The music world lost Mark Linkous — better known by his recording moniker, Sparklehorse — after he took his own life Saturday, March 6.

Up to date list for Sasquatch 2010, with more to come:

My Morning Jacket
Massive Attack
Pavement
Ween
Vampire Weekend
MGMT
Band of Horses
The National
LCD Soundsystem
Tegan & Sara
Broken Social Scene
Passion Pit
Deadmau5
She & Him
Public Enemy
Nada Surf
The New Pornographers
The Hold Steady
The xx
Dirty Projectors
OK Go
Drive By Truckers
Kid Cudi
The Long Winters
Minus the Bear
The Mountain Goats
Quasi
Camera Obscura
Fruit Bats
Brother Ali
Midlake
Dr. Dog
Caribou
Simian Mobile Disco
City & Colour
No Age
The Temper Trap
Vetiver
Miike Snow
Portugal. The Man
Telekinesis
Mayer Hawthorne
Why?
Girls
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
Wale
The Lonely Forest
Japandroids
Boys Noize
Yacht
Freelance Whales
Laura Marling
Patrick Watson
Past Lives
Cymbals Eat Guitars
The Low Anthem
The Very Best
Phantogram
Neon Indian
Nurses
The Tallest Man on Earth
Fresh Espresso
Mumford & Sons
Jets Overhead
tUnE-YarDs
Shabazz Palaces
Fool’s Gold
Morning Teleportation
Z-Trip
Dam-Funk
Hudson Mohawke
The Middle East
Local Natives
Avi Buffalo
Booka Shade
A-Trak
Yes Giantess
Craig Robinson
Rob Riggle
Garfunkel & Oates
Luke Burbank
…and more to come!

Tickets will be available via Ticketmaster (as will camping accommodations), soon. Here’s a pricing breakdown:

Beginning February 20:
Single tickets, per day / $70.00
Discount 3 day pass / $170 (available on sale weekend only)

May 24–May 28:
Single tickets, per day / $80.00

Day of show:
Single tickets, per day / $86.00

Artist: Clipse and Crystal Method

Featuring: Mat The Alien,The Good News, Humans, Matty C, Trevor Risk

Venue: Rocky Mountaineer Vancouver Station

Date: March 4, 2010

Smirnoff’s House Party:

It’s our house. And when you’re in our house you play by our rules. Even if we don’t have any. Hit the only address that matters and witness a house party done right. Smirnoff takes it up a notch and makes the walls sweat. Different rooms, different themes, one result –a jam-packed, speaker-stacked party with a twist behind every door. Welcome to our neighbourhood. Crystal Method and friends are all invited.

Matisyahu is also playing Vancouver over the Olympics. Click here for more information.

MGMT has announced an American release date for the their second album “Congratulations” and it’s April 13th, 2010. Andrew Vanwyngarden and Ben Goldwasser recorded the album with producer Peter Kember, a.k.a. Sonic Boom of shoegaze pioneers Spaceman 3, and their live band — Matt Asti (bass), Will Berman (drums), and James Richardson (guitar). Royal Trux frontwoman Jennifer Herrema helped with vocals, while knob-twiddler extraordinaire Dave Fridmann (Mercury Rev, Flaming Lips) handled mixing duties.

Vanwyngarden recently told SPIN.com “There’s a surfing thread throughout the record,” he explained, citing another new song, called “It’s Working.” “When you’re surfing, there’s a specific break you’re paddling to. And when the waves are really good you say, ‘It’s working.’ The song kind of has a surf-y vibe. It’s like surfing on ecstasy!”

MGMT debuted a pair of songs during their late-night set at Bonnaroo last June — an untitled piano-led track that recalled the bright psychedelia and flowing arrangements of the Zombies’ The Odyssey and the Oracle, and the album’s title track, a more standard MGMT fare (catchy synths, sing-along vocals).

