Concert BReak returns (and with a bang)! Miss me? For those just joining me, Concert BReak is where you can find Vancouver's best beats, from stadium concerts at GM Place to indie shows at 1067.

This week, the Whistler Music Festival and the Vancouver Folk Festival are are running at the same time—that's my kind of dilemma! Thievery Corp., The Roots, James Taylor, Mark Farina, Girl Talk and many more after the jump. Enjoy the music and the sunshine!

Thursday, July 17
♦ The Bloody Beetroots @ Caprice: Italy's the Bloody Beetroots spin with Expendable Youth and Paul Devro.
♦ Dubmatix @ Fabric Night Club: Toronto reggae and drum and bass.

Friday, July 18
♦ James Taylor @ GM Place: I didn't realize this Sanyal family favorite had put out a new album last year (titled "One Man Band"). I wonder if he can still fill stadiums.
♦ Mark Farina @ Commodore: House lovers are going to be out with a vengeance as downtempo beats stir up the Commodore.
♦ Guilty About Girls @ Biltmore: Vancouver's own Guilty About Girls is a trio of local alt pop boys.

We've already mentioned this weekend's Whistler Music Festival so there's probably no need for us to remind you of the stellar line-ups planned for Saturday and Sunday. Things will get heated up early both days, with the show starting at a non-hung-over-friendly time of 11AM each day.

But with performers like Thievery Corporation, The Roots and Broken Social Scene on the ticket, it's the kind of weekend to make an exception for an early start. Even more so if you have free tickets - and we have three double passes for either day to give away to three lucky winners right now.

So, in no way was I planning to cover last night's Wolf Parade and Listening Party show (hence the Listening Party press photo). First of all, I'm a little skeptical of the value of post-show reviews in general -- who really wants to hear about the greatness of a party they weren't invited to? And secondly, I payed my own way (and I wasn't gonna make the lady take photos of this one), but the evening simply turned out to be too noteworthy to pass up posting on, and the two stellar performances from two amazing bands (one virtually unknown) was only the start...

With two weeks to go until the much-hyped you-know-what, the Whistler Music Festival has managed to escape under the radar. It's happening next weekend, and with it's stellar line-up and great location, this festival deserves a lot more attention. The full list of artists is up on the website, but highlights include Thievery Corporation, Broken Social Scene, Bedouin Soundclash, Allen Toussaint Band and Mr. Elvis Costello and the Imposters.

One of the things that this festival seems to be doing right is providing you with a manageable number of artists to check out. With ambitious but scattered schedules at festivals such as New Music West, Music Waste, and Sled, great artists were playing to semi-empty venues. At Whistler, where all the action will be happening in two days on the side of Blackcomb Mountain, it will be easier to see everyone you want to. Perhaps the most obvious gap in the line-up is the lack of local talent, but I'm hoping that this will be fixed as soon as more artists are added, as the website promises.

You have until tomorrow to get the cheaper early bird tickets. The easiest way is to call 877-855-4TIX or order online here. Single day passes are at a very reasonable $57 right now, while the two days will run you $100. In terms of accommodations, a lot of hostels seem to be booked, but there are still some camping options. And with exorbitant gas prices affecting tourism, I hear that hotels have lowered their summer rates, so your best bet is to call around and find a deal. In any case, Ami and I will both be there, so we'll have some reviews and photos for you as soon as we can.

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...