2009 Rock The Bells Festival Series ( Lineup Announced )

Posted on | April 9, 2009 | No Comments

The Lineup for the 2009 Rock The Bells Festival series was announced
yesterday.

Nothing could beat last year’s unbelievably sick roster of ‘ol schoolers
(A Tribe Called Quest, Rakim, De La Soul, The Pharcyde … etc) but, some
names on this year’s list do pop out like The Roots, Nas, KRS-One, House Of Pain,
Slum Village.

Fun should be had by all but not here. Once again, the only Canadian dates
on this tour are for Toronto and Vancouver. Montrealers = shit out of luck.
A drive down the 401 will be in order to enjoy the festivities.

The whole shindig will be hosted by KRS-One, Supernatural, Murs, and Pete Rock.

The Lineup (with more to be announced and apparently some surprise performances)

Nas & Damian Marley, The Roots, Common, Big Boi, KRS-One, House of Pain,
Reflection Eternal, Tech N9ne, K’naan, RZA, Raekwon, Sage Francis,
M.O.P., Slaughterhouse, Eyedea & Abilities, Necro, Slum Village,
Evidence & The Alchemist, Tech N9ne, Chali 2na, Psycho Realm,
Mystic Journeymen, Buckshot, Mickey Factz, B. Dolan, and Tabi Boney.

Cities on the itinerary:

Chicago, Toronto, Washington, D.C., Boston, New York City, Denver,
Los Angeles, San Fransisco, Miami and Vancouver.

Update ( 05/10/09 )

Dates / Venues / Ticket Info:

Jun. 27 – First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre ( Chicago, IL ) * Tickets *
Jun. 28 – DTE Energy Music Theatre ( Detroit, MI ) * Tickets *
Jul. 05 – Molson Amphitheatre ( Toronto, ON ) * Tickets *
Jul. 12 – Merriweather Post Pavilion ( Washington, DC ) * Tickets *
Jul. 18 – Comcast Center ( Boston, MA ) * Tickets *
Jul. 19 – Jones Beach Theater ( New York, NY ) * Tickets *
Aug. 01 – Deer Lake Park ( Vancouver, BC ) * Tickets *
Aug. 06 – Red Rocks Amphitheatre ( Denver, CO ) * Tickets *
Aug. 08 – San Manuel Amphitheatre ( Los Angeles, CA ) * Tickets *
Aug. 09 – Shoreline Amphitheatre ( San Francisco, CA ) * Tickets *

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SXSW: 2009 Wrap Up

Posted on | April 5, 2009 | No Comments

I know I’ve been slacking on this, it probably should’ve been posted a week
ago but I got me a case of the lazies. Better late than never.

Just gonna keep it simple with some highlights/lowlights from this year’s
fest.

Highlights

Band discoveries: I got a few, most if not all were not on my list to see
but just so happens I ended up catching their sets like The Happy Hollows,
The Vandelles, The Republic Tigers and Magnet School all of which will
be featured in my next podcast.

The odd celebrity sightings: Had a few this year. Drew Barrymore and Weezer‘s
Brian Bell @ Antone’s for the Silversun Pickups show, Matthew McConaughey
@ Stubb’s (thankfully, a shirt was worned) the whole “Rockville, CA” crew …

I even shared floor space with MXPX singer Mike Herrera, who crashed at my
friend’s home for a night. That to me, I would classify as an odd encounter.

SXSW is a celebrity magnet. What’s cool about it is they come with no agenda,
just there as fans of good music.

Hassle free flights: except for the old woman sitting next to me who smelled
of onion and old age and flossed for a good 20 minutes infront of me, this
direct Air Canada flight from Toronto to Austin is the shit. Totally, booking
that bad boy again next year.

Superdrag: I’ve waited years to see them live, finally got my chance and
they did not disappoint. Even with the short set (less than 40 minutes)
it was the only show that gave me an honest-to-goodness music-gasm.
They were that good.

Other band highlights: Glasvegas, True Widow, Ume, Army Navy, +/-,
Sybris, Shad, The Bridges, The Life And Times, The Bird And The Bee,
Gliss, Silversun Pickups.

The Alamo Draft House Cinema on South Lamar : Top notch movie theater where
delicious meals/drinks are served by a stealth crew of waiters in complete
darkness while you’re watching the movie of your choice.

