Metric’s latest LP Synthetica officially arrives June 12th via the band’s imprint Metric Music International, but you can stream the whole thing right now at SoundCloud.

Update: The SoundCloud stream was inadvertently made available and has been taken down. Fans are instead encouraged to take part in an interactive scavenger hunt that unlocks a stream of the album.

The 11-track effort was produced by the band’s own Jimmy Shaw, recorded at Toronto’s Grant Studios and New York’s Electric Lady Studios, and mixed by John O’Mahony. Shaw describes the end result as “the culmination of everything we’ve done.”

Check out the album’s most recent single, “Speed The Collapse” below, followed by the full tracklist.

Synthetica Tracklist:
01. Artificial Nocturne
02. Youth Without Youth
03. Speed The Collapse
04. Breathing Underwater
05. Drums So Real
06. Lost Kitten
07. The Void
08. Synthetica
09. Clone
10. The Wanderlust
11. Nothing But Time

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

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Metric have released another cut from their upcoming LP Synthetica, due out June 12th via the band’s own Metric Music International. Following the lead single “Youth Without Youth”, the album’s third track “Speed The Collapse” is streaming below (via Stereogum).

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Synthetica Tracklist:
01. Artificial Nocturne
02. Youth Without Youth
03. Speed The Collapse
04. Breathing Underwater
05. Drums So Real
06. Lost Kitten
07. The Void
08. Synthetica
09. Clone
10. The Wanderlust
11. Nothing But Time

The 11th annual Austin City Limits Music Festival runs October 12-14th at Zilker Park in Austin, Texas. The lineup boasts Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jack White, The Black Keys, Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Florence and the Machine, Avicii, Bassnectar, Iggy and the Stooges, The Avett Brothers, The Roots, The Shins, Weezer, M83, Gotye, The Afghan Whigs, Crystal Castles, Andrew Bird, M. Ward, Alabama Shakes, and Childish Gambino.

Also playing are Tegan and Sara, Rufus Wainwright, Thievery Corporation, Umprhey’s McGee, Metric, Stars, Delta Spirit, Polica, Esperanza Spalding, Steve Earle, Patterson Hood, Gary Clark Jr., Die Antwoord, Big K.R.I.T., Zola Jesus, The War on Drugs, Black Lips, Los Campesinos! Freelance Whales, Caveman, Tennis, LP, Two Door Cinema Club, Trampled By Turtles, Oberhofer, Bombay Bicycle Club, Old 97s, Antibalas, Lee Fields & the Expressions, Father John Misty, Ben Howard, Michael Kiwanuka, and Patrick Watson.

Three-day and single-day passes are now available via the festival’s website.

There’s no better way to kickstart the weekend than with some fresh tunes. In our selections this week, we’ve got both great music and G.O.O.D. Music, including a teaser for Twin Shadow’s new disc and a remix from Kanye West’s dream team. If you’re more in the mood for some new discoveries, we’ve got those as well. Whatever your plans for the weekend, you’ll need these ten tracks to accomplish them; we are sure of it.

-Adam Kivel
Senior Editor

Beak> – “Yatton”

The latest cut from Portishead member Geoff Barrow’s Beak> side project, “Yatton” is five and a half minutes of impenetrable krautrocking groove. Rarely do riffs this skeletal equal such captivation, and it all gets better with repeated listens. Rock steady. Beak>’s new one, Beak >>, is due June 2nd. -Mike Madden

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Chief Keef – “I Don’t Like” (G.O.O.D. Music Remix)

One of the catchiest (if practically mindless) rap singles of the year, Chief Keef’s “I Don’t Like”– a song very much in the same lane as any number of thundering Lex Luger productions — has made a somewhat unlikely star out of the 16-year-old Chicago MC. And now that Kanye West and some of his G.O.O.D. Music buddies have given the cut a reworking, there’s no way the kid is going away anytime soon. Like some other G.O.O.D. singles, this one isn’t without incongruity (see Jadakiss’ too-coarse verse). But if Yeezy’s bars aren’t some of the most entertaining you’ve heard all year, please let us know what amazing planet you’ve been living on. Also, the Chi-Town pride is nice, but the D-Rose shout is, of course, less than timely. -Mike Madden

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Drake feat. The Weeknd – “Crew Love” (Star Slinger Remix)

Drake grabbed The Weeknd R&B bro Abel Tesfaye for the gliding Take Care joint ”Crew Love”, and now UK producer Star Slinger (born Darren Williams) has taken the track for a club-happy spin. Structurally, it’s more or less the same as the original, but Williams delightfully colors it all by adding some highly danceable nuance and slowing down Drizzy’s rhyming. What we’ve got here is another testament to Slinger’s versatility, as it follows dude’s also-dope reworkings of everyone from Childish Gambino to The Cocteau Twins. -Mike Madden

Drake feat. The Weeknd – “Crew_Love” (Star_Slinger Remix)

Metric – “Youth Without Youth”

It’s been a long time since 2009′s Fantasies for Metric fans, but their wait is almost over. June 12th’s Synthetica (from Metric Music International, in conjunction with Mom + Pop Music) is already living up to the demand, thanks to early track “Youth Without Youth”. The dark-neon fuzz on the guitars and Emily Haines’ knives-out vocals sound just as good as they did three years ago, and talk about “double dutch with a hand grenade” sounds just about right for this quartet. The title’s contradiction fits too, as Metric (as usual) sounds somehow simultaneously sugary and aggressive. -Adam Kivel

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Meyhem Lauren feat. Action Bronson and Himanshu - “Special Effects”

During SXSW, the New York rapper Meyhem Lauren recorded the forthcoming Respect the Fly Shit album, for which “Special Effects” serves as the first taste. The burly-sounding Meyhem and oft-clowning guests Action Bronson and Das Racist’s Himanshu are talented enough as is, but on top of that the track was produced by the on-fire Harry Fraud (he who did French Montana’s “Shot Caller” and Bronson’s “Bird on a Wire”, among other recent bangers). Together, these four have hammered out a silky slice of NY classicism that still sounds unmistakably now. You can pick out standout bars here, but truth is, everybody killed it. Don’t sleep. -Mike Madden

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Milo Greene – “Don’t You Give Up On Me”

After opening for The Civil Wars without an album to their name, it’s about time that LA-based indie folkies Milo Greene get something out there. “Don’t You Give Up On Me” is an early taste of their upcoming debut (due July 17th, from Chop Shop/Atlantic Records). The shambolic drums, twinkling piano, twirling guitars, and rich, multi-part harmonies, this could very well win over the crowds at Lollapalooza. Beautiful vocalists Graham Fink, Marlana Sheetz, Robbie Arnett, and Andrew Heringer somehow to manage to make a line like “I’ll dig our own little hole” sound romantic, belted out in majestic fashion. -Adam Kivel

Neil Young and Crazy Horse – “Oh Susannah”

Neil Young and Crazy Horse are getting ready to drop their new LP Americana, a collection of 11 time-tested standards including “This Land Is Your Land”, “God Save the Queen”, and this one, “Oh Susannah”. All told, the 66-year-old Young’s not-so-geriatric voice rips through the song with a ripe confidence that has us even more excited for the record. No way is the Horse kicking here like it did on, say, Rust Never Sleeps, but everything locks in with the rock-solid musicianship these guys have long since mastered. -Mike Madden

Redgrave – “Dick Moves”

The swampy, bluesy rock on “Dick Moves” is the first taste of Chicago-based Redgrave’s debut EP, National Act. Vocalist/guitarist Angie Mead’s vibrato yowls occasionally brush up against vintage Robert Plant, and drummer Stephen Howard holds everything together admirably, thumping out on the low end. While the duo’s only got shows planned in Iowa and Illinois for the time being, the power on this release suggests they’ll become exactly what their EP-title suggests-a national act. -Adam Kivel

Redgrave – “Dick Moves”

ScHoolboy Q & Tiron – “Love Me Not”

The pairing of rising MC ScHoolboy Q and Cali’s seriously aware Tiron (check out the dude’s 100 Ways to Save Hip-Hop for reference) just sounds so right on “Love Me Not”. That’s at least partially thanks to the freaked-out strings and soft thud percussion production from The Cool Kids’ Chuck Inglish. When Tiron gasps in the middle of the line “Even my homies see that I ha’ trouble breathing,” its a thing of genius, and the two trade notes about loving a fickle woman. While ScHoolboy’s stock is justifiably on the rise, this track should push Tiron along for the ride. -Adam Kivel

Twin Shadow – “Five Seconds”

Photo by Ted Maider

If Prince and The Cure ever met on a slow-motion dance-floor, it would sound like Twin Shadow’s “Five Seconds”. George Lewis is set to release his sophomore disc, Confess, on July 10th, and this early taste is full of Twin Peaks-y synths, chugging 80s guitar, and shimmering cymbals. Lewis’ talk of going straight to your heart is smoky and intense, and the whole thing seems to have a neon haze about it. The album is said to be inspired by motorcycle rides through Los Angeles, and it certainly sounds like it here. -Adam Kivel

In support of their new album, Synthetica, Metric will tour the U.S. throughout September and October. Check out the full schedule below.

Every ticket purchased for a headlining show comes with a download of the band’s new single, “Youth Without Youth” (which you can also stream below), as well as a digital copy of Synthetica and five Synthetica Reflections tracks, which will be delivered on the day of the album’s release (June 12).

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Metric 2012 Tour Dates:
05/26 – George, WA @ Sasquatch! Music Festival
05/27 – Bend, OR @ Les Schwab Amphitheater *
06/02 – Kansas City, MO @ Live Strong Sporting Park
06/12 – Belleville, ON @ Big Music Festival
06/26 – Berlin, DE @ Postbahnhof
06/28 – Werchter, BE @ Rock Werchter
07/02 – London, UK @ O2 Shepherds Bush Empire
07/03 – Paris, FR @ Le Trianon
07/04 – Amsterdam, NL @ Melkweg
07/06 – London, UK @ Wireless Festival
07/08 – Oxford, UK @ O2 Academy
07/14 – Montreal, QC @ Quebec City Summer Fest
07/15 – Ottawa, ON @ Ottawa Bluesfest
07/27-29 – Byron Bay, AU @ Splendour in the Grass
08/03 – Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza
08/05 – Montreal, QC @ Osheaga Festival
09/06 – Rochester, NY @ Water Street Music Hall
09/08 – Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore
09/09 – Covington, KY @ Madison Theatre
09/11 – Minneapolis, MN @ State Theatre
09/14 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
09/17 – Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore
09/18 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE
09/20 – Boston, MA @ Orpheum Theatre
09/21 – Washington, DC @ The Strathmore
09/22 – Philadelphia, PA @ Tower Theater
09/23 – New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall
09/27 – Orlando, FL @ Hard Rock
09/28 – Miami, FL @ The Fillmore
09/29 – Tampa, FL @ The Ritz
10/01 – Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
10/02 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant -
10/04 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
10/05 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot
10/06 – Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues
10/09 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Greek Theatre
10/10 – Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre

As previously reported, Canada indie rock institution Metric will release their fifth album, Synthetica, on June 12th via their own Metric Music International in conjuction with Mom + Pop Music. As a first listen, stream the album’s lead single, “Youth Without Youth”, alongside commentary by the band’s Emily Haines and Jimmy Shaw in the SoundCloud widget below.

