Sasquatch! 2010 Preview

My Morning Jacket, 10:00 PM

The current alt-country wave has lifted the boats of bands that had already been doing it for a long time, such Wilco (QRO live review) and My Morning Jacket (QRO live review).  The Louisville outfit, fronted by singer/guitarist Jim James, doesn’t have to just play it sweet, but also keep the rock. They reached the bigger time with 2008’s Evil Urges (QRO review), but are still growing – even had a whole episode of American Dad about/with them (okay, not Family Guy, but still…).

Overnight successes like The xx (see below) should take a lesson from Vampire Weekend (QRO photos at a festival).  The band went from opening for the likes of White Rabbits (QRO live review, when Vampire Weekend opened) and Tokyo Police Club (QRO live review, when Vampire Weekend opened) in 2007 to massive success after they opened the following year with their self-titled debut.

This, of course, earned them legions of haters, often focusing on their preppy look & history, though others just grew enraged at the music from “the whitest band” (according to stuffwhitepeoplelike blog) being called ‘afro-pop’, and the comparisons with Paul Simon’s iconic Graceland.  They wisely slipped from view for a while, but returned to Jeff Curtin’s (QRO interview) Tree Fort Studios, faced up to the haters & the sophomore jinx to put out Contra (QRO review) in January, and reached #1 in the charts (only the twelfth independently-released record to do so in the last twenty years).  And are playing major stages, coming back from their first trip Down Under (QRO live review in New Zealand).

Cincinnati-by-way-of-Brooklyn’s The National hit it big in 2007 with Boxer (QRO review) and tracks like “Fake Empire”, “Mistaken For Strangers”, and “Apartment Story” (QRO video) – and again in 2008 with The Virginia EP (QRO review), but that just presaged the just-out High Violet (QRO review), which debuted at #3 on the Billboard charts.  An impressive and much-in-demand act (QRO live review), they’re fitting in nicely as a festival headliner (QRO photos headlining a festival).  Blown up to the point that New York Times Magazine ran a feature on them, The National (QRO photos at a festival) are looking to take the summer by storm (QRO photos headlining a festival).

Since being part of the indie-rock ‘Canadian Invasion’ of 2003/2004, Toronto’s Broken Social Scene (QRO photos) have also become one of the most sought-after festival bands in the alternative music arena, whether indoors at industry showcases (QRO photos at a festival) or outdoors at more traditional fests (QRO photos outdoors at a festival), to the point where they’re headlining (QRO photos headlining a festival).  Fronted by singer/guitarists Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning (QRO interview), this giant collective includes The Apostle of Hustle, Andrew Whiteman (QRO interview), Do Make Say Think’s Charles Spearin (QRO interview), and a rotating female vocalist spot that’s included Metric’s Emily Haines (QRO live review), Leslie Feist (QRO live review), and Land of Talk’s Elizabeth Powell (QRO interview).  While the previous releases were ‘BSS Presents:’ albums focused on Drew (Something For All of Us… – QRO review) and Canning (Spirit If… – QRO review), the just-released Forgiveness Rock Record (QRO review) is a return to the Broken Social Scene (QRO photos outdoors at a festival), and their live show (QRO live review) includes everything from Spearin’s fascinating Happiness Project (QRO review) to the old ‘hits’ like “K.C. Accidental” (QRO video) and “Fire Eyed Boy” (QRO video).

In this YouTube era, Chicago’s OK Go reinvented the music video as the viral video, first with “A Million Ways” in 2005 then even more so the following year thanks to the choreographed treadmill dancing of “Here It Goes Again”, which earned singer/guitarist Damian Kulash an appearance on The Colbert Report – and the whole band made it to the Report earlier this year, in promotion of the new Of the Blue Colour of the Sky (QRO review) – which isn’t nearly as good as their videos or Stephen…

The side project of Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam (QRO live review), Brad’s output has been intermittent like any side-project, but they’ve announced new album Best Friends? will be coming shortly, their first since 2002’s Welcome To Discovery Park.

