You managed to arrive (maybe you managed to the night before, odds aren’t that way though) and you enjoyed your first night. You’d set up your tent (Oh, did we forget to mention to set up the tent before you head to the festival? If not, we should have, doing it in the pitch black lit only by sparse lamps and headlights may not have been smart), and you may have been a little cold. But you now know to huddle and drink enough to keep warm.

Today’s really where it kicks off. The performances begin earlier than yesterday (12:00pm) and there’s a lot more to see. All stages are bustling today, and you’ll have to pick and choose from some tough options.

Alabama Shakes or go Fred Armisen and Portlandia? AraabMuzik or Childish Gambino?

Luckily as the night winds down, your decisions become clearer with Jack White‘s set heading into The Roots to finish things off.

Don’t count out Wolfgang Gartner though. If you’re into more a energetic finale, Gartner’s material is fantastic live. Great House electronica – if you haven’t heard him, check out “ID”

The official Sasquatch Saturday schedule:
Sasquatch Stage: 12:00pm Pickwick 1:05pm Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaries 2:10pm Blitzen Trapper 3:15pm The Civil Wars 4:20pm Jamey Johnson 5:25pm Childish Gambino 6:40pm Metric 8:10pm The Shins 10:00pm Jack White	Bigfoot Stage: 12:00pm Reptar 1:00pm I Break Horses 2:00pm Electric Guest 3:00pm Alabama Shakes 4:05pm Kurt Vile and The Violators 5:10pm Dum Dum Girls 6:30pm The Helio Sequence 7:30pm tUnE-yArDs 9:00pm St. Vincent 11:30pm The Roots	Banana Shack: 1:00pm Pete Holmes 2:00pm Rob Delaney 3:10pm Portlandia 4:40pm Com Truise 5:40pm AraabMuzik 6:45pm Purity Ring 8:00pm NobodyBeatsTheDrum 9:30pm Wolfgang Gartnet
Yeti Stage: 12:15pm Black Whales 1:20pm Said The Whale 2:25pm Craft Spells 3:30pm THEESatisfaction 4:35pm Dry The River 5:40pm Unknown Mortal Orchestra 6:45pm Lord Huron 7:50pm Coeur de Pirate	The Maine Stage: 2:15pm Fatal Lucciauno 3:20pm Grynch 4:25pm Sol

In addition to a great line up of acts, Live at Squamish included a Silent Disco, which many hadn’t experienced beforehand. What’s a silent disco you ask? Simple; you listen to what the DJ’s spinning through wireless headphones. You can adjust the sound to your own comfort and go from there. Though fairly empty throughout the day, when night fell, the disco got packed. Complete with glow sticks and glow stick jewelry (glow stick bands that you could wrap around your limbs or make circled chains out of), the Silent Disco was a great break from the festival’s normal vibe.

As with the Saturday, picnic crowds sat on their blankets, gazing at the Stawamus stage as if they were watching theatre. Avoiding standing on fingers was a necessity as well as a temptation to get people on their feet.

Brasstronaut kicked off the Stawamus stage, and METRO Presents winners The Belle Game started the day at the Garibaldi stage. Both groups introduced the day properly, but it was surprising that as The Belle Game’s set came towards a close that the group announced they have but one more song left, before being informed they didn’t. When they informed the small (but engrossed) crowd, the audience responded with boo’s.

Shane Kozycan put on four shows during the two day festival and if you missed all of his performances, you truly lost out. The spoken word artist recited several different pieces, each different with each set. His words were heartfelt, entertaining and poignant. I was also intrigued by Panda Watch who came on stage afterwards. The group set up wearing Panda Masks, and it turned out that when they kicked off their set, they weren’t Panda Watch, but in fact Vancouver’s Said The Whale, disguised and apparently that way so that they could experiment with some new material…

Luciterra were wowed fans despite a relatively small audience (Stawamus usually dominated). However despite the smaller audience, the fusion belly dancers and Chris Murdoch (the group’s smooth magic ball artiste) kept the crowd mesmerized. So much so that the audience managed to obtain an encore. An encore at a festival for a dance troupe? That’s unheard of, but that’s what they managed – which sent ripples throughout the rest of the day’s schedule, Murdoch referred to it as their, “First encore ever.”

House DJ Luke Mckeean took the stage a little while after. Starting considerably later than expected, he had to compete with Black Mountain on the other stage and was losing in audience size. Although he had a smooth and cool set (complete with dancers on stilts and girls with hula hoops) it wasn’t until people started wandering away from The Dudes‘ set that his audience grew. At one point Mckeenan took the mic, annoyed, and stated, “It seems DJ’s are the only ones that don’t get introduced here. What’s up Squamish, or should I say what’s up Vancouver? I’m Luke Mckeenan…” It felt a little petit for him as the LCD screen in front of him kept stating “Luke Mckeenan.”

