Friday night with M. Ward?

Personally, I can't be persuaded to shell out a lot of dough ($48.50 before Ticketmaster extortion fees) to see M. Ward open for Norah Jones tomorrow at Red Rocks.

That said, my love for M. Ward remains undiminished. I'd love to see him on a solo tour. Or on a tour with special friends who are, ahem, more to my liking than Ms. Jones.

His recent appearance on Conan rocked my world. Neko! Kelly Hogan! Jim James! All together for the wonderful "Chinese Translation".

The West's Best Music Venues

Paste Magazine gives a list this week of the 40 best music venues in the country, two of them in our own backyard. Red Rocks is a given, and I'm happy to see the Fox on the list as I saw two of my favorite shows there last year. Check out the full article for shout outs to other faves including the Crocodile, the Tractor, the Gorge and First Ave.

Red Rocks - Morrison, Colo.
Best place to have your mind blown by music and nature: Hearing the majestic sound bounce off the natural amphitheater of red sandstone monoliths named “Ship Rock” and “Creation Rock” is a must for any true music fan’s “before I die” list. Since it’s in the middle of a State park, even if you’re not U2 (remember the video for “Sunday Bloody Sunday”?) you can jump onstage on off-days and play for the make-believe masses.
Playing this month: Norah Jones (6/1), John Mayer. (6/15-16)
18300 West Alameda Parkway, RedRocksOnline.com

Fox Theatre - Boulder, Colo.
Best place to find the spirit of New York’s legendary Wetlands: The Fox opened its doors in 1991 to great fanfare, as the old-movie-theater-turned-concert-hall welcomed The Meters to the foothills of the Rockies. Designed by members of The Samples for optimal sound, the Fox was the spot for numerous secret one-offs by the Allman Brothers, Phish and even Bob Dylan.
Introduced the world to: Devotchka, Yonder Mountain String Band, Big Head Todd & The Monsters, The String Cheese Incident
1135 13th St., FoxTheatre.com

[thx to brooklynvegan]

Heartless Bastards -- Tractor Tavern, 5-27-07

What a sweet surprise on a Sasquatch weekend to return to Seattle and find a nice $10 show in Ballard!

The group sounded great, it took a while to warm up, but I was thrilled to see them again. Although I thought they were not quite as tight as they were in Boulder this winter. The crowd loved them, lots of dancing. And good merch -- I had to talk myself out of buying a snake shirt reading "heartless bastards" for my 4 year old!

Bjork - Sasquatch 5-26-07

Bjork! A dream come true to see her at the Gorge. The Icelandic Brass Band came out first in glowing neon suits with pink flags on their heads, Bjork followed like a whirling dervish in a cape made of long yellow tassels to the sounds of Earth Intruders.

Wish I could give you a full setlist, but she played everything I wanted to hear including All is Full of Love, Hunter, Joga, Pagan Poetry, Army of Me, Hyperballad, Wanderlust and loads more.

Army of Me drove the crowd wild, but Pagan Poetry always my favorite, so a short video below of the last bit follows:

Sasquatch - Arcade Fire 5/26/07

Absolutely the greatest act of the day, the year, maybe ever. My expectations were sky high for this show, but the Arcade Fire met and exceeded all of them.

Highlights: Richard pushed Will fell leapt off the stage while roughhousing with Richard during Laika. Win dedicated Antichrist Television Blues to "Jerry Falwell, wherever he is". And a personal highlight: saw Win on his way to the Grizzly Bear show during the afternoon!

I'll try to piece together a setlist, please tell me if I've got it wrong. I'm certain of the first four, and the last five, but the middle of the set was a blur of happiness. I know they played all these songs but not positive of order. And sorry for crap photos ;-)

Arcade Fire Sasquatch 2007 setlist:
**Update- see correctly ordered setlist in the comments!**
Black Mirror
No Cars Go
Haiti
Neighborhood #2 (Laika)
Ocean of Noise
Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
Black Wave
Antichrist Television Blues
Well and the Lighthouse
Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
Rebellion (Lies)
Intervention
Keep the Car Running
Wake Up

Ghostland Observatory - Sasquatch 5-26-07

What a blast to see GLO with a huge crowd of adoring, dancing fans.

Before their set, latecomer emcee Aziz Ansari told some bad rape jokes and was booed from the stage. GLO came on and whipped the crowd into a lather, then the power went out for a few moments. They recovered, the power came back, Aaron let loose the braids and all the hipsters danced the bad vibes away. They closed the set with Silver City and happiness prevailed.

Neko Case - Sasquatch 5-26-07

Good golly I love Neko and so happy to see Kelly Hogan looking and sounding beautiful on the main stage. A short set, and we missed her bassist who suffered broken ribs in a car accident and could not perform. Neko and Kelly sang beautifully and left me wanting more. I could have used more songs from Blacklisted but was thrilled to hear Set Out Running... every time I see her she sings it, and every time I get goosebumps.

Two special notes to Neko: please please play Whip the Blankets live. I love it. Seriously. Also, you rocked the plaid shorts!