THE FANS OF SASQUATCH!

we met and saw some amazing people during Sasquatch.  here are just a few pix of the characters we saw.

ROAD TRIPPIN' WITH THE ICE CREAM MAN

We had the opportunity to chat with the Ice Cream Man last weekend at Sasquatch. The Ice Cream man travels around the US to different festivals handing out free ice cream. He also does these amazing session with the bands...here he is with Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros at Sasquatch!

RAY AND THE PARIAH DOGS

Acclaimed recording artist Ray LaMontagne is set to release his new album, Ray LaMontagne & The Pariah Dogs - God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise on August 17th, 2010 on RCA Records. This is his fourth studio record, and the follow-up to his heralded Gossip in the Grain.

Entirely self produced (for the first time) God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise was recorded in two weeks at LaMontagne's home in the woods of western Massachusetts. The newly restored historic home served as a homemade recording studio for Ray and his fellow musicians. The setting provided a backdrop for the creation of songs imbued with Ray's signature poignancy. With Ray's vocals at the forefront of the songs and a loose, almost live sounding recording, the album stands as a testament to a band at the height of their powers. The newly coined 'Pariah Dogs', consists of Jay Bellarose(drums), Jennifer Condos (bass), Patrick Warren (keyboard), Eric Heywood(guitar) and Greg Leisz (pedal steel guitar). Individually, these musicians have contributed to the live work of such heralded musicians including Beck, Joe Henry, Tom Waits, Lucinda Williams, Ryan Adams and Joe Cocker to name a few of their career highlights. Together with Ray, they shared a sense that the sessions for this record were rare and extraordinary.

Ray's last album Gossip in the Grain debuted at #3 on the Billboard charts. He appeared on multiple television programs including a coveted spot on Saturday Night Live. Ray will hit the road with David Gray beginning August 15th and ending September 10th. During his last North American tour, Spin.com proclaimed Ray, "illustrated a near flawless transition from a front porch in Maine to the front of the most prestigious stage in the world (Radio City Music Hall)."

Confirmed Tour Dates for David Gray and Ray LaMontagne are as follows:

August 15 Columbia, MD Merriweather Post Pavilion
August 17 Boston, MA Bank of America Pavilion
August 18 Boston, MA Bank of America Pavilion
August 19 Wantagh, NY Nikon @ Jones Beach
August 20 Camden, NJ Susquehanna Bank Center
August 25 Chicago, IL Millennium Park
August 26 Rochester, MI Meadow Brook Theatre
August 27 Toronto, ON Molson Amphitheatre
August 29 Council Bluffs, IA Stir Cover @ Harrah's Council Bluffs
August 30 Morrison, CO Red Rocks Amphitheatre
August 31 Santa Fe, NM Santa Fe Opera House
Sept. 1 Phoenix, AZ Dodge Theatre
Sept. 3 Las Vegas, NV The Pearl @ The Palms
Sept. 4 Valley Center, CA Harrahs Rincon
Sept. 5 Santa Barbara, CA Santa Barbara Bowl
Sept. 8 Los Angeles, CA The Greek Theatre
Sept. 10 San Francisco, CA The Greek Theatre

MY LITTLE UNICORN

WE HAVE BEEN SASQUATCHED!

This last weekend was a great weekend for musicbleep as we headed up to Seattle to catch the SASQUATCH! Music Festival at the Gorge in Washington, and I have to say, it was quite the magical weekend! We started out our adventure on Friday night in Ballard, a neighborhood in Seattle known for a list of cherished music venues and hidden hot spots.  After dinner at King's Hardware, we were headed back to the car and passed Aaron Dessner from one of our favorite bands, The National.  Now, it was my birthday and I did meet them on my birthday two years ago, so I thought this to be a little ironic, so I had to stop him.  The next thing you know, we were at the Tractor Tavern with the National drinking PBR's and watching an intimate set by Peter Buck from R.E.M.  That was just the beginning.  The next morning we got up and drove east, past the cascades and pine trees to the Gorge.

The spectacular views of the Columbia River, and the broken cliff edges of the gorge as the backdrop and scenery for the amazing lineup of artists that they put together, set the mood for the weekend and was certainly well thought out.  Each day had remarkable sets, no matter which stage you chose; Sasquatch Main, Bigfoot or the Yeti, you were guaranteed a great performance.