Currently, MGMT have only two live concerts scheduled: an April 17 appearance at Coachella and a May 2 gig at New Jersey’s Bamboozle fest.

Congratulations tracklist:
“It’s Working”
“Song for Dan Treacy”
“Someone’s Missing”
“Flash Delirium”
“I Found a Whistle”
“Siberian Breaks”
“Brian Eno”
“Lady Dada’s Nightmare”
“Congratulations”

-Article by William Goodman

A list of all the free concerts in vancouver and richmond feb 12th through 27th.
Part of the Cultural Olympiad

The music is spread across five sites: LiveCity Downtown (Georgia and Beatty streets), LiveCity Yaletown (Drake Street and Pacific Boulevard), Place Francophonie de la 2010 (Granville Island), Atlantic Canada House (Granville Island), and B.C. Place (Robson and Beatty streets).

Fri Feb 12th – Venice Queen – 10:15pm @ Ozone
Fri Feb 12th – Bedouin Soundclash – 10:00 @ Ontario Pavillion
Fri Feb 12th – Blue Rodeo – 9:15 @ Holland Park
Sat Feb 13th – Daniel Wesley – 10:00pm @ Holland Park
Sat Feb 13th – Hey Ocean – 8pm @ Ozone
Sat Feb 13th – Bedouin Soundclash – 9:30pm @ Ozone
Sat Feb 13th – Default/Wilco – 6:15/10:00 @ Livecity Yaletown
Sun Feb 14th – Keisha Chante – 10:00 @ Ontario Pavillion
Sun Feb 14th – Mother Mother – 8:00 @ Livecity Yaletown
Sun Feb 14th – Daniel Wesley – 9:30 @ Livecity Yaletown
Mon Feb 15th – Sloan – 10:30 @ Atlantic Canada House
Mon Feb 15th – Matisyahu – 9:30pm @ Livecity Yaletown
Tue Feb 16th – Alexisonfire – 9:30 @ Livecity Yaletown
Tue Feb 16th – Buck 65 – 9:30pm @ Livecity Downtown
Tue Feb 16th – The Trews – 10:30 @ Atlantic Canada House
Wed Feb 17th – DRUM! – 5:00 @ Livecity Yaletown
Wed Feb 17th – Corb Lund – 9:30 @ Livecity Yaletown
Wed Feb 17th – The Arkells – 10:00 @ Ontario Pavillion
Wed Feb 17th – Hawksley Workman – 9:30 @ Ozone
Wed Feb 17th – Hot Hot Heat – 9:00 @ Holland Park
Thur Feb 18th – Jully Black – 10:00 @ Ontario Pavillion
Thur Feb 18th – Keisha Chante – 8:00 @ Livecity Yaletown
Thur Feb 18th – Corb Lund – 9:00 @ Holland Park
Thur Feb 18th – The Arkells/Our Lady Peace 8:30/9:45 @ Ozone
Thur Feb 18th – Marianas Trench – 9:30 @ Livecity Yaletown
Fri Feb 19th – Deadmau5 – 9:30 @ Livecity Yaletown
Fri Feb 19th – DRUM! – 8:00 @ Ozone
Fri Feb 19th – Jully Black – 10:00 @ Holland Park
Fri Feb 19th – The Arkells/Sam Roberts – 7/9:00 @ Holland Park
Sat Feb 20th – The Arkells/ Sam Roberts – 6:30/9:30 @ Livecity Yaletown
Sat Feb 20th – Marianas Trench – 9:30 @ Ozone
Sat Feb 20th – Mother Mother – 10:00 @ Holland Park
Sat Feb 20th – DRUM! – 6:30 @ Holland Park
Sat Feb 20th – Hey Ocean – 8:30 @ Holland Park
Sun Feb 21st – 54-40 – 9:00 @ Holland Park
Sun Feb 21st – Jully Black – 9:30 @ Livecity Yaletown
Mon Feb 22nd – Colin James – 9:30 @ Livecity Yaletown
Tue Feb 23rd – Wintersleep – 9:30 @ Livecity Yaletown
Wed Feb 24th – Wintersleep – 10:30 @ Atlantic Canada House
Wed Feb 24th – Damian “Jr.Gong” Marley – 9:30 @ Livecity Yaletown
Thur Feb 25th – Illscarlett – 6:30 @ Livecity Yaletown
Thur Feb 25th – Wintersleep – 9:30 @ Ozone
Thur Feb 25th – Inward Eye – 11:30 @ Livecity Downtown
Fri Feb 26th – Tokyo Police Club – 9:45 @ Ozone
Fri Feb 26th – Inward Eye – 6:00 @ Holland Park
Fri Feb 26th – Illscarlett – 8:00 @ Holland Park
Fri Feb 26th – Marianas Trench – 9:00 @ Holland Park
Fri Feb 26th – TBC – 8/9:30 @ Livecity Yaletown
Sat Feb 27th – The Stills – 10:15 @ Ozone
Sat Feb 27th – Illscarlett – 10:00 @ Ontario Pavillion
Sat Feb 27th – Blue Rodeo – 9:30 @ Livecity Yaletown
Sat Feb 27th – Wide Mouth Mason – 9:30 @ Holland Park
Sat Feb 27th – Tokyo Police Club/Wintersleep – 9/10:00 @ Holland Park
Sun Feb 28th – Five Alarm Funk – 9:30 @ Ozone

