Playing a wide variety of songs, Hoge hit all the spots he needed to in order to fulfill our Wreckage needs, as well as some timeless and obvious favorites from Carousel and Blackbird On A Lonely Wire. Pulling tricks out of his jacket sleeves all night, Hoge showed us that he doesn’t need the feminine backup vocals from “Goodnight Goodbye” to do the track justice, and also gave us a lesson in bad ass instrumental breaks when he wailed for a solid five minutes in the middle of “Doesn’t Have To Be That Way.”

The whole show wasn’t just a familiar set list. We got to hear a new song that will be on the upcoming record, too. Ladies should be comforted, because it’s about how guys understand that they don’t understand females, and that they’re lucky that the women in their lives still put up with them. See? It’s all in the effort!

At the end of the night, the band brought it to the crowd (literally) with “The Highway’s Home.”

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For more information on Will Hoge, visit willhoge.com.

Even though Sasquatch didn’t harbor some of the big names that Coachella had to offer, the talent this year was a fair representation of what an indie fest should be. (Get your Jay-Z fix on the radio, kids.) After a long wait to get in on Saturday, the festival began. Mumford and Sons put on an honest set and played well by their audience, making sure to invite a few friends for some on-stage partying. Sharing similarities in dissimilarity, WHY? and Portugal. The Man stood out and were good additions to Saturday’s lineup that was later reserved for the hipper mainstream scene. Vampire Weekend, Broken Social Scene, My Morning Jacket and OK GO left everyone partied out for the night and ready for the next morning.

Sunday’s lineup supported a DIY vibe and featured bands that always surprise us with their effortless genius. The sounds from Tegan and Sara, tUnE-yArDs and Dirty Projectors complemented one another on this day in their knack for sounding strength in females. The Long Winters, Pavement and They Might Be Giants did their thing, but kind of did just that. Bands like The xx, Cymbals Eat Guitars and Local Natives stepped up to the plate and delivered more than expected (don’t they always, though?) throughout the day. We figured out that LCD Soundsystem and Kid Cudi have the ability to make people dance and sweat, and Massive Attack closed out the night with a strong and entertaining set with their unique beats and sounds.

All good things must come to an end, and that’s exactly what Monday morning reminded us. With a pretty chill lineup for the day, it was a great way to wrap up the end of Sasquatch. Phantogram and Neon Indian satisfied our hunger for the right amount of distorted electronic noise and got us ready for the soft, upbeat soul of Mayer Hawthorne & The County, who eased us in to the carefree set that The Temper Trap always offer up. What’s a festival without a little bit of country rock? The Drive-By Truckers offered that “little bit” to us. Although lacking a little bit of energy, She & Him surprisingly seemed to keep the ladies happy and Passion Pit got them dancing. Band of Horses pleased the crowd with their solid sound and a well-balanced set of new and old songs. MGMT was there to pull in their cult-like following while Ween rocked out until the end of the night as if they were the only band there.

For a short tour of the festival (and the beautiful Gorge Amphitheater scenery), get at the photo gallery here:

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Get more Sasquatch info at the official Sasquatch Festival website.

Here is a video of Josh Foster playing his latest song at MPMF (and also writing jingles for Taco Bell). The song is currently only played in acoustic form but may become a full-band song in the near future. The song’s title may (or may not) be called “Little Did You Know.”

After their next few shows, the band will be taking a short break to hit the studio to bring you a two-single release in November which will feature the tracks “New Love” and “Wasn’t Ready.” Parachute Musical will then continue to tour and work in the studio in order to complete a new EP or full-length album. Can we expect another Seasons Greetings from the band this year?

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For more information on Parachute Musical, visit parachutemusical.tumblr.com.

