Lindsay’s Weblog

I talked about South by Southwest a few posts ago. Since the festival is only a couple of weeks away I need to figure out which bands I plan on seeing. There are over 1400 bands scheduled so it has been a task trying to narrow it down.

But I think I have narrowed it down to a select few:

• The Akron Family
• The Black Angels
• Black Mountain
• The Blow
• Billy Bragg
• The Cave Singers
• The Concretes
• Dolly Parton
• Islands
  
• Jens Lekman
• The Kills
• Thurston Moore
• My Morning Jacket
• Shout Out Louds
• Sons & Daughters
• Takka Takka
• Tapes n’ Tapes
• Vancougar
• The Von Bondies
• The Watson Twins
• Yo La Tango

Well I most definitely know I will be catching My Morning Jacket and Yo La Tango because they are doing a set together which will be insane! And I believe that Billy Bragg and Islands will be part of Anti-Label showcase, as well as the Kills will be part of the Domino showcase. So those are a definite three I will be checking out, but don’t know what to do about the others. If you have seen any of these other bands let me know if they were any good or not. Also if there are any other bands you think are worth checking out let me know.

Cheers!

It has been announced that the producers of the Coachella festival in California, will be putting on an East Coast version of the festival in New Jersey. The All Points West Music and Arts Festival will take place from August 9-11 at Liberty State Park. It has been rumored that Radiohead will be headlining the first annual festival. The amount of acts and bands will be similar to that of Coachella and about the same amount of stages. Check out this article about what the producers of festival feel the festival will be like.

The line-up and other news will announced soon. Check the All Points West website. There isn’t much there yet, but you can sign up for their newsletter to get updates and news.

If you have heard any other news or updates about the festival let me know.

Now this is a festival that I have not gone to or will be going to anytime soon. I would love to go to the festival this year, but I just don’t think it’s going happen. Anyways, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is a three-day outdoor festival in Indio, California. If you are planning on checking out the festival be prepared for some nice desert weather. Temperatures can heat up to 100F. The festival involves pretty much any kind of music you could want. There is something for everybody. There are five stages that have live music going continuously throughout the day. I won’t go into the history of the festival because it is long and tedious to write about.Check it out on Wikipedia.

So here are some of the major acts that will be playing at Coachella 2008:

Friday April 25th

• Jack Johnson
• The Verve
• The Raconteurs
• The Breeders
• Fatboy Slim
• The National
• Mum
• Stars
• Les Savy Fav
• Jens Lekman
• Vampire Weekend
• Architecture in Helsinki
• Black Lips
• Rogue Wave

Saturday April 26th

• Portishead
• Death Cab for Cutie
• Rilo Kiley
• Dwight Yoakam
• M.I.A
• Hot Chip
• Cold War Kids
• Animal Collective
• Kate Nash
• Islands
• St. Vincent
• Akron Family
• The Bird and the Bee

Sunday April 27th

• Roger Waters
• My Morning Jacket
• Justice
• Gogol Bordello
• Metric
• Simian Mobile Disco
• The Cool Kids
• Sons & Daughters
• Holy Fuck
• Black Mountain
• Shout Out Louds

It’s not even the full line-up, but could you just look at it! There are so many good bands playing, it’s insane! For a complete line-up check out http://www.coachella.com/

I didn’t even know the Verve was back together. I would love to see the Breeders live, just to see Kim Deal kick some ass! Also M.I.A. and Justice two of the greatest new artists out there. And who wouldn’t want to see Roger Waters live?

I am very jealous of anyone that gets to go. If you are going let me know or if you have ever been to a Coachella festival in the past tell me how it went.

Cheers!

South by Southwest is one of the largest annual festivals, which takes place in Austin, Texas. Not only is it a music festival, but it is also a film and interactive arts conference. From March 7-15, the film conference showcases many different genres of film including full-length, shorts and documentaries. They also focus heavily on the business side of film by hosting panels and discussion groups with major players in the film industry. The Interactive Arts conference runs from March 7-11, focusing on what is new and exciting in the world of new media and technology. There are panels, as well as a three-day trade-show and exhibition where people can shop around their ideas and inventions. SXSW has also added on a new gaming element the Interactive Arts conference, as well as an Arcade that will be set-up for 2 days.

But the conference that SXSW is known for best is their music conference and festival. The who’s who of the music industry will be there as part of the panels and participating as keynote speakers. Some of the greatest artists and bands today will be performing as well as some of the best up-and-coming bands. Hundreds of bands will be playing at some of the hottest venues around Austin. It is the true playground for any music enthusiast.