TBC is to be confirmed, the act hasnt been announced yet.

There are more shows in and around Vancouver, but these are the good ones!

Livecity Yaletown:
David Lam Park, Vancouver

Livecity Downtown:
Cambie St between Dunsmuir St and W Georgia St, Vancouver

Holland Park:
13428 Old Yale Rd., Surrey

Ozone:
Minoru Park, Richmond

Ontario Pavillion:
Concord Place, False Creek, Vancouver

Atlantic Canada House:
Granville Island

Artist: Midlake

Venue: Biltmore

Date: March 8th, 2010

We all know someone who loves jazz, won’t listen to anything but jazz, raves about jazz and denounces every other genre of music. There are these types of music snobs in every genre, metal heads, hip hop etc, but in my opinion there are more in jazz than any other genre. Jazz snobs have good reason, jazz musicians are often masters of their instruments often starting in another genre before “discovering” or “re-discovering” jazz. That’s why some great jazz sounds more like 5 members of a band soloing at once than your typical four count rhythm section. To compare it to painting, it is like starting out with acrylic and working your way up to oil paints. So it seems odd that a group of jazz musicians would come together to form Midlake. Not for any other reason than usually jazz musicians are very dedicated to their craft. But lets be honest here… rock is fun.  In an interview with Reverb Magazine’s Nick Milligan, Smith said of the band’s origins:

“We were jazz musicians, but right from the get go we’d never really play jazz music. We’d play some funk stuff and then jump right into playing Led Zeppelin. For jazz musicians, rock is sort of frowned upon for how easy it is. If we had friends that knew we were playing, the best thing we could play was Herbie Hancock or Stevie Wonder. A distortion pedal seemed like a no-no. It took us a while to get away from the jazz.” -Tim Smith[3]

They have stepped away from jazz, but not that far, and the result is quite amazing. Midlake takes an indie rock and jazz influence and melds together Jethro Tull with Radiohead to come up with a sound all their own. A building lo-fi sometimes psychedelic sound, you can recognize the jazz influence in their layering of sounds. Mckenzie Smith’s vocals are absolutely haunting.  This is a band to watch and you will get your chance on March 8th at the Biltmore.

