Bahamas, Japanther, The Knux, Carter Tanton, Cassettes Won’t Listen, Jacuzzi Boys, CHALI 2NA, Cities Aviv, Is Tropical, Javelin, Kids These Days, Living Things, Scattered Trees, and Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin.

Update: Despite previously being on the lineup, The Polyphonic Spree are no longer slated to play the festival.

Check out the complete lineup at our Festival Outlook. And stay tuned for additional lineup news and updates — typically, the biggest acts aren’t revealed until just days prior to the festival.

The music portion of South by Southwest 2012 runs March 13-18th in Austin Texas. Registration is now ongoing, with various types of badges to chose from. Click here for all the details.

You likely know Luke Temple as the voice behind New York quintet Here We Go Magic, but the Manchester, MA native had a brewing solo project for years before the band’s self-titled debut. When that record took off, Temple’s third solo effort was put way on the back-burner — on low — as HWGM dropped two more releases. Now, Don’t Act Like You Don’t Care is finally going to see light of day and CoS has the premiere of the album’s new single, “How Could I Lie”.

Conceived and recorded concurrently with HWGM’s debut, Temple crafted something during the day vastly dissimilar to the ambient dream-scape he formulated for his band at night. Under his own name, he lays down largely unplugged, lo-fi produced folk tunes (Don’t Act… was mostly recorded onto a four-track recorder). “How Could I Lie” is an outright country number, Temple’s twangy voice asking “I walked out of the swamp to find her trying not to cry/so how could I lie?” While there are hints at his other musical life when the keys plink away dreamily, there’s far more Neil Young than Animal Collective.

There’s still plenty of magic, as Temple continues to showcase a talent for songwriting, and the track exemplifies why the record was denoted “The Country Record”. You can hear this other side of Temple when Don’t Act Like You Don’t Care drops from Western Vinyl on September 6th. The full tracklist is below, right after your premiere of “How Could I Lie”.

Luke Temple – “How Could I Lie”

Don’t Act Like You Don’t Care Tracklist:
01. In The Open
02. More Than Muscle
03. How Could I Lie
04. Weekend Warrior
05. Ophelia
06. Ballad For Dick George
07. So Long, So Long
08. You Belong To Heaven
09. Luck Park

Produced by the band’s own Jen Turner, The January EP was recorded live to analog tape in a band built living room studio, during the same time as they were working on 2009′s Pigeons. With each release the group has matured and expanded on their dreamy bedroom pop sound. The January EP is a noteworthy release to add to their catalog.

The release is filled with subtle gems, that will linger with listeners long after they’ve stopped listening. It consists of a combination of captivating soundscapes that form one blissful record. “Hollywood” is a slow haunting track, filled with Temple’s repetitious whispers of “Hollywood”, crescendoing over lightly plucked strings and band member’s backing chants. “Hands in the Sky” is just as spooky, with shimmering guitars, light percussion and synths unfolding perfectly as Temple sings of a mother’s death. The lyrics, “She was gone and an angel took her place”, portray a graceful scene almost as fragile as the song.

For all the spookiness and slow tracks, Here We Go Magic devotes equal time to energetic psych rock tracks. For fans of faster tracks, there’s opener “Tulips” with its bells, reverb and catchy chorus. “Backwards Time” sounds like something straight from the Police with Temple’s vocals taking a nod to Sting with spacey instrumentals.

Altogether, The January EP is like a journey through Here We Go Magic’s dreams. Its mischievous and fun with an undercurrent of sadness– definitely a charming release to add to their catalog.

Brooklyn Indie kaleidoscope Here We Go Magic are keeping with one-release-per-year schedule as they ready for The January EP. Following in the wake 2009′s self-titled debut and 2010′s Pigeons, the 6-track effort was recorded with producer Jen Turner in an upstate New York farm house. Secretly Canadian will reveal the end result on May 10th, but an early preview in the form of the track “Hands in the Sky” is streaming below.

In support of the release,H ere We Go Magic have mapped out a healthy tour schedule, which includes an appearance at Coachella and a just announced month long road trip in May. The band will also make an appearance at Wilco’s Solid Sound Festival, set to run June 24-26 in Northampton, MA.

“Hands In The Sky”

The January EP Tracklist:
01. Tulip
02. Hands in the Sky
03. Song in Three
04. Hollywood
05. Backwards Time
06. Mirror Me

Here We Go Magic 2010 Tour Dates:
03/29 – Columbus, OH @ Wexner Center for the Arts
03/30 – Indianapolis, IN @ Radio Radio
03/31 – Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon
04/01 – Iowa City, IA @ Mission Creek Festival
04/15 – San Diego, CA @ The Loft at UC San Diego
04/16 – Indio, CA @ Coachella Music Festival
05/05 – Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
05/06 – Lawrence, KS @ Jackpot Saloon
05/07 – St. Louis, MO @ Firebird
05/09 – Chicago, IL @ Schuba’s
05/10 – Pontiac, MI @ The Pike Room
05/11 – Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern
05/12 – Montreal, QC @ Club Lambi
05/13 – S. Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
05/14 – New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
05/16 – Washington, DC @ Red Palace
05/17 – Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506
05/18 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
05/19 – Nashville, TN @ The Basement
05/21 – New Orleans, LA @ Circle Bar
05/24 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada
05/25 – Austin, TX @ The Parish
06/24-26 – Northampton, MA @ Solid Sound Festival

Plus, in addition to two headlining sets by Wilco on Friday and Saturday, this year’s Solid Sound will also feature a number of Wilco-related collaborations. Pillow Wand (a collaboration between Wilco’s Nels Cline & Thurston Moore), The Autumn Defense (the side project of Wilco’s John Stirratt and Pat Sansone), Pronto (the a project of Wilco’s Mikael Jorgensen), and Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche will all perform sets over the course of the weekend.

