Utopia Festival: Women in Digital Culture ft. Peaches, Tanya Tagaq, Isis

W2 Storyeum in Vancouver will host Utopia Festival on March 5, 2011 to coincide with the 100th Anniversary of International Women's Day. Proceeds to support W2's Second Annual Girls Creative Tech Summer Camps.

The event will feature Peaches as keynote speaker, and showcases by Isis and Tanya Tagaq and many others. You won't want to miss this if you're a lover of beats!

Here's a quick description of the event from its organizers:

"For women interested in electronic music and media, Utopia Unconference wristbands provide all-access and 3 meals: Breakfast, Music Maker Workshops, Lunch, Mobile Dance Party, Unconference, Dinner Reception, Concert, and Showcase. We are anticipating 150 women participating in five creative streams: electro, hip hop, bass, electro-acoustic and live cinema."

For scheduling and further information, check out Utopia Festival's event page.

RECAP : Live at Squamish Festival - Day 1

Join us at our proverbial table as we discuss our highlights of this year's inaugural Live at Squamish music festival, which took place on September 4-5, 2010. Alex (of Anders) Cameron and myself, together with a couple of other friends, spent a lovely weekend up in Squamish, B.C., just half an hour outside of Whistler and an hour from downtown Vancouver.


Alex: After much anticipation, Labour Day weekend finally hit, meaning it was time to head up to Squamish for the inaugural year of Live at Squamish. What struck me first of all was the setting; Hendrickson Field and the Logger Sports Grounds are surrounded by forest on all side with the mountains across the background.

Brenda: The mountains truly were spectacular and added wonder to the enjoyment of musical acts. Almost all of the performers commented on what a pleasure it was to play at this little jewel of a festival, nestled in the outdoor sports capital of BC.

Alex: Boasting three stages, the festival grounds felt split into separate areas with one focal stage on Henderickson Field, a club stage in the middle of the logger grounds and another smaller performance stage, each with its own beer garden. Although a little spread out, the stage setup worked really well, leading to practically no amp battles between performances.

Brenda: I’m not one to worry about the presence of beer gardens, especially with the usual over-inflated festival pricing. However, the various bazaars and art displays in between the stages meant you can always give your ears a rest and treat your eyes instead.

Alex: Kostaman and the Good Vibrations was the first band we caught at the main stage, a reggae band from Whistler, BC.

Said the Whale (Photo: Alex Cameron)

Brenda: They got many locals to get up and shake their thing, so we knew we had to represent “our scene” once Vancouver locals Said the Whale took to the stage right after.

Alex: These guys just get better all the time. They brought plenty of people up to the front of the stage (without our help) and got this festival to start moving. It’s always fun to see a crowd cheer that little bit harder when they start up "Camillo (the Magician)."

After moving stages to catch Kelowna’s We Are the City, we ended up listening to the end of Michael Bernard Fitzgerald’s set. Fitzgerald is a singer-songwriter from Calgary and his music is infectious, I wish I could have caught more of his set. There was an amazing and hilarious mash-up of covers from Sir Mix-A-Lot to TLC to Black Eyed Peas… and even a little Justin Bieber. He finished up his set with “Brand New Spaces,” a song of his I’m familiar with, and it was definitely a strong finish. A really talented musician and I can’t wait to see more from him.

(L-R) Michael Bernard Fitzgerald, David Vertesi and Zach Gray (photo: Brenda Lee)

Brenda: As a testament to the rapport between musicians, he had Zachary Gray from The Zolas and David Vertesi of Hey Ocean! on stage to act as lovely back-up dancers.

Now onto We Are the City, one of my favourite young bands. Their growth astounds me and every time I catch them live, they manage to improve upon their last performance. As their prog-rock styling is already so well-developed and they’re so attuned to one another on stage, it’s hard to imagine what the band will be like once guitarist David Menzel leaves the band. David revealed to me that the band’s intense touring schedule post their 2009 Peak Performance Project win is not sustainable for him in the long run, and expressed a desire to start a guitar company.

We Are the City (photo: Alex Cameron)

Alex: We Are the City really owns the stage when they start pumping out the rock; every note is played with such enthusiasm and enjoyment that you can feel they’re loving every second of playing. After such an amazing year for them, I’m surprised to hear that David is leaving the band.