[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/playlists/1881731" height="200" iframe="true" /]

Synthetica Tracklist:
01. Artificial Nocturne
02. Youth Without Youth
03. Speed The Collapse
04. Breathing Underwater
05. Drums So Real
06. Lost Kitten
07. The Void
08. Synthetica
09. Clone
10. The Wanderlust
11. Nothing But Time

Indie rockers Metric recently laid down a cover of Tom Waits’ “Strange Weather” for WFUV’s indie offshoot The Alternate Side. Singer Emily Haines plays to her strengths, avoiding the sneer Waits gives the track on 1988′s Big Time. Instead, she turns on the soul and delivers a haunted, sultry rendition over James Shaws’ forlorn piano. Check out the in-studio performance below (via The NJ Underground).

Lollapalooza 2012 takes places August 3-5th in Chicago’s Grant Park. According to Chicago Sun-Times, Black Sabbath will top this year’s bill, performing their only North American tour date of 2012. They’ll be joined by fellow headliners Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jack White, The Black Keys, Justice, and Avicii.

Other heavyweights include At the Drive-In, Sigur Rós, Florence and the Machine, The Shins, The Afghan Whigs, The Weeknd, M83, Passion Pit, Bloc Party, Franz Ferdinand, Frank Ocean, Childish Gambino, Miike Snow, The Gaslight Anthem, Alabama Shakes, J. Cole, and Metric.

Also playing are Delta Spirit, tUnE-yArDs, The Tallest Man on Earth, Die Antwoord, Dr. Dog, Dawes, SBTRKT, The Walkmen, Neon Indian, Gary Clark Jr., Sharon Van Etten, Polica, The War on Drugs, Doomtree, White Rabbits, Washed Out, Of Monsters and Men, Tame Impala, Bowerbirds, The Temper Trap, The Black Angels, Bear In Heaven, Chairlift, Oberhofer, First Aid Kit, and JEFF the Brotherhood.

The festival’s electronic stage, Perry’s, will also return, boasting a lineup that includes Bassnectar, Kaskade, Santigold, Calvin Harris, Nero, Knife Party, Little Dragon, Skream & Benga, Zeds Dead, Big Gigantic, Sub Focus, Porter Robinson, and Star Slinger.

Three-day and VIP passes are currently on sale via the festival’s website.

The Osheaga Music and Arts Festival returns to Montreal’s Parc Jean-Drapeau from August 3-5th. The Black Keys, Snoop Dogg, Sigur Rós, and Justice top this year’s bill, and they’ll be joined by MGMT, Florence and the Machine, The Weeknd, Bloc Party, M83, Franz Ferdinand, Metric, and Garbage.

Also playing are Passion Pit, Yeasayer, City and Colour, Brand New, Young the Giant, Portugal. the Man, The Walkmen, ASAP Rocky, Zola Jesus, Atlas Sound, Amadou & Mariam, Black Lips, Little Dragon, Calexico, The Black Angels, Gary Clark Jr., The Ravonettes, Of Monsters and Men, Kathleen Edwards, Austra, Tame Impala, Zeus, The Death Set, Freelance Whales, Michael Kiwanuka, Bombay Bicycle Club, Plants and Animals, Madeon, and Zeds Dead, among others. Check out the lineup in poster form below.

Additional acts and the daily lineup will be revealed in April, and you can stay up to date with all the latest Osheaga news at our Festival Outlook.

Three-day passes will go on sale Friday, March 23rd at Noon ET. Visit the festival’s website for complete ticketing info.

Photo by Justin Broadbent

Canadian indie rockers Metric will return on June 12th with their fifth album, Synthetica. It will be self-released by the band’s new imprint, Metric Music International, with help from Mom + Pop Records.

According to an issued press release, the band began work on the LP the day after their final performance behind Fantasies. With the band’s own Jimmy Shaw serving as producer, recording commenced at Toronto’s Grant Studios and concluded at New York’s Electric Lady Studios. It was then mixed by John O’Mahony. Shaw describes the end result as “the culmination of everything we’ve done.”

Stay tuned for an audio preview, as well as additional album details and 2012 tour dates. In the meantime, watch the video for Fantasies’ ”Gimme Sympathy” below.

The 11th annual Sasquatch! Music Festival runs May 25-28th at the Gorge Ampitheatre in George, Washington. Topping this year’s lineup are Jack White, Beck, and Bon Iver, with Pretty Lights, Tenacious D, The Shins, Girl Talk, St. Vincent, Feist, and Silversun Pickups, among the other heavyweights.

Also playing are Spiritualized, Childish Gambino, Explosions in the Sky, Mogwai, M. Ward, tUnE-yArDs, Wild Flag, Mark Lanegan Band, Shabazz Palaces, The Walkmen, The Head and the Heart, Metric, The Joy Formidable, Little Dragon, SBTRKT, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Alabama Shakes, Kurt Vile, Zola Jesus, The War on Drugs, araabMUZIK, and Ted Leo and the Pharmacists.

The bill also boasts Nero, Wolfgang Gartner, Deer Tick, Cass McCombs, Shearwater, The Helio Sequence, Gary Clark Jr., Apparat, THEESatisfaction, Dum Dum Girls, The Cave Singers, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Purity Ring, Active Child, Com Truise, Starfucker, Cloud Cult, Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires, Grouplove, I Break Horses, Trampled By Turtles, Said The Whale, Hey Rosetta!, Gardens & Villa, and Craft Spells.

This year also marks the return of a comedy lineup with a live performance of Portlandia, in addition to Nick Kroll, John Mulaney, Todd Barry, Beardyman, Rob Delaney, Pete Holmes, and Howard Kremer.

Check out the complete lineup at Festival Outlook.

Festival passes go on sale February 11th at 10:00 AM PT via the festival’s website.

The music portion of South by Southwest 2012 runs March 13-18th in Austin Texas. Today, the festival revealed another batch of 2012 acts, with Built to Spill, The Magnetic Fields, Stars, Metric, Thomas Dolby, and Delta Spirit leading the way.

Other newly confirmed notables include Lee Fields and the Expressions, Talib Kweli, Grimes, The Big Pink, Oh Land, Screaming Females, Dan Mangan, Gross Magic, Ganglians, Daughter, The War on Drugs, Blood Orange, Bleached, Suckers, Spector, Miracles of Modern Science, Ear Pwr, Beach Fossils, Prince Rama, Zeus, and Zorch. For all the latest lineup news and updates, be sure to bookmark our South by Southwest page on Festival Outlook.

Also, as announced last week, Bruce Springsteen will serve as next year’s Keynote Speaker.

Registration for SXSW 2012 is now ongoing, with various types of badges to chose from. Click here for all the details.

The thing is, it’s probably not worth the investment, charitable proceeds aside. Fantasies was a great indie rock album, sweeping from catchier-than-catchy opener “Help I’m Alive” through the low dirtiness of “Satellite Mind” to the bubblegum indie ballad “Gimme Sympathy”. It was an exercise in glittering, hummable indie rock, with Emily Haines’ sweet voice at its best. It was a brilliant record in the simplest of ways.

The remixes accompanying the album on Fantasies Flashbacks aren’t. While some of the versions here, such as the “Gimme Sympathy” Trashtalk remix — which combines elements of dubstep with electropop — are of some class, the majority pale in comparison with their inspirations. The Danger Denial Anger Acceptance Mix of “Help I’m Alive”, for example, replaces the satisfying, jerking guitar chords, fuzzy bass, and thumping drums with acoustic guitars and ethereal drones, turning it from something The Breeders could have been seriously proud of into what could be a B-side from Pink Floyd’s The Wall.

Really, there’s only one genuinely impressive remix: Kostiarapoport’s take on “Collect Call”. Turning the original from an innocent and relatively generic indie track into a pensive and slow ensemble of string and harp, it ends up being similar to a Final Fantasy or Son Lux record, and with Haines’ vocals preserved, it verges on Kate Bush territory.

But Fantasies Flashbacks, at least in its digital form with original tracks and their remixes alternating, is sometimes boring and definitely too long. With this one, it’s a matter of form: In 7″ singles, with the tracks divided, it definitely works. Still, Fantasies was a great album, and Fantasies Flashbacks is a good excuse in itself to revisit it — and get some new Metric material along the way.

Essential Tracks: “Collect Call (Kostiarapoport Remix), “Gimme Sympathy (Trashtalk Remix)”, and “Help I’m Alive”

If it seems like Metric has been supporting Fantasies for years, it hasn’t been that long. In April, it will have been years. Yet last night’s performance of the album track “Gold Guns Girls” didn’t come across as tired at all; one could even argue it sounded as alive and fresh as something that came, well, months ago. Also a plus was frontwoman Emily Haines, who managed to look pretty and tough at the same time. It is still my suspicion that her BSS highlights will always remain her calling card. Maybe when Feist finishes her new album, Broken Social Scene and Metric can join her for a super-tour. I know, I’ll keep dreaming. Enjoy the clip (via The Audio Perv).

Collect Call is the latest creation from music video director Christopher Mills (Interpol, Modest Mouse, and Secret Machines). Soundtracked by the Metric song of the same name, Mills says the film centers on the tale of a young girl trapped in “a dark dream in an alternate reality”. Wow, that’s some Inception-level mindfuckery. Don’t let any comparisons to Leonardo DiCaprio movies fool you though, Metric’s music syncs beautifully with the dark and twisted imagery of the film.

Enjoy the entire film below. You can also check out Metric out on tour with Muse through October.

Metric 2010 Tour Dates:
10/11 – Cincinnati, OH @ US Bank Arena *
10/12 – Columbus, OH @ Schottenstein Center *
10/13 – Nashville, TN @ Cannery Ballroom
10/21 – Quebec, QC @ Colisee Pepsi *
10/23 – Uniondale, NY @ Nassau Coliseum *
10/24 – Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center *
10/25 – Richmond, VA @ The National
10/26 – Raleigh, NC @ RBC Center *
10/27 – Charlottesvilla, VA @ John Paul Jones Arena *
10/28 – Atlanta, GA @ The Tabernacle
11/14 – Victoria, BC @ Save On Foods Memorial Centre

* = w/ Muse

The album starts off with a loud yell, “We Are Sex Bob-omb”, announcing the name of Scott Pilgrim’s band before breaking into a fast, three-chord garage punk ditty. In total, there are four different Sex Bob-omb tracks on the Scott Pilgrim OST, all penned and performed by Beck, and all of which flirt with post-punk and stick to fast, three-chord riffage with lyrics about girls, summertime, and other typical slacker subject matter, except for the old 1980’s Nintendo/arcade-throwback, “Threshold (8 Bit).” Unfortunately, none of the Sex Bob-omb songs really breach the surface; they’re fun a time or two, but aren’t any more than what you’d expect from a fictional-movie-band. Although, “Garbage Truck” with its thumping, bluesy verses and catchy chorus may be the best fictional-movie-band song since “That Thing You Do” by The Wonders. Regardless, the tunes play an important part in the movie and do a fine job at making the soundtrack gel.

