EDGEFEST 2011 W/ A PERFECT CIRCLE, RISE AGAINST, HOLLERADO & SO MUCH MORE!
Edgefest 2011 started pretty early last Saturday. The first band we saw took the Main Stage just after lunch, Dinosaur Bones, who have been playing quite extensively around Toronto this summer. Playing tracks from this years “My Divider”, this day was a highlight for the band. “This is the biggest stage we’ve ever gotten to play on”, guitarist Josh Byrne told me while walking by the media tent later in the day. Continuing, “it’s awesome, so many people”. You could tell by the way they played the set (which is generally the same list), that they were really enjoying this opportunity. I feel they will be playing a little higher on this bill if they are able to push out another good release next year.
Arkells and Tokyo Police Club followed up on the Main Stage. Both bands brought many fans, especially for earlier daytime sets. I can’t say personally that I could get into their music, but people don’t usually reach for my iPod when on a road trip with me. Both performed well and had good sets. In the meantime Sandman Viper Command took to the Verge XM Side Stage. There was a lot of what I think were street team people for this band. They has the most visual presence at the entire festival. With signs and t-shirts that read “What Is a Sandman Viper Command”. They were everywhere, and they also drew a decent crowd to the side stage, which is where a lot of the real fun was for the remainder of the day.
Writer Gilles Leblanc takes over below, and lets you know his thoughts.
Monster Truck – XM Canada Side Stage – 4:35 p.m.
While Edgefest is a celebration of the great music played on Toronto modern rock radio station 102.1 The Edge, it’s also where you’re urged to drink like a fish in public and engage in the odd illicit drug activity. Hamilton band Monster Truck is all this party-heartiness personified, and then some. Their set was a head banger and crowd surfer’s dream – One “bro” in particular was doing the latter during ‘Righteous Smoke’ (from Monster Truck’s free Brown EP) wearing one of those foam championship wrestling belts. Oh, and they also have the COOLEST band T-shirts I have ever seen!
The Sheepdogs – XM Canada Side Stage – 5:10 p.m.
They may not make the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, quite possibly the most drawn-out contest in history, but Saskatchewan’s Sheepdogs have already won over Canada big-time. They were literally treated as conquering heroes as they were epically introduced by Verge XM host (and occasional Edge fill-in) Jeff Leake. Whatever happens with Rolling Stone, we’re going to be hearing a lot of barking from these canines for years to come thanks to their unique, ’70s-throwback groove as heard on opener ‘Who’ (recorded exclusively for the contest), ‘I Don’t Know,’ ‘Southern Dreaming,’ and ‘Learn & Burn,’ the latter track also being the title of their shaggerific third indie album.
Hollerado – XM Canada Side Stage – 6:40 p.m.
There may not be anything more fun in music than a Hollerado set. The energy they bring wherever they go never, ever gets tiresome. They weren’t on for long at Edgefest, as they were going to the Calgary Stampede the very next day with friends Tokyo Police Club, but they had more than enough time to blast through their hits ‘Juliette,’ ‘Americanarama,’ and ‘Got to Lose’ (with accompanying confetti and streamers). As they closed with their cover of Neil Young’s ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’ (after teasing that they were going to do a Nickelback song), members from other bands that played earlier like Dinosaur Bones joined Hollerado onstage for a gigantic, “raucous” sing-along!
A Perfect Circle – Main Stage – 7:10 p.m.
In recent years, the big trend in music has been for one or two bands who have achieved a modicum of success in the 1990s (and even the 2000s now) to get back together and go out on tour. In 2011, one of those bands is A Perfect Circle, the side project of Tool singer (and budding wine connoisseur) Maynard James Keenan along with guitarist Billy Howerdel. Their Edgefest appearance was incredibly hyped, but I’ve got to be honest, all I heard was droning. Well, that and some awfully distorted cover versions of songs, including Depeche Mode’s ‘People Are People,’ as well as ‘Imagine’ by John Lennon, both of which are from APC’s last album eMOTIVe (2004). Oh, and Maynard sang from an extremely elevated riser the entire time, barely flinching. Curiously, they didn’t play what is arguably their biggest hit in ‘Judith,’ not that it would have made a big difference overall for me…
Rise Against – Main Stage – 8:50 p.m.
Chicago punkers Rise Against may very well have been the perfect group to headline Edgefest in 2011. They have an excellent new album they’re promoting, Endgame, brimming with very accessible, alt-rock radio friendly fist pumpers such as ‘Help is on the Way’ and ‘Architects.’ They count Canadians like Billy Talent, Alexisonfire and Cancer Bats in their social circle, mentioning to everyone at Downsview Park how they’ve toured the world with them. Rise Against also believe in living straight “edge,” meaning no smoking, drugs or alcoh…O.K., in a way their lifestyle choices are in contradiction with the festival’s carefree attitude, but it’s not like the 16,000 or so people singer Tim McIlrath self-confirmed were in attendance care about things like that anyway, as long as their songs rocked. ‘Savior,’ ‘Re-Education (Through Labour),’ ‘Audience of One,’ and ‘Prayer of the Refugee’ did the trick just fine, thank you very much!
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