Tickets run higher than most festivals, but then you are getting a few more days worth. You can register for a Platinum Badge which will get you into all of events for all three conferences. There is the Gold Badge which is for the film and interactive conferences only, or you can individual badges for the film, interactive or music festivals. If you are a student and are interested in film, they offer a student badge just for the film festival.

I will be attending SXSW this year for the first time and I am so excited to go. I am already exhausted looking at the list of music performers. Here is the list so far. It is crazy! Lou Reed is going to be the keynote speaker this year and I am so pumped! Yo La Tango and My Morning Jacket are going to be doing a set together. It’s going to be awesome.

If there is anyone who had been before and has any helpful advice about how to plan out my time, maybe some good, cheap places to eat, etc. let me know. I will be most grateful.

Cheers!

Bum-ber-shoot: An umbrella

The Bumbershoot festival is an arts and performance festival that has been taking place in Seattle Centre for the past 37 Years. The name Bumbershoot was chosen for the festival because it refers to the large umbrella of performers and artists that make up the festival. The festival focuses on offering a diverse line-up of musicians, artists, performers, not just in music but film, theatre, comedy, visual art, dance and literature. Since 1980, One Reel, a non-profit arts organization has been producing the festival and is still going strong.

I attended Bumbershoot last Labor Day weekend and I had a blast. 3 days was just enough to get my fill of music and the arts and left me with just enough energy to make the drive back home to Vancouver. Attending the festival also allowed me to see more of Seattle, which is a great city. The line-up for the festival ranged from world, to hip-hop, pop, rock, indies, majors, gypsies, metal. Got a little taste of everything. The line-up included: The Shins, Wu-Tang Clan, Panic! At The Disco, Crowded House, Lupe Fiasco, Fergie, Steve Earle, DeVotchKa, Devendra Banhart, Gogol Bordello, The Avett Brothers, Magnolia Electric Company, The Aggrolites, Menomena, Tokyo Police Club, Art Brut and many more.

I watched the Shins set which was awesome. They did a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Hey You” or “Comfortably Numb.” I can’t remember. If anyone was there and remembers can you let me know? But I remember it was really good. They had great energy, and got the crowd going.

I saw one band that I had never heard of, but they turned out to be one of my favorite of the festival: Menomena. They are a band from Portland, Oregon and they had a choir! A choir! It was awesome! And the lead singer also played the baritone saxophone. It was crazy. They were really engaging and interesting. Something I hadn’t heard before. Check them out if you get the chance.

My absolute favorite show of the festival was Gogol Bordello. If you do not know who this band is, you must download; purchase; stream; YouTube them as soon as you can. Their albums do not do them justice at all. They are one of those bands that are known for their live show and believe it is a show. Gogol Bordello is this Gypsy Punk band from New York. 10 people make up the band, one of them being their lead singer, Eugene Hutz from Ukraine. He is one crazy MF! Their set went on forever and I never wanted it to stop. It was so high-energy and after it was over I was exhausted but was left wanting more!

I also saw part of the Crowded House set, Art Brut, Joss Stone, and John Legend. I checked some of the comedy shows which were great and some of the art exhibitions, including an exhibition dedicated to Nick Drake and the Flatstock Poster Show.

Tickets were a good deal. You can purchase them just for one of the days or all three days. You can also get a premium pass for a bit more which gets you VIP access to some of the performances. So if you are looking for one last hurrah before you have to go back to school or want something fun to do for Labor Day weekend, I highly suggest hitting up Bumbershoot in Seattle.

They will be announcing their 2008 line-up soon! So stay tuned in. They have RSS or you can join their mailing list. Check it out! www.bumbershoot.org

The spring and summer music season is upon us and we all know what that means: Music Festivals galore! Across the United States there are dozens of festivals going on throughout the spring and summer season! If you are a huge music fan, you should try and check some of them out if you get the chance. Over the next few days I am going to be blogging about several different music and arts festivals. Very few of them I have attended myself. I wish I had the time and the cash to attend them, but if anyone has had the opportunity to go to any of them, give me a shout and let me know how it went.

Cheers!

The New Music West Festival & Conference is the largest new music festival in Western Canada, showcasing over 200 bands during a five night, multi-venue music festival. NMW 2008, running May 14-18^th, will mark our 17^th year. Music industry professionals and fans will experience a music extravaganza that includes educational workshops, a conference, networking events and the latest in new and emerging talent from around the world.

I have been interning at New Music West working on the International showcases. We have Australia and the Netherlands signed on to send some bands over for the festival which is awesome. We are also in talks with France, New Zealand, Switzerland and Iceland to send over some artists. Hopefully they will be able to participate.

If you are a band or artist and you are interested in playing check out the New Music West website. www.newmusicwest.com and fill out an application. The application deadline is February 1st so submit your band soon!