Toronto Island Is For Virgins – And Music Lovers – On Day 1 Of V-Fest
Posted September 7, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
All things considered, it would be tough to imagine a more solid Saturday of music.
In the midst of all the TIFF madness, thousands managed to find the time, money and inspiration to head to Toronto Island Saturday for the first of two Virgin Music Fest dates.
Chances are they weren’t disappointed.
Festivals are always a little tough, what with the long lines, port-a-potties and long lines for the port-a-potties, but the sheer breadth of artistry on display during this gorgeous late summer afternoon and evening would make it difficult for even the most discerning fan to say they weren’t at least partially catered to.
Four stages delivered an impressively diverse lineup with more than 20 acts overall, including some excellent U.K. imports, plenty of legit locals and no shortage of entries from our neighbours to the south.
There were even sporadic appearances by Sir Virgin himself. Billionaire Richard Branson was spotted by CityNews.ca several times on the island, and never one to shy away from a good photo op, even posed for a couple of snaps.
In the early stretch, when the ground was still wet from the previous night’s rain, turntablist Drop The Lime kept things moving admirably in the B-Live tent, while Burlington/Hamilton skunk outfit Saint Alvia Cartel held it down with the locals on the Oh Henry! Stage.
The Cartel just kicked off a Canadian tour in support of Brooklyn’s Japanther and one of Saturday’s headliners, Against Me! CityNews.ca caught up with Against Me! Frontman Tom Gabel, who admitted to being a growing fan of the local act and said he was relisihing the chance to rock the Virgin crowd, even at less than 100 per cent.
“I’m a little nervous, my throat’s all messed up,” he admitted ahead of a set in which no fan would ever have been able to tell.
“But we like to pick bills that are kind of eclectic; the advantage of playing festivals is that you’re playing for other bands’ fans.”
There are most certainly at least one or two more after Saturday.
Indie dance darlings MGMT played to a clearly buzzing crowd who’d likely been wearing their iPod buttons thin playing their 2008 release Oracular Spectacular.
Any set would struggle to recreate such a carefully layered and produced sound, but it didn’t seem to matter much to the singing masses mercilessly packing each other against the front fence.
Among the elder statesmen in Canadian indie rock, Arts & Crafts’ top dogs the Contstantines rocked their hometown (or region anyway) crowd, and lead singer Bryan Webb even took his turn at the CityNews.ca picnic table where he raved about the weather and reflected on the expansive set up.
“It’s a weird thing to be on a stage that’s higher than people’s heads and 20 feet back from the first row,” he said with a laugh.
“But we try to enjoy the fresh air, the solos get more epic.”
Night sets by Chicago mix masters Flosstradamus and a surprise appearance by Toronto legends MSTRKRFT kept feet shuffling back at B-Live even as fans complained of no-shows by highly anticipated acts including Switch and Sebastian.
But things were right on schedule elsewhere as British indie kings Bloc Party and The Kooks dueled on separate stages and led the peaking crowd into the darkness.
“Toronto Island at sunset,” Bloc Party bassist Gordon Moakes said. “What more could you want?”
Perhaps only for headliners the Foo Fighters to take it all home.
One might be inclined to believe that two decades of rock stardom and countless trips around the FM band might leave Dave Grohl a little less than motivated by now, but nothing could have been further from the truth.
The Foos were billed as stars of the show this summer at all V-Fest dates ( Oasis have the honour Sunday) and clearly aware of as much they delivered a blistering run of hair-tossing hits and sent the throngs back towards the ferry docks sufficiently rocked.
Sure, by the time some people got back to the mainland they likely wondered if it wouldn’t have just been wiser just to find a comfy bush to camp out behind for a few hours, but what says “successful day at a music festival” better than covertly being able to collapse in some shrubbery?
How about doing it two days in a row?
Day 2: Through Rain And Shine: Toronto’s Virgin Fest Goes Out With A Bang