Cohesiveness is a necessary quality to any soundtrack – it’s crucial to have great individual songs and string them together in a way that makes sense. The Scott Pilgrim OST does a fine job at stringing the songs together, for instance, leading into the T. Rex classic “Teenage Dream”, with its large orchestration and bombastic choruses works really well after “Garbage Truck”, as does the transition from “Scott Pilgrim” by Plumtree into Frank Black’s classic “I Heard Ramona Sing”. Plumtree is a 90’s teenage band from Nova Scotia, who are credited for coining the Scott Pilgrim name, and after listening to their track, it’s easy to discern why O’Malley equated the song with his comic book – the track exudes teenage powerlessness, confusion and most all, a happy go lucky brand of naivety that the movie will surely bear.

Where the soundtrack fails is in its song selection. The lo-fi surf punk of the Black Lips’ “O Katrina!” is nothing special, and the songs from Sex Bob-omb rival band Crash and the Boys, written and performed by Broken Social Scene, serves as filler to an album that already has plenty of it. The Beck track “Ramona” is pleasant, with its swelling orchestration and Beck’s lovely, arching croon – it would work great as a Sea Changes B-side – but its overly repetitive and wobbly chorus bogs it down. Broken Social Scene’s “Anthems for a Seventeen-Year-Old Girl”, shows potential early on with a soporific melody and a delicately picked banjo, but the track goes into a repetitive chorus for about two-minutes too long, and ultimately ends up as a neatly placed side note.

Not so surprisingly, the best parts of the soundtrack come from the old guys. The Led Zeppelin meets The Stone Roses track, “Sleazy Bed Track” from the 90’s Britpop band The Bluetones, is a distinctive and exceptional track, “Under My Thumb” from The Rolling Stones, with its depiction of sexual struggle and head-bobbing marimba taps, fits perfectly on the soundtrack, while both of the Frank Black songs are wonderfully blissful – the twangy rock ballad “By Your Side” is easily the album’s highlight. That goes without mentioning, the Metric song “Black Sheep”, performed numerous times live in the past couple years but not officially released until now, is a definite highlight – a distorted new wave track with a catchy-as-hell chorus and a sprawling guitar-heavy ending.

So the soundtrack doesn’t live up to the hype of the movie. Beck, Broken Social Scene, Black Lips, and Metric all add tunes that fans will enjoy, but they don’t produce anything better than you’ll get listening to their own albums. However, there’s enough blistering, heavily distorted garage punk and requisite classic rock, to keep even the most angst-ridden, slacker teen satisfied until the end of summer.

But then you get up. A cool shower washes off all the stale sweat you chose not to get off the night before. Remember that part about sheer exhaustion? You dress, gingerly walk down the stairs of your apartment, and grab breakfast at your favorite local diner. After all, nothing says energy like a healthy dose of two cage-free eggs and toast.

Upon arriving at Grant Park, the first thing you notice are the religious zealots yelling about how you’re going to hell because you listen to Lady Gaga. As you chuckle in response, you realize the blistering sun of yesterday has been replaced by a healthy dose of clouds. Your exhaustion immediately turns to anticipation and you race into the park to begin your day.

Ten hours (and 15 minutes) later, you’re walking home, having just witnessed one of the great Lollapalooza performances to date. And to think, you — for at least a second — had considered skipping the day and watching reruns of America’s Next Top Model.

Every person goes through this emotional roller coaster and every person — like it or not — has this love/hate relationship with any and every festival. You love it because of stuff like what happened Saturday night (e.g., Green Day). You hate it because of the morning after exhaustion, and you even end up making some absurd promise about how this is the last time you’ll put yourself through such a grind or that next year you’re getting a cabana. Of course, that never ends up being true because, well, of stuff like what happened Saturday night at Lollapalooza.

So when you wake up tomorrow morning, remember why it’s all worth it…

Saturday, August 7th

Mimicking Birds
adidas MEGA, 11:30 a.m.

Photo by Cap Blackard

The very small (yet sincere) crowd gathered around the adidas MEGA stage seemed wrapped in a mellow cocoon with vocalist/guitarist Nate Lacy weaving it all around. The trio seemed a little nervous (which is surprising, considering their 2009 opening slot for Modest Mouse), yet their acoustic twinged songs still plucked at the heartstrings. The songs alternated between sunsets (“Burning Stars” with its repeated mantra of “All we are is burning stars”) and sunrises (the eruption of “The Loop”, with lines like “Soon now her star will swell, bloat up, turn bright red”). With so many lyrics dependent on the stars, Mimicking Birds set left their audience with heads gently swimming in the clouds. -Adam Kivel

The Morning Benders
Sony bloggie, 12:00 p.m.

“We recognize it’s the crack of dawn…Lollapalooza time,” said lead singer Chris Chu, shortly after The Morning Benders began their “early” set. Under overcast skies, the shoegaze pop (if there is such a thing) provided the sun for a while, and the harmonies provided the breeze. Highlights included the funky verse/sunny chorus of “Promises” and the short, upbeat “Cold War”, both off the band’s new record, Big Echo. The voices harmonized stunningly, and the instruments were played well, but there was something that didn’t quite ring true with the band. Perhaps it was the “too cool for school” attitude of Chu, who seemed to try too hard at times to look the part. By the time he dropped the sunglasses and let loose, the set was almost at an end. The talent is there, though, and hopefully The Morning Benders will be allotted a set longer than half an hour next year. – Justin Gerber

The Soft Pack
Budweiser, 12:30 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

By no means is half past 12 really all that early. But, when you’re a musician, on the second day of a music festival, and it’s a fucking Saturday, half past 12 is an axe to the eyes, a weight to the head, and a major, major bummer. Frontman and guitarist Matt Lamkin would agree, who looked as excited to be on the Budweiser stage as Mickey Rourke did for his prison mugshot. But that didn’t stop him from pummeling through an assortment of material off his group’s latest LP. Renditions of “C’mon” and “More or Less” seemed tired, but Lamkin finally found his swing after introducing the band in the most cheesy, obnoxious way (all in good fun) and jumping into “Parasite”. The rest came natural. They even introduced a killer new tune, which goes untitled, but features a slide guitar and sounds very Doors-ish, a la L.A. Woman-era. Total win. -Michael Roffman

Rogue Wave
adidas MEGA, 1:00 p.m.

Photo by Cap Blackard

A scattered, relaxed crowd gathered for Rogue Wave as they eased their way on to the stage and tried to play, only to face technical difficulties. On the second try, with Steve Taylor still motioning for his keyboard to be turned up, sound gradually improved and sent the crowd on their way for a great set starting with Permalight‘s “Stars and Stripes”. The crowd started to pick up on the band’s energetic spirit with the third song of the set, “Solitary Gun”, as beach balls flew up into the air along with enthusiastic claps, causing vocalist, Zach Rogue, to scream, “I love you!”. When it came time to perform the very appropriate “Lake Michigan”, there was nothing but the banging of drums, teasing the crowd for a good minute until the rest of the band chimed in, lifting the audience into the most exciting moment of the set. -Lauren Guagno

Harlem
Sony bloggie, 1:00 p.m.

“Oh, it’s gonna be another one of those shows.”

Playing a show early in the afternoon is a challenge for anyone, especially young bands who, let’s face it, more than likely partied a little too hard the night before. When the guitarist for Harlem apologized to the crowd by saying that they had just woken up, no one was surprised. Though they had some technical difficulties early on, the band played through them and the loose, ramshackle atmosphere they created was rather endearing. Midway through the show, the guitarist and drummer switched places, proving that these guys are talented musicians, even if their music tends to get a little off key. While the crowd was sparse, Harlem kept their energy high throughout their 35 minute set. While none of the songs were particularly remarkable, as my friend put it, “they’re just a fun rock ‘n’ roll band.” Sometimes, that’s all that matters. -Carson O’Shoney

Wild Beasts
Playstation, 1:15 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

From the introductory electronic plinking and spoken word poem, it was clear that Wild Beasts were going to be one of the more theatrical sets of the weekend. Dual vocalists Tom Fleming and Hayden Thorpe’s operatic falsettos upped that gambit, much to the crowd’s delight. Fleming’s hollers of “Watch me!” over the marching beat of fan favorite “All the King’s Men” garnered matching howls from the huge, dancing crowd. “Where we’re from, everyone huddles and shivers and gets sad,” Thorpe remarked, lamenting the lack of a Lollapalooza in the band’s native Kendal, in the northwest of England. That might explain all of the pastoral drama, but it sure fit in even in the bright, midday sun. -Adam Kivel

Blues Traveler
Parkways, 1:45 p.m.

Photo by Cap Blackard

This writer grossly underestimated the audience that would turn out for this band’s performance Saturday afternoon. The biggest stage on the south side of Lolla, if not the whole of the festival, was packed with those eager to hear the jam band play their hits and deep cuts. Blues Traveler obliged right off the bat, marching out to “America, Fuck Yeah” from Team America: World Police and playing their most famous hit, “Run-Around”. Between this and the closer, “Hook”, the group played a solid hour’s worth of extended jams, including “You, Me and Everything”, with calls from the band and answers from the crowd. Two covers were also performed: Sublime’s “What I’ve Got” to big success, and Radiohead’s “Creep” which proved to be, well, different. “Wanna thank the Lollapaloozans,” said frontman John Popper near the end of the set. “Chicago, you rule!” Chicago apparently felt the same in return. – Justin Gerber

Warpaint
Sony bloggie, 2:15 p.m.

Photo by Cap Blackard

Shoegazy, psychedelic, dank; the four L.A. women that make up Warpaint may have only one EP under their belt (the solid Exquisite Corpse), but the controlled, tamed sound the group poured out onto the relaxed, shaded crowd sounded like a veteran outfit. “This song is called “Beetles”,” guitarist Theresa Wayman coyly announced, “It’s about your mind.” The chiming guitars, reverbed, dim bass and thundering drums sounded out songs that were simultaneously like a drug-induced hypnosis and a lithe dance party. The anthemic “Elephant” closed out the impressive set, with the telling “I’ll break your heart” looming over the stage. -Adam Kivel

Against Me!
adidas MEGA, 2:45 p.m.