Hollerado (photo: Alex Cameron)

Brenda: After that set, we caught a couple of songs by Calgary's The Dudes who were playing on the main stage. Although enticed by the party atmosphere as evident in the amount of crowd surfers and one guy holding a sign saying “fun patrol,” I had to catch Ottawa’s Hollerado’s headlining set to close out the Serf stage. (They also have the best website ever.)

Alex: The Dudes are awesome but play somewhat mellow compared to Hollerado’s set… and that says something!

Steve Smith of Dirty Vegas (photo: Leigh Elridge)

Brenda: They put on what was easily one of the best (and most enjoyable!) performances of the entire weekend. Not only did they play hits such as “Juliette,” they rocked some awesome covers as well. If you haven’t seen Hollerado live yet, do yourself a favour and remedy that soon. By the end of that set, our feet were in a shuffling and dancing mood. I was itching to dance!




Alex: Matthew Good then took to the main stage, but it was just a little too mellow at that point. So we headed over to the clubZone stage for London house artist Dirty Vegas' live set; they really had the crowd pumped up and it was one of the best DJ sets I’ve seen!

Devo (photo: Leigh Elridge)

Brenda: Hits such as “Days Go By” had the crowd throbbing and kept us warm as the sun went down and the chill set in at dusk. This indie rock kid relearned what it’s like to dance; thanks Dirty Vegas!

Alex: Finally it was time for Devo, whom played a hilarious set of ironic synth pop in their classic 80’s style. Couple this with strange costumes and mostly hilarious visuals on the backing screen, it felt almost like memes waiting to happen.

Brenda: They had more energy than I would have expected. Unfortunately, their set went on for about 5 songs too long. As the rain started drizzling and the strobe lights spazzed on, it was hard to keep the crowd engaged. Oh, but the wonders of seeing “Whip It” live… that’s one check mark on my bucket list!


And next, stay tuned for our thoughts on Day 2 of Live at Squamish featuring You Say Party, Mother Mother and many more!

Live at Squamish Festival - September 4 & 5

BC music fans! Live at Squamish Festival would like to help you kick off the school year (or whatever you have going on in the fall) with a outdoor musical extravaganza. On Labour Day weekend, at the Logger Sports Grounds and Hendrickson Fields in beautiful Squamish, BC, you can "whip it" with Devo, party with You Say Party, rock out with The Decemberists, and much more. Other performers in this 2 day festival include Matthew Good, We Are the City, Tokyo Police Club, Mother Mother, Said the Whale, and the list goes on and on.

Make sure to keep your eyes peeled here and to Twitter for updates from our Live at Squamish adventures!

For your weekend pass, visit the LaS website here. Regular weekend passes are $145, VIP passes are $249, and single day passes are $79.

The Big Time Out Festival in Cumberland, BC to feature major star power

Two heavy-weight acts are landing in Cumberland on August 14 and 15. K’naan and Broken Social Scene are this year’s headliners at The Big Time Out.

Toronto's Broken Social Scene are making Cumberland their only Canadian stop this summer before heading on tour in the US.

Like BSS, Somali-Canadian hip hop artist and poet K’naan has earned a pair of Juno awards and drawn glowing reviews for both his music and his message. With his "Waving Flag" as FIFA’s anthem for the South Africa World Cup, he traveled on an 86-country world tour alongside the biggest sporting event of the world.

For a village of only 2000 people mid-way up an out-of-the-way island, Cumberland’s The Big Time Out draws some serious star power. “We’ve worked hard to create a really special place for artists and music lovers,” says Vig Schulman, the show’s producer. “The word has gotten out among artists, agents and the whole music community that Cumberland is a great place to play, even worth making a big detour from a busy world tour.“


K’naan and Broken Social Scene will be joined by Winter Gloves, Hannah Georgas, Ohbjou, The Acorn and more on August 14 and 15 in Cumberland Village Park. Weekend passes can be purchased at thebigtimeout.com.

Surrey Fusion Festival-- the little festival that could...

You can think of Surrey Fusion Festival as the suburbs' answer to Vancouver Folk Music Festival. This is the second year I've been aware of it happening, and the second year that it's fallen on the same weekend as the VFMF, this year on July 17-18. If you're not going to be able to make it to Jericho Beach for the Folk Fest, make sure you check out the free events and shows that are happening in Holland Park, which include different food displays and dance performances.

