Friend to the (indie rock) stars, the Backstage Rider set sail for Mexico aboard a big honking cruise ship with Weezer, Dinosaur Jr, Sebadoh, Yuck, Nervous Wreckords, and a ton more as part of the redonkulous Weezer Cruise. Here’s the start of my EPIC four-day diary series. Part 1, Thursday.

…in which our heroine finds herself travelling from Seattle to Vancouver on board the Dinosaur Jr tourbus and crying great tears of laughter as we cross the border. Also includes: Nardwuar, Devon from Beekeeper and ear plugs.

I spent two days on the road in Seattle and Vancouver with Dinosaur Jr as they toured and played their 1988 classic “Bug” in its entirety, and were interviewed on stage by former Black Flag icon Henry Rollins. It was, in a word, EPIC. Read/see now. Here’s Part 1: Seattle

What’s the point of looking back? Here’s the BackstageRider Top 11 Things to Look Forward to in 2012 (so far) with a bit of back-looking, I admit, in the form of musicks I did very much enjoy as well as some guesses about what might be awesome next year.

Gothlings of all ages gathered to witness the return of Bauhaus high-priest Peter Murphy, and a dull band called She Wants Revenge, on their co-headlining tour. Aside from utterly being robbed of a full set by the venue’s crappy curfew, it was stellar. Check the pics, read the story.

So, yeah, two nights of beautiful shows by the National were capped off by meeting 3/5ths of them, touching Matt Berninger, listening to him say “penis” a lot, and being in the front row for both nights. Check out my banter rundown, the videos and my point n’ shooty pics.

Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer performed in Vancouver on November 6 at the Vogue Theatre. Here’s the exclusive BackstageRider “An Evening with Neil and Amanda” photo shoot with pics by Wayne Höecherl.

Oh look! Another hyped UK band makes the rounds of North American on its first tour! How did WU LYF fare? Pretty good, if you ask me. And you have. Read the epic review, see the video and click on the pics for effect.

Portishead defies expectations at Vancouver’s most horrible venue to present an emotionally charged performance filled with flawless moments and serious intensity. Check out the full photo gallery and review here.