Other confirmed acts include Syl Johnson & the Sweet Divines, Dave Douglas & Brass Ecstasy, Handsome Family, JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound, and Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion. What’s more, John Hodgman will curate Comedy Cabaret, featuring Wyatt Cenac, Eugene Mirman, and Morgan Murphy.

This year’s Solid Sound Festival is set for June 24-26 at Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams, MA. Three-day passes are priced at $124.50 and are now available via Front Gate Tickets.

Here We Go Magic and I have had an interesting relationship. So much buzz was built around them before I actually heard them, that I was a little let down when I finally gave them a listen. But, Luke Temple is a good songwriter and my issues stemmed more from the Ariel Pink-esque production that imbued Pigeons with an overall stain of lameness. Even the name Here We Go Magic filled my mind with images of teenagers in bright clothing playing Of Montreal for the night. When the band took the stage, I was pleasantly surprised to see grownups and even more surprised with what came after: an honest to God, sweat pouring down, leave-it-all-on-the-stage, rock and roll show. It was the kind of show that made me reevaluate all my suppositions about the band, change my mind about some songs I did not care for and really question if maybe they should go a little less-is-more in the studio, because without all the fancy, dream-like production, they kind of kick ass.

After torching through the opener, “Surprise” began with its slow built groove. Now, maybe it is the heterosexual man in me, but as captivating as Luke Temple is to watch as a singer, I was enthralled by the sexuality that oozed off of both bass player Jennifer Turner and keyboardist Kristiana Lieberson. Both shook their hips to the music, seemingly feeling the slow-jam pulsating through every part of their body. It was not what I expected, to say the least, but damn, it was a revelation to discover that Here We Go Magic has quite sexy music.

The band continued through a selection of Pigeons tunes that, to be honest, made me like the album a lot more. “Collector” never really had a clear beginning, rather it just morphed from the previous tune, but by the time the second verse kicked in, it was in full barn-storming glory. Sweat poured from Temple’s face, which would continue throughout the rest of the night, and the rest of the band had their work cut out for them to match the singer’s intensity. They succeeded without problem, but man, did this band work hard all night. Though anything you read about them makes it clear that this is Temple’s band, something that evolved from a solo project, the band seemed like a collective on stage, with drummer Peter Hale addressing the crowd more than anyone. It was made known that this was the band’s proper L.A. debut and that they hadn’t really played many U.S. shows since Pigeons had been released. The result: the band seemed literally thrilled to be on-stage and thrilled to be enjoyed so tremendously (L.A. always manages to play it so cool at shows, but tonight the majority of the fans were fully engaged, dancing and grooving throughout.)

The band nailed album highlight “F.F.A.P.”, and then devoted the end of the set to selections from their self-titled debut. The older song’s were tighter musically, but the entire set was consistent in energy, leaving no one feeling short-changed for the amount of effort the band gave to entertain them. “Only Pieces” saw Temple move to the keys for a dual synth moment that showcased his abilities as a musician, while “Fangela”, a clear highlight, really brought Temple’s vocal abilities to light, as his cries of “You’ve got to move” came straight from the gut with a passion that I didn’t see coming. Then, finally, with “Tunnelvision”, they produced the epic noise jam I had been expecting more of, but when I finally received it, I was glad it was reserved for this one moment. It made my head want to explode.

The crowd really emptied out for the encore, and though the tunes were good, it was clear that the energy had deflated from the room. Either way, Here We Go Magic had managed to find complete success in both making the hipsters lose control and making the skeptics re think their critiques. Without all the psychedelic haze, Here We Go Magic is a quite a strong rock band and Temple is both an able songwriter and captivating singer. There’s probably a reason that Beach Fossils is opening for them and not the other way around. We’ll just have to wait for the next time Beach Fossils is in town to find out.

Photography by Jesse Bloch.

Setlist
Moon
Suprise
Collector
Casual
Hibernation
F.F.A.P.
Only Pieces
Fangela
Tunnelvision
Ghost List

Encore:
Everything’s Big
Old World United
——

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Among the tickets on sale Friday include The Airborne Toxic Event, Band of Horses, The Black Crowes, Corin Tucker Band, Dr. Dog, Foals, Frightened Rabbit, Ghostland Observatory, Guided By Voices, The Hold Steady, Klaxons, MGMT, Queens of the Stone Age, and The Vaselines. Plus, American Carnage and FYF Fest tickets are also up for grabs.

