Sasquatch 2011

There were expected to be (and of course are) tons of stories about the Sasquatch Music Festival in the Gorge, Washington to fill stadium...or...amphitheatre. But instead of boring you with the details I'm going to encourage and even support your decision to make it to the festival in 2012. It is most definitely one of the funnest experiences. First let me tell you my personal Sasquatch line-up. Then being the helpful person I try to be, I'll give you some tips and hints for when you're ready to head out on the dusty road to the Gorge.

DeathFromAbove 1979
Foo Fighters - Dave. Grohl. Nuff said. Ok well not enough because I also have to mention that everyone in the band except Taylor Hawkins was wearing different colours of plaid. By accident I'm sure.
Dan Mangan - made me cry <3
J Mascis - of Dinosaur Jr fame
Wye Oak
Iron & Wine
Matt & Kim - was the biggest, funnest, and best dance party ever.
Robyn - Excellent large-stage DJ set
Death Cab for Cutie
The Drums
Fitz & the Tantrums - great modern motown-funk sound
Tokyo Police Club - made me fall even harder for Dave Monks, and realize he's my dream boy
Sam Roberts - circle dancing included at no extra charge. WTF. Thank gosh for my mysterious protector. Played an great set of old and new songs.
Cold War Kids
Flogging Molly
Gayngs - the most mellow and chilled out show of my life
Flaming Lips - giant hamster ball, and giant balloons? Why NOT?
Modest Mouse
Wavves
Young the Giant - It's alright. I don't mind getting a bottle cap to the head as long as it's kicked by the lead singer filled with 1000 apologies.
Old 97's - Oh yeah. I'll also take one guitar pick from the band :)
Chromeo - THE BEST SHOW. Front row, out of over 15000 people. Inflatable balloons and beach balls and what I can only describe as a water-dog as far as my-eye-could-see. Oh and P-Thugg/Dave-1 were pretty great too <3
Guided by Voices
White Denim - Surprise amazing and accidental set from a band I had NEVER heard of.
Foster the People - Is it possible to fit 2000+ people in a space meant for only a few hundred? When Pumped Up Kicks is involved it is.
Rodrigo y Gabriela - Guitar beats beyond comprehension. This is a duo to definitely look into.
Bonobo
Skrillex - Almost died, third row. NBD. I'm FINE guys.
The Decemberists - Had the best finale with "Mariners Revenge", where in the end the whole band died.
Wilco - A great, witty, and sad end to a great weekend


I didn't make a comment on each artist because, well every artist was just great live as I thought they would be. The comments are anything interesting to special that happened to happen!  If you are curious about any band/artist in particular please feel free to ask about them (as you know, I could gush for days about a set).


Now, what you've been sitting on the edge of your seat for (well for the past two minutes anyway):
Sasquatch Tips, Tricks, Hints and General Nicecities!:
- Bring a backpack as your carry-all of choice. A purse will not fit enough, and a suitcase/duffel-bag are not only frowned upon but also look like you're trying to smuggle a body.
- Invest in a "CamelBak" or like-designed water carrier. One water bottle may not be enough for the entire day. The water service station usually has a lineup about 40 people+ long at any given time, and the cost of water is ridiculous. Time spent in the water line takes up valuable dancing/meeting people time.
- Speaking of needing water for the whole day...be advised once entering the concert venue area there is NO re-entry for the DAY.
- The concert area is about a 10-15 minute walk from the closer campsites.
- The weather in the Gorge is extremely decieving and almost unpredictable. Except that you can predict it will get blazing hot around 4-7pm, and windy/very chilly and numbing once the sun starts to go down. This is another reason a backpack is a good idea. Wear shorts + tshirt/tanktop + sweater in the morning or afternoon, and bring an extra jacket or pair of pants + gloves for the evening shows.
- Carrots and Sweetpeas are a surprisingly popular snack of choice. Better than chips or candy that dehydrate you. They have natural sugars, are tasty AND won't give you high blood pressure and/or diabetes! Bonus.
- Either get a really good drinking buzz going before you go in the venue, go in to the venue late (and miss artists? What? Well thats up to you), or start saving your money now. Alcohol on-site starts around $8-9 for a beer/"glass" of wine. Sneaking of alcohol is done of course, but it seems like it would be pretty tough. They don't allow in waterbottles that haven't been sealed, unless they're empty (in which case you have to line up at the water station inside after)
- Be prepared to make soe friends. They will unlikely be the life-longers, but it was amzing how nice every person either attending the shows or working as staff were.
- Drugs run rampant. If it's not your scene, be vigilant and don't accept drinks from strangers, no matter how nice or convinving they may be.
- Be prepared to sweat, dance, or be injured if visiting the DJ-heavy stage, the Banana Shack. Especially later at night.
-Extra hint: want to make even more friends? Keep a lighter handy. You may not support smoking, but they'll do it anyway. Might as well make a buddy before they succumb to disease right?
- Also, and maybe most importantly, enjoy the hippie ride of your life that will fill your memory bank with gems.