“We got three hours of sleep last night… so we’re holding nothing back,” proclaimed Against Me! frontman Tom Gabel shortly after his band launched their mid-afternoon set at the adidas MEGA stage. By the time it was all said and done, Gabel proved a man of his words, as the Florida punk outfit spent the next 60 minutes dishing out ferocious punk rock, stopping only to take catch their breath. In turn, the crowd, already jazzed for the evening’s other mosh friendly entertainment, responded with a non-stop onslaught of moshes and crowd surfing. Even those in the back couldn’t help but offer a head bang or two. But, of course, mosh inducing was only one component of Against Me!’s set — the lyrical potency of 2007′s New Wave and the newly released White Crosses was on full display. In fact, the only real complaint that could be made was the presence of former Hold Steady multi-instrumentalist Franz Nicolay, who joined Against Me! earlier this year. There’s just something about curly mustaches and accordion playing that doesn’t really jive with lyrics pertaining to societal dissatisfaction and songs about abortion clinics. Thank god punks are so accepting. -Alex Young

Photo by Heather Kaplan

The xx
Playstation, 3:15 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

As Chicago’s hot sun baked the mixed crowd of fans (that being a mixture of “bros” and die-hard fans sporting black and white XX shirts), heavy drums and bass teased the crowd until Romy Madley Croft, Oliver Sim, and Jamie Smith hit the stage. For a band who favors playing in the dark, the sun certainly didn’t mix well (or help), resulting in an odd setting that slowly bled spectators away. However, for the fans who stuck around, they witnessed a tremendous and awfully tight set. Sim stole the spotlight, though Croft appeared quite comfortable whispering every once and awhile. Next time, an evening set at the very least? -Phillip Roffman

Grizzly Bear
Budweiser, 4:15 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

“Holy shit, look at all of you!” – Ed Droste (after walking onstage to a massive crowd)

Music festivals are tailor-made for bands with high energy, high volume music. Grizzly Bear’s music is the exact opposite. They create subtle and beautifully intricate melodies that can be easily lost on large outdoor crowds. That kind of music is always a challenge in front of thousands of people on a hot day. Just a couple years ago, the thought of Grizzly Bear at a festival scared me away – as reviews of their sets at Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo in 2008 and 2009, respectively, were less than spectacular. But something happened between then and now – they’ve figured out how to make their music work for a large festival crowd. They’ll always be more of a club band – but playing to your audience is never a bad thing. They slightly beefed up their sound and put on a great show for a receptive crowd. The biggest cheers came for Veckatimest tracks, especially “Two Weeks”, but the band also dug into their earlier work and played fan favorites like “Knife” and “Little Brother”. In the end, Grizzly Bear beat the odds and came out on top with a captivating show. -Carson O’Shoney

Royal Bangs
BMI, 4:15 p.m.

Photo by Cap Blackard

“Hey, we’re Grizzly Bear, thanks so much for coming to see us tonight.” -Ryan Schaefer

This Knoxville trio’s been receiving its fair share of press lately. It helps that they’re adding more and more fans by the week, too. (I can’t tell you how many shirts I saw at Pitchfork this year.) But, they deserve it. Dubbed as Tropical and Neo-Soul, the Royal Bangs may not truly have a grasp on their sound yet, but whatever they’re doing is fun. At times it feels as if it’s Passion Pit covering a Billy Joel tune (“Maniverse”), other times it sounds like a quick take on LCD Soundsystem (“My Car is Haunted”). At the intimate BMI stage, where hundreds of folks cluttered the forest-y area primed to dance and groove, the sound apparently was a major success. Let’s just hope any new fans don’t go home thinking they’re Grizzly Bear. -Michael Roffman

Deer Tick
Sony bloggie, 5:00 p.m.

Photo by Cap Blackard

Beard of the festival goes to Deer Tick drummer, Dennis Ryan, whose beard puts Zach Galifianakis to shame. As for the music, equally impressive. John McCauley, rocking white-rimmed sunglasses and a white fedora, brought out his road-weary pipes amongst the southern-rock music. Within the controlled chaos, stunning five-count-‘em-five-part harmonies could be heard that hearkened back to The Allman Brothers. However, I doubt Gregg Allman and Duane Allman ever locked lips onstage after a jam session like McCauley and guitarist Ian O’Neil did during “Electric Funeral”. The audience was highly receptive, and played along with McCauley’s sense of humor. “Because this [“28 Miles”] is our only single off the new album,” he said, “by default, it’s the closest thing we have to a hit single.” A good band to check out as the sun began to set Saturday afternoon. – Justin Gerber

Metric
Playstation, 5:15 p.m.

Vocalist/guitarist Emily Haines (sometime contributor to Broken Social Scene, with a mellow side project called Emily Haines and the Soft Skeleton) is clearly at the front of Metric‘s live show. She strutted and posed around the stage in the same vein as a Karen O, or even a Debbie Harry. The gigantic, pulsing electro-rock washing out over the humongous, elated audience. After the super-sing-along of “Help I’m Alive”, Haines tossed a “Hey Chicago, you’ve got to fight for your right to party” chorus into the middle of the pummeling, rapid “Empty”. After finding a pair of sunglasses tossed up at her feet, Haines swapped hers out for the fan donated ones, declaring that “this may be the only time there’ll be a wardrobe change in a Metric show,” her big, rock star grin beaming. James Shaw, Joshua Winstead and Joules Scott Key added a potent, crushing dose of rock for Haines to work with, making the seven year old “Dead Disco” ring out like a visceral, modern party jam. -Adam Kivel

Photo by Heather Kaplan

Social Distortion
Parkways, 5:45 p.m.

While older punk fans might cringe at the idea of veteran rockers Social Distortion opening for the likes of Green Day, frontman Mike Ness didn’t seem to mind. Sporting a tan, which showed off his glorious tattoos, and working off a voice that’s only become more scruffy over the years, Ness enthusiastically worked through the past hits and even managed to squeeze in a cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Under My Thumb”. It wasn’t a memorable set by any means, and in fact, eight hours later, the only thing that comes to mind are tunes like “Story of My Life, “Ball & Chain”, and naturally, their iconic cover of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire”. And while that’s not the most promising sentiment to leave on – especially since their next effort, Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes, is due out this November – it’s highly unlikely this band will have a problem maintaining its highly loyal fanbase. That doesn’t mean I wasn’t kicking myself for not seeing Spoon or Edward Sharpe, instead. -Michael Roffman

Spoon
Budweiser, 6:15 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

“The last time we played a show like this was Coachella – you guys are putting them to shame.” – Britt Daniel

If there is one thing that Spoon has been throughout their 16-year career – it’s incredibly consistent. Over that span they’ve made seven albums, and not one of them is a clunker. It’s no surprise then that Spoon’s main stage show on Saturday night was consistently good throughout. From the opener, “Me and the Bean”, featuring just Britt Daniel and an acoustic guitar, to the rest of the set – which featured a horn section at some points – Spoon kept the crowd engaged from beginning to end. The one disappointment that was on everyone’s tongue at the end was the lack of “The Way We Get By”, but other than that glaring omission, Spoon played crowd favorites from their entire catalogue, like “I Turn My Camera On”, “The Underdog”, “I Summon You”, and “Writing in Reverse”, even throwing a Wolf Parade cover (“Modern World”) in for good measure. It wasn’t fancy and it wasn’t flashy, but it was a very solid set from a very solid band. -Carson O’Shoney

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
Sony bloggie, 6:30 p.m.

“You should see how you look right now,” shouted Stewart Cole. “You look beautiful!” That “you” referred to the thousands who overwhelmed the Sony bloggie Stage, where fans hung from trees and crowd surfed nonstop – most of them covered head to toe in paint and toilet paper. Let’s break this down: Why were fans hanging from trees? Why were they covered in paint and toilet paper? Because Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros happened to be in town.

Photo by Cap Blackard

To say they stole the night would be unfair and unrealistic, but for lack of a better assessment, let’s just say they stole the night. How? Every song was delivered with so much enthusiasm and energy that fans never stopped moving. Not once. At one point, “40 Day Dream” brought about stomping feet and waving hands, keeping the ground in a healthy rhythm. The band had no intention of ignoring this energy either; instead, opting to get the crowd involved in more ways then expected, whether it was frontman Alex Ebert physically handing out tambourines to shake about or Jade Castrinos guiding us along through choruses.

Photo by Alex Young

It’s hard to believe that 10 musicians weren’t enough for everyone present. The cold, hard truth is that they weren’t. The fans just couldn’t help but want to be involved. So, in retrospect, the band was everyone present at the Sony bloggie Stage. Altogether, in this innate response to love and community, people both short and tell glimpsed a rare miracle. Once “Home” rung out, the ideal belief that world peace could happen seemed somewhat, believe it or not, realistic. As mentioned before, Stewart Cole cried out “You should see how you look right now. You look beautiful!” What we left out was that the crowd shouted back, “So do you!” It’s just a shame it had to end. -Phillip Roffman

Phoenix
Budweiser, 8:30 p.m.

Here’s a recipe for a good way to end day two of Lollapalooza. A crowd practically on cocaine or speed. Either one you pick. An overwhelming light show which could leave anybody an epileptic. Oh I almost forgot…Phoenix being the last ingredient. Although Green Day may have played 30 or so songs (clearly going over Lollapalooza’s curfew), Phoenix gave the crowd nothing less than what was to be expected from them in their recent visit to Letterman, KCRW, Bonnaroo etc. You could argue they added a spin on things, too. Let’s talk about this crowd, though.

Photo by Lauren Guagno

From the moment the band pummeled out “Lisztomania”, people went apeshit. Dance party would be an understatement, as it was a little more chaotic, so try and wrap your head around this image. Imagine hundreds of glow sticks (all resembling colors taken straight from Phoenix’s breakthrough effort, last year’s Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix) thrown into the air, dancing over the crowd, some exploding and spilling their colors out onto fans below. With this neon dressing everywhere, it was only a matter of time until it reached the stage, which it did, pegging Thomas Mars and the remainder of the band. Oh, there was sweat. Lots of it. And that was everywhere, too.

Photo by Lauren Guagno

Straying away from the setting and focusing primarily on the band, passion and energy come to mind. Passion in the sense of their overall message, which is to have nothing less than a good time. This idea came to fruition when the French quartet left the stage for a meek 30 seconds, only to come back and knock out “Funky Squaredance”. This kept the dance party in rhythm – there were even French flags! – and although they ended the set a tad early, you can’t say they didn’t try to keep things going. A cover of Air’s “Playground Love” went over well, as did their last song, the sleek mix up of “1901+1902”. -Phillip Roffman

Empire of the Sun
Perry’s, 9:00 p.m.

Empire of the Sun certainly know how to make an entrance. Their appearance at Lolla marks their first performance on North American soil and it was one for the record books. Not even Gaga, with all her fireworks and whatnot could achieve the theatricality that Luke Steele and company unleashed on the Perry’s stage. Any unsuspecting raver kids who didn’t know what was coming must’ve had their ecstacy-addled minds blown. Glittery dancers took the stage wearing large headdresses shaped like aqueducts and posed elegantly, with their capes billowing from strategically placed fans. Then the Emperor himself took the stage in his spiked headdress and chrome samurai armor. The audience was in awe.

A strong opening with Walking on a Dream single, “Standing on the Shore” led into the non-album thrasher, “Breakdown”, with Steele making frequent trips to the front of the stage to lay down some guitar work. This was not a predictable set. Yes, all the singles were played, but many were reworked, upping the tempo to keep the crowds dancing, and there was one song that has yet to be identified and possibly a new track. This show was glam performance at its finest. The dancing girls had at least five outfits and as the Swordfish Girls performed their own dance number, Steele slipped into something more comfortable. During a slightly faster rendition of the single version of “Without You”, Steele approached the audience and slipped into the pit of sweaty bodies, disappearing, but still singing and chiding on his fans with a cheerful, “c’mon girls.”

The tragic flaw of the show was Perry’s. It was a venue that could hardly contain the Empire. The stage, though well-equipped in lighting and sound, was built to house DJs and little else. Though the space was transformed to accommodate a rock set-up, it was still congested for Steele, plus his two bandmates and four dancers. The reconfiguration of the stage caused a slightly delayed start and the encore was only one song long and the obligatory, but sublime “Walking on a Dream”. You could tell Steele was disappointed to leave when curfew was called and the audience was disappointed to see him go. Hopefully this is only the beginning of the Empire’s reign in the States.

Photography by Cap Blackard

Green Day
Parkways, 7:45 p.m.

