The Road to Sasquatch! is a semi-regular feature on Ear Candy that will help you get ready for the 2010 Sasquatch! Music Festival. Below is a YouTube playlist of some Sasquatch! artists for your listening pleasure.
Being that we are just days away, I know Sasquatchamania is running wild around these parts. I'm not here to harsh on your buzz, but rather stoke the fire even more, so I scoured everybody's favorite series of tubes and found 27 video gems from acts that'll take the stage this weekend. So behold, The Sasquatch! 2010 YouTube Playlist! Below are a few selections from the playlist to whet your appetite for the full meal deal that will be going down at the Gorge along with the full tracklisting.
Alas, my pix of Muse will not go down in history as my best. The band required us to shoot from the mixing board. (A clear opposite policy than the one three years ago when I shot Muse. Photos from that, much closer set here ). I don't have a 300mm 2.8 or anything close to it -- and no desire to rent the gear for a band I've already shot.
Most of my shots just give you an idea of how much of a bigger band Muse has become since that stripped down set in 2007. I'll post more at www.stevenfriederich.com, likely tomorrow. Here's a set list from The Seattle Times:
We Are the Universe (Intro) Uprising Resistance New Born Supermassive Black Hole Interlude + Hysteria Guiding Light Nishe United States of Eurasia Ruled by Secrecy Feeling Good (Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newley cover) Helsinki Jam Undisclosed Desires Starlight Unnatural Selection Time Is Running Out Plug in Baby (Encore) Exogenesis: Symphony Part I (Overture) Stockholm Syndrome Man with a Harmonica + Knights of Cydonia
What if Stan Lee, the creator of Spider-Man and dozens of other super heroes, met the man the world knows as Spock?
Sounds like a crazy reality TV show, but it’s really going to happen this weekend at the eighth annual Emerald City Comicon in Seattle. The convention takes place Saturday and Sunday at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle. A two-day pass is $35. Saturday only is $25. Sunday only is $20.
Star Trek’s Leonard Nimoy joins Stan Lee and dozens of other guests for the annual convention. They’ll be signing comics, toys and other memorabilia and posing for pictures all day Saturday. The schedule of events is located online at http://www.emeraldcitycomicon.com.
During the afternoon on Saturday, they’ll both be speaking about their lives and will likely take questions from their fans. Nimoy will return on Sunday but Lee is dashing off to parts unknown on Day 2 of the convention.
Halloween must be coming early this year. Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper are teaming up to create one hell of a tour this spring -- that is completely missing Western Washington. Zombie announced today on just about every social medium there is (Facebook, Twitter, MySpace) that the tour would hit the Pacific Coliseum at Vancouver, B.C. on May 1 and ditch Seattle and travel to the Toyota Center in Kennewick, Wash. of all places on May 2. Details at http://www.gruesometwosometour.com/
Bummer.
My bet is he's under contract to stay away from Western Washington because Zombie is slated to co-headline the Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival this summer with Korn. The heavy metal fest arrives July 13 at the White River Amphitheater in Auburn, Wash.
I've seen Zombie a number of times -- have even taken a road trip to see him in Salem, Ore. and again to Spokane, Wash. His shows are always over the top with tons of pyro, loud guitars and is worth every dime every time.
The Seattle Art Museum will host a modern art exhibit entitled “Kurt,” exploring the influence of former Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain on artists. The exhibit is slated to begin a six-month stint on May 13
Resident Twitter maestro Travis Hay (aka Sir Ear Candy) alerted me late last night that Chris Cornell had something interesting to say in 140 characters or less. It turns out Cornell is apparently done with his atrocious Timbaland-produced Scream album, and has announced that Soundgarden is back. The message reads: "The 12 year break is over & school is back in session. Sign up now. Knights of the Soundtable ride again! www.soundgardenworld.com"
At the Soundgarden World web site, you can sign up to (presumably) get the latest Soundgarden news -- and if you do sign up, they reward with the music video for the Louder Than Love gem "Get on the Snake."
Here they are -- the 20 songs I couldn't get out of my damn head this year. And just when you thought you knew me, I throw you a curveball at No. 1. I'm a sneaky bastard, I tell ya.
It's been a while since I've checked in, but I figured what with the year ending and all, it was probably about time I got my favorite albums of the year together. And that's exactly what I've done.
If you ever forget that rock and roll is supposed to be fun, pull out this record. MSHVB hardly holds back their energy on this 10-song set, and when they do ("Albatross, Albatross, Albatross"), it results in an epic trip though space, time, and random chicks playing instruments that aren't really instruments.
8. Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
It's not quite Fox Confessor, but it's damn close. Though she's clearly grown into an excellent songwriter ("This Tornado Loves You" and "People Got A Lotta Nerve"), Neko's golden pipes are best in use on covers "Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth" (Sparks) and "Don't Forget Me" (the legendary Harry Nilsson).
7. Monsters of Folk - S/T
Hey look, it's The Traveling Wilburys, but with infinitely less famous members and definitely better tunes. Jim James plays George Harrison (because he's the MVP), M. Ward is Tom Petty (best songwriter), Mike Mogis is Jeff Lynne (for the "Who the hell is that guy?" factor), and Conor Oberst is Bob Dylan (Get it? Because both have annoying, impossible to enjoy vocal deliveries). In spite of Oberst (can you tell I don't like him?), the dudes put together the perfect CD for this era. And despite their name, they stray away from the folk tag just enough on the catchy "Say Please" and the amazing "Dear God (sincerely M.O.F.)" to keep you interested through a set of 15.
6. The Decemberists - Hazards of Love
It's one of those love it or hate it situations, and personally, I can't get enough of 2009's best rock opera (take that, Green Day). The key to Hazards of Love isn't the story or the progginess or the fact that Colin Meloy somehow manages to sound even more bookish than normal. No, the key is that you can pull out songs like "The Rake's Song" or "The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid," and they well stand on their own. Well, the Black Mountain-esque guitar heaviness during the second half of the album is pretty sweet, too.
5. Arctic Monkeys - Humbug
The band that every NME-reading indie kid gets a boner about ditched their foppish style from their first two albums, instead enlisting Josh Homme to produce and add some desert swagger to their sound. Mission accomplished. The riffs and atmospherics on "My Propeller," "Crying Lightning" and, most importantly, "Pretty Visitors" are without comparison in this day and age. Before, Arctic Monkeys were good. Now they're badass.
I'll let Travis handle the review and I think there may be some photos from my photog pal Alex at some point, but I went to the Home for the Horrordays show last Saturday, hung in the crowd, tried to avoid the mosh pit (too much) and had a great time. It was Kane Hodder's and Schoolyard Heroes last show and the debut of the leftovers of Schoolyard into Blood Cells and People Eating People.
I wrote a "Grunge Gift Guide" for The Daily World a week or so back. It's not located online, alas, since it ran in our entertainment section -- which is a print only product. But I wanted to share it here, too. Some of the items have already been reviewed by Travis, but I have some new offerings -- specifically so-called "grunge" related books.
Whether grunge is alive and well, as one recently published book spells out, or “Grunge is Dead” as another recently published book boldly claims, there’s no question that you can make any music fan happy with the ’90s era-inspired books, music and DVDs that have been pouring out onto the market this year. Westport Winery even has a bottle of Nirvana-inspired wine.
T