From nearby Seattle, Minus the Bear (QRO photos at a festival) have been combining rock with intricate electronics. And the band (QRO photos outdoors at a festival) just came out with OMNI, their first release on new label Dangerbird, though this will be their third time at Sasquatch!.

Brother Ali, 1:10 PM

Shabazz Palaces, 12:05 PM

deadmau5, 11:30 PM

Fresh off appearing at the medal ceremonies for his country’s Winter Olympics, Niagara Falls’ deadmau5 is still most recognizable for his trademark headgear.  While his remix of Morgan Page’s “The Longest Road”, featuring Lissie (QRO album review), lost out in the Grammy for ‘Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical’ to David Guetta (QRO album review), the progressive house artist (don’t dare call him a ‘DJ’…) has blown up to the point of closing out the Bigfoot Stage, late into the night, as he returns to Sasquatch! for a second year in a row.

Wait – Nada Surf are still a band?!?  The band that got “Popular” with said single way back in 1996, but broke with major label Elektra by the end of that decade, found a second life on indie labels, with 2008’s Lucky (QRO review) and their new covers record, if i had a hi-fi (QRO review).

Brooklyn’s The Hold Steady (QRO photos at a festival) have reached serious heights with their classic rock and singer/guitarist Craig Finn’s talk-sing storytelling, most recently with Heaven Is Whenever – even got an appearance on The Colbert Report!  They’re also incredibly overrated, but certainly have fun outdoors (QRO live review outdoors), like at Sasquatch! 2007.

Stockholm’s Miike Snow (a band, not a person – QRO photos at a festival) have been getting serious notice recently with their combination of indie-pop & electro-dance, and hit up the Pacific Northwest again for the second time in just over two months (QRO live review in Portland in late March).

On the first day of SXSW 2010 (QRO recap), the music world was hit by the tragic news of the death of Alex Chilton, frontman for the seminal Big Star – the band that pretty much invented ‘power-pop’ (and were scheduled to play SXSW…).  Yes, there were a ton of tributes, but if you want to get that sound live, you can’t do much better these days than The Posies, founded by Big Star’s Ken Stringfellow & Jon Auer.

Alex Ebert, former singer of Ima Robot (QRO interview), only recently formed Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, yet they’ve got a ton of buzz – is it justified, or just PR hype?  Judge for yourself.

This West Coast draws from far up its shore with Alaska’s Portugal. The Man (QRO photos at a festival).  The rambling grunge outfit garnered new fans with 2007 sophomore release Church Mouth (QRO review), and its unhinged alt-rock, though slipped somewhat with last year’s The Satanic Satanist, but have got a new one, American Ghetto.

London’s King’s College & St. Paul’s School are serving as something of the English alt-folk Wesleyan, seeing related acts hit it big.  First there was Noah & The Whale (QRO live review), with graduates of both, then Noah’s female vocalist Laura Marlin (see just below) went out on her own.  And Marling has also contributed to King’s/St. Paul’s alum act Mumford & Sons.  They all traffic in sweet alt-folk sounds, with Mumford & Marling back-to-back on the Bigfoot Stage.

Laura Marling (QRO live review) didn’t attend King’s College or St. Paul’s School like Noah & The Whale (QRO live review) and Mumford & Sons (see just above), as the two London institutions are both boys’ schools (though this fall, St. Paul’s is going to be admitting girls for their sixth form class – seniors…).  But she’s (QRO photos in native U.K.) booked right before Mumford on Bigfoot Stage.

Opening up the first day of the Bigfoot Stage is another up-and-coming Americana indie outfit, Dawes (QRO review), whose heart & soul hail from Los Angeles’ Laurel Canyon.

Z-Trip, 10:00 PM

One of the most sought-after DJs out there, the Phoenix native has even played for the troops at Camp Buehring in Kuwait!

Pasadena funk singer/DJ Dam-Funk is coming off throwing down five full-lengths worth of new material last year, edited and compiled into double-disc Toeachizown.