Artist: Surfer Blood

Venue: Biltmore Cabaret

Date: April 5th, 2010

Hard to explain Surfer Blood, kind of like the Shins meets Weezer. A little mainstream sounding, but manage to get their hooks into you. These guys are not surfers by any means and the band actually denounces the “surfer” kids that made their high school experience miserable. The band recorded their first album (Astro Coast) in their dorm room during freshman year with equipment purchased with scholarship money. Well its better than what I did with my student loan money…   JP Pitts is apparently the “mastermind” of the band recruiting the other members to polish up a couple songs he had been working on. Next thing you know… Surfer Blood is born. Take a listen for yourself.

PHONING IT IN
Toronto-based media artist, musician, and professor Geoffrey Shea’s “PLAY: The Hertzian Collective” is a musical sound sculpture arranged in three groups of overlapping, circular, video-projected images. Viewers can manipulate the work’s rhythm sequences by dialing a toll-free number on their cellphone and choosing beats on their keypads. Feb. 4-21 at Great Northern Way Campus: Centre for Digital Media (577 Great Northern Way), 10 am-8 pm, (10 am-6 pm Thurs., Fri., Sat.). Free. Presented as part of the Cultural Olympiad.

PEDAL PUSHERS
W2 Culture + Media House sets the scene for BIKES INSIDE!, a night of spinning wheels and swirling electro-pop featuring indoor head-to-head bike races. Feb. 20 at 112 W. Hastings. Tickets $8-10. Info: BikesInside.com

ANGEL OF THE MOURNING
Vancouver-based artist Pamela Masik spent four years painting “The Forgotten,” 69 unflinching, three-metre-tall portraits of the Downtown Eastside’s missing women. Over half of these will be on display in the artist’s 14,000-square-foot warehouse studio space near the Olympic Village. Fridays only at Masik Studios (145 W. 2nd), 12-6 pm. Free.

DANCE FEVER
What with all the Olympic drama, most Vancouverites may already feel like they’re stuck inside a bizarre and unnerving alternate reality. For those looking to escape by diving further down the rabbit hole, Vancouver theatre company Boca del Lupo and award-winning Toronto/New York-based interdisciplinary theatre collective bluemouth inc. present an interactive performance event modelled on Depression-era dance marathons. Audience members can choose to act as spectators as the story unfolds, or join in the dancing. Feb. 9-13 at Roundhouse Community Centre (Davie at Pacific), 7 pm. Tickets $25-$30 from BrownPaperTickets.com. (A special fundraising performance for Boca del Lupo takes place Feb. 12 at 9 pm. Tickets $99.) Info: BocaDelLupo.com. Presented as part of the Cultural Olympiad.

ART ATTACKS!
Local advocacy group I Heart Van Art was created to energize the local arts community following this past fall’s devastating funding cuts to the B.C. Arts Council. Together with the Yaletown Business Improvement Association, the group has produced the Made In Vancouver Festival, which will showcase homegrown musicians, visual artists, filmmakers, dancers, and performance artists to Olympic crowds and the rest of the world. (In keeping with the lamentable new reality for arts in B.C., the festival has received zero funding — and even less encouragement — from the government.) Feb. 13-27 on Hamilton and Mainland streets, 10 am-12 am. Free. Schedule and info:IHeartVanArt.com.

YOUR BODY IS A WORK OF ART
The Vancouver Art Gallery’s new tandem exhibits celebrate the human body through both artistry and anatomy. Leonardo da Vinci: The Mechanics of Man is a thorough exhibition of the master artist’s 16th-century anatomical renderings. Running in conjunction with this large-scale exhibit is Visceral Bodies, which features two decades’ worth of contemporary art exploring scientific and medical innovations. Leonard da Vinci runs to May 2. Visceral Bodies runs Feb. 6-May 16. At Vancouver Art Gallery (750 Hornby). Info: VanArtGallery.bc.ca

