Fri 25 May – Sasquatch! Music Festival 2012
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Santigold / Jack White / The Shins / tUnE-yArDs / Bon Iver / The Joy Formidable / Tenacious D
Gorge Amphitheatre, George WA May 25-28
By Alan Ranta

Wed 9 May – The Black Keys, Arctic Monkeys
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The Black Keys / Arctic Monkeys
Rogers Arena, Vancouver BC May 9
By Alan Ranta

Sheffield's Arctic Monkeys are not the most skilled band ever. Their songs are all fairly straightforward, and whenever there's syncopation or an offbeat rhythm, it's like they all hold their breath and brace themselves. Frontman Alex Turner doesn't have much range vocally and bassist Nick O'Malley sounded out of place a couple times when backing him up. It also doesn't help that O'Malley and lead guitarist Jamie Cook have all the stage…

Fri 4 May – Ty Segall, White Fence
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Ty Segall & White Fence
Waldorf Hotel, Vancouver BC May 4
By Alan Ranta

Touring together in support of their collaborative album Hair, but performing separately, Ty Segall and Tim Presley's White Fence turned the Waldorf into a surging sauna.

While the fuzzy psych pop and spiritual folk rock musings of White Fence's 2011 album Is Growing Faith come off rather detached on record, their live renditions tapped directly into the soul of garage rock and punk. The rhythm guitar, drums and bass locked into heady…

Thu 3 May – Said The Whale, Chains of Love
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Said the Whale / Chains of Love
Vogue, Vancouver BC May 4
By Alan Ranta

Showcasing the present and future of the vibrant Vancouver indie rock scene, the fresh-faced Chains of Love and established Said the Whale both professed their joy in returning triumphantly home to perform for their friends, family and fans.

Chains of Love took the stage first and accepted their role as the warm-up band with complete seriousness and commitment. Lead singer Nathalia Pizarro spurred the audience to crowd surf and make out,…

Thu 26 Apr – Justice
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Justice
PNE Forum, Vancouver BC April 26
By Alan Ranta

Like with most big-budget electronic acts, one attends a Justice show to see impressive lighting and hear massive beats. True to form, the Parisian duo have a deceptively killer rig, though at first, it seemed underwhelming.

Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay shuffled out and took their place at the middle of the arrangement, so high and back that it was impossible to tell what they were doing behind a monolith of studio-rack gear six rows wide, likely used only for…

Sat 14 Apr – Joel Plaskett Emergency
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Joel Plaskett Emergency
Vogue, Vancouver BC April 14
By Alan Ranta

The pride of Nova Scotia, Joel Plaskett, hit the stage with his Emergency rhythm section, a pair of dancing guitar monkeys triggered by a foot pedal and a life-sized bust of Wayne Newton, upon which to rest his hat. Even before he started playing, all pretensions were lost. Love was in the air, and Plaskett wasted no time endearing himself to the rabid sold-out crowd on this tour in support of his recently released album Scrappy Happiness…

Tue 10 Apr – Andrew Bird, Laura Marling
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Andrew Bird
Vogue, Vancouver BC April 10
By Alan Ranta

Playing himself on with some ambient glockenspiel, Chicago-based composer and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Bird started his show with a subdued bang, looping and flashing a little of his immeasurable fiddle prowess before bringing out the rest of his touring band. There is no doubt that Bird is skilled enough to handle an entire set with just a violin, a few pedals and his sweet, honest voice. As skilled as his backing band were, all three appearing to be capable…

Sat 7 Apr – The Polyphonic Spree, NEW FUMES
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The Polyphonic Spree / New Fumes
Venue, Vancouver BC April 7
By Alan Ranta

Though only allotted 20 minutes to strut his stuff, New Fumes (aka Daniel Huffman) made an impression. Taking the stage with a billy goat mask as a hat, his brand of bedroom laptop psychedelia with synched lo-fi graphics was enthusiastically received by the relatively meager crowd. He produced a heady yet murky sound with lots of crumbly bass, experimental noise, gnarly guitar distortion and vocal processing, stylistically somewhere between Ariel Pink and Black…

Fri 6 Apr – Chairlift, Nite Jewel
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Chairlift / Nite Jewel
Electric Owl, Vancouver BC April 6
By Alan Ranta

Californian retro-electro outfit Nite Jewel took the stage with confidence, as principal songwriter Ramona Gonzalez said they were going to assume that everyone was there to see them. Yet their Vancouver performance lent itself more toward quiet reflection than braggadocio.

Gonzalez mostly sang with her eyes closed or half-open, her energy focused rather insularly like Elaine from Seinfeld if she danced in the darkest corner of a nightclub after taking some downers. Holding a mic in…

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Hint
Daily Intake
By Alan Ranta

The roots of Jamaica run deep in the soul of Sussex-based producer Jonathan James. The proof is all over his third album as Hint, delivering a haze of irie riddims, as channelled through the raunchy beats of UK garage, future dancehall, break beat and other subgenres. Lead single "Aliens Enter" has T-Fly spitting rhymes like Lil' Calliope's "The True" over a massive, gamelan-flavoured hip-hop beat. "Watch The Media" tastes a little of classic drum & bass, care of a tastefully deployed amen break and…