The Airborne Toxic Event:

What: North American tour

When: September

Tixs: Price varies depending on location

Buy: Ticketmaster at 10:00 AM Local Time

American Carnage:

What: Tour featuring Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax

When: September – October

Tixs: Price varies depending on location

Buy: Ticketmaster or Live Nation at 10:00 AM Local Time

Band of Horses:

What: North American tour

When: October

Tixs: Price varies depending on location

Buy: Ticketmaster at 10:00 AM Local Time

The Black Crowes:

What: North American tour

When: December

Tixs: Price varies depending on location

Buy: Ticketmaster at 10:00 AM Local Time

Corin Tucker Band:

What: North American tour, New York

When: October 25th

Tixs: $15.00

Buy: Ticketmaster at 12:00 PM EST

Dr. Dog w/Here We Go Magic:

What: North American tour

When: October – November

Tixs: Price varies depending on location

Buy: Ticketmaster at 10:00 AM Local Time

Foals:

What: North American tour

When: September – October

Tixs: Price varies depending on location

Buy: Band’s website or Ticketmaster at 10:00 AM Local Time

Frightened Rabbit:

What: North American tour

When: October – November

Tixs: Price varies depending on location

Buy: Ticketmaster or Live Nation at 10:00 AM Local Time

FYF Fest:

What: LA-based festival featuring The Rapture, Panda Bear, Sleep, and more

When: September 4th

Tixs: $25.00

Buy: Ticketweb at 12:00 AM PST

Ghostland Observatory:

What: North American tour

When: September – November

Tixs: Price varies depending on location

Buy: Ticketmaster at 10:oo AM Local Time

Guided By Voices:

What: Tour dates for Austin, TX; Minneapolis, MN; Newport, KY; & Carrboro, NC

When: October – November

Tixs: Price varies depending on location

Buy: Ticketmaster at 10:oo AM Local Time

The Hold Steady:

What: North American tour

When: September – October

Tixs: Price varies depending on location

Buy: Ticketmaster at 10:00 AM Local Time

Klaxons:

What: North American tour

When: September – October

Tixs: Price varies depending on location

Buy: Ticketmaster at 10:00 AM Local Time

MGMT:

What: North American tour

When: October – November

Tixs: Price varies depending on location

Buy: Ticketmaster or Live Nation at 10:00 AM Local Time

Queens of the Stone Age w/ Eagles of Death Metal:

What: North American tour, Los Angles date

When: August 12th

Tixs: $50.00

Buy: Ticketmaster at 10:00 AM PST

The Vaselines:

What: North American tour

When: September – October

Tixs: Price varies depending on location

Buy: Ticketmaster at 10:00 AM Local Time

Their voyage starts north of the border in Toronto, then weaves its way through the Northeast and Midwest en route to the Rocky Mountains before hitting up the great Northwest, where Eugene, Ore. is the lucky recipient of a Dr. Dog Halloween show. We can’t think of a better band or reason to let go and dress up as some kind of furry animal.

The tour then makes its way down the Golden State starting with a two-night stand at the Fillmore in San Francisco, and the good news for our Arizona readers is that you’re going to actually get to go to a show  The band is leaving the boycott business at home and playing the Orpheum Theater in Flagstaff on November 11th. That’s pretty kick-ass for music fans in the Copper State, but what’s better is who is assisting the doctor for the duration of the tour.

Brooklyn’s own dream-pop quintet, Here We Go Magic, will play support for all but two dates on the 24-stop-soiree and joining them for eight west coast dates will be fellow brotherly lovers, Good Old War. No telling if Dr. Dog will join their Philly Friends on stage, but the harmonies would be sick.

A limited number of presale tickets are available on the band’s website through July 15 with service charges maxing out at $4. If that’s still not cheap enough for you, then find a way to get to the Big Apple on August 15 because Dog, M.D. will be playing a free show at Governor’s Island.

Otherwise, check out this video of the band playing the press tent at Bonnaroo, then head over to Ticketmaster.com starting Friday, July 16th and cop your tickets.

Dr. Dog 2010 Tour Dates:
08/06 – Happy Valley, OR @ Pendarvis Farm Pickathon
08/15 – New York, NY @ Governor’s Island (Free Show)
09/11 – Canton, MA @ Life is Good Festival
09/17 – Bristol, TN @ Bristol Rhythm and RootsReunion
10/16 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix *
10/18 – Buffalo, NY @ The Town Ballroom *
10/19 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom *
10/20 – Pontiac, MI @ Crofoot Ballroom *
10/21 – Chicago, IL @ The Vic Theatre *
10/22 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall *
10/23 – Minneapolis, MI @ First Ave *
10/25 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room *
10/26 – Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theatre *
10/27 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge *
10/29 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox Sodo *#
10/30 – Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre *#
10/31 – Eugene, OR @ WOW Hall *#
11/02 – Crystal Bay, NV @ Crystal Bay Club *#
11/03 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore *#
11/04 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore *#
11/05 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern *#
11/06 – San Diego, CA @ Belly Up *#
11/08 – Flagstaff, AZ – Orpheum Theater *
11/09 – Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theater *
11/10 – Oklahoma City, OK @ ACM *
11/11 – Dallas, TX @ Palladium Showroom *
11/12 – Austin, TX @ Stubb’s BBQ *
11/13 – Houston, TX @ Wharehouse Live *

* = w/ Here We Go Magic
# = w/ Good Old War

Whereas the first album was definitely weird, Temple’s ability as a singer/songwriter was the centerpiece to play around in dream psychedelia, even sounding like a full-band/ “chill wave” project, released back when we were still using that term on an hourly basis. And though I vowed to not consider “sounds like Animal Collective” as a flaw until 2011, there is a difference between the first album’s AC-influence and the second album’s AC-reliance. Pigeons feels like someone who is given a straight A report card, but doesn’t pay attention to what the reasons for the good grades were. The effort is supposedly the product of a creative overflow that occurred in the group, but the creativity is mostly a redundancy on other bands’ creative spurts.