Hip-hop impresarios Radioclit’s Etienne Tron and Johan Karlberg are pushing the boundaries, thanks to their team-up with Malawian songsmith Esau Mwamwaya as ‘The Very Best’.  The trio is rewriting western pop rules (and not in English) with both original material and numerous remixes.

Modern, laugh-track free comedy has been enjoying a serious renaissance, from Judd Apatow movies to Flight of the Conchords (QRO live review) to Pixar animation to NBC’s actually funny Thursday night of ‘Must-See-TV’ (well, not counting The Marriage Ref…), and one of the most significant kick-starters of that was ‘The Comedians of Comedy’ Tour, originated by Patton Oswalt, who brought alternative comedy & stand-up out of comedy clubs and into rock clubs.  Once just the sidekick on King of Queens, Oswalt has become a top-tier stand-up comic, as well as wowing with his dramatic chops as the lead in last year’s Big Fan.  Comics don’t always work well at a music festival, but between ‘Comedians of Comedy’ & last year’s Sasquatch! appearance, Oswalt knows what he’s doing.

Garfunkel & Oates, 3:15 PM

Brent Weinbach, 2:00 PM

Moshe Kasher, 1:00 PM

WHY?, 6:45 PM

Jonathan ‘Yoni’ Wolf and his band, WHY? (QRO live review), combine indie, hip-hop, rock, pop, folk & more (QRO photos), most recently with last year’s (somewhat underwhelming) Eskimo Snow (QRO review).

The Lonely Forest, 5:40 PM

The surprise winner of Canada’s 2007 Polaris Music Prize with Closer to Paradise (QRO review – beating out the likes of Arcade Fire’s Neon Bible – QRO review – and Feist’s The Reminder – QRO review), Quebec’s Patrick Watson (QRO interview) still doesn’t have an American presence to match his in Europe, let alone north of the border.  His predilection for disappearing & reinventing between records hasn’t helped, but he always delivers orchestral pieces of beauty, most recently with last year’s Wooden Arms (QRO review).  And he’s got a live show (QRO live review) to make believers out of anyone, with everything from a grand piano to a backpack of megaphones with which to sing from the crowd with (QRO photos at a festival).

The Middle East, 3:30 PM

Nurses, 2:25 PM

Fool’s Gold, 1:20 PM

Morning Teleportation, 12:15 PM

Massive Attack, 10:15 PM

Trip-hop starters Massive Attack (QRO photos) have taken their sweet time since 2003’s 100th Window, with only a contractually-obligated greatest hits collection, Collected, in recent memory – until this year’s release of their long-delayed fifth album, Heligoland (QRO review).  And they’ve been making up for lost time in America, such as their recent U.S. television debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live (QRO Indie on Late Night TV), with a live show (QRO live review) fitting to close out Night Two of Sasquatch! in the dark of night.

It’s the reunion we’ve all been waiting for. Ever since the Pixies (QRO live review) kicked off the eighties/nineties alt-rock reunion trend in 2004 at Coachella (well, really first was Mission of Burma – QRO live review), they’ve been coming at a pretty good clip (see: Dinosaur Jr. – QRO live review), but one everyone had been hoping for was Pavement.  The acclaimed indie-rock act split up ten years ago, with singer/guitarist Stephen Malkmus going his own way alongside his Jicks (QRO live review).  Deluxe edition re-releases of prior records like Brighten the Corners (QRO re-release review) and Wowee Zowee (QRO re-release review) did keep the flame burning, but the rumored reunion seemed like just that – a rumor.

Until September 2009, when the news finally broke that the reunion was real.  It started with the announcement of four shows at Central Park SummerStage (QRO venue review) for September of 2010 (QRO concert listings) – which sold out immediately (a fifth was just added – QRO concert listing – at Williamsburg Waterfront – QRO venue review).  Since then, they’ve made it a full-fledged reunion tour, starting earlier this year in New Zealand, and are hitting up festivals all over the world, including Sasquatch!.