VIVA MEXICO!
Pacific Cinémathèque presents ¡Viva El Cine Mexicano!, a retrospective of classic and contemporary Mexican cinema, commemorating the 200th anniversary of Mexican independence and the 100th anniversary of the Mexican Revolution, featuring films by Mexico’s most celebrated directors, including Emilio Fernández, Luis Buñuel, Alfonso Cuarón, and Guillermo del Toro. Feb. 10-21 at Pacific Cinémathèque (1131 Howe). Film schedule and times:Cinematheque.bc.ca

LET THE LIGHT SHINE DOWN
Fourteen arts organizations in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside collaborated to create Bright Light, a six-week series of installations, projections, and street performances to perk up dreary winter days. The exhibition includes installations illuminating alleys, a canopied courtyard hosting movie theatres by night, and mahjong tournaments by day. There’s also a park designated as the local site for a World Tea Party, connected via live web feed, for a truly global experience. Feb. 12-Mar. 21 at various locations and times. Full schedule and info: Bright-Light.ca

RUN, NAOKO, RUN
Three composers from diverse backgrounds (Balinese gamelan, Highland bagpipe, and Japanese taiko) perform a multidisciplinary showcase, titled Marathonologue, combining music and computer-animated projections. The inspiration? Naoko Takahashi, a women’s marathon competitor, who drank a distilled extract from giant Japanese killer hornets immediately before she won gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Feb. 18-20 at Norman Rothstein Theatre (950 W. 41st), 8 pm. $15-$20 from Tickets Tonight. Presented as part of the Cultural Olympiad.

MORE CANADIAN THAN MAPLE SYRUP AND CELINE DION
Monster Theatre likely won’t score points for historical accuracy, but the company’s award-winning comedy, The Canada Show, promises to pack 50,000 (!) years of Canadian history into just 60 minutes. Featuring Canadian icons such as Leonard Cohen, William Shatner, and Mr. Dressup, as well as original live music and puppets, this is the best way for locals to get reacquainted with our suspect origins, and for tourists to add a few more stereotypes to the Canuck canon. Feb. 22-27 at Waterfront Theatre (1412 Cartwright, Granville Island), 1:30 pm and 7 pm; Saturdays, 2 pm. $7-$10 from Tickets Tonight. Part of the Granville Island Winterruption Festival.

TECH HEADS
Partnering with CODE Live, the innovative digital-media arm of the Cultural Olympiad, this year’s edition of the New Forms Festival, New Forms 2010, boasts a musical feast, including remix artists L.A. Riots, electronic duo the Golden Filter, a DJ set from Junior Boys, plus performances by local acts Humans and U-Tern. Look beyond the laptops on stage for videography and lighting design by Electrabelle Visuals. Feb. 6 at Great Northern Way Campus (577 Great Northern Way), 9:30 p.m. Tickets $18 from Zulu, Beat Street, and Code.NewFormsFestival.com

LOVE, HIPSTER STYLE
In what will possibly be the most well-attended and affordable date option around Valentine’s Day, Chicago indie-rock heartbreakers Wilco will take the stage at Yaletown’s David Lam Park for a free show the night before Cupid’s big day. Just watch out for the airport-style security in your search for a last-minute Seawall pity hookup. Post-rockers Califone play an early set before a public screening of the 8:30 p.m. Victory Ceremonies. Feb. 13 at LiveCity Yaletown in David Lam Park (Drake & Pacific). Califone 7:30 p.m; Wilco 9 p.m. Info: LiveCityVancouver.ca

GREEN IS THE NEW BLACK
With the Games trucking in hydrogen from Quebec for its fleet of eco-buses and flying snow around in helicopters, it’s nice to see someone using the term “green” without a trace of hypocrisy. The organizers of the inaugural Vancouver Eco Fashion Week are hosting a suitably stylish and sustainable soirée to raise money for the event’s April launch, featuring designs by Adhesif Clothing (below), Ashley Watson, Dotted Loop, and others, plus a live performance from Juno-nominated singer Jill Barber. Feb. 19 at the Promenade of the Vancouver Public Library (350 W. Georgia), 8pm. Tickets $45 from EcoFashionForward.EventBrite.com

