DISQUS

bobbyrisigliano · 1 year ago

Well written article. Too bad I'll always choose to go to Sasquatch as its organized. Not too long of lineups, and I definitly won't stay in a condo when I go to a magnificent venue like Pemberton/ Sasquatch. Blaine Whats the deal?

blaine sayers · 1 year ago

Bobby,

Yah Sasquatch is 100 times better in terms of organization. Did you stay in a condo? It was great to be in a warm house at the end of the night but too much hassle to get back and forth. If I do go back to Pemberton I will be camping for sure.

Brad · 1 year ago

Nice Article Blaine,

Just to add to the festival notes; traffic and dust were not the only logistical nightmares. Others included overflowing toilets, cramped campgrounds, and, my personal peeve, the fact that you had to stay in a fenced off area to drink alcohol you paid for. So, if you weren't in the VIP area, you couldn't sit back with a beer and watch your favorite artist. How dumb is that?

That being said, the music was fantastis. I did not see a band that played poorly. Some of my added favorites that were not mentioned in the above article:

- Sam Roberts opened the main stage Saturday with a energetic set that really got me, my friends, and the rest of the group pumped!
- Low vs Diamond, pay attention to these up and comers
- Solid (but far too short) Set by My Morning Jacket. Unfortunately a lot of the crowd was unaware of MMJ's live show, hopefully this will wake them up to it.
- So Impressed by Buck 65. If you haven't heard of him, check him out. A canadian hip hop/spoken word artist with such amazing presence. He played solo on the second stage with only a turntable and a mic, and completely got the crowd into it.
- I am not a hip hop fan, but I loved the Jay-Z set.
- also check out Airborne Toxic Event, they played a tight, solid set.

Lastly, I sure wish we could have gotten into the DJ Tent, pissed me off that you would pay $250 and not be able to see all the acts you wanted to. I may just end up at Sasquatch next year instead of going back to Pemberton, even though it was a blast for anyone that could handle all the logistical blunders.

ccoult · 1 year ago

Good review. I think the general consensus was that the music was awesome, but the organization was brutal. I attended both Sasquatch and Pemberton this year and I definitely prefer the vibe at Sasquatch. It's a fair statement to say that in general Pemberton was intended for the mainstream music fan while Sasquatch tends to attract more of an indie crowd.
Most of the people I met at Pemberton were cool, but I also got the impression that the majority of people there mostly just wanted to party and get wasted. I've never been asked to buy/sell pills so many times in my life. Personally I could deal with the lack of organization, but the fact that (besides the headliners) the music seemed to come secondary to most really put a bit of a damper on the festival for me. Most of the crowds I saw at the Lilloitt Stage (second stage) were about half the size of a typical Yeti Stage(?) (Sasq. second stage) crowd even though there were about twice as many people at Pemberton. It was really a shame because some of the best sets I saw came from the smaller acts. Even this review only focuses on the headliners, so I will take it upon myself to mention some of the other highlights:

Shearwater
Played one of the best shows I've seen in a long while. Jonathan Meiburg's vocals often induce chills and percussionist Thor (who looks like Dog the Bounty Hunter) was flawless. I convinced some friends who had never heard of the band before to come with me and they were all blown away. The 30 minute set (ridiculous!!) was mainly cuts from their most recent album Rook. I can only hope that its just a matter of time until Shearwater gets the same kind of recognition as Jonathan's former band Okkervil River.

The Fiery Furnaces
Unfortunately I was only able to catch a couple songs from The Fiery Furnaces because they started late and I had to get a good spot for Vampire Weekend. I have read over and over that FFs are a completely different band live and I have to say I can't agree more. Before heading to the show I advised my friends to try and keep an open mind because of the unconventional nature of the Furnaces' tunes. However after a couple songs I realized they don't sound that weird at all live, they just flat out kill it. The highlight (of the 4 or 5 songs I heard) was "Duplexes of the Dead".

Minus the Bear
The first band I saw at Pemberton. They actually had a surprisingly large crowd, but I suppose they are a NW band and have gathered quite a following over the years. They were solid but certainly not memorable.

My Morning Jacket
Probably the band I was most excited to see. Live Nation gave them a mere 45 minute set to win over a crowd that was largely unfamiliar with the band. Unfortunately I don't think it was enough. Besides a handful of hardcore MMJ fans, the crowd seemed somewhat bored. Personally I thought they were amazing. The set list was packed with favourites given the relatively miniscule set length. It began so-so with "Evil Urges" and "Off the Record" both a little rough. Their rendition of "Gideon" was a highlight of the weekend with Jim James belting his heart out trying to get something out of the crowd. After that it was smooth sailing as "Touch Me I'm Going to Scream Pt. 2" and closer "One Big Holiday" were near mind-blowing quality. At least in my opinion.

The Flaming Lips
Well this was my third FLips experience and probably the least memorable. It was good to hear "The W.A.N.D." and "She Don't Use Jelly", two classics that had escaped the first 2 times I saw them. But they were in a tough spot playing in between the Hip (who are Canadian icons) and Tom Petty (who is a world icon). Playing in daylight really takes away from the magic of a FLips slow. The main response I heard after the show was "it was really cool, but I didn't really like their music". Fair enough.