We had a chance to see Ernie Halter play live at the House of Blues Acoustic Strip in Las Vegas a few weeks ago. This is a free event hosted by Michael Soli and takes place every Thursday night at Las Vegas’ House of Blues at Mandalay Bay. In other words, if you’re in Las Vegas, you really don’t have an excuse for getting caught with your pants around your ankles downtown on Fremont Street. You should spend your Thursdays exerting a little more class (but any other day of the week is up to you).

Ernie Halter pleased his audience with a seven-track (eight if you count the way he weaved “Wade in the Water” into “Better”) set list that night. Halter opened the show by covering “Just Friends,” (an original song by Musiq Soulchild) a track that shows up on Halter’s latest album, Starting Over.

If you’re not familiar with Ernie Halter, then let me tell you that he has a way of connecting to audiences of every caliber. Covers. The man loves his covers. After giving everyone a fair chance to get into a good mood with a familiar song, he went straight into “Blue Dress” and then managed to weave a cover of “Wade in the Water” into his original song “Better.”

If you have ever seen Ernie Halter live, you can always bank on a good show because of his charisma and story-telling persona. He’ll find ways to shamelessly (but tastefully) plug his Twitter account by telling quirky tales about how his fans are known to “show up” wherever he’s at. You have to hand it to the man, he’s almost at 400,000 followers. Be his 400,000th follower. Tell him Audioholic Media sent you.

Right before playing “Whisper,” one of the more popular songs on the Congress Hotel album, Halter gave a little background to how his fans are currently reacting to his music (but mainly that particular song). He spoke about the huge Filipino following that “Whisper” has, for some reason, acquired. He mentioned that when he searches YouTube that “Whisper” is one of his most popular songs that fans cover. (For some reason the majority of those fans tend to be Filipino ).

Here are some of the songs from the show that night if you’d like to preview them:

Preview: Just Friends
Preview: Better / Wade in the Water
Preview: Whisper
Preview: Count The Days
Preview: Cyclone

Ernie Halter performed with a few other acts that night, one of which being Las Vegas native, Ian Shane Tyler. Tyler was celebrating his twenty-first birthday and proposed water toasts instead of vodka shots (go figure). He performed a great set by touching on a few of his more popular songs. One of those songs happened to be “What’s Wrong With Me?”

Preview: Whats Wrong With Me?

All in all, the House of Blues Acoustic Strip turned out to be a win. If you are interested in seeing Ernie Halter live, you can visit his MySpace page for a full list of tour dates. He just added a slew of them so be sure to find one close to your hometown.

This might be one of the most last-minute posts we’ve ever encountered here at Audioholic Media, but we heard through the grapevine that Bobby Long will be performing a live London showcase tonight (well, not really tonight for us) between 8:30 and 9:30 P.M. London time.

So, everyone ready for the math?

If you’re part of the EST group, then you will need to be logged on to this website no later than 3:30 P.M. your time.

If you’re part of the PST group, then you will need to be logged on to this website no later than 12:30 P.M. your time.

If you don’t check Audioholic Media every waking hour of your life, then you might miss out on important news. But we’re aware that people have lives, so just in case you get to this article a little late, here is your fix:

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For more information on Bobby Long, visit myspace.com/musicbobbylong.

If you want the short version, Bobby Long’s initial success was catapulted by only a few verses. Having co-written a song that may or may not have been featured in some unknown indie film which involves vampires, his name has spread like wildfire in a very short amount of time.

We met with Bobby before his show at 3rd & Lindsley in Nashville, his last gig amongst a handful of American tour dates before making his way back to London to finish college. During our time with him, we learned that the kid is smart. He’s thought more about the future of the music industry than some of the most respected veterans in the business. He’s taking his career seriously. He has a genuine respect for his fans. His music and lyrics show no signs of youth but are instead sometimes cryptic and unnervingly wise. Of his writing style, Bobby told us, “I don’t think there are easily-accessible lyrics on a lot of the songs.” He’s not kidding. And, as with his lyrics, Bobby Long isn’t opposed to a bit of complexity in his career. “You shouldn’t go straight into it and be playing a 2,000-seat stadium. You should go in at the bottom and work your way up. That’s the way to be respected.”

