Virgin Festival: Toronto
This was only my second festival experience, the first being SarsStock at Downsview Park in '03. All in all it was a pretty good time. Some ups, some downs, but good music all around.
Saturday: Buck 65, Muse, Gnarls Barkley, The Flaming Lips
Today was scout day. It's important to get a good sense of the distances between the stages and locations of food, merch and other 'facilities'. We got out there surprisingly quickly (they had 2 ferries running) and were pumped for some music. The bands were running a bit behind schedule, such is the plight of a brand new festival, but we didn't think it'd be too much of a problem...how wrong we were.
Buck 65 was the surpise highlight of the day. It's just himself, his turntables and a mic on stage, but he definitely makes the most of it. A large mid-afternoon crowd gathered as he confidently worked his way through the best of his back catalog, 'Secret House Against the World' material and a great song from the upcoming album 'Strong Arm' called "Spread 'em".
While a large part of the crowd waited for The Flaming Lips to take the stage, Aussie rockers Muse played a massively long set. I've never been a huge fan, but they put on a very respectable, not to mention stylish, show full of squealing guitar riffs and impressive showmanship.
Gnarls Barkley was an act I was looking forward too all day, and they didn't disappoint. Taking the stage dressed as ninjas they played most of the tracks from the debut St. Elsewhere. The highlight, however, was a cover of a song called "There Is An End" which was originally a Greenhornes track featuring the vocals of Holly Golightly. This was undoubtedly in response to the recently addition of a "Crazy" cover to The Raconteurs' setlist.
Finally, after 10 hours of anticipation, The Flaming Lips took the stage... some 50 minutes after they were scheduled. "Who cares?", I thought, "it's a freakin' island...they can play as late as they want". All my worries vanished as Wayne climbed inside his big plastic bubble which was then inflated, sealed and rolled in the crowd. He rolled right over top of me!
By the time he got back on stage, the crowd was in a frenzied state and the Lips wasted no time, busting right into their traditional opener, "Race For The Prize". Holy shit was it ever awesome. Confetti canons shot their colorful loads 80 feet into the crowd and 3 foot balloons flooded the field. There's no party like a Flaming Lips party.
They managed to get through a few more tracks before the unthinkable happened. At 11pm sharp, fearing a fine, the promoters shut the show down. The Lips, promised a 90 minute set, got 25 of them. The boos echoed throughout Toronto Island and various items were hurled at the stage. Wayne and the band apologized profusely, but it wasn't their fault. My blood boiled as I stomped toward the ferry. Sunday had better be damn good.
Sunday: Born Ruffians, Wolfmother, The Strokes, The Raconteurs
Still tweaked from the crime against music that I witnessed the night before, I sat on the ferry with guarded expectations for Day 2. The schedule promised some solid acts, but my rage against Virgin and the festival promoters continued. I even asked a Virgin rep if any compensation was being considered for the fuck-up. "Probably," she said "we're all about the people." It was tough to keep from laughing out loud.
First up were the always great Born Ruffians who--from my hometown--had recently signed to, not one, but two (2!) labels--XL Recordings in the UK and Warp Records in North America. It was clear that the large stage was a new thing for them, but they laid down a solid set of tracks from their at-the-time-unreleased self-titled EP. An impressive early-afternoon crowd had gathered by the end of their set to check out the very appealing sounds filling their side of the island.
After a few hours of wandering around--and checking out the free carnival rides, Wolfmother hit the main stage. Drawing on much experience from the land down under, they definitely know how to rock a festival crowd. This is the first time I'd seen the band since their rise to superstardom with the international smash hit, "Woman", which they played for the eager and enthusiastic audience. I was impressed at how well their act translated to the huge venue.
The Strokes really, really impressed me. I wasn't expecting much--and Julian and the boys were pretty late coming on stage--but man did they ever rock. They completely embody the 'rock band' cliches on stage. The charasmatic rock star front and centre, the long-haired silhouttes of the guitar and rhythm sections in the background, they had stage presence unlike any band I've seen. Strokes fans were found in bunches throughout the crowd and enjoyed tracks from all 3 albums, including my 2 favorites, "Reptilia" and "Someday".
Unable to stay for Broken Social Scene, The Raconteurs were my Virgin Festival finale. After the Lips, I was looking forward to seeing Jack and boys the most. Their first--and as of yet only--Toronto show was embraced wholeheartedly by the patient and no doubt exhausted crowd. I managed to get very close to the stage for this one. With barely enough room to breathe, the crowd kicked and thrashed through a set including the rockin' highlights, "Store Bought Bones", "Stead, As She Goes" and "Blue Veins". I left the grounds Sunday night infinitely more satisfied than I was 24 hours earlier.
All in all it was a decent first attempt for the festival in Toronto. I hope next year they can attract equally big names and keep things running a bit more smoothly. I'm still waiting on the free Lips makeup show...
posted by BBak at 1:47 AM
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