Odds are that you have heard lead single “Collector” by now. And, though it is infectious enough and will have the teenagers bouncing around at parties, it seems to revel in novelty 80′s music (and Of Montreal) that is hardly worth revisiting, namely The Vapors “I Think I’m Turning Japanese”. The album’s other noticeably catchy and upbeat future single, “Old World United”, also lowers the band’s previously mature taste-level (and I swear I’ve heard this melody before but cannot place it). The track falters because of thin vocals from Temple that seem like they didn’t get the post-production treatment that Pigeons holds throughout. Completing the trinity of intended focal points is “Casual”, a song that answers the question “I wonder what an Animal Collective cover of ‘Smooth Operator’ would sound like?” Turns out, it wouldn’t be that great.

Sometimes music that sounds as familiar as these songs do means that the songwriter has found a great melody. On Pigeons, it seems more like the songwriter is mining the past. Though none are blatant  rip-offs, they are too indebted to other groups to sound original. Temple is now a seasoned songwriter and he would be hard-pressed to record an entire album without stumbling on something interesting, maybe even something that resonates. And one does appear, found on the most traditional rock songson the record, “Bottom Feeder”. The song takes the scratchy, thin voice that was so problematic on the party jam “Old World United” and applies it to something more timeless, resulting in one of the most beautiful musical moments of the year. Bands like Animal Collective, Deerhunter, and Of Montreal never really have to force an aesthetic, while Here We Go Magic produce apt imitations of the music those bands produce instinctively.  For instance, “Moon” is technically great, but doesn’t know where to go, and “Bottom Feeder” sounds like an entirely different band.

Though you can’t blame Temple for trying to push the songs he writes away from the traditional fare he has been hearing his whole life, there has to be balance. All the bands that I have cited remain accessible and enjoyable on both an innovative level and on an initial ear test. “F.F.A.P.” does this perfectly, starting off like a mild dream trance and morphing into a chaotic nightmare. This song seems to achieve what many of the record’s tracks attempt, and show that the Here We Go Magic aesthetic is successful when pulled off. And, if I had to say one thing about Pigeons, it would be to call it a forgivable misstep, both because its strong points are so strong and because it’s low points are more misguided than bad. Unfortunately, the album is mostly low points, especially the ambient closing that kind of lets the listener drift away rather than just stop. Sure it’s not bad sounding, but I am still always relieved when next album on my iTunes library finally begins.

For those of you who have listened to them, Here We Go Magic will hit the road this summer in support of the band’s second album, Pigeons, set for release on June 8 on Secretly Canadian. The band has lined up a wide range of shows across the country, from iconic venues in Los Angeles and Austin, to obscure festivals in Chicago and Manchester, Tennessee, and even a record release party at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. It should be a good year for this band. If you are like me, avoiding them may no longer be an option.

Here We Go Magic 2010 Tour Dates:
05/28 – Barcelona, ES @ Primavera Sound Festival
06/08 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
06/10 – Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo Music Festival
07/18 – Chicago, IL @ Pitchfork Music Festival
07/19 – Omaha, NE The Waiting Room
07/20 – Denver, CO @ Hi Dive
07/22 – Boise, ID @ Neurolux
07/23 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
07/24 – Seattle, WA @ Capitol Hill Block Party
07/25 – Vancouver, BC @ Media Club
07/28 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
07/29 – West Hollywood, CA @ Troubadour
08/01 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Rhythm Room
08/03 – Dallas, TX @ The LOFT at the Palladium
08/04 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s Outside
08/06 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
08/07 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
08/08 – Washington, DC @ The Black Cat
08/09 - Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
09/11 – Isle of Wight, UK @ Bestival

Our travels took us to a slew of different showcases and parties with lineups featuring heavy hitters, old favorites, up-and-comers, and relative unknowns. We traveled to Stubbs on Wednesday to watch Sharon Jones bring the funk, Broken Bells make its SXSW debut, and Spoon deliver a hometown show. We checked out acts like Titus Andronicus, We Are Scientists, and Local Natives on Thursday. We ate cookies, played video games, jammed to The Protomen, and hung out with Rock It Out! Blog on Friday, all before stumbling into The Parish and watching Broken Social Scene deliver a two-and-a-half hour set of the week.

Please find the end results below, courtesy of Mr. Alex Young and Mr. Cap Blackard. Until next year Austin, good riddance/we’ll miss you.

Free Energy:
Paste Party, March 17th

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Freelance Whales
Paste Party, March 17th

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Here We Go Magic
Little Radio Presents, March 17th

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Born Ruffians
Canadian Blast, March 17th

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Jason Collett
Body Parts, March 17th

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The Walkmen
Stubbs, March 17th

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Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings
Stubbs, March 17th

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Broken Bells
Stubbs, March 17th

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Spoon
Stubbs, March 17th

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Shout Out Out Out Out
CoS + Sled Island, March 18th

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Titus Andronicus
CoS + Sled Island, March 18th

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Elevator Fight
Phoenix, March 18th

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The Champman Family
Phoenix, March 18th

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We Are Scientists
Phoenix, March 18th

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Local Natives
Emos, March 18th

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Light Pollution
CoS + Rock It Out! Blog, March 19th

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Surf City
CoS + Rock It Out! Blog, March 19th

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Look Mexico
CoS + Rock It Out! Blog, March 19th

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Sweet Apple
CoS + Rock It Out! Blog, March 19th

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The Protomen
CoS + Rock It Out! Blog, March 19th

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Billy Bragg
Mess With Texas, March 19th

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Zeus
The Parish, March 19th

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Broken Social Scene
The Parish, March 19th

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We should also note that if you’d like to check out South by Southwest from the perspective of a video blogger, you might want to check out the Rock It Out! Blog.