Mckeenan’s set continued on to Dubtribe Soundsystem who also started a little later, but seamlessly as Mckeenan’s music transitioned into theirs. Kneeling above an MPC and their MacBook Pro, the duo sang their material from a knelt position. Odd, but it sounded great.

Surprisingly a few Stawamus artists performed their sets 10-15 minutes early, like The Zolas and Black Mountain. My assumption is that was to ensure everything following could be on time. But when artists start early at a festival, it knocks everything else out of whack. Both sets were strong, but you could see Amber Webber was initially a little bit phased when a topless woman sat dancing on a man’s shoulders, pierced nipples and either drawings or tattoo’s outlining her chest. Isn’t that typically reserved for male singers? Not that I minded.

The night’s headliners blew the audience away. Metric came out strongly, utilizing the energy of “Black Sheep” early on in their set. They replayed (but with the entire band) a good portion of Saturday’s acoustic set and also churned out an enthralling version of “Dead Disco.” As part of Metric, Haines is extremely animated on stage. Very energetic and extremely vocally consistent.

Initially she had little interaction/banter with her audience until about midway through where she utilized her microhphone’s opportunity to utter a mushy little speech about how we’re all “listeners” and not “fans,” and how she just loves music. During the speech, you could see eye rolls and such but seconds later listening to them continue their material, you realized how factual what she’d said was. Extremely solid set. From Metric onwards, the grounds were very easy to navigate as nobody was lurking, they were listening.

Weezer were of course one of the night’s highlights, and more than that, they were the mainstage headliner. Despite their 15 minute late start, Rivers Cuomo et al came out strong, running through their nearly twenty year discography of hits.

There was their now typical Weezer early set cover song, which during Sunday’s set was Foster The People’s “Pumped Up Kicks,” pulled off extremely well, and their almost perfect Radiohead cover later on of “Paranoid Android” which didn’t work due to Cuomo’s singing. Thom Yorke is nearly impossible to cover properly, and doing a mesh of Cuomo’s singing and a loose attempt to slightly resemble Mr. Yorke didn’t work. Musically Weezer nailed the cover, but not the singing.

From “Say It Ain’t So,” “Hash Pipe” and “Beverly Hills” through “Troublemaker” and “My Name Is Jonas,” the entire band achieved the goal of a live show; presenting their material as better than on their recordings.

The one and only Major Lazer took the Garibaldi stage on time (to many people’s surprise due to the delays earlier in the day). If you’d stayed to enjoy Weezer’s set in full, you would have missed a good chunk of Diplo and Switch’s monster, the bass of which could be heard towards the back of the Weezer crowd.

Loud and clear sound (including the bass), great mixing and tons of “Major Laz-er” samplers made for a fantastic and entertaining set. Plus the “man himself” serving as the hype man, and a sexy dancer doing everything from simple dances to hand stand leg flails to the beat (in heels). Superb.

In all seriousness, despite it’s price-tag, Live At Squamish was great event and should be supported to help it grow and remain a staple of the music scene in BC. The fact that the openers of the Garibaldi stage on both days were local contest winners was fantastic, because they were deserving of more exposure. I however would have some up and coming DJ’s begin the festival and slot them later on to really get people aware.

Live At Squamish apparently earned nearly $1,000,000 in revenue for Squamish over the weekend, with the attendance up a good percentage from last year. The organizers have announced next year will be happening, and the festival is expected to continue to 2016 at the least.

The pressure is always on the first performers on the second day for two reasons; one, most people don’t arrive early on day two (unless the artist is extremely recognizable and consistently draws huge crowds), and two, if they do have an audience, the audience is expecting something exceptional as they’re a smaller, “more eager” group. Henry Mah (Stawamus Stage @ 1:00PM) and George Osei (Garibaldi Stage @ 1:00PM) have this challenge to face as Sunday begins.

Brasstronaut – Stawamus Stage @ 3:05PM
Vancouver’s Brasstronaut are defined as a mixture of indie rock and jazz. The six members, all possessing a great amount of talent with their particular instrument will be playing material from 2007′s Mt. Chimaera amongst other songs. The set is bound to stand out due to their unique vibe.

The Belle Game – Garibaldi Stage @ 3:20PM
Vancouver’s The Belle Game are Sunday’s METRO presents winners, gaining the opportunity to perform their material to a captivate crowd. This will be The Belle Game’s opportunity to gain a significant following, so the pressure’s on. We’ll definitely be in the crowd looking to hear how they sound. Expect to hear “Tiny Fires” and “Shoulders & Turns” during their set.