What brought about the reunion?  The anniversary?  The money?  Greatest hits record, Quarantine the Past (QRO review)?  Singer/guitarist/Malkmus rival Scott Kannenberg coming back solo, using Pavement-era moniker Spiral Stairs on The Real Feel (QRO review)?  Jick Janet Weiss reforming her old band, including new member/Jick Joanna Bolme, Quasi (who are also playing Sasquatch! – see below), leaving Malkmus free?  Malkmus no longer being the coolest ex-member of Pavement, since bassist Mark Ibold joined Sonic Youth (QRO live review) full-time on The Eternal (QRO review)?  Or did everyone just get tired of them asking about a reunion?

Whatever the reason, the dream has become reality.

There was a time when ‘dance-rock’ was synonymous with LCD Soundsystem. Singer/frontman Daniel Murphy was the first to play Daft Punk to the rock kids (immortalized in both “Losing My Edge” and “Daft Punk Is Playing At My House” – QRO video), but after 2007’s Sound of Silver (QRO review), he took time off from LCD and touring (QRO live review in 2007) to focus on his label DFA, which has become as influential – if not more so.  But LCD is back (QRO live review of return show) with This Is Happening and songs such as “Drunk Girls” and “I Can Change” (QRO video).

Cute Calgary twin sisters Tegan (QRO interview) & Sara Quin do have a fanbase of primarily cute girls (not that there’s anything wrong with that – QRO live review), but have managed not to be ghettoized, reaching out to indie & more, most recently with last year’s Sainthood (QRO review), and Tegan and Sara (QRO photos) return to Sasquatch! for a second year.

Bringing some hip-hop to Sasquatch! is Kid Cudi (QRO photos outdoors), who’s work with GOOD Music labelmates like Kanye West, Common, and David Guetta (QRO album review).

John Linell & John Flansburgh may have been performing as They Might Be Giants for almost thirty years now, but have also stayed perpetually young, thanks to young-friendly memorable songs like “Birdhouse in Your Soul”, “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)”, and Grammy Award-winning Malcolm In the Middle theme song “Boss of Me”.   But these last few years have seen them go wholeheartedly in that direction, releasing a series of children’s albums, including Here Comes the ABCs, Here Comes the 123s, and Here Comes Science.  However, they’re slated for a new ‘adult’ release in 2010, their first since 2007’s The Else, so expect new ‘adult’ material alongside the old.

John Roderick’s Long Winters (QRO photos outdoors) have had something of a revolving door with regards to the rest of the band, but the Seattle native can more than hold his own, thanks to his hilarious on-stage banter.  They’re working on their first new record in four years, so look for a lot of new material getting road-tested in their third Sasquatch! appearance.

Denton, Texas’ Midlake (QRO photos outdoors) have swerved around a bit in the indie-rock realm, most recently into the sweet-sounding Americana with the new The Courage of Others (QRO review).

Another Polaris Prize winner at Sasquatch! (see Patrick Watson, above), Daniel Victor Snaith (QRO photos) combined electronica and psychedelica expertly with 2007’s Andorra (QRO review) as Caribou (QRO live review).  The recent Swim (QRO review) looks to nineties electronic beats, not as fine, but still holds up – as does his live show (QRO live review).

Booka Shade, 11:30 PM

The German electrohouse duo of Walter Merziger and Arno Kammermeier close down the Bigfoot Stage on night two as Booka Shade.

Before rap was mainstream and became today’s highly successful commercial product, Public Enemy broke the doors open by combining modern civil rights activism with the then-unknown music of streets, hip-hop.  Chuck D & Flavor Flav (before he descended into VH1 ‘celebreality’, from which he seems to be clawing his way out of) shocked America with such records as It Takes a Nation of Millions and Fear of a Black Planet (which has since been inducted in the Library of Congress!?!), with seminal tracks like “Don’t Believe the Hype”, “911 (Is a Joke)”, and “Fight the Power”, which had the most charged controversial line since the Vietnam War, “Elvis was a hero to most / But he never meant shit to me / You see, straight-up racist that sucker was simple and plain / Mother-fuck him and John Wayne!” You know what time it is!

