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Music and Concerts

I’ve never been to a !!! (Chk Chk Chk) concert I didn’t like

And thanks to these photos, I’ve never not been to a !!! (Chk Chk Chk) concert I didn’t like. Vancouver-based photographer Braden Paul captured Sasquatch for The Anthology and guess which band he had a heckuva good time shooting?

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That’s right: my very favourite New York-based dance punk band.

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!!! (Chk Chk Chk) puts on the best show. Every. Single. Time. (Even at 2:30 in the afternoon under Coachella‘s sweltering desert sun.)

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So, uh, Nic Offer, this photo got me wondering: is that a microphone in your pocket or are you just thinking about that time we met? Oh. Wait. Nope. That’s definitely a microphone.

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Go! Canucks! Go!

[Photos by Braden Paul.]

June 6, 2011 by

Sasquatch Steeze

When Vancouver-based photographer Braden Paul shot Sasquatch for The Anthology, he didn’t just capture the artists. He also captured some of the most artistic (and stylish) festival-goers…

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You wouldn’t show up to a Gucci event in anything but Gucci, would you?

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Fringe? Freckles? Adorbs.

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PBR. Respect.

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Cat suit + fanny pack = vintage done right

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A fine example of mixing and matching prints.

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Ever since the Royal Wedding, hats have been huge.

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This photo pretty much sums up music festivals: you get all gussied up in your pretty dress and end up drinking beside a garbage can.

Don’t touch that dial, friends, there are more festival fotos to come!

[Photos by Mr. Braden Paul.]

June 4, 2011 by

Sasquatch Sightings

Last weekend, Vancouver photographer Braden Paul trekked to Eastern Washington to cover the 10th annual Sasquatch Festival for The Anthology. And boy, are his up-close-and-personal photos beautiful. After four days and countless bands in the world’s most beautiful venue (have you been to the Gorge?!) these are a few of the highlights…

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The electrifying (and glittery) Sleigh Bells.

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The beautiful, badass Robyn.

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One of my very favourites: the New York-based, world-influenced Yeasayer.

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Atlanta’s indie darlings Deerhunter.

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Canada’s own K-OS.

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And Major Lazer‘s hyper hype man, who will soon be performing the not-quite-suitable-for-work set at Live at Squamish.

Stay tuned, friends, there are more Sasquatch highlights to come and you better believe they include this man.

[Photos by Sir Braden Paul.]

June 2, 2011 by

Chk Chk Chk it out

Never have I been so excited to meet an artist (and I’ve met Weird Al Yankovic, for crying out loud).

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And never has that artist been so excited to meet me. I mean, just look at the excitement on !!! (Chk Chk Chk) frontman Nic Offer’s face. He can barely contain himself.

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The New York-based dance punk band played the opening weekend of the Electric Owl, Main Street’s new izakaya restaurant, live music venue, cold beer and wine shop, and sake bar.

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The show was a real hoo’s hoo (owl pun… get it?) with Anya from I’m the It Girl (sporting wicked blue nails) and Nicole from Le Mode du Jour.

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And it was everything I dreamed it would be.

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Raucous, rambunctious and slightly cooler than the last time I saw them under the blazing desert sun at Coachella.

Notice how there were no photos taken at the end of the night? That’s because we were the sweatiest bunch of people this side of a marathon.

P.S. I was at the Electric Owl’s opening party and you can read all about it here.

May 29, 2011 by

The clothes! The tunes! The moves!

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I sat down with Broadway star J. Cameron Barnett to talk about his latest role — as Seaweed J. Stubbs in the Stanley Theatre’s production of Hairspray the Musical. And yes, he broke out into song during the interview. Watch the clip on VitaminDaily. Thanks again, Cameron!

[Photo of J. Cameron Barnett and Robyn Wallis by Emily Cooper.]

May 16, 2011 by

The A-list | Top five performances of Coachella 2011

It’s a tough job trying to pinpoint the top five performances of Coachella 2011, but somebody’s got to do it.

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So after braving sun stroke, risking hearing loss and enduring a weekend of porta-potties, I can confidently list the top five performances of Coachella 2011.

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5. Phantogram
I sacrificed seeing the Strokes and Chromeo to catch them (Coachella scheduling conflicts are the worst). But Phantogram’s performance was well worth it. If only because it solidified my girl crush on singer/keyboardist Sarah Barthel.

