Who Won the Cover-Song Battle at Squamish?

VanMag dispatched three editors to this year’s SVMF. As they staggered in this morning, they couldn’t stop raving about the weekend’s unexpected cover songs. Here are the winners.

Vance Joy

The Cover “The Chain” by Fleetwood MacAge Differential Joy was born in 1987; the song was released in 1977. (-10)Logical? Pretty much. Your mom loves Vance Joy (“That Riptide song is just so darn catchy”) and she also loves Fleetwood Mac, so this seems like a pretty natural pairing.Awesome? Very solid. Joy’s set was going well, but you could tell people were itching to hear his monster hit. He gave it to them, of course, but not before getting a big cheer when he pulled out the Rumours classic.It Sounded Like ThisGrade B+

A$AP Rocky

The Cover “Jump Around” by House of PainAge Differential Rocky was born in 1988; the song was released in 1992 (+4)Logical? Rocky may be on the top of the rap pack these days, but even he doesn’t have a song that can get the crowd going crazy like this House of Pain classic.Awesome? From the opening shriek, this one had the entire mass of people bouncing up and down—there was a serious chance that the face of the Chief would sheer off with all the seismic energy.It Sounded Like ThisGrade A 

A$AP Rocky (dude loves covers)

The Cover “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by NirvanaAge Differential Rocky was born in 1988; the song was released in 1991 (+3)Logical? Uh, we suppose, given that this is the Pacific Northwest. But it makes you question the crowd’s hip-hop credentials when the simple playing of this song (Rocky did, at most, a light karaoke version) causes everyone to lose their minds.Awesome? Oh, yeah. Notwithstanding the context, it was still plenty awesome.It Sounded Like ThisGrade A 

First Aid Kit

The Cover “War Pigs” by Black SabbathAge Differential The girls were born in 1990/93; the song was released in 1970 (-20)Logical? Let’s answer a question with a question: Do you think it’s logical that a pair of early-20s Swedish sisters who sound like they were raised on a farm outside Nashville would rock out—hard—to an early Black Sabbath classic?Awesome? You don’t know the half of it. The heretofore reserved crowd erupted when the set got dark in a hurry (and erupted again when Mumford & Sons joined them onstage two songs later).It Sounded Like ThisGrade A+