Musical artists that are performing at the Fusion Festival include some BC favourites like Brasstronaut, We Are The City and Headwater. Check out the full line-ups, including various cultural performances, on 4 different stages in Holland Park here.

Vancouver Folk Music Festival 2010 - July 16-18

The 33rd Annual Vancouver Folk Music Festival is taking place at picturesque Jericho Beach in the heart of Vancouver next weekend. This festival, the largest one that takes place in the city, incorporates 3 days worth of folk (and folk-related) artists from all over the world with a laid-back west coast mentality, with stages overlooking tree overhangs and ocean. There will be concerts throughout the day, as well as collaborations and workshops provided by the artists. You'll find musical lovers of all ages and ilk, dressed in everything from costumes to minimally under the sun. So grab your sunscreen and your blanket and get ready for a wonderful weekend of music!

I will be covering the 2010 Vancouver Folk Music Festival for North by East West throughout the weekend. Follow me on Twitter for live updates, check out my Flickr for photos and keep your eyes peeled here for interviews and highlights of the weekend!

Weekend passes and nightly passes are available at different rates for seniors, youth and students. Gates are open at 4pm on Friday evening and 9am Saturday and Sunday. If you haven't gotten your tickets yet, you can purchase them online here or at Highlife Records, Neptoon Records, Zulu Records, Little Sisters Bookstore or Banyen Books. They're also available at the gates for a higher price.

I'm glad to see that although provincial arts funding had been slashed dramatically, affecting the bottom lines of cultural groups including the Folk Fest, we can still expect Canadian talent across the country to grace their presence on the VFMF stages. Some of these performers include Bahamas, Jim Byrnes, Alex Cuba, The Deep Dark Woods, Sarah Harmer, Jon & Roy, Shane Koyczan and the Short Story Long, Catherine MacLellan, The Malahat Revue (consisting of Hannah Georgas, Said The Whale, Jeremy Fisher and Aidan Knight), Timber Timbre, and the United Steel Workers of Montreal.

You'll also find international talents such as The Avett Brothers, Calexico and Bettye LaVette. Click here for the full line-up of the 2010 VFMF.

For a sense of the joyous musical weekend about to take place July 16-18, you can check out my coverage of the Vancouver Folk Fest from last year. I had an incredible time, and the little touches-- including considerations for sustainability and public transit-- indicate excellent planning on the part of the VFMF committee last year. I'm looking forward to seeing how they have improved in a year's time.

(Photo from Great Lake Swimmers' performance at last year's VFMF. Brenda Lee.)

FREE DOWNLOADS : Ghostkeeper

Hailing from Calgary, eclectic folk/country/rock band Ghostkeeper are celebrating their Polaris Music Prize long-list nomination by offering up two songs off of their self-titled debut for download. They're going on the festival circuit this summer and you can see them all across western Canada.

Sarah Houle, drummer (and vocalist) for Ghostkeeper, has made a video for the track "Spring Fever." Speaking of Houle, when I caught Ghostkeeper opening for Toronto's The Balconies a couple of months ago in the dingy UBC pub, I was very impressed with her simultaneous drumming and singing. Their set was excellent despite the small crowds and poor sound. Mad props.

Ghostkeeper Tour Dates:

July 7-11: Winnipeg Folk Festival
July 15 : Vancouver, BC : The Media Club
July 22 - 25: Calgary Folk Festival
August 6 - 8 : Regina Folk Festival
August 13 - 15 : Peppermill Festival

Downloads (MP3):
“Like Moose Do”
“By Morning”

Rifflandia Anticipation

Gahhhh!!! So much musical awesomeness crammed into a weekend!!! I don't even have words for my excitement, only noises. eep.

A select list of artists that I'd looooooove to see: (complete line-up here)
Holy Fuck, Final Fantasy, Mother Mother, Tegan and Sara, Pink Mountaintops, Hey Rosetta!, Said The Whale, The Dudes, The Most Serene Republic, Shad, Basia Bulat, Jets Overhead, The Raccoons, Dan Mangan, Jon-Rae Fletcher, The Pack AD, Zeus, In-Flight Safety, Hannah Georgas...

and I had to narrow that down a bit too.