Freezing Man Festival 2011

Last Saturday, January 29th, Freezing Man Music Festival came to Edmonton. When I say it came here...I mean it was born and invented right here. The first (annual, hopefully) Canadian version of the wildly popular Californian Burning Man Festival featured many electronica/dance/indie artists, and local DJs. These included Dragonette, Stars, Shout Out Out Out Out, Chromeo, Major Lazer, Broken Social Scene and Kaskade (who unfortunately did not get to perform due to illness).
I think that Dragonette was one of the most surprising performances to me, not that they were the greatest in my opinion, but that I was surprised at the lead vocalists engery. I had them pegged as a couple-hits-band, only on the radio because they could be. But I have to say their set may have changed my view.
Two of the best performances during the entire night were Broken Social Scene and Chromeo, two of the largest names at the festival.
Chromeo's music knew how to reach out to the partiers, extreme fans, and dancers in the crowd, while BSS's many members controlled the audience with their take on indie rock, with more intense instrumentals (especially during their last song, and my very favourite from them, Meet Me in the Basement, which has no vocals)

It was held at the Edmonton Expo Centre (formerly Northlands Agricom) and was completely indoors. The doors opened at 3pm and ran all the way until the wee hours of the morning (about 2am was when Major Lazer finished). It was amazing to see all the different acts in one night, and especially to see all the different fans that came out to the festival. There was everyone from "metal-heads", to "indie" girls, ravers, punks and everything in between.

Not only was there music to keep you entertained, with two stages: the A stage for the "main acts" listed above, as well as B stage for the local artists that would perform during set up and take down of A stage, but there were also 4 carnival rides that made up "Sustainival" - a "green" carnival, where the rides would be powered by such things as French fry grease, a fashion show, and drinks available from doors open!

The only issue I found was with the actual organization of the night. It was difficult to tell at first in which hall in the centre that the even was being held...and then once found we had to walk back outside in order to line up for the security/bag check, and then after get in yet another line for coat-check. Also, about 1200+ people were excepted to attend, yet the entire venue only had two places to eat open, one burger place and one pizza place. This meant that it took over 1 1/2 hours to get food, missing at least 1 possibly two acts. After paying quite the hard-earned money for tickets, and not being allowed to bring in outside food/drink, I didn't expect the long and tiring wait. With a few slight changes to this the festival can definitely have a cool (lame pun intended) future ahead!

Robots Need Love Too

Walking into the Student's Union Building at the University of Alberta was met with a huge line. We assumed it was to get into the Myer Horowitz Theatre where Dan Mangan was playing. Not only was it the long line for the Myer Horowitz but it just kept getting bigger and bigger every minute; eventually the line up went outside of the doors (into the cold, even though it didn't have to...).

There was a huge variety of people waiting to get into the theatre, much different than even the crowd at the Hollerado show. Dan Mangan is a singer/songwriter from British Columbia (home-gown Canadiana) and is regularly featured on the satellite radio channel, CBC Radio 3. There seemed to be a ":representative" of every...group... there: young indie hipsters, 20-something university students, middle-aged, and I'm sure some closet CBC fans. Since I had only recently started listening to Dan Mangan (at the request of my brother; he was also the one who wanted to attend this concert), it was really interesting to see what kind of crowd he attracted. Although, it only made me only more confused and reminded me to not judge a book by it's cover (or cover's characters in this case). Unlike the previous concerts attended in the same week, this was a "sit-down" event, but seating was general (another oddity that isn't seen too much when concert-going). There were two sections, a floor and a balcony, and we were the about 3/4 back on the floor (aka damn good seats).