Audioholic Media: I read that you recently signed a publishing deal with Bug Music. Can you talk a little bit about that?

Bobby Long: Bug are this really wicked company that have been around since, I think the ’60s, and they started off with this bloke called Del Shannon. It’s expanded and expanded into, like, Ryan Adams, and Gram Parsons, and… who else? Kings Of Leon, they publish all their music. They’re a really big company; a really cool company. A lot of country artists work with them, as well. Quite folk-y kind of stuff. They’re going to take care of all my publishing, and they’re going to help me out with America.

AM: Do they own the rights to your songs, as well?

BL: They own the rights for a period of time, and with handing over that quite small percentage, they go out and put you on the roster and they put you into the situations where you can do the things you want to do.

AM: It sounds as if you get all of the benefits of being on the record label without any of the obvious drawbacks that come with it.

BL: Actually, it is kind of like that. They don’t necessarily do anything with the album, but they help with everything else.

AM: It seems as if your lyrics are very honest and come from an introspective place. Is it difficult for you to hand your music over to someone else to produce and interpret?

BL: I think you can only write from an honest place, otherwise people see through it and don’t believe it. But in terms of handing [the songs] over to Bug, for them to do stuff with, it’s completely cool. You like who you’re working with, and it’s all really great stuff.

In terms of recording with a producer, as long as I’m always in control, I think that would be OK. I would never just go, “Here’s the song. Record it however you want.” I think you have to be really careful with your songs and be really protective.

AM: Does the experience of working with a producer allow you to see your songs in a different way?

BL: Yeah. In a nice way. I always take my music really, really seriously, but once somebody who has that kind of history behind them is taking you seriously, it’s like, “Maybe I have got a real opportunity for doing this kind of stuff.” It’s a real nice confidence booster, do you know what I mean?

In terms of the experience changing you, or anything else, I’m not resting on my laurels, and it hasn’t gone to my head that a few girls shout my name [laughs]. All that stuff is fickle.

AM: In today’s version of the music industry, there’s a lot of oversaturation with MySpace, and YouTube, and everything else. How have you been able to rise above that and stand out?

BL: I think all that comes to is just the live show. It’s so important for a musician to put on a good live show, and if they’re not good live, it’s just not gonna work. When people come to my shows, they see that I am honest. I’m an honest musician. I really like what I’m doing. I’m really passionate about what I’m doing, and that comes across. If not, I’m just some kid.

But I do work with the oversaturation thing. You’ve got MySpace, YouTube; it’s so accessible now. I think it’s really important, as a musician, to keep a little mystery about you. You should be attainable but unattainable.

AM: With your career, your fans have gotten to see the whole process. From the demos recorded in your bedroom to professionally-produced tracks. Has this had a noticeable effect on the relationship you have with your fans?

BL: I think one of the reasons people are interested in this and why people come to the shows and are really loyal is because you don’t often get an opportunity to watch an artist start from this, with very little recorded material and slowly working up. Not since the 1960s have they been able to see an artist slowly do an EP, then do an album… An artist now is determined to be in the limelight. They’re like, “Here we are. This is it.” Two albums, and they’re gone. This is an opportunity for me to have a long career. With all of my favorite bands, I love going from the first album to the last album, just seeing how they grow, seeing what happens, who dies, and all that kind of stuff. [laughs] Do you know what I mean? That’s what is really interesting. And Dylan was like that. You could see Dylan really start to explore with each album.

AM: You’ve listed artists like Elliott Smith and Jeff Buckley as your primary influences, and their influence is present in the depth of your writing. The industry has changed a lot since their time, and the Internet has made music accessible in a different way. Do you feel as if your writing and artistry can be interpreted with the same depth as music was back then?