What began as a solo project by songwriter David Longstreth has become so much more.  His Dirty Projectors (QRO photos at a festival) have not only grown in size (with three female co-vocalists – QRO photos at a festival), but also acclaim, thanks to last year’s Bitte Orca (QRO review).  Their arrhythmic stylings married to pitch-perfect harmonies take some getting used to, but many have (QRO photos at a festival), allowing for experiments like Rise Above, Longstreeth’s ‘reimagined’ back-to-front cover, from memory, of Black Flag’s seminal punk record Damaged, and recently performing their Getty Address top-to-bottom (QRO photos at a festival) and headlining their own festival (QRO photos headlining a festival).

The band with maybe the least creative titling ever (their debut is ‘Album’ – QRO review – at least there’s no actual females in the band…) got notice largely because singer/frontman Christopher Owens was raised in the actually scarily crazy Children of God cult.  But the neo-pop sounds of Girls (QRO photos) have kept on finding fans.

Almost overnight, south London’s The xx (QRO photos) went from little known to massive acclaim.  Even before debut record xx (QRO review) actually came out, the dark, post-punk revival act was garnering lots of attention (QRO photos at a festival).  They quickly jumped from opening to headlining (QRO live review), as they were overshadowing the headliners.  They also saw Baria Qureshi depart (QRO photos with her), leaving them a three piece (QRO photos at a festival).  Certainly subdued, they are much better suited for nighttime (QRO photos at a festival) than at chattering rock clubs (QRO video).

Dallas Green, singer/guitarist of emo-punk band Alexisonfire, embraces his sad, acoustic side as City and Colour (he’s Canadian, thus the extra ‘u’ – 2005’s Sometimes only came out in America last year – QRO review).

Staten Island’s Cymbals Eat Guitars (QRO photos) just broke out, thanks to last year’s Why There Are Mountains (QRO review), and an electric live show (QRO live review) that even outshines their Brooklyn brethren – especially outdoors (QRO photos outdoors at a festival). And the band (QRO photos at a festival) has been steadily improving (QRO photos).

There are a lot of alt-folk solo singer/songwriters out there these days.  Sweden’s Kristian Matsson, a.k.a. The Tallest Man On Earth, first got notice for his Dylan-esque ways when opening for fellow alt-folk solo singer/songwriter Justin Vernon, a.k.a. Bon Iver (QRO album review).

Silver Lake’s Local Natives (QRO photos at a festival) have been riding the alt-country/folk wave, but seem to be doing it better than most (QRO photos), charting in February with debut Gorilla Manor, and look to follow the successful trail of fellow alt-country/folk Frenchkiss Records labelmates Freelance Whales (see below).

Kicking off the second day at the Bigfoot Stage is Pennsylvania’s Langhorne Slim (QRO live review).  The alt-country troubadour rides with more of an upswing, most recently on Be Set Free (QRO review) and his self-titled release (QRO review), so come to the “Rebel Side of Heaven” (QRO video) with Langhorne Slim (QRO photos).

Simian Mobile Disco (DJ set), 10:00 PM

The Disco gets very Mobile when ‘The James’ – Ford & Shaw – bring the light & sound show that is Simian Mobile Disco (QRO live review) to Sasquatch!, and while they’re only DJing, it is at night, where their lights can really shine (QRO photos).

Montreal’s Alain Macklovitch got notice when picked to be the personal DJ to none other than Kanye West, that gay fish, but has also produced for the likes of Lupe Fiasco & Kid Sister (QRO photos at a festival).

Originally one-half of The Blow, Portland’s Jona Bechtolt has since made even more of a name on his own as YACHT (QRO spotlight on), with 2007’s I Believe In You. Your Magic Is Real (QRO review) and last year’s See Mystery Lights (QRO review), bringing in partner Claire Evans (QRO interview with both).  But it’s their exciting live shows that are really breaking them through (QRO live review), whether in the club (QRO photos) or outdoors (QRO photos outdoors at a festival), featuring such items as whole songs done from amongst the crowd, question-and-answer sessions – and their own signature dance style… (QRO photos)

Mike Birbiglia, 4:30 PM

Rob Riggle, 3:15 PM

Luke Burbank, 2:00 PM

Rory Scovel, 1:00 PM

Fruit Bats, 7:30 PM

Singer/guitarist/pianist Eric Johnson may be best known these days for being part of indie-rock hits The Shins (QRO live review, with Johnson), but for over a decade he’s had his own folk-rock outfit, Fruit Bats (QRO photos at a festival), who put out their fourth record, The Ruminant Band, last year.

