Squamish Valley Music Festival Day 2

Day 2 of Squamish Fest started with a slight hangover and another unbearably hot tent at 8:30 in the gaw damn mornin'! It was another full day of the familiar campground activities of beers, buds, yard games, BBQing and mingling. On the way back from a pilgrimage to the pit stop (yes the porta-potties were far from our site and featured lengthy lineups) a group of campers were admiring my David Bowie t-shirt and before I could even thank and cheers them they had made me a tantalizing proposition: would you like to do a Louisville Chugger? Having no idea what I was getting myself into I responded in the only way I know how: Fuck Yeah! Next thing I know I'm pouring the final 3/4 of my beer into the end of a blue plastic baseball bat. Then I'm chugging it as the others count how long I'm taking. For every second that I took I then have to spin around with my head on the bat that many times. I have no recollection how long it was but it was definitely double digits. Finally once the spinning was over it was time to hit the lightly tossed whiffle ball outta the park. Well I think I came sorta close... but completely missed and fell with style onto the grass. Everyone cheered and had a good laugh as I high-fived everyone and grabbed a new beer. Another classic music festival moment.

After what would be the final shot-gun of the weekend myself and a few others made our way into the grounds to listen and party to the wild gypsy punk of Gogol Bordello. The 3rd best live show of the day was one that I have become very familiar with; a grimy spectacle of intense moshing to the crazy, undefinable slurry of music by eight immigrant punks that together make up one of the best live acts on planet earth. I have seen Gogol Bordello four times now and every time they absolutely crush it, packing a dozen or so songs of relentless high-energy into a whirlwind show that will always leave you dizzy and wanting more. The Brooklyn-based band is really a true global band. The members are from countries such as Ethiopia, China, USA and Ecuador. Their fearless and crazy frontman, Eugene Hutz, who hails from Ukraine, leads the band through a tour de force of intense energy through gypsy punk music. I'm simply running out of adjectives to describe this band and will just say that if you have never heard of or seen Gogol Bordello live it is an absolute must; something to check off your bucket list. The song I have chosen by them is "My Companjera" from their 2010 album Trans-Continental Hustle inspired by the music and sounds of Brazil. They played it dead smack in the middle of their set and, as usual, the crowd and band went berserk.

3.) Gogol Bordello - My Companjera

After the intense gypsy punk we made our way to the second biggest stage to catch Fitz & The Tantrums. After sitting and relaxing through most of the set we got up and danced our asses off for the final few songs which included the new single "Out Of My League" and their most famous number, "MoneyGrabber". That song was definitely the highlight as they nailed it and the crowd loved every second of it. It also truly is a great song; one of the best of this decade in my opinion. After all the dancing and moshing I was feeling very parched so it only made sense to head back to the beer garden by the main stage where Band Of Horses were playing. I like and respect Band Of Horses but am not a huge fan so they provided the perfect background soundtrack to our crushing of beers. They played my favourite, "Ode To LRC", near the end of a solid set and then quickly got out of the way for the main attraction of the night.

Queens Of The Stone Age are one of my absolute favourite modern rock bands. Singer, lead guitarist and main writer Josh Homme is one of the best dudes in the biz right now. After momentarily dying on the operating table a few years ago he and his bandmates came back with a vengeance, recording ...Like Clockwork, an early candidate for album of the year. It's always awesome to see bands that you've loved for a long time and that have a full catalog of classic hits to play. But there's something very awesome about seeing a band with a great history of music that is also currently at the top of their game. 