Christ, where do we start? Let’s go with the short summary: Green Day came to Chicago, lit off a couple of fireworks, and unloaded its two-decade plus catalog with smiles galore. Not good, enough? Okay…

Tonight, the Bay Area trio, led by a bleach blonde Billie Joe Armstrong – who should really take the Tonight Show reins from Leno – set the bar incredibly high for any headliners to follow. They did it all. Oldies surfaced (“Paper Lanterns”, “2,000 Light Years Away), flames rose from the stage, fans gave Armstrong a run for his money, fireworks lit up the sky 10 times over, and Jason Freese reinterpreted Van Halen’s “Eruption” via saxophone. That’s only a smidgen of what went down, though.

“Coming up is the Smashing Pumpkins,” Armstrong screamed to an adoring, swollen crowd. “Oh shit, wrong year.”

Quips continued throughout the night, including persistent demands for the crowd – everything from hand claps to countless “Hey oh’s”, which seemed to happen every five minutes. However, Armstrong intended to do more than just rile up the crowd, he wanted to turn the Windy City into a fiery hellstorm. Take for example, the event’s 10 p.m. curfew, which he sneered at, jovially declaring, “I say you kiss my white fucking ass, and we’ll play how long we want.” It should be noted that he stuck true to his words. They did play overtime – by 15 minutes, mind you – and the crowd did see his white ass. They just didn’t kiss it; though, a fan later did lay a smooch on Armstrong’s lips. Very funny.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

In terms of the actual performance, there was little room to complain. Sure, they spent a good 40 minutes performing material off of 2004′s American Idiot and last year’s sister album, 21st Century Breakdown, but to say any of it was uninteresting would be, well, a lie. Hell, they even threw in live rarities like “Letterbomb”, arguably one of the better non-singles off of American Idiot. Not to mention, when they started to dish out older material, they relished every minute of it, extending solos, working off bridges, and inviting sing-a-longs. At one point, they even worked through an assembly of classic rock riffs, starting with “Iron Man”, continuing with “Ain’t Talkin’ ’bout Love” and “Sweet Child of Mine”, and finally finishing with “Highway to Hell” which eventually morphed into one hell of rendition of “Brain Stew”. And, naturally, that led into “Jaded”.

But it wasn’t just the adrenaline-induced songs that sold this show. No, it was Green Day’s consistent charisma and charm; the sort that lets you know this band loves you, just as much as you love them. Just look at ‘em: Armstrong’s youthful smile, bassist Mike Dirnt’s silent humor, and drummer Tre Cool’s cartoon-like behavior… it all adds up. They’re characters, they’re entertainers, and they’re exceptional musicians. They cover all the angles, and yet they always appear to be trying harder. What’s more, you never feel left out. You always feel as if you’re adding to the experience.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

Okay, so the majority of the crowd were hardly out of their diapers when Dookie hit the streets back in ’94, but what does that matter? There were still plenty of old timers, all looking to find a solid rock ‘n’ roll show and hear their favorite tunes. Green Day accomplished all of that, without sacrificing any of their sound. They went the extra mile. That seemed pretty obvious when they dove into the nine minute opus, “Jesus of Suburbia”, five minutes after their set was scheduled to end. They also followed it with two more tracks. Let’s just say Mr. Farrell will probably have a couple of letters from unhappy nearby residents next week.

Eh, lump ‘em in with the minor few who didn’t consider tonight one of the best nights in Lollapalooza history. Popular opinion is usually bullshit, but we’ll weigh in with the majority this time around. Mr. Armstrong, Mr. Cool, and Mr. Dirnt, we’re not worthy. We’re not worthy. -Michael Roffman
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Gallery by Heather Kaplan

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Gallery by Cap Blackard

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Every year since 2006, this “island by an island” has been overrun by more than 50,000 people for two usually hot and sweaty days in the middle of the summer. The city I’m referring to is nowhere else than Montreal, and the event is Osheaga, loosely translated from the indigenous Mohawk people as “the place where people shake hands.”

And there were a lot of people shaking hands this year, as the 2010 edition of the Osheaga Music and Arts Festival may go down as the best yet. It may have helped that it was headlined by the most talked-about band in music right now, but it’s not like Arcade Fire were the only ones worth seeing at this festival as unique as the city in which it’s held, as you’ll read below…

Saturday, July 31st

Skip the Use
Sennheiser Stage, 1:00 p.m.

I wasn’t planning on seeing anyone right away upon my arrival at Parc Jean-Drapeau, preferring instead to explore my new surroundings before The Walkmen at 1:30, but I was immediately drawn to the cozy-looking side stage sponsored by audio electronic experts Sennheiser. Well, that and the band playing, Skip the Use, seemed pretty interesting. Their lead singer immediately reminded me of Kele from Bloc Party, who was scheduled to play Osheaga but had to cancel due to visa issues. This guy was French (from France), wore pink Converse All-Stars, and had what I’d call a caffeinated personality – He had people bouncing to his quintet’s infectious Euro electro-rock right from the get go. Also, the lineup for beer at this stage was next to nonexistent…bonus!

If you like stuff from The Virgins (the New York City group known for ‘Rich Girls’), give them a listen at their MySpace. (Anyone who are online friends with The Hives are alright in my book!)

The Walkmen
BlackBerry Stage, 1:30 p.m.

If you’ve never been to Montreal, I can’t emphasize enough how much of a “party city” it is, something I think a lot of bands discovered over the weekend, one in particular being NYC’s The Walkmen. I say this because singer Hamilton Leithauser and the other four Walkmen presented themselves as the very definition of the word ‘casual’ while the people they were performing for were ready to booze it up and rock from the moment they entered the gates. Leithauser spent the majority of their half-hour set (which they drove 14 hours for, he told us) with his hands in his pockets under the dangling Christmas-like lights set up in anticipation for Pavement. They used the brief time they were given to showcase tracks like “Victory” from their upcoming album Lisbon, and closed with ‘In the New Year’ from their excellent 2008 effort, You & Me.

Owen Pallett
Sennheiser Stage, 2:10 p.m.

I was looking forward to perspiring to Cage the Elephant on the main stage at 2 p.m., but they apparently had border issues Saturday morning that prevented them from appearing at Osheaga. I decided to head back to the Sennheiser area for some violin action from Owen Pallett.

It was a pretty weird scene when I got there. Pallett was already on stage, looking as if he was doing his own sound check, occasionally pausing to badmouth the technicians in the big white tent. A good 10 minutes after he was supposed to start, the overhead lights suddenly went on, presumably starting the set. Another ten minutes or so after this, his guitarist awkwardly showed up, who would later switch to playing some sort of drum kit. Although instead of beating them with sticks, it was like he was vigorously scooping ice cream out of the inside of the drum, producing a pretty unique and cool sound.

“We’re not a festival band,” Pallett announced roughly halfway through, and I’d have to concur. The guy is infinitely talented, doing things I have never seen before like screaming at his instrument to get an echo effect, but maybe he should stick to playing operatic quality venues where you can actually hear and appreciate his skills. The problems he was experiencing continued right through ’til the end, to the point where Pallett apologized to everyone and simply up and quit before he was able to finish ‘Lewis Takes Off His Shirt’ (from his first non-Final Fantasy album, Heartland).

Japandroids
Sennheiser Stage, 4:40 p.m.

Japandroids are a band I’ve been wanting to see for some time now. Aside from me having a fondness for two-member groups, namely The White Stripes and The Black Keys, I’ve also been hearing a lot of good buzz about these Vancouver natives’ live act. Their music had a supercharged, high-speed groove to it that I was really digging. Guitarist Brian King, looking crisp in a well pressed white shirt, said on more than one occasion how this was their last show for a number weeks, so it was our “last chance to dance and get $#@%ing crazy!” He gave off the impression that he wouldn’t know what to do with himself if he wasn’t rocking out with drummer and partner in crime David Prowse. (No, not the guy who played Darth Vader in the Star Wars movies!)

And a lot of people took his advice to heart, as I saw more mosh pits break out during the seven or so songs JPNDRDS played than any other set I caught at Osheaga. My personal fave was “Wet Hair”, with them talking breathlessly about how they “must get to France so they can French kiss some French girls!”

Stars
BlackBerry Stage, 5:30 p.m.

Even though I had just seen them a few weeks ago at Ottawa Bluesfest, I hurried back to the twin main stages for Montreal’s own Stars, paying little attention to the massive sing-along for K’naan’s “Wavin’ Flag” so I could grab a good spot close to the front. The crowd already gathered for Stars had to be at least two to three times the size of their Bluesfest audience, and band members Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan showed their love by continually hurling bouquets of white roses to their admirers. And apologies in advance for the pun, but these Stars shone just as bright during the day as they did on that Ottawa night.

One thing I thought was worth noting is that Stars didn’t appear to have “dressed up” as much for this homecoming gig as much as in Ottawa. That is until I realized Campbell was wearing a Metric shirt under his pale blue jacket with friend Jimmy Shaw’s face on it! With their charismatic, melodic-playing frontman encouraging everyone to put their “hands in the sky…feel that sunshine…it’ll be winter soon,” Stars blazed through 12 songs in just under an hour, many from their recently released album The Five Ghosts (including “We Don’t Want Your Body”, “The Passenger”, “Fixed”, “I Died So I Can Haunt You”, and “Wasted Daylight”).

Pavement
BlackBerry Stage, 7:15 p.m.

I feel the overwhelming need to come clean about something – I’m a 37-year-old who’s been an alt-rock fan since the genre’s glory days of the early and mid-’90s, but I can’t say Pavement were anywhere near my radar back then (and it’s not like I only listened to what was popular on the radio). So I can’t lie; their whole reunion thing this year meant very little to me, but I decided to give these self-proclaimed California slackers a chance, and not just because I wanted to be up front for Arcade Fire a few hours later.

Simply put, it may have been the best musical decision I made all weekend. I can’t expand much more on their hour-long, 17 song performance other than it rocked! So much so that I’m almost ashamed to have ignored them for so long. And they exuded a coolness that manifested itself very early on:

They had barely finished second song “Stereo” when for whatever reason, Stephen Malkmus got drilled with a full plastic cup of Budweiser (And keep in mind, Canadian beer is stronger!) The crowd collectively gasped, thinking that this was going to be the end of Pavement’s Montreal comeback before it even began. We all braced for the worst, knowing the city’s unfortunate penchant for a good riot.

Malkmus earned his awesomeness badge and then some by calmly toweling himself off and complementing his assailant’s pinpoint accuracy. He’s obviously a sports fan, as later he asked how Montreal’s Canadian Football League team the Alouettes were doing, and also dedicated “Fin”, the last song on 1997’s Brighten the Corners to the Montreal Expos, the much beloved baseball squad now plying their trade as the Washington Nationals.

Pavement definitely won me over. Good job, boys!

Arcade Fire
BlackBerry Stage, 9:30 p.m.