Americana folk act Vetiver is headed by Andy Cabic (but often joined by folk-celeb Devandra Banhart & others), after moving from the wilds of North Carolina to the wilds of San Francisco.

Seriously blowing up are multi-instrumentalist alt-folksters Freelance Whales (QRO photos), whose packed shows (QRO photos) created real interest in debut Weathervanes (QRO review), and songs like “The Great Estates” (QRO video).

Long Beach’s Avi Buffalo (QRO photos at a festival) may be less than a year removed from high school, but their falsetto sound has already got people’s attention (QRO photos at a festival).

Oakland’s Merrill Garbus has been getting notice in the likes of Brooklyn & Britain as tUnE-yArDs.

Long before Radiohead did the ‘pay what want’ with In Rainbows (QRO review), Victoria, British Columbia’s Jets Overhead had done it with their debut album, Bridges, and didn’t overreact when last year’s follow-up No Nations was on the P2P servers.

Martina Topley-Bird (QRO photos) first got notice for her work with Tricky (QRO photos), but has since moved on to her own solo work, as well as appearing on Heligoland (QRO review) by Massive Attack (see above), including joining them on stage & as opener on the current tour (QRO photos of Topley-Bird with Massive Attack).

Can’t be an indie music festival without one of the million-and-one Brooklyn bands with ridiculous names, and for Sasquatch! it’s the more tropical Dinosaur Feathers (QRO photos at a festival).

Ween, 9:30 PM

Ween has been one of the more enduring and out there acts out there, with a wide-ranging fanbase more typical of jam bands. After Gene Ween (one-half of the Ween duo, along with Dean Ween) took early last year to tour solo with his own backing band, the pair are back, working on a new record, which is sure to get some exposure at Sasquatch!.

All of a sudden, Wesleyan University gave birth to a bunch of indie acts, but none blew up like MGMT (QRO live review).  Songs like “Electric Eel” (QRO video) and “Time To Pretend” (QRO video) launched 2007’s Oracular Spectacular in the stratosphere. The follow-up was bound to bring them more back down to earth, and Congratulations (QRO review) is a classic over-ambitious sophomore release.  But the two-man psych-rock band of Ben Goldwasser & Andrew Van Wyngarden is more than prepared to blow minds outdoors at Sasquatch! (QRO photos outdoors).

Before the current, unceasing wave of alt-country, there was Seattle’s Band of Horses (QRO live review), who broke through with debut Everything All the Time and “Funeral” in 2006. While guitarist/co-founder Matt Brooke left after that, singer/guitarist Ben Bridwell kept on the trail, with the following year’s Cease to Begin (QRO review). Band of Horses (QRO photos at a festival) dropped a little off the radar following that, but are back with Infinite Arms, and are appearing at Sasquatch! for a second year.

When stars of the screen try their hand at music, the results are usually as bad as when stars of the stereo try their hand at acting, but proving there’s an exception to every rule has been Zooey Deschanel (500 Days of Summer, Elf), the ‘She’ in She & Him (QRO photos) – of course, it doesn’t hurt that the ‘Him’ is a star of the stereo, alt-folkster M. Ward (QRO solo album review), who played Sasquatch! himself the last two years.  2008’s Volume 1 (QRO review) and single “I Was Made For You” (QRO video) let the indie world know this was no Keanu Reeves-in-Dogstar, and this year’s (of course-titled) Volume 2 (QRO review) let it be known that it was no fluke.  Yes, Deschanel & Ward (QRO photos at a festival) channel the likes of Patsy Cline & Sam Cooke (QRO video of Cooke cover), through an ultra-cute muse (QRO photos), and yes, this leads to a tight, tight pack of fans (QRO photos at a festival), but She & Him deliver (QRO live review).