Unfortunately for me (but fortunately for you!), Here We Go Magic has already completed its sophomore record and will release it on June 8th via Secretly Canadian. Titled Pigeons, it was recorded in East Branch, NY and will be be accompanied by a full-on assault on music halls across the globe. First up? South by Southwest (including a show at Urban Outfitters so you hipsters can maintain maximum efficiency), followed by an opening spot with Spoon Jr. (White Rabbits).

Check out the tracklist and tour itinerary below. Grab a sneak peak of the track titled “Collector” here.

June is soon, so I better get busy.

Pigeons Tracklist:
01. Hibernation
02. Collector
03. Casual
04. Surprise
05. Bottom Feeder
06. Moon
07. Old World United
08. F.F.A.P.
09. Land of Feeling
10. Vegetable or Native
11. Herbie I Love You, Now I Know

Here We Go Magic 2010 Tour Dates:
03/13 - Washington, DC @ Rock N Roll Hotel
03/14 - Carrboro, NC @ Local 506
03/15 - Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
03/17-20 – Austin, TX @ SXSW
04/05 - Charlottesville, VA @ Jefferson Theater *
04/06 - Asheville, NC @ Grey Eagle *
04/09 - Orlando, FL @ The Social *
04/10 - Jacksonville, FL @ Jax Live *
04/11 - Tallahassee, FL @ Club Downunder *
04/13 - Houston, TX @ Walters on Washington *
04/14 - Austin, TX @ The Independent *
04/16 - Phoenix, AZ @ The Clubhouse *
04/20 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge *
04/21 - Boulder, CO @ Fox Theater *
04/24 - Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon *
04/25 - Chicago, IL @ Metro *
04/26 - Indianapolis, IN @ Radio Radio *
04/27 - Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace *
04/28 - Montreal, QC @ Petit Campus *
04/29 - Northampton, MA @ Iron Horse
04/30 - Hoboken, NJ @ Maxwell’s
05/01 - Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club *
05/14-15 Brighton, UK @ The Great Escape Festival
05/18 - London, UK @ The Lexington
05/19 - London, UK @ Electric Ballroom ^
05/20 - Liverpool, UK @ Liverpool Sound City Festival
05/21 - Berlin, DE @ Magnet ^
05/22 - Hamburg, DE @ Molotow ^
05/23 - Amsterdam, NL @ Melkweg ^
05/25 - Brussels, BE @ Orangerie ^
05/26 - Paris, FR @ La Maroquinerie ^
05/27 - Toulouse, FR @ Cafe Rex ^
05/28 - Barcelona, ES @ Primavera Sound Festival
06/10 - Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo Music Festival
07/18 - Chicago, IL @ Pitchfork Music Festival
09/11 - Isle of Wight, UK @ Bestival

* = w/ White Rabbits
^ = w/ the New Pornographers

As for the end result of said attention? An initial lineup announcement headed by Jay-Z, Stevie Wonder, Dave Matthews Band, and Kings of Leon. Other noteworthy acts include Jack White’s The Dead Weather, Jack Black’s Tenacious D, Weezer, Norah Jones, Damian Marley and Nas, LCD Soundsystem, Phoenix, Regina Spektor, Tori Amos, John Fogerty, and Jeff Beck.

Also set to appear at this year’s edition, which runs from June 10-13, are the Dropkick Murphys, John Prine, Jimmy Cliff, Michael Franti and Spearhead, The Avett Brothers, The Black Keys, Deadmau5, Against Me!, Les Claypool, the Zac Brown Band, Steve Martin & the Steep Canyon Rangers, and Rise Against, as well as a few familiar faces, including the Disco Biscuits, Medeski Martin & Wood, and Calexico.

A number of high-profile indie acts will also perform, including She & Him, Blitzen Trapper, The Dodos, Local Natives, The Gaslight Anthem, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, Chromeo (who will be joined by the legendary Daryl Hall), Tokyo Police Club, and Neon Indian.

We should once again note that today’s announcement was billed as the initial lineup, and additional artists are expected to be named in the weeks ahead. We’ll of course update you when the information becomes available.

Tickets, available in the general admission and VIP varieties, are currently on sale and priced at $234.50 and $1,349.50 respectively. Payment plans are available, as are various rental packages. Hit up bonnarootickets.com for all the specifics.

Additional details regarding the festival itself can be read on bonnaroo.com. We also suggest bookmaring our Bonnaroo Outlook pages, as we’ll update it once additional lineup news is announced. Now would also be a good time to check out our recent interview with Bonnaroo co-founder Ashley Capps.

As previously mentioned, the lineup announcement will work something like this. Unlike previous announcements, the 2010 bill will not be unveiled all at once, but rather throughout the day, with the goal being to “generate conversations about the lineup a few acts at a time.” Starting at 10 AM EST (barring any early leaks), bands will begin announcing their participation via various social media outlets and bonnaroo.com. It’s basically like one giant, procrastinating-inducing puzzle. Fortunately, just in case we don’t figure it out by then, Bonnaroo will end our agony by announcing the full lineup later tomorrow night.