QOTSA came out blazing with hits like "No One Knows", "Burn The Witch", and "My God Is The Sun" off of their newest album. Then Homme brought things down a bit with the haunting ballad "The Vampyre Of Time And Memory" where he played piano and guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen played the stabbing, Neil Youngish solo. Right after that song came my personal favourite and another early candidate for song of the year, "If I Had A Tail" (this would be the featured song had I not already used it earlier this summer) and Homme told the crowd to "get ready to shake your ass and dance". This was an early highlight as the band hit every note while the crowd did Josh proud and danced our asses off. During the next song some dumbass fan decided to hop onto the stage. Seeing no security going after him right away, Homme left his post behind the mic and gave the kid a good shove off the stage and back into the crowd. This was greeted with a huge cheer that came to an abrupt halt when the band stopped playing as Homme pleaded with the crowd to stop beating the poor bastard up and said something along the lines of "don't fucking come up here but don't hurt him either... now where were we" and they kicked back into gear. Up next came another personal favourite, "Make It Wit Chu" which the band just slayed and is my chosen song to represent the best live band of day 2. Another very danceable track, "Make It Wit Chu" comes from QOTSA's 5th album, Era Vulgaris. The chug-along beat makes you bob your head along and the high-pitched chorus is ridiculously catchy. The Queens closed out the set with even more hits such as "Little Sister" and "Go With The Flow" which both featured blistering extended guitar solos and early hit "Feel Good Hit Of The Summer". By the end I was supremely satisfied with the show and was feeling quite fucked up and ready to hit up the dance tent for the final act of the weekend.

1.) Queens Of The Stone Age - Make It Wit Chu

Right before the final artist came on I decided to try to grab a quick bottle of water. The area that I went over to happened to be the smallest stage where BC band Bear Mountain were playing their unique brand of live-band electro-pop. I never did find water but did catch their first two songs which also happened to be my two favourites, "Faded" and "Congo". These guys seem to have a lot of talent and potential and I look forward to following their career. Had it not been for the fact that Pretty Lights was the final act I would've stayed to watch them.

For the first time of the weekend the entire crew was together and ready for Pretty Lights to take the stage. We made our way up close on the side and set in for a whirlwind of EDM, dancing, and some very pretty lights. I had seen Pretty Lights last year as the night one headliner at Sasquatch. At that show the spectacle of the stage, screens, and light show was incredible but the music lacked that punch, often all sounding quite similar to each other. This time Pretty Lights didn't have a crazy stage setup or even screens; just a dude behind his DJ gear mixing some incredible tracks. The songs were distinct from one another yet still flowed seamlessly. The entire crowd was grooving and just in a great mood. Highlights included the track below, "Finally Moving", a super bluesy chilled out tune that samples Etta James' "Oh sometimes I get a good feeling..." and my personal favourite "I Can See It In Your Face". When the horn sample kicked in I remember looking over at my friends and the ecstatic looks on their faces summed up an incredible weekend. I had an absolute blast and would recommend Squamish Valley Music Festival to anyone; the gorgeous setting, solid lineup and overall great vibes will keep fans coming back.

2.) Pretty Lights - Finally Moving

Squamish Valley Music Festival Day 1

This past Thursday a crew of seven of us made our way via two car convoy up to the small city of Squamish, BC to catch some amazing local and international live music, incredible weather, and lots of partying. Squamish is located at roughly the midway point of the Sea-to-Sky highway that connects Vancouver to Whistler. After a few trips down south to the Sasquatch Music Festival it was rad to finally get to check out the best of what beautiful British Columbia has to offer.

After purchasing a shit load of food and booze and stuffing the cars to their brim it was 6pm and time to roll out. It was smooth sailing for about 90 minutes and then BOOM! Several kilometres before our desired exit we were already stuck in what seemed like the never-ending lineup. Luckily for my vehicle up front we were chugging a couple beers and blasting tunes which started a number of roadside dance parties. By the time we reached the exit it was officially dark and Matt Mays had taken the stage for the "Opening Night Hootenanny". And soon it became apparent that we were not going to have a hope in hell of making this show. Oh well, too many beers and some night one steaks were waiting for us at the camp site. All we had to do now were get through the next 2 checkpoints and lineups, drop off all the gear outside the campground, go park the car in butt-fuck nowhere, come back and make too-many-to-count trips between the drop-off area and out campsite and then set everything up. Suddenly it was 1am and we were shotgunning our first beer. By 2:30am I was finally eating my dinner. By 4:30am I was wasted enough to go pass out in the cold tent.