MSTRKRFT
After FLips (and a few drinks) my friend and I decided to check out the Bacardi Dance Tent. As mentioned the line was massive all weekend so we used our ninja skillz to sneak in just in time for MSTRKRFT. All I can say is DAMN! The inside of the tent was incredible with huge screens, crazy lights and lasers and even water fountains flowing from the ceiling! Jessie Keeler is one cool dude. One minute smoking his cigarette like he doesn't give a fuck and then just going nuts and pumping up the crowd. "Easy Love" and "Street Justice" were definite highlights. After MSTRKRFT, the legend Dave Seaman came on. I must admit I was totally unfamiliar with his music but WOW. I now know why he is a legend. Unfortunatly through all this we were missing Mr. Petty who's set seems to be the consensus choice for best of the weekend.

Vampire Weekend
As opposed to MMJ, these guys definitely did win over the audience. The crowd was surprisingly large for the first mainstage set of the day. VW had a lot more crowd interaction than I expected. I figured by now they'd be so sick of playing festivals and the same songs over and over that it would be nothing special. "One (Blake's Got A New Face)" ended up being one of the few successful sing-a-longs of the festival. Although Ezra's suggested sing-a-long to "M79" was a big fail. Obviously "A-Punk" got the whole crowd dancing and shouting "hey hey hey hey". But the highlight for me was a new song they played (he didn't say the name of it). The song featured a bouncy keyboard riff and a chorus of yelped "ooohs" and "aaahhs". If its any indication of what their next album will sound like I guarantee there will be no sophomore slump for these guys.

Coldplay
I won't write about Jay-z but I will say that I was absolutely blown away and that his was probably the best show of the weekend for me. His band deserves a ton of props.
Well I've always been a bit of a closet Coldplay fan. I even saw them on the X&Y tour. Needless to say there was a ton of anticipation for their festival headlining set. Their management group (along with live nation) were the organizers of the festival so I think most were expecting something extraordinary for the show. It didn't happen. Don't get me wrong, it was a good show for the most part. "Life In Technicolour" is the perfect intro, and fan favs "Clocks" and "In My Place" were great. The highlight was "Yellow" with the crowd singing along beautifully to every word. But it still seemed like it was just another show for the band. They did play a few songs at a small makeshift stage to the left of the soundboard tower for the fans way at the back, but it was hardly groundbreaking. Most of the new songs sounded good live especially "Lost" (but "Violet Hill" was terrible). I continued waiting for that special moment (perhaps a collaboration with Hova?) But it never came. The biggest disappointed of all: no encore. I couldn't believe it. Their only festival headline spot this summer in North America or Europe (i think?) at a festival created in part by their management, and not even an encore. Both NIN and Tom Petty did on the previous 2 nights. Most of the crowd continued to stand until the crew began taking down the set. Just like that the festival was over. Little did we know that there was a 13.5 hour trip back to Victoria in store for us the next day (usually about 5 hours).

blaine sayers · 1 year ago

Ccoult,
Great insight! I totally agree with you about the booze factor, I guess that's what happens when a music festival is in Canada. Everyone was soooo consumed about beer and booze that most of the music got forgotten.

While the Bacardi tent was amazing inside it was stupid they put a 2,500 person capacity on the tent. I know for a fact that the Dance Tent at Coachella is much much smaller than the Bacardi Tent and when I was at Coachella two years ago I heard they crammed 8,500 people inside. They could've easily put atleast 7,000 inside the Bacardi Tent. Needless to say next year I am passing on Pemberton and attending either Coachella or Sasquatch instead.

ccoult · 1 year ago

Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with drinking or taking drugs or whatever you want to do while at a festival. I myself went a little overboard during Interpol on the first night to the point that I hardly even remember the NIN show (luckly I've seen them before). I think most would agree there is nothing better than sitting back with a cold one and listening to some amazing live music. The biggest problem was that there was zero enforcement of the "no outside alcohol" rule. All of our neighbours at the campsite went into town to the liquor store on saturday morning because there wasn't even any security at the gates! As much as it sucks, being limited to $7 beers can also be a good thing.

I also totally agree with Brad that beer gardens was a stupid idea. Why not just lisence the entire festival grounds like Sasquatch? They confine people who are actually buying booze from the festival to a fenced area, but people who openly carry around outside booze can drink wherever they please? I feel like a total hypocrite saying this because I did bring my own booze, but it really didn't make sense.

Agree about the Dance tent. The one time I went in there when it was supposedly "at capacity" with a huge line outside, the tent couldn't have been more than half full. Its not like there is limited space at the festival site, double the size of the tent for next year.

For 2009 its hard to say which fest(s) I will attend. It really depends on the line-ups. I have my eye set on Bonnaroo if I can afford to travel that far.
Next up for me is Bumbershoot in a few weeks! Never been, but its been around for 26 years so I expect a little more organization that Pemberton.