We arrived early Day 1 of the festival to make sure that we caught some of the earlier acts; Laura Marling, Mumford & Sons (unbelievable)  Portugal. The Man (whom we had the chance to hang out and chat with after their show), The Middle East,  Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros (best show of theirs I have seen so far),  and a speechless performance by The National.  Just to name a few.

The overall set-up of the festival was amazing, with it being built out of nature and using nature as the driving force behind the acoustics for live performances, to the overall vibe of the people that were there.  Nobody was there to fight, push, or shove (although there were times where a lot of dancing and pushing around during shows), everybody was there to share an experience that we all have a common bond over and that is MUSIC!  And to have it all laid out in those breathtaking surroundings, created a complete package.

Day 2 of the fest we started out our day right by hitting the Bigfoot stage, which was right by the entrance and two ponds.  Local Natives opened our late morning with lively energy and then we walked our way down the gorge to the Sasquatch stage to see Seattle locals The Long Winters, and They Might Be Giants (I bought my first TMBG album in the 7th grade, it was a nostalgic moment).  We decided to just take in all that was going on for a while; walking around, people-watching, checking out different stages and bands and then wondered back up the hill the catch an unforgettable set by the UK's The XX.  And they KILLED it!  We had the opportunity to meet up with the XX after and talked to them for a while.  We finished our day by watching a set by LCD Soundsystem which just blew us away.  Spectacle not to be missed.

Sadly Day 3 arrived *tear*.  But our frowns were quickly turned upside down, because we still had a FULL DAYS worth of bands and music we love.  Our day started of rather early with a surprisingly interesting performance by Detroit's Mayor Hawthorne and then some of our favorite AUSSIE'S....The Temper Trap, where Dougy and Co. nailed it, once again!  Drums + Water = RAD!  The Passion Pit soon came after and we danced to their electro-rock beats.  We were preparing ourselves for a more mellow ending to our evening, but She & Him have, well grown.  When musicbleep first saw this "duo", they were just that, Zooey and M.Ward.  Now they are a full grown band with much more upbeat and danceable sounds.  And how can you resist her face and personality...so adorable.  We had some time to kill so we walked around a bit and caught up with the drummer and singer from Band of Horses.  They were really sweet guys and very humble, which was nice to see with their quick rise to their success.  They soon took the stage and...I don't even know what to say.  We have been listening to them for years, but to see them live completely introduced us to them on a whole new level. After they finished their unspeakably amazing collections of songs, we walked up to finish the night with The New Pornographers, which we all know involves one of musicbleeps favorite singer/songwriters, Neko Case.  I have seen them before, but to see them so close to their Canadian home, was very special.  They were full of personality and humor, and then put on the perfect final touch to this amazing weekend!

As you can imagine, this was a great experience and we are so grateful that we were a part of it and be able to bring all the music love back to share with all of our muscbleep readers.  Keep reading this week as we will doing full individual reviews of highlighted performances, as well as reviews on some upcoming shows this week: The School of Seven Bells, The Hundred In The Hand, The Middle East and Mumford & Sons (yes, twice in one week).  We are very excited and look forward to going back to the SASQUATCH! Festival next year.  I'm sure the line-up of artists and the atmosphere will just be as great as this year, if not better.

WE ARE SASQUATCH!!

STORY: TONY CRAGO/CORY RADKE 
PHOTOS: TONY CRAGO/CORY RADKE

WORLD PREMIERE VIDEO - THE HUNDRED IN THE HANDS

Brooklyn duo The Hundred in the Hands have premiered a video for new track ‘Tom Tom’ (directed by Ben Crook) today at the Fader, as well as giving away the track “Ghosts” (the first song the duo ever wrote together as The Hundred in the Hands) at their website, http://thehundredinthehands.com/.

Both tracks are taken from their EP This Desert, released last week and described as “an absolute pleasure” by Drowned in Sound and given “two thumbs up” from Time Out London. You can sample the EP here (with a little help from Fab 5 Freddy and Grandmaster Flash): http://bit.ly/9JvqJj

The band follow the EP with a slew of worldwide tour dates and festival slots, kick-starting things with a US tour in June supporting Golden Filter before moving through Europe and the UK towards the release of their debut album in the Autumn. A list of dates is below, with many more to be announced in the coming weeks.