4. Arcade Fire
They’re Arcade Fire. And unless you’ve been quoted on Who Is Arcade Fire? you understand why they’re incredible.

3.Kele
Judging by the way she was dancing around in her little red-and-white one-piece, even Katy Perry enjoyed his show.

2. Empire of the Sun
They brought the weird. And that made them wonderful.

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1. !!! (Chk Chk Chk)
I’ve seen them at big outdoor festivals and in tiny clubs and they always put on the most amazingly fun shows. Take a look at this clip and you’ll be buying tickets to their next concert pronto.

[My dress is courtesy of Banana Republic, tie-dyed vest from Mimi & Coco.]

P.S. Add The Anthology on Facebook and it’ll become one of your top five favourite pages.

April 19, 2011 by

Well I certainly wasn’t expecting this

As soon as Empire of the Sun took the outdoor stage at Coachella yesterday, things got weird. In the most entertaining way.

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The Australian group’s show seemed to be sent straight from a Mayan-influenced 1980s future. And the crowd loved it. So much so, they really should have played the main stage — you need a lot of space to hold all that spectacle.

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But that’s the beautiful thing about Coachella — it’s full of surprises. That, and during a bit of downtime you can see artists like Shpongle solely because you like the name.

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And if you’re lucky you just might walk home with one of the giant illuminated beach balls Arcade Fire dropped on the audience during the last few songs of their set. (I wasn’t one of the lucky ones.) Man, I love this festival.

P.S. Follow along with The Anthology on Twitter.

April 17, 2011 by

Coachella is my happy place

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Can you blame me? The sun, the music, the insanity — I’m exhausted already and day two hasn’t even begun yet.

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The highlight of the first day? !!! (Chk Chk Chk) hands down. They put on the best live show. Every. Single. Time. Even at 2:30 in the afternoon under the blazing desert sun, frontman Nic Offer hams it up like nobody’s business, revving the crowd while wearing the shortest shorts imaginable.

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And I managed to capture a few glorious moments of !!! (Chk Chk Chk) at Coachella 2011 on film. Please forgive the audio distortion — I was standing right in front of the speakers (which ended up being the perfect spot to film Offer leaving the stage and rocking out in the middle of the crowd).

Next time !!! (Chk Chk Chk) comes to your city, please promise me you’ll go see them? They’ll be in Vancouver at the Electric Owl on May 28th, which means you know where I’ll be.

P.S. Follow along with The Anthology’s Coachella adventures on Twitter.

April 16, 2011 by

I’m off to Coachella!

You’re not going? Don’t fret. You can recreate the experience by putting on a hippie dress, sitting in a 100-degree sauna and listening to these seven bands:

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The Drums
Nothing says “California” quite like surfer rock, even if the band happens to be from New York.

Kele
The Bloc Party lead singer’s solo project will make you want to dance. Especially Tenderoni and Rise.

!!! (Chk Chk Chk)
Because no one rocks tiny denim shorts quite like Nic Offer.

Phantogram
I saw them perform in Quebec City at the Festival d’Ete last summer. And next time you have a chance to see them, you might want to do the same. If only because Sarah Barthel will be your next big girl crush.

Foals
This is sunny driving music.

Radio Dept.
Any band that’s good enough for Sofia Coppola is good enough for me.

Delorean
They’re from Spain! And maybe if you had a Back to the Future-style Delorean, you could buy tickets to Coachella before they sold out? (Sorry, didn’t mean to rub it in. Just trying to be helpful.)

P.S. I’ll be posting a billion Coachella photos so add The Anthology on Facebook.

April 13, 2011 by

You know what’s cozy?

Spending an evening watching a concert under a giant fleece jacket.

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And you thought fleece outerwear had no place in a cabaret. The other night, the Museum of Vancouver created a lounge atmosphere underneath their current exhibition SweaterLodge. There, experimental vocalist and pianist Veda Hille performed her Yukon-inspired piece Field Study. Loved it. Loved her. And I think you might too.

She’ll perform this Saturday (April 16th) with Dan Mangan, Charles Demers and special guest Mayor Gregor Robertson at Smorgasbord, a benefit for Vancouver’s homeless youth. I would be there if I weren’t in California.

SweaterLodge is at the Museum of Vancouver until May 1st.

P.S. I’ll be tweeting my face off while I’m at Coachella so follow The Anthology on Twitter.

April 13, 2011 by