Bend Sinister – Stawamus Stage @ 4:00PM
10 years deep, the Vancouver progressive-indie band Bend Sinister will be taking the Stawamus stage in the afternoon. The band takes it’s name from a novel by Vladimir Nabokov, and because their website was down for a few days, that’s all the bio info. I could find. Their music sounds great though.

Shane Koyczan – Garibaldi Stage @ 4:00PM / Stawamus Stage 5:50PM
The spoken word artist and author Shane Koyczan will be performing the most amount of times during Live At Squamish, and so there’s absolutely no excuse if you miss him. If that’s the case, it’s because you were deliberately avoiding. Take in one of his sets today, they’re short and expected to astound.

Panda Watch – Garibaldi Stage @ 4:20PM

The Zolas – Stawamus Stage @ 5:00PM
Sunday’s definitely Vancouver’s day, proof comes with yet another Vancouver band, The Zolas stunning from the Stawamus stage.

Guilty About Girls – Garibaldi Stage @ 5:15PM
For those that don’t know, Mark Henning and Jordy Birch make up Guilty About Girls, a group whose sound comes across as a new wave/electronica mesh. Their buzz has been growing a lot recently, expect them to perform the hit ‘Candy Candy’ amongst others.

The Dudes – Stawamus Stage @ 6:10PM
Nearly 15 years deep, the Calgary, Alberta group The Dudes (yes, Sunday features more than just Vancouver artists) will be holding your attention. Be sure to take in a song or more…

Luciterra – Garibaldi Stage @ 6:05PM
Who doesn’t enjoy beautiful girls involved in fusion belly dancing? If you don’t, then avoid Luciterra, but for the rest of us, be sure to check out their piece before Luke McKeehan.

Luke McKeehan – Garibaldi Stage @ 6:25PM
For those unfamiliar, Luke McKeehan is a fantastic House DJ that established himself into Toronto’s warehouse scene in the 80′s. Whether House is your genre or not, his Squamish set has been whispered about being worth waiting for.

Black Mountain – Stawamus Stage @ 7:10PM
Though three albums deep, the Black Mountain buzz really increased after the release of Wilderness Heart. This Vancouver band composed of Stephen McBean, Amber Webber, Matt Camirand, Jeremy Schmidt and Joshua Wells have been taking over festival stages throughout North America and served as one of my highlights at Sasquatch.

Dubtribe Sound System – Garibaldi Stage @ 7:35PM
The San Francisco based Dubtribe Sound System have been going for nearly two decades. Consisting of Sunshine Jones and Moonbeam Jones predominantly, they’ve also featured guest singers and musicians over the years. You don’t manage to make a living off of music without some talent for twenty years, take heed and check out their set.

Metric – Stawamus Stage @ 8:20PM
Fresh from yesterday’s acoustic set, Emily Haines, James Shaw and the rest of Metric are certain to captivate audiences this evening. If you haven’t already done so, check out our old Emily Haines Interview & James Shaw Interview

Doc Martin – Garibaldi Stage @ 9:10PM
Doc Martin –EDIT– The variation in his style of music is endless. What makes him so different from the rest? A unique ability to spin everything from deep house vocals that have much depth and meaning to us all in some way, to his funky tribal Bass lines mixed with threads of acid, his passive collection of classics rare records that are only to be heard at his gigs. Doc Martin has developed the respect as a house DJ that so many of us admire. It is this respect that keeps him constantly touring; from New York to London, Japan, and everywhere in between.

Weezer – Stawamus Stage @ 9:40PM
I was never a Weezer fan. Like many there was the occasional hit which I gravitated towards, but by and large they didn’t do anything for me. That was until Bumbershoot 2010, at which time Rivers Cuomo et al blew me away. Their set was passionate, energetic and fun, thus forcing me to be waiting front and center for their headlining Live at Squamish set. Be there.

Major Lazer – Garibaldi Stage @ 10:45PM
It’s great to experience artists at other venues/festivals because you can talk with greater insight as to how their performance is likely to be, based on the past. Major Lazer are a dance music anomaly for me, in their short life as “Major Lazer,” the Diplo & Switch project has consistently blown away audiences. If Sasquatch earlier in the year was any indication of their Squamish live set, you’re in for an exhausted Monday morning.

Don’t miss The Zolas, Black Mountain, Weezer and Major Lazer

LIVE at Squamish 2011: Final Event Reminder

It’s almost here! Virgin Mobile presents LIVE at Squamish outdoor music festival, organized by brand.LIVE , will be taking place this weekend on August 20th and 21st. Expect more than 30 amazing musical acts, cool events, awesome food and a community atmosphere all weekend long.

“The 2011 festival is shaping up to be even better than last year,” said brand.LIVE Senior Vice President of Production Paul Runnals. “We have an amazing line up of artists performing at this year’s festival, and being set against such a beautiful backdrop, the weekend promises to be something really special,” he said.