Is The Suburbs better than Radiohead’s OK Computer? These are the types of comparisons Arcade Fire’s new album have been garnering. I don’t know if they’re justified yet, and frankly, I really don’t care. What I do know is that the performance delivered Saturday night in Montréal by Win Butler, Régine Chassagne and their modern traveling minstrel band had wide-ranging appeal, and the potential to propel Arcade Fire into a new musical stratosphere. The nine people that were on stage, all playing various instruments at different times, created a veritable wall of sound that made absolutely everyone’s jaws drop and set our tongues wagging for a full hour and a half (unopposed, I might add). Arcade Fire are no longer a kitsch indie band; I’m thinking bigger than Radiohead, if that’s even possible…yeah, I’m talking U2-type popularity. Maybe not right now, but they’re definitely on their way.

I know they’re webcasting from Madison Square Garden later this week and headlining Lollapalooza, both of which will be huge, but there was something majestic and monumental about seeing them play what felt like a private function for 25,000 or so “of our closest friends,” according to the charming and perpetually twirling Chassagne. They were that good live, and I consider myself extremely fortunate that I was front row (just to the left of) centre to experience it all. I won’t soon forget the rush I felt when ‘Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)’ started up, or the explosion of confetti fireworks as ‘Wake Up’ brought an incredible first day of Osheaga to a close.

Sunday, August 1st

Galactic w/ Cyril Neville
Budweiser Stage, 1:00 p.m.

Galactic is one of those ensembles I had always heard great things about in relation to fests like Voodoo in New Orleans. It was a treat to see (And hear!) them bring their funk-a-fied trumpet and saxophone sounds to Montreal. I think a lot of early risers learned that dancing to this type of music is a fantastic way to work off one’s hangover from the evening before!

Still Life Still
Sennheiser Stage, 2:00 p.m.

When I saw that a band from Toronto would be playing on the intimate Sennheiser stage, I thought I’d give them a shot. And Still Life Still aren’t all that bad…inoffensive, almost pedestrian rock, but definitely not stilted. They fought valiantly through their own sound problems as well as the bleed from the nearby “Tree” stage. The lead singer and guitarist has the Sam Roberts look going for him, that’s for sure, which will make him a favourite of the ladies. Even though they’re proud to be from the East York borough of Toronto, he certainly knows how to endear himself to the Montreal crowd, announcing that the Osheaga city “beats the $#!& out of Toronto!”

Now that I think about it, I’m sure I’ve heard them on our local modern rock station, 102.1 The Edge. Surprised it hasn’t been more, although I highly doubt they’d play one song I heard, “Soldiers on LSD”.

The Gaslight Anthem
BlackBerry Stage, 3:00 p.m.

Osheaga marked the second time I’ve seen The Gaslight Anthem (the other instance being at Lollapalooza last year). I found it cute in a punk rock sort of way how singer and guitarist Brian Fallon (you know, the nice young man with all the tattoos) seems genuinely astonished at the success of his New Brunswick, New Jersey new millennium rock ’n’ roll band. “Let’s see if we can try to have some fun,” he started with. The thousands of us watching, clapping and occasionally moshing for the next 40 minutes weren’t worried about this in the least.

All niceties aside, that is a pretty badass stage backdrop they have, and their songs are just as cool. Pretty tough to pick one or two as the best out of the ten they played, but I really like “We Did It When We Were Young”, from their latest album American Slang.

The Black Keys
BlackBerry Stage, 4:20 p.m.

As I made my way to Parc Jean-Drapeau by subway, I ran into a surprising number of fellow Torontonians. When I asked who they were most looking forward to seeing on Sunday, nearly every single one of them had The Black Keys at the top of their list. They didn’t let any of them down, as the Keys absolutely blistered through a 10 song set dominated by selections off of their 2010 record Brothers (as well as a new song called “Chop and Change” from the Eclipse soundtrack of all things).

While I have nothing but positive things for the most part to say about Osheaga organizers evenko, I’m seriously thinking of filing a civil lawsuit over one of the best live acts in music today only getting a 40 minute timeframe in which to work their magic. I guess I can take solace in the fact that skin beater extraordinaire Pat Carney, soulful blues shredder Dan Auerbach, and their new friends Nick on bass and Lee on keyboards will be playing full sets at two sold-out Toronto shows following their Montreal stop.

And on a side note, am I the only one who thinks Snoop Dogg should have been in this “420” slot?

We Are Wolves
Sennheiser Stage, 5:40 p.m.

If visitors from Toronto were most looking forward to seeing The Black Keys, then the equivalent for Montrealers were indie sensations We Are Wolves. The friends I was at Osheaga with were adamant that they be one of my “must-see” bands. At first I started to wonder what I had got myself into when I saw three Gothish-looking guys emerge from behind the curtain wearing bizarre, kite-like apparatuses. Once they began their heavily distorted electro rock though, which I tried to coin ‘new age industrial,’ as there were shades of old school Ministry and their drummer STOOD for the entire 45 minutes, I was hooked. I didn’t know the names of any of their songs (then again, neither did any of mes amis), and I couldn’t understand many of vocalist’s Alexander Ortiz’s lyrics, but like almost everything about Montreal, it was soooo good!

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
Sennheiser Stage, 7:15 p.m.

You know how sports fans are always saying how they would want to see legendary players they’ve only heard about? Well for the longest time I was saying the same thing about The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. I would like to take this opportunity to state publicly, without hyperbole, that I can die a happy man because I have finally seen them in concert. I have been going to shows for twenty years, and this was by far the loudest one I have ever, ever, ever been at. I was on the rail, standing in front of a subwoofer, silently cursing that I hadn’t brought earplugs. (Not that anyone could have heard me swear!) The bass was so freaking loud that a bunch of us found ourselves huddling around a one litre bottle of water someone had dropped that was literally becoming carbonated from the whole lotta shakin’ going on.

Jon Spencer was like a runaway freight train hijacked by Elvis Presley. When he wasn’t shouting out the names of the next song at other JSBX members Judah Bauer and Russell Simins before trying to start without them, he was constantly displaying his flexibility by bending down on one knee in his tight leather pants, taking a breather only to yell “Blues Explosion!” as loud as he could into his mic. It was glorious, and it hurt to leave the scene of this musical car crash, but it was time to check out one of the main events.

Metric
Budweiser Stage, 8:30 p.m.

If t-shirt sales are any indicator of a band’s status, then Metric deserved a line to themselves at the top of the Osheaga poster. It seemed that every second person I saw Sunday was a pretty blonde girl modeling a white Metric tee with their stenciled logo and Emily Haines’ face on it.

Any celebrity she and her three male band mates have achieved has been earned, mainly from playing show after buzz worthy show since they self-released their latest album Fantasies in April of last year. For any American indie rock aficionados who may not yet be familiar with her, no reasonable facsimile can compare to Metric’s effervescent frontwoman. The only way to really describe her is as a little dynamo in high heels, her golden, shoulder length hair blowing in the wind while strutting her stuff in a glittering silver micro-minidress, singing her heart out on songs like “Black Sheep” and “Empty” as well as surprising with a cover of the Beastie Boys’ “Fight for Your Right”.

They also had the biggest VIP section of people watching them side stage by far. They may have been privileged, but they were pumping their fists as hard as anyone in the crowd to “Help I’m Alive”, and reacted just as explosively at the riff to “Gold Girls Guns”.

Devo
Sennheiser Stage, 9:15 p.m.

Having already seen main stage headliner Weezer at Ottawa Bluesfest two weeks prior, I thought I’d indulge in somewhat of a guilty pleasure and catch a bit of Devo to cap off what has probably been the best all-around festival I have attended since Lollapalooza in 1994. I didn’t think anything was ever going to touch The Smashing Pumpkins in their prime (before Billy Corgan shaved his head and started going cuckoo) on top of the Beastie Boys unleashing “Sabotage” and the rest of Ill Communication on alternative audiences, but I think we have a new winner!

I should probably mention that the Sennheiser-sponsored stage I spent an awful lot of time at was entirely “green” powered. Unfortunately, though, I never was able to confirm if that was because of all the Devo energy domes seen around Parc Jean-Drapeau all weekend. But onto their show! Playing up the music video pioneer reputation they established in the ’80s, Devo had a giant wall behind them spastically flashing images non-stop. A true sensory overload. Devo sent everyone home happy with new wave classics such as “Peek-a-Boo!”, “Girl U Want”, and, of course, “Whip It”. I’ve personally become a fan of their new album Something for Everybody, especially set opener “Don’t Shoot (I’m a Man)”, wacky waving inflatable arm-flailing tube man and all!

According to The Playlist, the score soundtrack is a grand total of 38 songs. While the soundtrack has Frank Black and Plumtree hits, the score may win the battle of sheer overall musical prowess. With tracks on the score featuring the likes of Kid Koala, Beck, Supergrass, Broken Social Scene members Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning, and Cornelius, top-notch doesn’t begin to describe it. Plus, there’s stuff written by Dan the Automator, Godrich and Beck, and U.K. DJ/mash-up artist Osymyso. So much music it makes your heart want to explode.

Enjoy the full tracklist below. Both the score and the official soundtrack are out August 10th, with the movie out August 13th. As always, stay tuned for any more details that would officially make this movie’s soundtracks even more unbelievable.

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World Original Score Tracklist:
01. Nigel Godrich – Universal Theme
02. Nigel Godrich – Hillcrest Park
03. Nigel Godrich – Fight!
04. Dan the Automator – Slick (Patel’s Song)
05. Nigel Godrich – Love Me Some Walking
06. Nigel Godrich – Talk To The Fist
07. Nigel Godrich – Rumble
08. Nigel Godrich – Feel The Wrath
09. Nigel Godrich – The Grind
10. Nigel Godrich – Hello Envy
11. Nigel Godrich – Mystery Attacker
12. Nigel Godrich – Second Cup
13. Nigel Godrich – The Vegan
14. Nigel Godrich, Jason Falkner & Justin Meldal-Johnsen – Bass Battle
15. Nigel Godrich – Sorry I Guess
16. Nigel Godrich – Roxy
17. Nigel Godrich – The Ninth Circle
18. Cornelius / Beck – Katayanagi Twins vs. Sex Bob-Omb
19. Nigel Godrich – This Fight Is Over
20. Nigel Godrich – Gideon Calling
21. Nigel Godrich – Level 7
22. Nigel Godrich – Welcome To Chaos Theatre
23. Beck / Nigel Godrich – We Are Sex Bob-Omb (Fast)
24. Nigel Godrich – Fast Entrance Into Helll
25. Nigel Godrich – Chau Down
26. Nigel Godrich – Game Over
27. Nigel Godrich – So Alone
28. Nigel Godrich – Round 2
29. Beck / Nigel Godrich – Death To All Hipsters
30. Nigel Godrich – A Different Guy
31. Nigel Godrich – Boss Battle
32. Nigel Godrich – Blowing Up Right Now
33. Nigel Godrich – Aftermath
34. Nigel Godrich – Bye and Stuff
35. Osymyso – Love (Bonus Track)
36. Osymyso – Ramona (Bonus Track)
37. Osymyso – Prepare (Bonus Track)
38. Dan the Automator – Ninja Ninja Revolution

Also, you got a question you’ve been dying to ask Cee-Lo? Wanna just tell Emily Haines from Metric how cute she is? Or maybe you’d rather annoy ECC with questions about whether it was ultimatelty Kendrick Perkins’ absence which led to the Lakers dominating the boards in Game 7 to finally best the Celtics? You can submit your questions to the bands via the official Eclipse Soundtrack website and perchance they’ll be answered on air.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse Soundtrack is available at Starbucks and everywhere now, and its cinematic counterpart is nationwide June 30th.