Blowing up very fast has been Cambridge, Mass’ Passion Pit (QRO photos).  Single “Sleepyhead” (QRO video) found its way to MTV nominations, while debut Manners (QRO review) found its way onto the charts.  So catch the burgeoning indietronica stars outdoors (QRO photos outdoors) at Sasquatch! (QRO review at a festival), ‘cause they’ve moved up to the big-time (QRO photos), and aren’t playing small places – or even medium-sized (QRO photos) anymore…

The Suthron, ‘three-axe attack’ of Drive-By Truckers comes from the backcountry of Alabama & Georgia, and down to N’Orleans. They’ve kept strong since the 2007 departure of Jason Isbell, in 2008 with the charting Brighter Than Creation’s Dark, and last year with Live From Austin, TX and The Fine Print: A Collection of Oddities and Rarities.

Sasquatch! draws from the other side of the Pacific in Melbourne’s The Temper Trap (QRO photos at a festival), who have broken out in both nations (QRO live review), thanks to last year’s Conditions (QRO review).

Actual name Andrew Cohen, he adopted his middle name & name of the street he grew up on (isn’t that how you get your porn name?…) for last year’s A Strange Arrangement, and comes to Sasquatch! with ‘The County’ – a.k.a. whoever’s in his backing band at the moment.

Opening up the final day at the Sasquatch stage in Britain’s The Heavy (QRO live review), whose electric neo-soul on The House That Dirt Built (QRO review) makes for “That Kind of Man” (QRO video) to open up for Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings (QRO album review).

The New Pornographers, 8:20 PM

The middle of the last decade saw the rise of Canadian near-supergroup collectives, such as Broken Social Scene (see above) and The New Pornographers (QRO live review), fronted by Carl Newman (QRO solo album review), but also including singer Neko Case (QRO solo album review), singer/guitarist Dan Bejar (a.k.a. Destroyer) and singer/keyboardist Kathryn Calder (of Immaculate Machine).  Unlike their eastern Canadian brethren, The New Pornographers eschew the fuzzy atmospherics for power-pop, and while some considered 2007’s Challengers a dip (but not us – QRO review), the recent Together (QRO review) has united all.  It’s the third year at Sasquatch! for the band (QRO photos at a festival) – but sixth for Case, who’s also performed solo at the festival four times (including a special unannounced appearance in 2008, when The New Pornographers were also playing).

Despite its dour reputation, Scotland has also given birth to some sweet indie-pop, such as Glasgow’s Camera Obscura (QRO live review).  While most recent My Maudlin Career (QRO review) wasn’t quite up to prior work, the band is still charming live (QRO live review).

John Darnielle has been a prolific producer for near two decades now under The Mountain Goats (QRO photos) moniker, including 2008’s Heretic Pride (QRO review) and last year’s pseudo-biblically-inspired The Life of the World To Come (QRO review).  And he’s bringing his enjoyable live show (QRO live review) to Sasquatch! (QRO photos at a festival), with both new material like “Hebrew 11:40” (QRO video) and old such as “This Year” (QRO video).

Sasquatch! retains some of the jam-festival with Philadelphia’s Dr. Dog (QRO photos), who have become a festival regular (QRO photos at a festival) since 2008’s commercial breakthrough Fate (QRO review) launched them into headlining status.  Unfortunately, Fate wasn’t anything special, but Dr. Dog (QRO photos at a festival) make a lot of people happy live, especially outdoors (QRO live review outdoors at a festival), so expect the ‘sweetness’, along with material from the new, still-middling Shame, Shame (QRO review).

Exes Sam Coomes (QRO interview) & Janet Weiss have gotten back together, musically at least, for the latest go-round of their band Quasi (QRO live review), including new album American Gong (QRO review) – and they’ve recruited Joanna Bolme, who, like Weiss, is taking a break from serving in Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks (QRO live review) while Malkmus returns to his own old band as well (Pavement – see above).

