This past weekend, I took some time off of work to check out the Khatsalano Festival in Vancouver. It's a short review, because I only caught the last couple of hours, since I got to Vancouver about 6 PM, and to the festival at 7 PM.
Khatsalano is an free open-air festival, they close of West 4th Avenue from Burrard to MacDonald, put up five stages of music, plus lots of food trucks, business and roving performers. The music was a nice mix of indy rock with a few bigger names to get people to show up. The crowd was quite unique for a music festival, given that this is basically a neighbourhood gathering and not strictly for music fans. There was an even mix of hipsters (beards, trucker hats and skinny jeans are still in fashion here!), bros, hippies and 50 year old guys in khakis.
Showing up at Burrard, I spy the main stage right at the front. The Belle Game are in the middle of their set, but I don't stop, since I've already seen them once at Salmon Arm and they didn't do much for me. I wander down to Zulu Records and turn the corner to find... The Backhomes putting in a set! The Backhomes are a wonderfully spacy, noisy, drony post-punk/psych-rock act from Victoria. They're a duo, a guitar and a bass, with a keyboard and a drum machine. Almost oblivious to the crowd, they drones and barely moved. Excellent ambience. I really should have bought their new album, but I had driven four hours and needed to eat.
Wandered back to eat a vegan sausage on a bun (apparently there are such things as vegan sausages), browsed Zulu and picked up a bunch of disks for $1.50, then wandered back to the main stage to find Yukon Blonde there. They're on the upswing on their career, and the crowd showed it. They were a good 60 feet deep. Getting close to the stage was not an option and my ears hurt from 60 feet away. The band seemed to beginning to act like the swaggering rock stars they were becoming. I turned around and walked the other way, hoping to find the Ballantynes finishing up their set, but they were already done.
Instead I found the PEAK Performance stage, and a band called Little India. This stage was to highlight the 12 bands in this years PEAK Performance contest, unsigned BC bands vying for a cash prize and time in the studio to put out some music. Surprisingly, two local acts played earlier in the day, Vernon's Windmills and Kamloops' own Van Damsel. Little India were the last band on stage that night, and they were a decent but unremarkable alt-rock band.
This festival looks fun and would probably be well worth a full day if you can get out to it. Some of the bands earlier in the day were interesting, including sets from old-timers The Pointed Sticks, No Fun and the legendary Enigmas. The Maple Stage had some really exotic bands, from The Backhomes to Fake Tears to Energy Slime.
The other reason I came down, outside of needing a brief vacation, was to visit some friends and to, of course, record shop, which I did. I shop for as much discount as I can, and rarely buy anything new unless I am really looking for something. And I'm routinely astounded by the music I can find for under $5, often under $3. I bought the new albums from Purity Ring, Viet Cong and METZ new, but the rest was used.
Highlights:
The Floor - Doll EP
Redd Kross - Born Innocent
Big Black - Songs About Fucking
Shearing Pinx - Poison Hands
Bob Mould - S/T
Weed - Running Back
Secret Mommy - Very Rec
Magnetic Fields - i
Low - Drums and Guns
Because I had some time, I stopped in Port Coquitlam because I remembered a shop I was at years ago where I found some interesting albums. I'm glad I did, since I found some really rare stuff. If you're in Port Coquitlam, just turn off of Highway 7 onto Shaughnessy and Mostly Music is right on the first corner after you come under the bridge. They have a good selection, but their prices are a bit high, and the place is cramped and needs to be tidied up. I found Elvis Costello's Girls Girls Girls collection, only available as an import in Canada, and the Producers for Bob album released on DOVentertaiment, which is super rare and very hard to find in the wild!
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