Given all this, it only makes sense that we start an open thread, where you guys can chat, complain, and post any discoveries you find. We’ll of course keep track as well!

7:30 pm Update: 90 minutes left! LCD Soundsystem, Les Claypool, Lucero, Kris Kristofferson, Martin Sexton, and Deadmau5 among the newest additions.

5:30 pm Update: Add The Dodos, Tori Amos, Tenacious D, Damian Marley & Nas, Lotus, Blitzen Trapper, Calexico, Mumford & Sons, Aterciopelados, and John Butler Trio to the mix. Still waiting for Neil, Pavement, and Roger Waters…

3:30 pm Update: A few more worthwhile confirmations: The Dead Weather, They Might Be Giants, The Melvins, Dave Rawlings Machine, John Prine, Mew, Dr. Dog, Clutch, and The Bakerton Group. Also, a few more expected: Alicia Keys, Pavement, and Spoon.

2:00 pm Update: So far, we’ve been going at this for a good five hours and we still only know about a 1/4 of the acts. Of those however, there are certainly a fair share of early highlights, including Jay-Z, The Flaming Lips, Regina Spektor, The National, Disco Biscuits, Jeff Beck, Norah Jones, Weezer, She & Him, and Phoenix.

We can also confirm the participation of Kings of Leon, Dave Matthews Band, Stevie Wonder, Dropkick Murphys, and Zac Brown band. As for what we can expect to see in the hours ahead? Neil Young, Spoon, Broken Social Scene, and Deadmau5. Also don’t be shocked if Roger Waters (performing The Wall), Pavement, and My Morning Jacket make an appearance.

Update: Here is the initial lineup…

Against Me!, Aeroplane, The Avett Brothers, B.o.B., Baaba Maal, The Black Keys Bassnectar, Baroness, Blitzen Trapper, Blues Traveler, Brandi Carlile, Calexico, Chromeo w/ Darryl Hall, Clutch, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Damian Marley & Nas, Dan Deacon Ensemble, Dave Matthews Band, Dave Rawlings Machine, The Dead Weather, Deadmau5, Diane Birch, Disco Biscuits, The Dodos, Dr. Dog, Dropkick Murphys, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, The Entrance Band, The Flaming Lips (w/ Stardeath and White Dwarfs) performing Dark Side of the Moon, The Gaslight Anthem, GWAR, Here We Go Magic, Hot Rize, Jamey Johnson, Japandroids, Jay-Z, Jeff Beck, John Prine, Kid Cudi, Kings of Leon, Kris Kristofferson, Ingrid Michaelson, Isis, John Fogerty, Julia Nunes, LCD Soundsystem, Les Claypool, Local Natives, Lotus, Lucero, Manchester Orchestra, Martin Sexton, Mayer Hawthrone & the County, Medeski Martin & Wood, Melvins, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Miike Snow, Miranda Lambert, Monte Montgomery, Mumford & Sons, The National, Needtobreathre, Neon Indian, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Norah Jones, OK Go, Phoenix, The Postelles, Punch Brothers, Rebelution, Regina Spektor, Rise Against, She & Him, Steve Martin with the Steep Canyon Rangers, Stevie Wonder, The Temper Trap, Tenacious D, They Might Be Giants, Thievery Corporation, Tinariwen, Tori Amos, Tokyo Police Club, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Wale, Weezer, The xx, Zac Brown Band

Here are other expected and rumored acts.

Now, buckle up kids! It’s going to be a long and wild ride!

Feature image courtesy of Ryan Mastro…

Tickets go on sale at noon Central time today at TicketWeb. Single-day passes cost $40, and three-day passes cost $90. (There are no two-day passes this year.) Lineup, so far, below:

Friday, July 16:
Modest Mouse

Saturday, July 17:
LCD Soundsystem
Raekwon
Here We Go Magic

Sunday, July 18:
Pavement
St. Vincent
Lightning Bolt
Cass McCombs
Sleigh Bells

Fresh off news on Coachella’s decision to tap Muse and Glastonbury’s love affair with Bono, the super indie friendly San Miguel Primavera Sound Festival (as it now is known) has unveiled its initial lineup for 2010. As it stands now, Pavement and the Pixies, aka the previously announced headliners, will be joined by the likes of Wilco, The Fall, Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions, Panda Bear, The New Pornographers, The Antlers, The Bloody Beetroots, The xx, Wild Beasts, and Here We Go Magic.

Primavera Sound 2010 goes down from May 27-29 at Parc Del Fòrum in Barcelona, Spain. Tickets, priced at 95 € ($142.50), are currently on sale. Hit up primaverasound.com for all the necessary details.

Last week, before their opening slot for Grizzly Bear at D.C.’s 9:30 Club, I had the chance to sit down with the band for a few questions. What was supposed to be a quick interview soon became a detailed tell all of the band and how this all came together so quickly.

This new record is very different when laid against your other solo records. What led you to this new direction?

Luke Temple (LT): Well, the irony of it is, this is a true solo effort, a true solo record because I played everything on it, where as my other records I used other musicians. But given that it’s a new moniker, right when I named it, it gave it this allusion of a project, a band. Its ensemble-based music so it made sense to put a band together around it. In terms of making the record, it was sort of a carefree process based on the inspiration I was getting at the moment. I wasn’t really listening to a lot of music when I was recording, and when I am writing and recording I don’t really listen to music much. Usually preceding writing or recording I’ll do a lot of listening. That will inform the songs I will write in the future, but a lot of times its hard to know specifically what was influencing it.

