A review of Virgin Fest by an employee of Virgin? I don’t see a conflict of interest here.
The Ontario incarnation of Virgin Fest ’09 happened this weekend. Let me preface my next statement by saying that I am not one to engage in needless hyperbole, especially on account of my employment with Virgin. If I had a terrible time, you would know it. But seriously, I had an unreal weekend.
I moved to Toronto this weekend so that was eventful in and of itself. On Thursday, two nights before I moved, I did a stand-up show in my hometown of Kitchener that went really well. On Saturday, I moved all my stuff into my new apartment and took off for V-Fest without even unpacking. (Full disclosure: it is 2:00 pm on Tuesday and I still have not unpacked. Is this a sign of laziness or awesomeness? I think you know the answer.)
Here is my review of V-Fest, the way I saw it.
After moving in, grabbing a quick dinner, and going through a thorough body check by a female security guard (I am skeptical that squeezing my bum cheek was standard protocol), I arrived at the Molson Amphitheatre in the middle of the Pixies’ set. I don’t know much of their stuff, but they were rocking out hard and people were loving it.
A couple of my friends did not know much about the Pixies either. I explained that they are considered to be the forefathers of grunge music and influenced many bands from Nirvana to Radiohead.
Blank stares.
“You know the song that is playing at the end of Fight Club when the buildings are falling down? That’s the Pixies.”
“Oooh!”
“Ah! Awesome!”
After the Pixies finished up their raucous set, it was time for Ben Harper to do his thing. He played all his new stuff with his latest band, Relentless7, and nothing else, save for his classic “Another Lonely Day” and a sweet cover of Led Zep’s “Immigrant Song”. I must confess that Ben playing mainly Relentless7 stuff was the worst possible scenario in my mind, but I was wrong to ever doubt Mr. Harper. They rocked. I am going to purchase their album very soon.
On Sunday, I was once again late to the show. My friends and I had way too much fun in my new apartment prior to the concert and our planned 1:00 pm departure time was delayed by three hours. Consequently, I missed Mute Math, a band that never fails to deliver.
I did get to see the Cold War Kids. They are a great band with some great tunes, but they had to deal with a less-than-packed amphitheatre and less-than-stellar weather conditions. Their performance never really took off, unfortunately.
Then N.E.R.D. came out. I like hip hop, but I do not like most hip hop concerts. However, N.E.R.D. took all my preconceived notions and shattered them from the moment they walked onstage. They absolutely refused to play a set that would not be remembered. With Pharrell’s boundless charisma (or swagger, as the kids are calling it), their full band, and the twenty fans they pulled out of the audience to dance on stage with them, the show was a barn-burner from start to finish. I am definitely a fan of N.E.R.D.
Our Lady Peace came out and reminded everyone in attendance that they have approximately eighty-five songs for which we know every single lyric. From “Innocent” to “Life” to “Clumsy” to “Naveed”, everyone in attendance - and there were a lot more people there now - was singing along.
Pet Shop Boys were another band that I knew nothing about going into the show. I had no idea how positively weird they are. They were singing their songs through cubes that they had on their head, for god’s sake! I thoroughly enjoyed their set and so did everyone else in the audience, especially those who had smoked the reefer, the wacky tobaccy, the gnarly Marley, if you will.
Finally, Nine Inch Nails came out and blew the roof off the place, as everyone knew they would. There is not much I can say about Trent and company that hasn’t been said a million times before. They are a ridiculously amazing rock band.
Also, I am terrified of many of their fans. They all appear to have a high level of emotional angst, but they are also muscular. They’re like Avenged Sevenfold fans on steroids. That’s a combo that could lead to cataclysmic consequences.
I ended my night searching for the female bodyguard so I could get another “security check”, but she was nowhere to be found.
As my friends and I stumbled home from the festival, I thought to myself, “Wow, I am hungry.”
Then I thought, “That was a lot of fun.”
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Tags: Ben Harper, Cold war Kids, D.J. Demers, Mute Math, N.E.R.D., Nine Inch Nails, Our Lady Peace, Pet Shop Boys, Recession, Screw You Recession, Trent Reznor
what did you guys get up to in the apartment before. and when you were hungry, did you go for the cheesebun? i always do