SCHOOL OF SEVEN BELLS - TONIGHT AT THE ECHO

I'll be heading out later tonight to check out School of Seven Bells @ the Echo in Echo Park. If you're up for, come out and check em out! I think they go on around 11pm!

ROBYN ANNOUNCES TOUR WITH KELIS

Robyn and Kelis will kick off a North American co-headlining tour on July 23rd at The Music Box in Los Angeles. Last week the two exchanged tweets about the outing, deciding to name it the All Hearts tour. Robyn and Kelis have selected UK sensation Dan Black and renowned DJ crew Far East Movement to kick off the festivities. Full tour dates are below.


After Los Angles the tour will call in San Francisco, Boston, Washington, Philadelphia and New York.

Robyn will also be playing a series of solo shows and festivals during her time in the US and Canada including Chicago, Detroit, Solana Beach, Montreal and Toronto.

Full tour schedule here. Buy exclusive pre-release tickets on Robyn ticket store here.


See Robyn's other live dates and festival appearances across Europe in the Events section of Robyn.com

I've had the chance to see Robyn live a few times in L.A. - she's amazing!  Get your tickets early, cuz tix will go fast for this one. 

EXCLUSIVE FIRST LISTEN - ECLIPSE SOUNDTRACK - 24 HOURS ONLY!

In other news... I know I've been talking Sasquatch for the past week now and I'll continue with a few more items over the next few days; however, I have to throw in some other music related stories to keep you all informed.  Look what's fresh today....
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse soundtrack is now streaming exclusively at http://www.eclipsesoundtrack.com/ for 24 hours only.

The soundtrack is available in stores and online next Tuesday, June 8th via Chop Shop/Atlantic.  It features music from Muse, Metric, The Bravery, Band of Horses, Sia & many more.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse hits theatres Wednesday, June 30th.

This is sure to be another smash from the GREAT Alex Patsavis!  She is the Music Supervisor behind Grey's Anatomy, The Oc, Private Practice and the first two Twilight films.She can do no wrong in my eyes...BIG FAN!!

SASQUATCH DAY 3 - BAND OF HORSES

PHOTOS:CORY RADKE

SASQUATCH DAY 3 - SHE & HIM

PHOTOS:CORY RADKE

SASQUATCH DAY 3 - THE TEMPER TRAP

PHOTOS: TONY CRAGO

SASQUATCH DAY 3 - PASSION PIT

PHOTOS: TONY CRAGO

SASQUATCH DAY 2 WRAP UP!

Another awesome day at Sasquatch! It was hard to beat the first day, but it surely didn't disappoint. We kicked off the day with L.A.'s own Local Natives.  A band I've been wanting to see for some time now...

A few other highlights from the day were The XX, They Might Be Giants, Tegan & Sara and LCD Soundsystem.  We were a little sad that City of Colour didn't make it out, but Mt. St. Helen's Vietnam Band filled in and did an amazing job.

This weekend is seriously like a music lover's dream.  I can't turn my head without seeing one of my favorite bands.  I'm like on overload and it's only day 2.  I had to pinch myself at one point, cuz I seriously thought I was dreaming.

Off to sleep... one more day of music bliss.  Tomorrow's lineup includes: The Temper Trap, She & Him, Band of Horses and The New Pornoghraphers.  

Follow my Sasquatch Tweets: @musicbleep

SASQUATCH DAY 2 - THE XX

PHOTOS:CORY RADKE

SASQUATCH DAY 2 - LOCAL NATIVES

PHOTOS:CORY RADKE

STARS

Lovely, lovely STARS live at the famous Troubadour!



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Issaquah,United States

SASQUATCH DAY 1 WRAP UP

DAY 1 @ Sasquatch was amazing! We had the opportunity to see so many great sets from some of our favorite artists.  We also met some truly amazing people and got to see first hand why Sasquatch is so magical.

Some highlights from the day were Mumford & Sons, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, The Middle East, The National and a ton more.   The lineup was out of control!!

We will have a full report later in the week.  Continue to check back for daily photos, tweets & more.

musicbleep.com + twitter: @musicbleep

SASQUATCH DAY 1 - THE NATIONAL

PHOTOS: TONY CRAGO