The Sasquatch! 2011 Lineup is Here!
A larger version of this poster can be viewed at The Portland Mercury
Music fans of the Pacific Northwest are in for a treat this Memorial Day weekend, as the 10th anniversary of the Sasquatch! Music Festival in Gorge, Washington promises a myriad of musical legends, as well as your favorite indie bands. Sasquatch! will be so big this year, the festival will be four days long instead of the usual three. The lineup was announced last night in Seattle - here's a look at some of the bands who will be in attendance this year.
The Big Names
Foo Fighters: This Seattle-based band was confirmed a few months ago as this year's major Sasquatch! headliner. No doubt they'll play the last day of the festival, Monday, May 30, on the main stage, so diehard Foo fans will be smart as to not overexert themselves before their favorite band performs. In the meantime, Dave Grohl and the guys will release their new album on April 12, giving fans ample time to learn the new tunes.
Modest Mouse: Another big-name band with Washington roots, Modest Mouse hit mainstream success with the top-40 single "Float On" and a Grammy nomination for Good News For People Who Love Bad News. Not much has been happening lately with the group, but I suspect the opportunity to play the 10th anniversary of Sasquatch! was too good to pass up - they played the festival in 2003, 2005 and 2008. Let's hope this sparks more activity at the Modest Mouse camp!
2010's Last Weekend Playlist
As we welcome the new year, BestNewBands.com would like to take one last look at the magical, music-filled year that was 2010.
photo credit: Jesse Diener-Bennett
“Babies” - Via Audio
Jesse Diener-Bennett caught Via Audio in concert earlier this month, and had this to say:
“Via Audio ended their set with ‘Babies,’ which features the band at their funkiest. The song starts with a long, upward swooping synth chord, with which the members of the band – along with a few brave souls in the audience – raised their arms up. Then they brought them down and played the hell out of the song. It was a great ending to a really fantastic performance.”
Read the rest of Jesse’s review here.
“Babies” was also voted Best Song of 2010.
Bye Bye, As Tall As Lions
Three months ago, As Tall As Lions fans were devastated when the band announced they were calling it quits. They says the split is “amicable,” but nevertheless the news was the shock to all of us. The band will continue making music, just not all together. Singer Dan Nigro is working on his own project, called Blocks, while other members Cliff, Julio and Saen will keep making music in their experimental band Kilimanjaro. But if you enjoy As Tall As Lions as they are, then you have three chances left to see them. Tonight at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston and tomorrow and Wednesday at the Highline Ballroom in NYC will be ATAL’s three day long swan song of shows.
As Tall As Lions’ musical repertoire dates back to 2002, when they self released their debut EP, Blood and Aphorisms. And now 3 full-lengths and 2 more EP’s later, the band feel they’ve made their melodious mark on the industry.
Best Venues of 2010
Voting for the Best Venues of 2010 has closed, but here’s a look at some of the nominees from the category.
El Rey Theatre - Los Angeles, CA
Earlier this month, Claire Gallagher caught “adorable” Kina Grannis at the El Rey.
Claire wrote, “Kina began her set around 10 to a roar of applause from a very excited and supportive audience. The stage looked deep and cavernous and made Kina seem tiny…pixie-like. Dust swirled around and caught the light as she kicked off with ‘World In Front of Me,’ featuring a xylophone which gave the song a delightfully childlike feel. She chatted with the crowd in between songs with basically the most adorable demeanor I’ve ever witnessed: she was humble and bashful and grateful and giggly and silly and excited and nervous all at the same time. She expressed several times her overwhelming excitement at playing such a big show (despite the small venue’s size, it was pretty packed). She requested the lights to be shined on the crowd several times in order to see our faces, which prompted her face to shift from a blinded-by-the-lights squint to a full-blown, raised-eyebrow I-just-got-a-pony-for-my-birthday look of awe as she surveyed the audience and shrieked and waved.”