Sitting, waiting, wishing...

Condensed, sleep-deprived weekend review

Yays:
- Got to catch the following artists at VFMF: Weakerthans, Iron & Wine, Arrested Development, The Breakmen, Basia Bulat, Dan Mangan, Rock Central Plaza, and Great Lake Swimmers among others
- Caught Joel Plaskett Emergency (+ Peter Elkas) for free
- Chatted with Basia, offered pie to Dan, and Tony Dekker drew me a guitar
- Grabbed set lists from JPE and GLS shows
- Had my interview questions for Basia used although I couldn't make it personally due to a close friend's bridal shower
- Dancing and praising God in a flowy skirt during Arrested Development's twilight (and night time) performance. (Now how to distill that magnetic, spiritual energy into Sunday mornings?)
- The Lantern Committee's light show at night time during AD's set, and then lining the pathways to lead the crowd out of the park
- "Banjo Wars 2009" between Rock Central Plaza, The Breakmen and Great Lake Swimmers during their session. Lying down right up front feeling like I could float, I could fly, like branches and boats and birds in the sky. (Joel Plaskett)
- Basia Bulat's stomping heels, rich voice and warm attitude
- Hanging out with Alex(OfAnders), Justin, Mel and Lauren. Singing along with Dan Mangan to Robots with Alex and a thousand other people at the main stage.
- Great Lake Swimmers were plucked from the ear of God themselves. Tony Dekker has a voice that not only makes memories, yet takes previous ones and puts a sepia tone to them. Dreamy yet grounded, and singularly spectacular. Read these words:

I'm still a note that's unplayed, ink on a page, I'm still, I'm still
I'm still a cry in the night, lonesome and high, I'm still, I'm still

I'm still tuned to an instrument of greater and unknown design
I'm still looking for direction, some kind of sign

I'm still tuning myself to the great key, I'm still, I'm still
(Great Lake Swimmers, "Still")

After that, it's hard to go over the ughs. I'm extremely sleep deprived and have skipped most normal meals for the past three days, but that's not because of the set up of the festival but how entranced I was with the music. And how long it took to upload pictures and videos onto my computer.
I'll upload some pictures onto Flickr and write a proper write-up on NxEW when I get home. There are a lot of photos, and a couple of videos... depending how the bass turned out in them, I might upload them onto Youtube as well. Don't forget to check back :)

Vancouver Folk Fest Preview

Below is my official first full concert review to kick off the Vancouver Folk Music Festival weekend coverage. The original unchopped column, including some free mp3 downloads, can be found here...

This weekend, I will be tweeting, putting up photos on my Flickr, blogging on behalf of NxEW as well as here.

At the Railway Club on June 3, three artists took to the stage to fundraise for the Vancouver Folk Music Festival as part of the VFMF Revue -- Veda Hille, Dan Mangan and Geoff Berner. Each put on a phenomenal set, and if this is any indication of things to come, this year's festival will be a treat for those living in/near Metro Vancouver.


First to play a set is the quirky Veda Hille. She opened with Lucklucky, which was accompanied by the clacking noises of the toy train overhead at the Railway, to good effect. The song, which included a short ode to the Hockey Night in Canada theme, demonstrated Hille's playful theatrical voice well. She played a couple of covers, which included Neil Young's Transformer Man.


Second on the stage is Dan Mangan. Mangan played an eight song set, which included several songs from his upcoming album such as Tina's Glorious Comeback, The Indie Queens Are Coming (which brought Veda Hille back on stage), You Silly Git (a song inspired by his girlfriend), as well as Basket, which is written for his grandfather. Of course, Mangan wrapped up his set with the catchier-than-herpes Robots, which ended with him holding his guitar aloft while walking through the audience, encouraging a sing-a-long.


The final performer of the night was Geoff Berner. The best way to describe Berner and his set that night would be "perpetually intoxicated, irreverent drinking songs," demonstrated by such songs as The Way That Girl Drinks Beer. However, in more than a few occasions, his meandering voice sharpened their focus towards specific points that he wanted to make. The best example is his song The Dead Children Were Worth It, which criticizes the upcoming Vancouver Olympics in 2010. So while his voice (and mind) may wander and drawl, it does once in a while come back and sucker punch you into paying attention.