There wasn't much of a set up before the first band started playing. A small band, The Crackling, made up of 3 fetching lads, started off the night in a very mellow fashion. This group is actually made up of members of Dan Mangan's band! It was interesting to see the (usual) drummer take centre stage and sing. There were only a couple of songs during this set but it should be interesting to hear what this band is capable of.

Next up was The Burning Hell, a band outta Peterborough, Ontario (something that the lead singer Mathias Kom mentions quite frequently, in a ). They make no attempt to hide their dark humour throughout their songs and the show. Kom actually opens the show with something along the lines of "Thanks for coming tonight, you obviously have no idea how depressing we are". In actuality the concert was full of laughter at their black humour and anticipation at what would come next. The majority of the crowd was laughing more than not, and in reality it was hard to hear the lyrics sometimes. The lyrics tend to draw from the darker parts of life and are the major part of this band, and the music seems to be part of the supporting cast. The band is actually made up of Mathias Kom and fourteen rotating members. This night there were two other members along for the epic ride. As far as I can tell each of the total fourteen members play different instruments, ranging from Kom's ukulele to Jenny Omnichord's (not performing this night) ...well..omnichord.

One song that stuck in my head even after all this time was "It happens in Florida", a dark and quirky love song full of uncommon similes.

I did end up buying their newest album, "Baby", because how could I resist getting to take a piece of this night and this band home? One major difference in listening to the CD, as opposed to the live show? A lot less laughter. That is not to say that the album isn't definitely worth a listen (and a buy, in my opinion), however don't expect their concert to be anything the same. Because of how the band interacts with the audience and the banter that is had within the band as well as with the crowd, it makes for a completely difference experience. But hey, this is a band well known for putting on a live show! Something they just have to live up to now! (Not that they have to try hard anyway)

Dan Mangan was the grand finale of the night, and brought the "musicality" (if it wasn't a word before it is now!) to the venue like the other two bands just couldn't (with their completely different styles). Althought his lyrics were just as captivating, the music and instruments played a larger role in his set, whereas with The Burning Hell the dark, moody, realistic lyrics set the tone. Mangan is definitely a softer-indie rock and the notes flowing out of his guitar and out of his band knew how to get the audience up and out of their seats (very literally during some points; Mangan invited selected concert-goers up to the stage to play instruments during one of his more popular songs, "Robots")
Now Dan Mangan put on a great show, no doubt, but it seemed like The Burning Hell stole the show. It was tough not to laugh along and savour the unique style of the "trio".




I had never set foot inside of the Myer Horowitz Theatre before, but it seemed like just the right place for this type of show. It is a sit-down theatre with a medium sized stage at the front of the room. I'd say it would seat about 200? But then again, I'm terrible with measurements etc. There are two floors as I mentioned and both are in the "U" shape, with graded seating so that basically every seat in the theatre has a good view/acoustics.I haven't been to many sit-down concerts, with the exception of Rexall Place (which is the largest concert venue in Edmonton, so not exactly the same feel...with 17,000+ people attending), but this venue made the whole night feel very cozy and intimate.


NB: I'm painfully aware of how long this entry took to write/publish/post, and I'm forever sorry! Won't happen again. It was the week of lovely concerts and this amazing one happened to be on the tail-end! I may be editing it, likely not though if more concerts start popping up. Like "Western Canada's First Outdoor Winter Carnival" Freezing Man! Tons of amazing artists like Chromeo, Shout Out Out Out Out (yes, I'll be seeing/reviewing them for the 2nd time in a few months), Broken Social Scene, Starts and many more. Also DJ's. It's gonna be fantastic. It's happening January 29, 2011 at the Edmonton EXPO Centre. Get yo tickets and maybe I'll see you there