As Pitchfork now reports, the soundtrack will consist of 19 selections in all. Beck wrote original music for the SEX BOB-OMB, the band led by the film’s title character (played by Cera), while Broken Social Scene provided the sounds for the film’s other fictional band, Crash and the Boys. Metric contributed one song, “Black Sheep”, which is already available for all.

Also appearing on the effort will be previously released songs from the likes of Frank Black, T. Rex, and The Rolling Stones as well as Plumtree’s 1997 track “Scott Pilgrim”, the song which originally inspired Bryan Lee O’Malley to create the character and comic book series.

What’s more, Radiohead collaborator Nigel Godrich, who served as the soundtrack’s executive producer, also penned the film’s score.

The soundtrack will see release on August 10th via ABKCO, while the film will follow three days later on August 13th. A release date has not yet been set for Godrich’s score, but it will reportedly receive a digital unveiling at some point in the near future.

In addition to the soundtrack and the fact that it features Michael Cera in a fictional band, all you really need to know about the film is that it centers around Scott Pilgrim’s quest to kill the love of his life’s seven ex-boyfriends so that they can be together. The trailer probably explains all this better though, so that’s why we included it below.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World Soundtrack Tracklist:
01. SEX BOB-OMB (Beck): “We Are SEX BOB-OMB”
02. Plumtree: “Scott Pilgrim”
03. Frank Black: “I Heard Ramona Sing”
04. Beachwood Sparks: “By Your Side”
05. Black Lips: “O Katrina!”
06. Crash and the Boys (Broken Social Scene): “I’m So Sad, So Very, Very Sad”
07. Crash and the Boys (Broken Social Scene): “We Hate You Please Die”
08. SEX BOB-OMB (Beck): “Garbage Truck”
09. T. Rex: “Teenage Dream”
10. The Bluetones: “Sleazy Bed Track”
11. Blood Red Shoes: “It’s Getting Boring by the Sea”
12. Metric: “Black Sheep”
13. SEX BOB-OMB (Beck): “Threshold”
14. Broken Social Scene: “Anthems for a Seventeen-Year-Old Girl”
15. The Rolling Stones: “Under My Thumb”
16. Beck: “Ramona (Acoustic)”
17. Beck: “Ramona”
18. SEX BOB-OMB (Beck): “Summertime”
19. Brian LeBarton: “Threshold 8 Bit”

UK rockers Muse and metal legend Ozzy Osbourne will headline this year’s festivities, set to run from October 29th-31st at New Orlean’s City Park. Other noteworthy acts include Weezer, MGMT, Drake, Interpol, Hot Chip, Metric, Deadmau5, Florence and the Machine, Janelle Monáe, Jónsi, Street Sweeper Social Club, Jakob Dylan and Three Legs, Eagles of Death Metal, Minus the Bear, and Galactic, which will be accompanied by a yet to be announced guest.

Also scheduled to perform are Buckwheat Zydeco, Eli “Paperboy” Reed, The Airborne Toxic Event, Raphael Saadiq, Afrojack, Die Antwoord, Crookers, Innerpartysystem, Trombone Shory & Orleans Avenue, Toubab Krewe, George Porter, Jr. and his Runnin’ Pardners, Rebirth Brass Band, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights, and Voice of the Wetlands All-Stars. Click here for a listing of the current bill. In all, over 100 acts will perform during the festival’s three days.

Three-day General Admission passes, priced at $150, and 3-Day LOA Lounge VIP, priced at $500, will go on sale starting at 7 AM EST. Visit the festival’s website for more info.

Image support via Brett Bazan.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse opens with “Eclipse (All Yours)”, a group effort between Canadian synth-poppers Metric and legendary film composer Howard Shore. Metric has always epitomized the best of pop-rock: catchy hooks, charismatic live performers with energy to spare, and a musical versatility to keep things fresh and interesting, so their rise from one of indie’s best-kept secrets to bona fide stardom has always been inevitable. On “Eclipse”, frontwoman Emily Haines channels the thoughts and feelings of series protagonist Bella Swan convincingly with her dreamy vocals, and while its lovely but safe melodies do not reveal the delightfully raucous vigor of Metric, it should hasten their ascent.

Having previously appeared on the soundtracks to the first two flms, Brit space-rockers Muse return once again, but this time with an original composition. Although “Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever)” was not specifically written for Eclipse, its syrupy lyrics are nonetheless a perfect match. Musically, “Neutron Star Collision” is a composite of classic Muse sounds, and while unapologetic grandiose, the pomposity does not reach the excessive levels that made 2009’s The Resistance too much of a Queen tribute album.

A joint effort between Beck and Bat for Lashes has been the most intriguing prospect of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse since the soundtrack was announced, and fortunately their collaboration on “Let’s Get Lost” far from disappoints. Beck Hansen’s haunting vocals and fuzzy synths interplay with Natasha Khan’s seductive lyrics and uniquely hypnotic brand of singing so well that this match made in heaven is the strongest Twilight-inspired song yet. “Let’s Get Lost” not only represents Bat for Lashes and Beck at their best, it also reveals thrilling musical territory that can likely only be explored together.

While less morose than its morose predecessor, Eclipse centers around the theme of love and the internal and external conflicts that love entails. Songs such as Sia’s “My Love” and “Heavy in Your Arms” by Florence + the Machine fit that bill perfectly but are still more than strong enough to stand on their own without the context of a vampire-werewolf-Mary Sue love triangle. Cee-Lo Green, of Gnarls Barkley and Goodie Mob fame, is as soulful as ever on the infectious “What Part of Forever”, one of the more upbeat songs on the soundtrack. Unfortunately, The Bravery’s “Ours” combusts rather than sparkles under the light of the rest of the soundtrack. As the weakest link of the new-wave meets post-punk revival, the latest from The Bravery further proves that some things are best left in 2005.

Although The Twilight Saga: Eclipse may not push any boundaries or innovate the world of film soundtracks, it’s a consistent collection with a few obvious standouts that is certain to please fans of the film and the artists alike. Like New Moon before it, Eclipse is at its most successful as a crash course on indie music. With its collection of both familiar stars and artists on the rise, Eclipse is like a well-constructed mix CD given to that less musically inclined friend or family member with the intent of expanding their musical horizons.

In the midst of their 2010 North American trek supporting Fantasies, Metric brought everything a fan could ask for and more to Terminal 5 in Manhattan. Blazing music? Check. Seizure-inducing light show? Check. (Seriously, they must have stock in the strobe-light business.) Emily Haines? Double-check. The entire concert highlighted everything there is to love about Metric, and there’s certainly a lot to love.

Before the main event, opening act Bear in Heaven arrived but didn’t really feel like a good match to warm up the Metric crowd. Their electronic, experimental indie rock sounded more like noise than actual songs, especially since their shrill guitar was turned up way too loud. There were a few good parts of instrumentation here and there that had potential, but the overall experience was disappointing, especially after playing for 45 minutes.

Soon enough, though, Metric took the stage to the slow burner, “Twilight Galaxy”. With the stage covered in a dark blue light and the band members slowly taking their place at their instruments, it proved to be an odd yet appropriate opener. It let the group build up towards their faster-paced songs, but it wasn’t so slow that it killed the crowd’s energy. While Haines spent most of the first number behind her synthesizer, she really started moving during “Satellite Mind” and never stopped for the rest of the show. Throughout the entire concert, if she wasn’t stuck by a synth or guitar, she was all over the stage. Whether reaching out to the crowd, striking a superhero pose, or simply dancing to the music, she put as much energy into every song as the sold-out audience of passionate fans did.

Most of the setlist came from their latest record, with singles “Help, I’m Alive” and “Sick Muse” getting the biggest reaction from the crowd. It wasn’t all new stuff, though. The band threw in fan favorites from both Live It Out and Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? Out of these older tracks, the highlights included the intense “Empty” with savage guitar playing from James Shaw and the high-energy “Dead Disco”.

Every song in the main set felt like it worked perfectly after the previous one. There were no dramatic drops in tempo between numbers, but there was enough slowdown at times to give everyone a short rest. Haines’ tributes to the Beastie Boys (“Fight For Your Right”) and to fellow Canadian Neil Young (“Hey Hey My My”) both managed to fit alongside Metric’s tracks, especially the line “Rock and roll will never die” preceding the Beatles/Stones-inspired “Gimme Sympathy”.

If any songs fell short, they were “Gold Guns Girls” and “Monster Hospital”. While both were performed well, the former was sorely missing its backing shouts during the chorus and the latter wasn’t very memorable or a good pick to start the encore. Another problem was that Haines’ mic was mixed a little too low against the rest of the band, resulting in her being drowned out at certain points and rendering her comments in between songs a little difficult to understand.

Despite these small setbacks, the rest of the concert proved to be an energetic mess of fun. Both the band and the audience had the times of their lives. Ending with an acoustic sing-along of “Combat Baby”, the band members were all smiles as they took a bow and walked off the stage. It’s always great when a concert is as much fun for the band as it is for the fans. If Metric keeps up this level of performance, then the fun is just beginning.

Metric setlist:
Twilight Galaxy
Satellite Mind
Front Row
Help, I’m Alive
Empty
Collect Call
Gold Guns Girls
Gimme Sympathy
Sick Muse
Dead Disco
Stadium Love

Encore:
Monster Hospital
Combat Baby

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

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

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

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

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

Since we last talked, the 2010 lineups for two of the city’s biggest summer concert series, SummerStage/Rumsey Playfield and Celebrate Brooklyn (the same concerts with which we told you about last week) have been updated. And let’s just say your studio apartment beneath the nail salon isn’t the only place that’ll be heating up in the Big Apple this summer.

While SummerStage already had a lot of big names filling out the whole ordeal, there’s been a few substantial additions, including Gil Scott-Heron, St. Vincent, The xx, tUnE-yArDs,  and more, all of which will be playing free shows. The likes of Hot Chip, Gov’t Mule, The Black Keys, and The Morning Benders will also be taking part in the SummerStage festivities, however, their respective performances will all come in the form of benefit concerts to support the full season of free programs. So, you’ll have to pay to get into ‘em.

It should be noted that while all the shows listed (which you can peep below) are at Rumsey Playfield, not all are SummerStage shows.We’re talking pretty much about the Cake, Ween, Coheed and Cambria, and Broken Social Scene gigs. But don’t let that stop you from enjoying your summer and a group of awesome shows, including some by some band Pavement.

And while the sheer number of concerts at SummerStage almost eclipses the shows we think you’ll dig when compared to the 2010 Celebrate Brooklyn event, don’t you dare skip out on a trip to Prospect Park. Kicking off the summer extravaganza is Norah Jones, and it only gets better as the degrees in the thermometer tick their way north. Expect free performances from Sonic Youth, The Swell Season, Metric, The Roots, and Ozomatli. Plus, Passion Pit, Rufus Wainwright, The National, and The Dead Weather will be performing ticketed benefit shows.

Find a complete list of SummerStage and Celebrate Brooklyn shows below. Special thanks to BrooklynVegan for the through pre-coverage. For additional info on SummerStage and Celebrate Brooklyn, head here and here.