See you at the show!

---

Editor's note: Belated photos from VFMF Revue up on my Flickr HERE.

Festivals Coverage in Vancouver This Weekend

This upcoming weekend is an exciting one in terms of music in Vancouver. Not only is there the annual Vancouver Folk Music Festival, the line-up of which features the lovely Basia Bulat, Great Lake Swimmers, The Weakerthans, Dan Mangan as well as international acts such as Iron & Wine, but Surrey has also shocked with their Fusion Festival line-up, which includes the Joel Plaskett Emergency, Said The Whale, Alex Cuba, among others. Did I mention it's free?

I'll be covering the both of them, to the best of my abilities (and cell phone bill limits) via Twitter, Flickr (for photos), on this blog, as well as on NxEW. Yes, this does mean racing from Jericho Beach, which is in downtown Vancouver, to the suburbs. Below is a tentative schedule of the acts and sessions I'm hoping to catch this upcoming weekend. Of course, if I get sidetracked or blown away by something I happen to pass by, I'll note those as well.

Friday July 17
VMFM
7 pm - The Weakerthans
8 pm - Iron and Wine
9 pm - Arrested Development

Saturday July 18
VMFM
10 am - Fresh Folkus (hosted by Basia Bulat; ft. Joe Pug, Kate Reid, Dan Mangan and Great Lake Swimmers)
1:30 pm - Folkestra (hosted by Rock Plaza Central; ft. Great Lake Swimmers and The Breakman)
3:10 pm - Basia Bulat
SFF
7 pm - Said The Whale
8 pm - Barney Bentall & The Grand Cariboo Opry
9 pm - Joel Plaskett & The Emergency

Sunday July 19
VFMF
5:30 - 9:30 pm - Rock Plaza Central Great Lake Swimmers

For the full schedule of the Vancouver Folk Music Festival, click here. (PDF)
For the full schedule of the Surrey Fusion Festival, click here.

To get you hyped up for the weekend, read my preview review of the Vancouver Folk Fest Revue (now say that ten times really quickly).

For my birthday? Anyone?

Virgin Festival Vancouver
July 25-26 (Sat/Sun)

Line-up:
(*my personal picks)

July 25
*THE ROOTS
OUR LADY PEACE
*BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE
*K-OS
MUTEMATH
SPINNERETTE
*PLANTS AND ANIMALS
CHRIS VELAN

July 26
BEN HARPER & RELENTLESS7
*METRIC
SONIC YOUTH
JARVIS COCKER
DE LA SOUL
GOMEZ
FUTURE OF THE LEFT
AWESOME COLOR
CARLY RAE JEPSEN
EDWARD SHARPE & THE MAGNETIC ZEROS

Tickets are on sale here, for $73/night or $135/weekend.

If only Metric was on the first night's bill... :\

NxEW & Other music news

North by East West
A geographically impossible blog for a geographically impossible country.

The subtitle says it all: Canadiana, music and a healthy dash of wit. I think I've found my avenue to attaining press passes to concerts... bwahahaha.

We're officially a month old as of this coming Monday (horn is tooted). And there's already 47 contributors and 196 entries (and growing!). We have readers from Japan (most hits), Canada (duh), the States, France, and wherever DE is (I think it's Germany), which is pretty neat.

A couple of things to note:
- The first podcast!
- Of those 196 blog entries, I've made 3. 2 of those have been around exam time, and 1 written at work. I know my priorities.
Hello World! : Reaching Across the musical expanse...
Sam Roberts: "Best Frontman In Music"
Private Metric Shows In Western Canada

To wrap it up, tomorrow's International Record Store Day! Go buy a CD or two... preferably two because university exam season is conveniently smack dab in the middle of everything fun. So buy one for me in spirit. (I recommend Joel Plaskett's Three for the millionth time.)

But seriously though, the Whistler Telus World Ski & Snowboard Festival: Arkells, The Stills, Metric, Shad et al. FOR FREE. And a band called Run GMC which is pretty much the coolest band name ever although I have no clue what they sound like (yet) FOR FREE. CALLING MY NAME. UGH. I hate my life.

who am I kidding? I'm incredibly blessed :)
and Happy IRSD!