I was listening to Arthur Russell quite a bit before I wrote that record. I was listening to Ethiopian music a lot and Robert Wyatt. I was really digging some Ariel Pink stuff from a production standpoint, I thought it was really cool. I liked the really compressed, lo-fi, ghostly qualities. But when I am writing and recording I try to just empty my mind of any influences and try to keep it as “pure” as possible. It could never be with out it’s influences but I try to exist only with it, and not think of it in terms of its context outside of itself, so it just kind of happened. Now its turned into a band, and now we are becoming something completely different from that even. It has totally evolved so it’s exciting.

Now that it has evolved into a band will there be more writing from the rest of the members or will it still be your project?

LT: I am still writing the core song, but we will twist and turn it and come up with arrangements. I am keeping the writing really simple so it is more the ensemble treatment of it that actually creates the song. The songs that I am writing with this band couldn’t necessarily stand by themselves so the arrangement is actually a part of the writing process. The texture is about the arrangement, so in that way we are writing together, but we are so young…

Michael Bloch (MB): I mean we have only been playing a few months. We have all known each other in different ways. I’ve played with Luke before and Peter [Hale] (drums) has worked with Luke before, but this band as a band…it’s only been a few months.

So then how did you guys end up doing this together?

LT: I had played with Mike previously in the Luke Temple Incarnation. He played guitar with me and we lived together, so he is not very far ever. Peter, I had known for years in New York and we had always flirted with collaborating to some capacity. I always just really liked him a lot every time I would see him. We would always talk about playing music and it seemed like, what a better person to be creative with. I had seen him play in this band Trick and the Heartstrings, and they were this kind of garage, soul punk thing. Totally different from this band, but really great. I saw them live, and then it was a few more years before I ran into him again. I had finished the record and I wasn’t even intending on putting it out, but then I ran into Peter that summer and we decided to get together to play.

We ended up doing this modern lovers like thing, it was very stripped down and just rock and roll. Then I put the Here We Go Magic thing out and even though it was not what we were working on, it kind of took off. It had wings, and out of nowhere people seemed to like it and there were shows being booked and so we were like, “Why don’t we be Here We Go Magic?” At that time it was me, Peter and this guy Batiste who was playing bass, but at the time he couldn’t commit fully. Since we had these shows, I was put in this position where I had to put a band together. Batiste knew Christina who plays keys and she is also a song writer in her own right and so he recommended her to me. One thing led to another and we had a band.

Now we have Jennifer Turner (to the right, below) on bass. Jen had come to a bunch of our shows and was a really big fan. Even at our worst she really understood what we were doing. She came to me at a party and said, “If there was ever a chance that you would need a bass player…” and being that it was right before our bass-less rehearsal I said, “Why don’t you come in tomorrow.”

Peter Hale (PH): She came in and turned the lights on. Seriously it was crazy.

LT: It has all been very serendipitous I think. Right time right place.

PH: Yeah, as sloppy as we are, we are the anti-Craig’s list band. We gravitated in a very organic kind of way and had to get our act together very quickly because opportunities are unfolding. Everything is happening at a very protracted rate, but the way we attracted each other was really like, “You want to jam? Let’s Jam”.

So have you guys gotten used to each other on stage since everything is still very new?

LT: People seem to think that we sound very together. We generally sound together now, we are tight, we know our parts. It’s like an emotional transference, but I can only speak for myself. It probably has most to do with the sound really. We have been cooped up in this rehearsal space that has the worst sound so playing live in these large open spaces is new. We are trying to figure out the logistical things like knowing our levels so we can hear everyone and get into it. That is the thing that is the struggle, and I think that because we are only three months old. There are bands that are five years old that still sound like shit live, and I think we have done remarkably well in the time we have been around.

Before I leave, where did the name come from?

LT: Oh just my head. I was originally going to use the name for something else that I was working on, but something about the tambour of the music didn’t fit with the name.  There is a fantastical feel to it, psychedelic, spacey. I realized after that the name was birthed, it just waiting for its mother.

Here We Go Magic is currently on tour with Grizzly Bear until the end of June. As they trek towards the west coast, be sure to catch ‘em on this hip-as-hell tour, and if you’re sold on ‘em, pick up a copy of their self-titled debut via Western Vinyl.

Check Out:

Brooklyn openers, Here We Go Magic, garnered some buzz in the crowd, which isn’t much of a surprise, as their debut record is one of this year’s best. Having been written and recorded by Luke Temple as a solo act, the project quickly became a band out of necessity. Fortunately, instead of the new ensemble being like that first roommate in college, it ended up being like finding long lost friends. This made their live show very tight, and turned more than a few heads as people streamed in.

Temple and Co. kicked off the opening night of the tour with the wide-eyed and appropriate “Everything’s Big”. The song started the night off slowly, and with only a handful of tracks in their repertoire, the band was able to stretch out every moment of this song, and the rest. The music gave a sense of traveling as it worked itself up into a frenzied finish. “Pieces of Me”, the opening track from their debut, turned out to be much more explosive, and less tribal, with the keys grabbing the focus. The other big highlight from their set came from Temple’s falsetto with “Tunnel Vision”, taking them from subtle spacey folk to a “hey, who is that band” finish that closed the set with a big response from the audience. Not bad for a band who only three months ago was just two people and an acoustic guitar.