Be it newly released or old classics. Cheesy/funny footage of old movies,
TV shows, commercials, interviews, PSAs … in connection with the movie
you’re about to see are shown beforehand. A Really fun moviegoing experience
that I wish I had in my neck of the woods.

Texas weather: The sun may have been merciless (got me a face/arms burn to
prove it) but I enjoyed sunshine and warm weather for 8 straight days,
giving me a taste of the warm Montreal summer to come.

Lowlights

I ain’t got none.

Well …

Not seeing Superdrag 7 times like I intended but only seeing them once.
They had to canceled 2 shows (airline troubles), 2 of those shows I
couldn’t get in (woe is me) and 2 more where it conflicted with other bands
I was seeing. Hopefully, I’ll get a chance to see them again that is,
if they bring their asses on Canadian soil for a tour of our lovely
country.

Missing out on Dredg, The Muggabears, Rocco Deluca, Fatlip and the 4AD
showcase, Martina Topley-Bird & The Asteroid #4 (who both canceled their
showcases before the festival started) that bummed me out but whatcha gonna do.

So yeah, all and all this was a far better year than 2008. 352 days
till SXSW 2010. I for one, can’t wait.

Here’s the set of pix I took of the 8 days I was on Texas soil.
I wasn’t able to photograph all bands I saw and some of those pix didn’t
come out as well as I would’ve liked but there ya go.

My SXSW 2009 photo set on Flickr.

I also uploaded about 30 video excerpts of bands I filmed on YouTube
with my Canon Powershot. Some came out ok, others, the sound’s not so
hot but it still gives you a taste of what I experienced.

Videos

T-Model Ford @ Antone’s Record Shop ( 03.17.2009 )
True Widow @ Red 7 ( 03.17.2009 )
Ringo Deathstarr @ Elysium ( 03.17.2009 )
The Vandelles @ Elysium ( 03.17.2009 )
Whispertown 2000 @ Red Eyed Fly ( 03.18.2009 )
Glasvegas @ The Mohawk ( 03.19.2009 )
The Bridges @ Pure Volume House ( 03.19.2009 )
Army Navy @ The Sidebar ( 03.19.2009 )
Sybris @ Back Alley Social ( 03.20.2009 )
Gabriella Cilmi @ Brush Square Park ( 03.20.2009 )
Superdrag @ Guero’s Taco Bar ( 03.20.2009 )
Superdrag @ Guero’s Taco Bar ( 03.20.2009 )
Ume @ Club Primos ( 03.20.2009 )
Shad @ Wave ( 03.20.2009 )
Lisa Hannigan @ Central Presbyterian Church ( 03.20.2009 )
Laura Marling @ Central Presbyterian Church ( 03.20.2009 )
The Life And Times @ The Radio Room ( 03.21.2009 )
Asobi Seksu @ Cedar Street Courtyard ( 03.21.2009 )
Matt Hires @ Brush Square Park ( 03.21.2009 )
The Republic Tigers @ Brush Square Park ( 03.21.2009 )
The Knux @ Waterloo Records ( 03.21.2009 )
The Bird And The Bee @ Waterloo Records ( 03.21.2009 )
The Happy Hollows @ Antone’s ( 03.21.2009 )
Silversun Pickups @ Antone’s ( 03.21.2009 )
Gliss @ Austin Art Garage ( 03.22.2009 )
Magnet School @ Austin Art Garage ( 03.22.2009 )

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2009 Osheaga Music Festival ( Lineup Announced )

Posted on | March 31, 2009 | No Comments

I don’t know what it is about this blog and music festivals but …

Yesterday was all about All West Point and their lineup announcement,
today, It’s Osheaga‘s turn and right off the bat, it’s miles ahead
better then last year’s lineup.

Also, this year’s edition will be a 4 day affair, July 30-31 in the city,
August 1-2 on Sainte-Hélène Island (Parc Jean-Drapeau).

Coldplay and Beastie Boys are the headliners and you have bands like
Elbow (8 years i’ve waited for them to come back and play our fair city,
and it’s at an outdoor music fest) The Roots, Girl Talk, Lykke Li,
Artic Monkeys (back for their 2nd time), The Ting Tings,
local bands Winter Gloves and Parlovr and so many many
more rounding out this year’s roster.

