After Friday's late start, I though we may as well cruise down to Mewata field as early as possible to scope out how many people would actually pull their bodies out of bed for Saturday's 12:00 pm start. That and Swedish singer Jose Gonzalez was playing, and I still had a major need to woo the girlfriend vicariously through music (Chixdiggit just didn't cut it, apparently...)

When we got to the field at about quarter to noon, we were surprised to find a large line, some more determined security, and a new 'strict, no re-entry policy.' Something about too many empty bottles and roaches left on the steps of the Telus World of Science to greet Saturday morning families, I'm guessing... Regardless, things went smoothly, and the policy was eventually shifted to a more reasonable 'no re-entry after 3:00pm.'

It was obvious Saturday's main stage schedule was packed solid (things started three hours earlier than Friday), when I realized that Gonzalez was only slotted to play for thirty minutes. He's gotten some love from Ami before, and the two albums he's released so far still get the occasional spin when I'm feeling extra mellow, or something...

When was the last time you downloaded a piece of music? Now another question; when was the last time you listened to a mixtape (or mix CD)? And no, muxtape does not count.

People have been swapping music illicitly for a long time, but with the rise of the internet the methods and scope of that sharing have changed completely. The most popular means of trading copyrighted material has been the emergent peer to peer technologies (all seemingly kneeling at the altar of bit torrent). Recent changes in copyright laws, combined with high-profile lawsuits (including last fall's shutdown of the world's most popular peer-to-peer network, Oink), have not only threatened the way fans consume their art, but have temporarily brought even more attention to and interest in downloading music illegally.

While this turnaround in music distribution has had an invariable effect on the artist, it's also profoundly changed the way us fanatics listen to our music (the death of real rock appreciation? the end of a true musical community?) With all this in mind, Cornershop Projects has brought together Ear to Ear at the Or Gallery, on display this weekend only: "a community-based, ad hoc archive of contemporary popular music and music ephemera." The show brings together visual, audio, and printed materials including 29 specially commissioned mix CDs which'll be given out over the weekend. There's also a conversation today at 5:00 (with lots of guests) and a closing night party on Sunday. More after the jump...

Every year they come. Armed with fanny packs and maps, traveler's checks and handi-cams, they descend upon our Potemkin village by the sea. They flock to the most banal and trivial of spaces, stock up on maple syrup and cigars, and then waddle off to Alaska to gawk at the glaciers before they're gone. Martin Parr would have a field day at the Steam Clock, as the 30 year-old contraption hoots happily to the naive gawkers behind their digital SLRs. They pad the pockets of buskers and waiters, and they keep the crackheads high. They are the lifeforce, and at the same time they are pure evil.

One of the city's most important journalists, Frances Bula, has resigned from the Vancouver Sun. I blame that 'cute German immigrant who switched to Molson' article I vented about on Wednesday. Or maybe it was this recent reader poll: what would you like to see demolished pre-Olympics? Anyway, excited for whatever comes next. From Bula, that is... lets try and keep "Olympic demolition" metaphorical, at least until the riots. Oh, but some good news - looks like the downtown homeless will avoid a pre-olympic sweep.

Harper has upped his lawsuit against the liberals by $1 Million for 'misappropriation of personality'. Ummmm... I guess now he's definitely too lame to take my vote for most mediocre Canadian. I really like this random but wonderful blog post I found while searching for 'Harper + idiot'. Oh, and he's gonna pay for this lawsuit himself, right?

Bob Russell has a good editorial up on why the carbon tax isn't really about the environment, how Campbell botched it big time, and why the opponents still need to shut up.

The Vancouver police crack down on biking without a helmet. Nobody in bike-mad Amsterdam wears one, but c'mon, we all know you drive safer stoned. Here in Vancouver, you may be blitzed behind the one-speed... but the self absorbed dude behind the SUV probably isn't. To be honest, I can't really understand not wearing one. Aside: anyone know what the fine looks like for riding completely naked? [NSFW]

Looks like we may be swapping one overpriced Swedish meatball (too cold?) for another, as Sundin could join the Canucks while Naslund leaves for New York...

With both Duran and I recovering from the weekend/Canada Day, the review for last Friday night's FUSE at the Vancouver Art Gallery is a few days late. Usually, these monthly parties last until midnight, but twice a year an all-nighter is held that lets you stay until 6 a.m. (there's breakfast at the Café in the morning!) I made it until close to 4. Duran left a little earlier, which might have had something to do with liquor service stopping so early.

We arrived at the party around 9, when the line-up was still tolerable. Later, it began to stretch all the way down Homer Hornby Street, and getting in took a while. Once inside, we were given schedules of what shows were on at what time. There was plenty to cover, and there was a ton that I ended up missing over the course of the night. Duran's photos (slide show after the break) alone were full of surprises - I didn't catch a lot of the performances because I spent the first part of my night trying to get all the people I was with in one location. Tip #1: go with one or two friends. If you go with a group, don't count on staying together. You'll end up wasting a lot of time and cell phone minutes.

You know when some random piece of news just hits you in the face, wherein otherwise you'd sort of laugh at the absurdity of our obsession with the ultra-specific, but this time you pause, think about how a fucking Sea Lion's death can be making tears well up in your eyes. It could also have something to do with the fact that I've been uploading my entire Compact Disc collection into my new computer, making a massive playlist, and right now I'm on a stretch that includes Gram Parsons, Mazzy Star, Red House Painters, Great Lake Swimmers, Low, and Pedro the Lion. Emo is back motherfuckers.

The Mohawk: two-storey box with 'hair' on top. City hall spawned weird new housing form. Just a sort of nice, gentle, extra fuck you to all the homeless natives in the DTES.

THE DISH: RESTAURANT REVIEW: THE REVEL ROOM.
"Stop at this funky boîte for a late-night nosh". Yeah you totally should, if of course, you are someone who calls restaurants funky, uses the word boîte, and goes for late-night noshes. In other words, if you are a piece of shit.

A Canada Day resolution: Don't let the politicians do your thinking for you. Same thing applies to jocks-cum-journalists.