But by the next day at Beer o'Clock (somewhere around 10am...) everyone had forgotten the shit show that went down whilst getting there and our attention had now turned to crushing beers, smoking j's, playing yard games, mingling with other campers, and plotting the day's music acts we'd try to see. After all of the above occurred in epic fashion for several hours it was finally time to check out the festival grounds and some music. First up were Victoria's The Chantrelles, a band that my buddy had only told us all about hours before we were dancing front and centre to their early afternoon set. The seven-piece band has an excellent motown sound and their soulful, female lead singer just slayed every song. Think Alabama Shakes but less guitar and more horns. I expect big things from this group and am looking forward to following them in the future.

After we had somewhat gathered our bearings of the grounds and loaded $40 on our wristbands (this is the only way one can purchase alcohol) it was time to head back to the site for more beers, bud and BBQ. After two full grills of the best campground chicken I've ever had it was time to return to the music and for shit to really begin.

Up first, and number three on my list of top 3 live acts of the day, were hip-hop legends Jurassic 5. J5 have been around since the mid-90's and have just reformed this summer with the original lineup intact, including the great baritone Chali 2na and DJ Cut Chemist (who left the group a while back). They played a high-energy set covering the entirety of their career, providing moments for each of the four rappers to shine as well as the two DJs to have a scratch off. They opened with the below track, one of my personal favourites and a great song to come out to and played classics such as "I Am Somebody" and "Concrete Schoolyard". But during the middle of the encore I got a call that Macklemore was coming to the main stage and we were off like a flash.

#3)  Jurassic 5 - Back 4 You

I have always admired Macklemore & Ryan Lewis but I would never consider them one of my top hip-hop acts and likely would not go see them live unless at a festival such as this. Well number 2 on my top 3 of the day list certainly put those beliefs to rest. From the moment Macklemore stepped on stage he had the entire crowd listening to his every word and watching his every move. The dude is incredibly charismatic and is a superb storyteller. Stories during shows are often remembered even more than your favourite song as it provides a unique experience for those in the crowd. Well Mackelmore told his fair share of stories, such as that when he arrived he was sweaty and hot and immediately went swimming butt naked at a nearby, deserted lake only to have his clothes stolen by rotten teenagers (not so empty after all). But then he was picked up by a dude in a golf cart with an epic beard that only a Canadian could have and was taken straight to the Thrift Shop. He proceeded directly into his #1 international smash and killed it along with Wanz who sings that awesome hook. But he wasn't done there as he launched into an impassioned speech about how Canada has always been a step ahead of the rest of the world in terms of human rights and then played his gay friendly anthem "Same Love". After a few more great tracks and a crowd walk he told the us about how he loves Canada so much that he's marrying a Canadian, gonna have Canadian kids and is becoming a dual citizen. At this point he whipped off the poncho he'd been wearing only to show a baby blue Vancouver Grizzlies Mike Bibby basketball jersey. As one can imagine, the crowd went berserk. And after a few more songs, including the below track, the current hit "Can't Hold Us" and two encores the party was over and an electric crowd began heading back towards the food area and/or beer garden.

#2)  Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - White Walls (feat. ScHoolboy Q & Hollis)

So Macklemore & Ryan Lewis were ridiculously good and only one band was left for the main stage, Vampire Weekend. I was lucky enough to see these guys at a festival three years ago when they played a mid-afternoon set on a side stage and they were fucking awesome. Well now they had the glorious headlining slot and had to step their game up big time. And oh hell yes they sure did. Unlike Macklemore who, as a rapper, has the freedom to move anywhere around the stage these guys are all confined to their respective instruments. Therefore they have the difficult job of making the audience do all the moving. They succeeded wonderfully at this, putting the entire crowd into a dancing frenzy on tracks such as the opener "Cousins", their first big hit "A-Punk" and new ones "Unbelievers" (below) and "Ya Hey". I really didn't think anyone could top Macklemore & Ryan Lewis but the energy brought by these guys as well as their incredible musicianship and tightness as a band provided an amazing end to an amazing day. Stay tuned for Day 2.

#1)  Vampire Weekend - Unbelievers