Tickets are still available and won’t break the bank. A full-event pass is $149, and with all the artists in the line-up, that works out to about $5 per band. Prices jump to $190 for weekend and $110 for single day passes Friday at midnight – so get your passes NOW!
Here’s a tentative schedule for the weekend:

Saturday, Aug. 20

· Stawamus Stage
o Girl Talk
o John Butler Trio
o Stars
o Hey Ocean!
o Sweet Thing
o She Stole My Beer

· Garibaldi Stage
o Donald Glaude
o Tommie Sunshine
o Andy Clockwork
o My!Gay!Husband
o Shad
o Kyprios
o Emily Haines & James Shaw
o Kim Churchill
o The Proper Villains

Sunday, Aug. 21

· Stawamus Stage
o Weezer
o Metric
o Black Mountain
o The Dudes
o The Zolas
o Bend Sinister
o Brasstronaut
· Garibaldi Stage
o Major Lazer
o Doc Martin
o Dubtribe Sound System
o Luke McKeehan
o Guilty About Girls
o Panda’s Watch
o The Belle Game

Gates open at 1:00pm for VIP and 2:00pm for regular ticket holders.

Other must-see attractions at LIVE at Squamish:

· Silent Disco: Party-goers can listen and dance to their favourite tunes on over 200 wireless headphones.

· Bellmont Barber Shop: Cool down and get your hair cut at the festival’s barbershop with Vancouver’s best blues guitarist Rich Hope. Includes acoustic performances by Rich himself, plus local favourites: Kuba Oms, Kim Churchill, Kate Morgan, the Zolas and other surprise performances

· Virgin Mobile Cafe: Stay relaxed by checking out some acoustic performances and get connected on laptop stations at the festival.

Company of Thieves’ fresh and edgy front woman, Genevieve Schatz has already made a name for herself in the indie community. Furthermore, this album solidifies her triumph of becoming an icon for indie music in years to come. With striking comparisons to the Pretenders and Metric, Company of Thieves resonates with unique rapturous sound. Schatz destroys the definition of front woman, replacing it with charismatic ferociousness.

“Running from a Gamble” carries all the soul and relevance of attitude-filled, rocky vocals while sedating the listener and coating the imagination of the listeners’ mind with bliss. The album packs in influence and releases excellence.

Schatz sets the scene with her calming introduction, which is suddenly broken by the succession of the rocky attitude melody, “Queen of Hearts”. She fills you with excitement and fiercely inspires you with “Modern Waste.” Can’t you feel the intense power in her voice? My teeth are clenched. “Look Both Ways” showcases the funky pop side of the album. The album progressively then slows down, without the loss of its powerful directedness in the highs and lows of “Never Come Back.”

The theme of “Queen of Hearts” can be seen again in the single “Death of Communication.” Beginning with the succession of pounding drums it is sprinkled with the charismatic ferociousness we are now familiar with. The pleasant melodic rock-chorus fills the listener’s ears with energy and the satisfaction of an exhilarating guitar solo. The rocky filled chorus files out with the same pounding drums it came in with. Lucky the next track, “King of Dreams” is a slow one, there to cure the listener’s racing heart. “Syrup” and “Tallulah” showcase Company of Thieves’ ability to successfully draw the genres of jazz, pop and funk into a summertime-weekend feel.

Schatz won’t leave us without putting up a fight in “Take Me for A Man,” progressively filling the song with her characteristicly fierce voice and directed lyrics.

“Running from a Gamble” definitely stands up strong against all the indie forerunner albums and won’t settle for second place.

Emily Haines Metric

You can’t always judge music by what it sounds like. Well, you could, and then you would probably say that Metric is a great pop band, but you would only be half right. While their 2003 release, Old World Underground, Where are you Now?, is catchy like flypaper, it sticks long enough for you to figure out what synth-playing singer Emily Haines is actually saying about pop-culture. The four-piece of no fixed address have been lazily labeled pop by many a music writer for singles like “Combat Baby”, in which Haines sings about “caffeine-free faux-punk fatigue,” over punked-up guitar riffs provided by James Shaw. And unlike any good pop band, they formed themselves. In 1998 two Canadian kids—Haines and Shaw—formed Metric in a Brooklyn loft. Since then drummer Joules Scott-Key and his Texas schoolmate Josh Winstead, who happens to play a mean bass guitar, have completed the band.

Wes Kirk sits down with James Shaw and Emily Haines, the two founding members of Toronto’s Metric, at Vancouver’s Commodore ballroom at sound check before their April 7th show. First, two drunk dudes chat about music…

A Quicky With Emily Haines… by Wes Kirk