After a quick turn over, Grizzly Bear modestly walked out to a packed house. The set up was simple with each member lined up against the front of the stage, and backed by an elegant beaded curtain and a rainbow of L.E.D.’s to help paint the night. They kicked things off with key tracks from their latest record, Veckatimest, starting with “Southern Point”. From the get go the audience was in the mood to move which came off as a surprise since the music doesn’t necessarily lend itself to dance. Then again, songs that might be a bit sleepy on the albums grip you and pull you in with their charm. The band was a little surprised too as they made comments throughout the night about the energy level, although it could have been the cupcakes the club was handing out earlier in the night. “Knife” made an early appearance providing a perfect campfire sing-a-long moment. The audience almost jumped the gun on the opening verse which put a smile on singer/guitarist Ed Droste’s face as they drew things back, letting the audience carry the tune all the way through.

The vocals were spot on as Droste and Daniel Rossen crooned away on “Fine For Now”, and the Beach Boys throw back “Two Weeks”. There were lots of “I love you”’s and one “can I have your baby”’s (from a guy) as the audience begged for more and the band kicked into their back catalogue for a few numbers. For songs that could have easily been lost in a live setting, it was great to see them become more with the band, commanding the stage feeding off the audiences sugar rush. Chris Taylor took on his role as the bands’ multi-instrumentalist, juggling woodwinds and bass duties as on songs such as “Foreground” which all translated wonderfully. At the end of the night, the guys were called out for one last number that was picked out of the onslaught of requests. The winner? “He Hit Me”, which capped a long set that carried just over an hour and a half.

It was a great evening for music, one that brought out all walks of life, but no one seemed more excited than the very pregnant woman who treated the bar top as a drum kit the whole night (think that kid will be born with extra tight pants already on?). By the end of the show, all expectations had been shattered. Fans left with smiles on their faces and an appreciation for a new band that went above and beyond the duties of a warm up act. While Grizzly Bear is already at full steam, Here We Go Magic is just getting started and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them come around for their own tour as their record picks up. In the end, it’s just another lesson that you should never underestimate the opening act, or the headliner for that matter, too.

——

I sometimes find myself in the same position of these TV fans when I’m listening to a really good album. One of my favorite albums, Fiona Apple’s When the Pawn…, is comprised of 10 tight tracks that run 42 minutes. I love every moment of the album and always wish for another few tracks as the last note of “I Know” fades. Yet, I know that the album is as long as it needs to be. It’s not about less being more; it’s about the right amount being just that–the right amount. And when those 10 songs are up, I feel like she’s said all that needs to be said.

Upon listening to Here We Go Magic, the self-titled debut of Luke Temple’s Brooklyn-based project, I had a similar experience. It’s not so much that I wanted another song, I just wanted the experience to continue a little longer than its brief 38 minutes.

On Here We Go Magic, Temple dabbles in quiet folk rock, ambient noises, and African percussion-all filtered through the DIY lo-fi indie aesthetic that prevents the album from being a mishmash of genres. The first four tracks are the strongest portion of the album, serving up a nice cross section of Temple’s sound. “Only Pieces”, the catchy opener, asks, “What’s the use in dying if I don’t know when? / What’s the use in trying dying if I don’t know when? / There are only pieces of me / What’s the use in dying if I cannot see?” No, really, laid over some fast picking and hollow percussion, you’d sing along with reckless abandon, too. And after a pleasant four minutes, the track fades away as softly as it arrived.

The next track, “Fangela”, mines the harmonies and cotton vocals of 1970s acoustic rock in a sweet, if not enigmatic, courtship hymn to the titular character. The lite jazz of “Ahab” is almost jarring because you might think for a moment that Temple is about to start desperately jumping from one genre to another, ruining his good thing. Luckily, he grounds the track with his monotonous but fuzzy vocal track. “Ahab” stands as an example of Temple’s desire to create a consistent musical atmosphere because, even though I can’t understand many words in this song, it sounds like an essential component of the LP.

The aptly named “Tunnelvision” concludes the album’s stellar opening run of tracks. It’s a repetitive indie rock track that grows more distorted as vocals continue to pile up and the tempo feels more frantic, even if it doesn’t actually change. The song also marks the first time we hear Temple’s voice venture into the higher range, proving he’s not just a droning emo boy.

The second half of the album is still good, but the decision to load it up with more ambient tunes tips the LP too heavily. After a stretch of memorable melodies, the whitewater rapids ramming against tinny crashes in “Ghost List” feel misplaced. The album’s biggest flaw is undoubtedly in its sequencing. The instrumental numbers should be scattered throughout the album because I guarantee you, if this were a vinyl LP, few listeners would ever feel the need to flip to side B. The tracks work, but they get lost amongst each other. Luckily, a little playlist tweaking can solve the problem.

Luckily, “Everything’s Big”, the fatalistic closer, assesses the grand themes of life in with some silly lyrics and lighthearted vocals. You could’ve found yourself doing the box step to this in 1952, if Temple weren’t reminding you, “We stuck around ‘cause nobody wanted to die.” The lyrical allusion to the opening number and the track’s varied musical approach gives the album a tangible closure that’s missing from many albums today.