Seattle Rock Orchestra, 2:20 PM

A last-minute addition to Sasquatch!, from halfway around the world in Perth, Western Australia comes the psychedelic rock of Tame Impala, currently on tour with MGMT (see above).

Do you have love for Jaguar Love (QRO spotlight on)?!? Singer Johnny Whitney and guitarist Cody Votolato (QRO interview) emerged out of Blood Brothers to form the post-punk Jaguar Love (QRO live review) with Pretty Girls Make Graves guitarist-turned-drummer Jay Clark in 2008 with Take Me To the Sea (QRO review). But after Clark left the group, the duo started using a drum machine, and shifted to a much more New Wave, dance-punk sound on the recent Hologram Arms (QRO review) might be more dance club than outdoors (QRO photos at a festival) – but still retain Whitney’s signature wild vocals.

Boys Noize, 10:00 PM

Germany, the home of electro-house, has another son in Alexander Ridha, a.k.a. Boys Noize, for the final night at Rumpus Room Stage.

Alan Palomo works solo as VEGA (QRO photos at a festival) and recruits a live band as Neon Indian (QRO photos at the same festival) – but is best known for all of the web banners Mountain Dew posted everywhere for his “Sleep Paralysist”.

Glasgow’s turntablist Ross Birchard, a.k.a. Hudson Mohawke, managed to get signed to acclaimed U.K. electronic imprint Warp despite few actual releases.

With all these alternative comics you only know if you follow stand-up, there’s at least one actor with a regular gig at Sasquatch!, Craig Robinson, who plays Darryl Philbin on The Office – and could most recently be seen on screen in Hot Tub Time Machine (okay, don’t hold that against him…).

Ranked in the top 100 comedians of all time by Comedy Central, Bobcat Goldthwait first came to general audiences as Zed in the Police Academy series, where his energetic-to-the-point-of-rabid persona & voice made him memorable.   But his pitch-black comedic sense is not for family audiences, like in his writer/directorial work Sleeping Dogs Lie (a comedy about bestiality) and World’s Greatest Dad (a comedy about autoerotic asphyxiation & cashing in on suicide).  Oh, and he’s also the director for Jimmy Kimmel Live (QRO Indie on Late Night TV).

In the New York alternative music scene, there’s no more ubiquitous stand-up comic than Todd Barry.  The laid-back comedian has opened for Tapes n’ Tapes (QRO album review), been seen at CMJ (QRO recap), SXSW (QRO recap) & McCarren Park Pool Parties (QRO venue review), and is friends with/stand-up mentor to The Rosebuds’ (QRO spotlight on) Kelly Crisp (QRO interview).  He also guest-starred in the season one finale of Flight of the Conchords (QRO live review).  So he’ll fit right in at his second year in a row at Sasquatch!…

Hannibal Buress, 1:00 PM

No Age, 6:15 PM

L.A.’s young guitar & drums duo of Randy Randall and Dean Allen Spunt (QRO photos at a festival) have been blowing up very quickly since 2008’s Nouns (QRO review), including joining Dan Deacon & Deerhunter on the ‘Round Robin’ tour (QRO live review) & a controversial appearance on Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn (QRO Indie on Late Night TV).  The punk rock of such tracks as “Eraser” (QRO video), “Teen Creeps” (QRO video) and “Ripped Knees” (QRO video) plays fast, but look out for a young holiday crowd to go nuts (QRO live review).

Vancouver garage-rock guitar-and-drums (QRO photos at a festival) outfit Japandroids have moved from festivals up north to those in America (QRO photos at a festival), and are one of the best guitar & drums duos out there (QRO photos at a festival).

Telekinesis, 4:05 PM

Fresh Espresso, 3:00 PM

Barsuk brings Saratoga Springs’ dancetronica act Phantogram, who have been getting notice less for their debut full-length Eyelid Movies (QRO review) than their enchanting live show – but will it work outdoors at two o’clock in the afternoon on the last day of Sasquatch!?

Past Lives, 1:00 PM

Shadow Shadow Shade, 12:00 PM