This is without a doubt, Osheaga‘s best lineup to date and I have a
tough decision ahead of me. Go to APW and have a chance to stay a
few days in NYC in the process? or just be lazy and stay home and
see some of the same bands I’d get to see at APW.

Since this is only Osheaga‘s partial lineup being announced today,
we’ll see how the rest of said lineup turns out.

Tickets go onsale this Friday @ noon.

Updates:

( 06. 16. 2009 ) Yeah Yeah Yeahs Added to The Lineup
( 07. 02. 2009 ) Some More bands Added to The Lineup
( 07. 17. 2009 ) The Full Schedule Revealed
( 07. 24. 2009 ) Beastie Boys Out, Vampire Weekend In
( 07. 27. 2009 ) Podcast #102: Osheaga 2009 Edition

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2009 All Points West Music Festival ( Lineup Announced )

Posted on | March 30, 2009 | 1 Comment

A week after being back from the insanity that was South By Southwest
(a wrapup with pix and videos will be online later this week) it made
me left thinking about my next music festival excursion(s).

In my neck of the woods, We have our own outdoor music festival Osheaga
happening this year from July 30th to August 2nd.

There’s the Virgin Music Festival in Toronto which I always meant to go
to but never actually made firm plans to attend. I may do so this year.

Rock The Bells, for lovers of hip hop of yore (‘ol school, bitches!) which you can
count me in as one of those lovers. I can’t wait to see what kind of sick lineup
these RTB fools will concoct this year.

The two giant, Chicago based summer music fests Pitchfork (July 17-19)
and Lollapalooza (August 7-9) looks mighty enticing since they usually have
great lineups and I always wanted to visit The Windy City, which would make this
a great all-around trip.

And this morning, the 2nd annual All Points West Music Festival lineup was announced:

Alot of the same names are floating around from festival to festival but this being
in New York (sorry, Jersey City) and alot of the big names I have either never seen
live (Beastie Boys, My Bloody Valentine, Q-Tip, The Pharcyde (SWEET!) or have
but it’s been years and years since I had the pleasure to see them do their thing in the
flesh (Elbow I’m looking at you) APW will be hard to pass up on.

Oh what to do … what to do …

TICKETS can be purchased HERE.

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SXSW: Scheduling Is Hard To Do

Posted on | March 15, 2009 | No Comments

Soooo many bands and so many many choices.

Long hours went into compiling my SXSW schedule, suffered perhaps some mild
brain damage from all the hard choices I had to make.

It was brutal but I believe i got me a damn fine schedule. Worthy of my second visit to
the live music capital of the world.

A long, fun week ahead for me.

Coming from a cold, depressing Montreal winter to a sunny, hot Texas sun ain’t bad either.

Here’s what I can look forward to:

Tuesday

The Muggabears, True Widow, Ume, Ringo Deathstarr, Gomez.

Wednesday

Ferraby Lionheart, Superdrag, The Drones, The Von Bondies, Plus Minus, Ume
Overcasters, The Aimless Never Miss, The Sleepover Disaster, St. Vincent
Aqualung.

Thursday

Bishop Allen, Ume, Great Northern, Glasvegas, Annuals, Miniature Tigers
Superdrag, The Bridges, Army Navy, Tricky, The Features, The Asteroid #4
Sybris, Two Hours Traffic, Fight Like Apes, Gomez, Rocco Deluca And The Burden.

Friday

Gabriella Cilmi, Superdrag, Alela Diane, The Features, Mark Olson & Gary Louris
The Sonics, Shad, Minipop, Silversun Pickups, Superdrag, Lisa Hannigan,
The Bird And The Bee, Laura Marling, Brother Reade, Jason Lytle, Fight Like Apes,
Dredg.

Saturday

Sky Larkin, The Life And Times, The Bird And The Bee, Asobi Seku, Low Line Caller,
The Knux, Superdrag, Yelle, The Morning After Girls, Dredg, Silversun Pickups,
Glasvegas, Les Handclaps, Superdrag, Fatlip, Explosions In The Sky.

Sunday

Gliss, The Boxing Lesson, Grady, Caspian.

All top choices on each given hours when the festival is in full effect.
Anything can change at any moments. Always have 3 or 4 bands on the backburner.
And that’s not even taking into account the bands I’ll surely discover by accident.

That happens alot.

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Category: Festivals, SXSW
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