BL: Yeah… well, it’s just going to have to be, because that’s the way I am. [laughs] As an artist, you can’t just start changing anything because… people are fickle, and record labels are kind of watching what’s taking over and seeing who’s big at what time.

I think there’s just as much good music around now as there ever has been.

AM: I agree.

BL: I think music’s more unattainable– and more accessible at the same time. I think people are always trying to find good music, and they always want that slightly deeper stuff, I think– I hope. Otherwise, it’s back to college.

AM: What are you going to school for?

BL: I’m just finishing up my degree in sound in film. I just did it to move to London, really; to get a student loan. I’m just desperate to finish. I’ve got 7,000 words to write. I have to go from New York, to L.A., to Nashville, doing some really cool shows, then go back university. It’s going to be a real head fuck. [laughs] I got an extension on my work because I’m doing it on American folk music. I said I’m going to America to research. [laughs]

AM: The appeal of your music is that your sound isn’t packaged for a certain marketability or streamlined to be be mainstream, yet you have garnered a mainstream following rather quickly. Is that a difficult balance to wrap your head around?

BL: Yeah. I think some songs could be radio songs, but that’s just happened naturally. I just kind of do what I want to do and write the songs I want to write. But it is quite weird having an audience that perhaps wouldn’t have usually listened to my music, I don’t think. But I’m extremely lucky for that fact. You can’t buy people, you can’t beg them to come to your gigs, and especially in today’s climate where people aren’t buying records, you need to sell out shows, and you need to have that support there.

AM: Your lyrics are a little cryptic sometimes, so it is surprising that your music has been received really well by such a large group of people, but nothing about your songs is at all…

BL: Obvious?

AM: Yes.

BL: I think you should be able to interpret it any way you want to. I really hate when singers go, “This song is about Tracy, and she took me to go bowling, and I got my finger stuck in the hole. It’s called ‘Trapped.’” I find that boring.

I mean, sometimes you write songs and people might go, “Man, that’s deep.” And it’s just about a bad day or rain. It’s just your interpretation of it.

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Bobby’s live version of “Being A Mockingbird” is now available on iTunes.
For more information on Bobby Long, visit his MySpace page at myspace.com/musicbobbylong.

If you were hoping for video of some songs from the band’s newest album, Hazards of Love, then consider your bubble burst. IFC have uploaded some live video to their website, and they’re only offering a few really great performances of some old stuff. But you know what? It’s still pretty awesome.

There is also a video of The Decemberists playing “The Crane Wife” at at IFC.com.

If you’d like to see the new stuff live and in person, get your tickets now.

03.18.09 Austin, TX @ Stubb’s
05.19.09 Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium
05.20.09 Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
05.21.09 Eugene, OR @ McDonald Theater
05.24.09 Missoula, MT @ Wilma Theatre
05.26.09 Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium
05.27.09 Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theater
05.29.09 Milwaukee, WI @ Riverside Theater
05.31.09 St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
06.01.09 Columbus, OH @ Lifestyle Communities Pavilion
06.03.09 Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
06.04.09 Raleigh, NC @ Memorial Auditorium
06.05.09 Richmond, VA @ The National
06.06.09 Upper Darby, PA @ Tower Theatre
06.09.09 Boston, MA @ Bank of America Pavillion
06.10.09 New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall
06.11.09-06.14.09 Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival
07.18.09 Troutdale, OR @ Edgefield
07.19.09 Troutdale, OR @ Edgefield

For more information, visit decemberists.com.

The guys recently stopped by “The Interface” over at Spinner to play five tracks from Living Thing. The mini-concert featured “Nothing to Worry About,” “Lay It Down,” “It Don’t Move Me,” “Just the Past,” and “Living Thing.” If you’re a fan of Peter Bjorn and John v2.0, then you’ll really enjoy these videos. If you’re not, then just enjoy Peter Morén’s hand gestures in them.

To see the other three videos, visit Spinner.
For more information about Peter Bjorn and John, visit peterbjornandjohn.com