CRACK THE CODE
An audio-visual horn of plenty awaits with CODE Live’s opening-night performance by co-headliners Mike Relm and Addictive TV. Hailing from San Francisco, Mike Relm’s signature video turntablism complements Addictive TV’s audio-video remixes. Feb. 5 at Great Northern Way Campus (577 Great Northern Way), 10 p.m. Tickets $20 fromVancouver2010.com

ALL’S NOT QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT
Western Front, that wood-frame building at East 8th and Scotia, has been standing taller than usual, thanks to Vancouver visual artist Reece Terris’s installation of a gold-rush-era facade. Called “Another False Front,” the installation juxtaposes Vancouver’s rapidly changing contemporary landscape with the aspirational qualities of turn-of-the-century street architecture. Step inside the gallery space to find “Lessons from Vancouver,” an art exhibit featuring the commissioned work of Dutch artists Bik and Jos Van der Pol. The latter’s work is presented alongside a visual research project, “Urban Subjects,” by Vancouver artists Sabine Bitter, Jeff Derksen, and Helmut Weber. Learning from Vancouver runs to March 6; Another False Front runs to March 27 at Western Front Society (303 E. 8th Ave.), Tues-Sat 12-5 pm. Free.

FIVE ALIVE
Having chosen not to accept funding support from the Cultural Olympiad, Vancouver visual artist Paul Wong will guide five site-specific tours over five Saturdays during the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. From a ride on an interactive video bus to a trip to the Bloedel Conservatory and Mountain View Cemetery, Wong’s weekly journeys aim to pay quirky homage to the five Olympic rings and, most importantly, the five senses. Feb. 13-Mar. 13 at various locations. Tickets $10 at the events or in advance through 5PWP.eventbrite.com. Schedule and info:5.PaulWongProjects.com

MAKE ART, NOT WAR
Interested in committing your Olympic sentiments to canvas or film? Kelowna’s artist-run Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art is holding an open call for submissions produced in response to the Games, with an online exhibition set to launch at React2010.com on February 12, the day the Games begin. In Vancouver, look out for buttons produced by the Pacific Association of Artist Run Centres (PAARC). In response to exorbitant cuts to B.C.’s arts and culture sector in the past year, PAARC will be distributing wearable buttons during the 2010 Olympics bearing slogans speaking out against the cuts. Artists can submit work via admin@react2010.com.

BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE
Are those flames that appear to be jumping out the windows of the skinny building across from Woodward’s? Don’t fear, it’s actually Isabelle Hayeur’s “Fire with Fire” video installation, and that building is occupied by W2 Community Media Arts. The Montreal-based artist’s installation, commissioned by the 2010 Cultural Olympiad, references the fiery past of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Better than that burning log on TV during the holidays. To February 28 at 112 West Hastings. Info: CreativeTechnology.org

Artist: Techn9ne

Featuring: Krizz Kalko, Big Scoob and Peter Jackson

Venue: Commodore Ballroom

Date: March 23, 2010

Pre-sale tickets go on sale on Thursday Feb 4th, and the password is: Demons

Tickets available here.

If any of you were at Rock the Bells this past summer then you already know that Tech N9ne was one of the festivals top performances. Tech N9ne not only puts on an amazing show, but he brings a new “strange” twist to hip hop, which is a breath of fresh air when a lot of hip hop lately has become stale. Yes I said it, love hip hop, will always love hip hop, but your kidding yourself if you think the same innovation and flood of amazing new artists that was happening around 2000-2004 is happening now. So when someone like Tech N9ne comes swinging out of the gates with a new sound everyone is stopping and taking notice. That is why VSCENE is here to provide you with pre-sale information because this will not be a show to miss. If you do miss it by chance you have another chance to catch him at Garfinkels  in Whistler on March 22nd or at Element Nightclub in Victoria on March 24th.