Here’s a video of Kina’s “Cambridge” at the El Rey:
BestNewBands.com's Concert Picks for the Week of 12/20
Picked By: Liz Livengood
Who: Belle and Sebastian
Where: Barrowland in Glasgow, Scotland
When: Monday, December 20
Cost: SOLD OUT
Age Restrictions: 14+, but if under 16 must be accompanied by guardian 18+
How the Grouch Will Steal Your Wednesday
Are you looking for a Christmas celebration unlike your run of the mill unwrapping of gifts? Well, Grouch can help you with that. Tomorrow, the "How the Grouch Stole Christmas" Tour will be coming to the Independent in San Francisco. Along with Grouch, Eligh, Brother Ali, Los Rakas, DJ Fresh, and DJ Snuggles will be rocking the stage for a Christmas show that even Santa would bounce to.
Grouch is a Bay area rapper with more than a decade's worth of lyricism under his belt. Don't Talk to Me, Grouch's first album, came out in 1995. Since then he's dropped 11 more solo albums and 7 collaborations with his partner in crime, Eligh, and the hip hop duo Zion I. Both Grouch and Eligh are also a part of the infamous Living Legends, along with Murs and Aesop Rock. G&E and The CMA are other monikers both rappers release music under. DJ Fresh will be backing Grouch during his set and Eligh will be keeping it solo.
BestNewBands.com's Concert Picks for the Week of 12/13
Picked By: Claire Gallagher
Who: Sweaters with the Dead Trees and El Sportivo
Where: The Satellite in Los Angeles, Ca
When: Monday, December 13 at 8:30 p.m.
Cost: Free
Age Restrictions: 21+
Weekend Playlist - Best Songs of 2010
photo credit: Sherene Hilal
Before we count down to 2011, we’re picking out some of the best songs of 2010. Which was your favorite? Vote now for your favorite song of 2010!
“Rope” - ArpLine
In an interview with Sherene Hilal, vocalist Sam Tyndall said, “‘Rope’ is one kind of sound that we like. We listen to a lot of rock like Harmonia, White Noise, and Cluster, and ‘Rope’ is more in that vein than other songs. I would say that ‘Fold Up Like a Piece of Paper’ is the first real ArpLine song, so it holds a special place. We have some new things that we are working on now that will give our audience a more clearer picture of our sound.”
Read the rest of Sherene’s interview here.
“Round and Round” - Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti
“Ain’t Nothin’ On You (Hoochie Coo)” - BlakRoc
“The Ghost Inside” - Broken Bells
The New Parish is the New Home of Moshing Thanks to No Age
Last night I ventured into Oakland to witness Lucky Dragons, The Fresh & Onlys and No Age at the New Parish. This was my first time in Oakland and my first time seeing any of these bands, but the experience I had vaguely reminded me of the shows I used to go to when I was younger...in the best and worst of ways.
To start it off, the show began an hour and a half behind schedule. It gave more kids time to show up and it didn't take very long at all for the place to be wall to wall. I guess there were some sound difficulties from the artist the previous night blowing out the speakers. But regardless we all stood around with our Pabsts awaiting somewhat patiently. Lucky Dragons, a SoCal ambient experimental/trance artist was first up. From my table ever so conveniently seated next to the bar, all I could see was people hovering over a small space in front of the stage. Randomly colored lights started spewing across the faces of those standing the closest and one very, very, very long track began to play and didn't stop playing. In fact that one song was his whole performance. I imagine its what an acid trip would feel like if you were sitting and watching the visualization effects on you Windows Media Player, which I suppose could be enjoyable if you're into that sort of thing.
BestNewBands.com's Concert Picks for the Week of 12/6
Picked By: Kristina Villarini
Who: Cliffie Swan (formerly Lights), Pablo Picasso and Teen
Where: Union Pool in Brooklyn, NY
When: Tuesday, December 7 at 9 p.m.
Cost: $10
Age Restrictions: 21+