2010 Summerstage/Rumsey Playfield Lineup:
05/16 – Leon and the Peoples
05/26 – Coheed and Cambria, Circa Survive, Torche #
06/05 – Living Colour w/ Ebony Bones!, Pillow Theory, and CX KiDTRONik (3 p.m.)
06/14 – Baaba Maal, Mamadou Sarr ( 7 p.m.)
06/15 – John Butler Trio, State Radio (6:30 p.m.) #
06/19 – Meshell Ndegeocello (NYC LGBT Pride Rally) (4 p.m.)
06/23 – Stanley Clarke ft. Hiromi, McCoy Tyner Quartet w/ Ravi Coltrane, Esperanza Spalding, Francisco Mela (CareFusionJazz Festival) ( 7 p.m.)
06/26 – Tinariwen (3 p.m.)
06/27 – Gil Scott Heron (3 p.m.)
06/30 – Def Poetry Jam ft. Carlos Andres Gomez and others ( 7 p.m.)
07/25 – Bassekou Kouyate, Fool’s Gold (3 p.m.)
07/26 – The Flaming Lips (7 p.m.) #
07/27 – The Black Keys w/ The Morning Benders (6:30 p.m.) #
07/28 – The Black Keys w/ The Morning Benders (6:30 p.m.) #
07/31 – Los Amigos Invisibles (3 p.m.)
08/01 – St. Vincent w/ tUnE-yArDs and Basia Bulat (3 p.m.)
08/04 – Hot Chip w/ Hercules and Love Affair, Holy Ghost! (6:30 p.m.) #
08/08 – The xx w/ CHairlift and Jack Peñate (7 p.m.)
08/11 – Gov’t Mule (6 p.m.) #
08/15 – Public Enemy w/ 7th Octave and Blitz the Ambassador (3 p.m.)
08/22 – The Specials (3 p.m.)
09/16 – Cake #
09/17 – Ween #
09/18 – Broken Social Scene #
09/21 – Pavement (7 p.m.) #
09/22 – Pavement #
09/23 – Pavement w/ Slothbear #
09/24 – Pavement #

2010 Celebrate Brooklyn Lineup:
06/09 – Norah Jones (Opening Night Gala) (8 p.m.)
06/29 – Passion Pit w/ Tokoy Police Club (Benefit Show) (7:30 p.m.) #
07/09 – Ozomatli w/ Fidel Nadal and Toy Selectah (Bud Light Latin Music Series) (8 p.m.)
07/20 – Rufus Wainwright (Benefit Show) (7 p.m.) #
07/27 – The National w/ Beach House (Benefit Show) (7:30 p.m.) #
07/30 – The Swell Season, The Low Anthem (Bud Light Music Series) (7:30 p.m.)
07/31 – Sonic Youth w/ Grass Widow and Talk Normal (7 p.m.)
08/03 – The Dead Weather (Benefit Show) (7 p.m.) #
08/05 – Metric w/ Joan as Police Woman and Holly Miranda ( 7p.m.)
08/07 – Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, Budos Band and more (7 p.m.)

# = Ticketed show, aka it will cost you money. For tixs, head here for SummerStage and here for Celebrate Brooklyn.

Beginning in May, Bear in Heaven will be on tour with a couple notable acts who should satisfy even the most finicky of bad joke lovers (I can’t be the only one!). Starting May 16th in the town that they call home, Bear in Heaven will hit the road with recent Juno star Metric, then chase it with dates with Twin Sister, which is a totally different act than Kid Sister (am I the only one who has made this mistake?). This continuing adventure will include stops at the Pitchfork Festival and Green Man Festival, proving that hard work and dedication actually do pay off. Kids take note. Of course, this may defeat the purpose of forming a rock band for most of you. Don’t worry, I’m sure the work and dedication is greatly trumped by the designer drugs and anonymous sex.

Bear In Heaven 2010 Tour Dates:
05/16 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5 *
05/18 – Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall *
05/19 – Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues *
05/20 – Chicago, IL @ Vic Theater *
06/24 – Portland, ME @ Space
06/25 – Winooski, VT @ The Monkey House
06/26 – Buffalo, NY @ Big Orbit’s Soundlab
06/27 – Hamden, CT @ The Space
07/09 – New York, NY @ Pier 17 #
07/10 – Ottawa, ON @ Ottawa Bluesfest
07/13 – Cambridge, MA @ TT The Bear’s Place ^
07/15 – Toronto, ON @ El Mocambo ^
07/16 – Ann Arbor, MI @ The Blind Big ^
07/17 – Chicago, IL @ Pitchfork Music Festival
07/19 – Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon ^
07/20 – St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club ^
07/21 – Fargo, ND @ The Aquarium
07/24 – Vancouver, BC @ The Biltmore Cabaret ^
07/25 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir ^
07/26 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop ^
07/27 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo ^
07/29 – Denver, CO @ Hi Dive ^
07/30 – Lawrence, KS @ Replay Lounge ^
07/31 – St. Louis, MO @ The Luminary Center for the Arts ^
08/02 – Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop ^
08/08 – Katowice, PL @ OFF Festival
08/11 – Oslo, NO @ Blaa (Oya Club Night)
08/21 – London, UK @ X0Y0
08/22 – Powys, UK @ Green Man Festival
09/09-11 – Raleigh, NC @ Hopscotch Music Festival

* = w/ Metric
# = w/ Zola Jesus
^ = w/ Twin Sister

Passion Pit will help Muse kick off its new leg on September 22nd in San Diego and will remain with the U.K. outfit until October 8th. After a two week pause, Muse will resume its travels, this time with Metric serving as openers. As of now, the tour is set to wrap up on November 6th in Cincinnati.

All but two of these newly announced dates will go onsale starting Saturday, April 24th via Ticketmaster.com. Tickets for Charlottesville, VA and St. Louis, MO will be available on Friday, April 23rd.

Muse 2010 Tour Dates:
04/20 – Mexico City, MX @ Foro Sol
05/27 – Lisbon, PT @ Rock In Rio
06/02 – Bern, CH @ Stade de Suisse
06/05 – Nurburg, DE @ Rock Am Ring
06/06 – Nuremberg, DE @ Rock Im Park
06/08 – Milan, IT @ San Siro
06/11 – Paris, FR @ Stade de France
06/12 – Paris, FR @ Stade de France
06/16 – Madrid, ES @ Estadio Vicente Calderon
06/19 – Nijmegen, NL @ Goffertpark
06/26 – Pilton, UK @ Glastonbury Festival
06/29 – Arendel, NO @ Hove Festival
07/01 – Werchter, BE @ Rock Werchter
07/03 – Roskilde, DK @ Roskilde Festival
07/09 – Kinross, UK @ T in the Park
07/10 – Punchestown, IE @ Oxegen
07/15 – Carhaix, FR @ Vieilles Charrues
07/19 – Helsinki, FI @ Kaisaniemi Park
07/21 – Stockholm, SE @ Zinkensadamms IP
07/13 – Bergen, NO @ Bergenhus Festning
07/30-08/01 – Niigata Prefecture, JP @ Fuji Rock Festival
08/01 – Icheon City, KR @ Jisan Valley Rock Festival
08/15 – Budapest, HR @ Sziget Festival
08/19 – St. Poelten, AT @ Frequency Festival
08/21 – Krakow, PL @ Coke Live Festival
09/04 – Manchester, UK @ Lancashire County Cricket Ground
09/10 – London, UK @ Wembley Stadium
09/11 – London, UK @ Wembley Stadium
09/22 – San Diego, CA @ Viejas Arena ^
09/23 – Anaheim, CA @ Honda Center ^
09/25 – Los Angeles, CA @ Staples Center ^
10/01 – Rio Rancho, NM @ Santa Ana Star Center ^
10/02 – Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center ^
10/05 – Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center ^
10/06 – Milwaukee, WI @ Bradley Center ^
10/08 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Ford Center ^
10/21 – Quebec City, QC @ Pepsi Coliseum *
10/27 – Chalottesville, VA @ John Paul Jones Arena *
11/02 – Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center *
11/03 – St. Louis, MO @ Scotttrade Center *
11/05 – Columbus, OH @ Value City Arena *
11/06 – Cincinnati, OH @ US Bank Arena *

^ = w/ Passion Pit
* = w/ Metric

The current trek consists of 14 dates with plenty of gaps for more to come. Of particular note is the lack of anything between October 9th and 10th, which happens to be the same time as this year’s Austin City Limits Music Festival. Just saying. Also included is a date in Denver, CO on October 2nd, which replaces a previously scheduled date that was postponed during the spring leg of the band’s tour.

Update: Passion Pit and Metric will serve as the tour’s openers, however, who will play when has not yet been detailed.

All but two of these newly announced dates will go onsale starting Saturday, April 24th via Ticketmaster.com. Tickets for Charlottesville, VA and St. Louis, MO will be available on Friday, April 23rd. A Muse fan pre-sale will be available for all these dates on Wednesday, April 21st.

As for a preview? Might I suggest reading this review and/or watching the video below, which is of “Starlight” from Coachella.

Muse 2010 Tour Dates:
04/20 – Mexico City, MX @ Foro Sol
05/27 – Lisbon, PT @ Rock In Rio
06/02 – Bern, CH @ Stade de Suisse
06/05 – Nurburg, DE @ Rock Am Ring
06/06 – Nuremberg, DE @ Rock Im Park
06/08 – Milan, IT @ San Siro
06/11 – Paris, FR @ Stade de France
06/12 – Paris, FR @ Stade de France
06/16 – Madrid, ES @ Estadio Vicente Calderon
06/19 – Nijmegen, NL @ Goffertpark
06/26 – Pilton, UK @ Glastonbury Festival
06/29 – Arendel, NO @ Hove Festival
07/01 – Werchter, BE @ Rock Werchter
07/03 – Roskilde, DK @ Roskilde Festival
07/09 – Kinross, UK @ T in the Park
07/10 – Punchestown, IE @ Oxegen
07/15 – Carhaix, FR @ Vieilles Charrues
07/19 – Helsinki, FI @ Kaisaniemi Park
07/21 – Stockholm, SE @ Zinkensadamms IP
07/13 – Bergen, NO @ Bergenhus Festning
07/30-08/01 – Niigata Prefecture, JP @ Fuji Rock Festival
08/01 – Icheon City, KR @ Jisan Valley Rock Festival
08/15 – Budapest, HR @ Sziget Festival
08/19 – St. Poelten, AT @ Frequency Festival
08/21 – Krakow, PL @ Coke Live Festival
09/04 – Manchester, UK @ Lancashire County Cricket Ground
09/10 – London, UK @ Wembley Stadium
09/11 – London, UK @ Wembley Stadium
09/22 – San Diego, CA @ Viejas Arena
09/23 – Anaheim, CA @ Honda Center
09/25 – Los Angeles, CA @ Staples Center
10/01 – Rio Rancho, NM @ Santa Ana Star Center
10/02 – Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center
10/05 – Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center
10/06 – Milwaukee, WI @ Bradley Center
10/08 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Ford Center
10/21 – Quebec City, QC @ Pepsi Coliseum
10/27 – Chalottesville, VA @ John Paul Jones Arena
11/02 – Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center
11/03 – St. Louis, MO @ Scotttrade Center
11/05 – Columbus, OH @ Value City Arena
11/06 – Cincinnati, OH @ US Bank Arena