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The Constantines kick it @ VFest ‘07 - Click to rate this photo

My love affair with The Constantines continues! Today at VFest they had a few troubles with an errant amplifier… But, after fixing that they opened up with a fast and heavy rendition of Draw Us Lines. After that they went into a new song whose name they didn’t feel like sharing followed by Hotline Operator.

After that we had to go which saddens me greatly… but Metric should cure that. I’ll catch more of the Constantines next time they play in Toronto.

Stars come out @ VFest ‘07 - Click to rate this photo

OK, Stars weren’t that wild but they still managed to put on an all right set - That’s right, I said all right…

Right now, I’m staring at Torquil Campbell (lead singer) from afar and giving him the nod of shame… How is it that I’ve seen the band twice (first time was at the UofT frosh gig) within the span of three days and they didn’t play my favourite Stars song of all time, Heart? I’m not going to lie but I’m kind of disappointed. It’s not just cos’ of the fact that they didn’t play my song but every single time (three times and one failed attempt when they first come out) I’ve seen them they managed to leave me feeling cheated.

Sure, they sound good live but they lacked the ‘umph’ factor… First of all, it felt like the band wasn’t really into playing the gig and secondly they weren’t engaging the audience in anyway…

Perhaps, I just have lofty expectations…

Here’s what they did play:

Take Me To The Riot
Set Yourself On Fire
Elevator Love Letter
The Ghost of Genova Heights
Midnight Coward
Reunion
Window Bird
Ageless Beauty
Your Ex-Lover Is Dead

Blonde Redhead has more fun @ VFest ‘07 - Click to rate this photo

I just dashed back from the Future Shop stage where I got to see 3/4 of Blonde Redhead’s set - the band took a little too long to set up so their start time was a few minutes late - I really can’t get over how HUGE the crowd at that stage is, already at this early time (5pm). But apparently Blonde Redhead are huge with the indie kids. Who knew? I guess they DO have seven albums already, so their fanbase is pretty big! I’ll have to grab a setlist later… but from what I heard there was a good mix of songs from 23, Misery Is A Butterfly and Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons. I ran into about ten separate friends rocking out to their pitch perfect set!

I wonder if they played This Dress? I had to leave about 10 minutes early so I didn’t get a chance to find out! Tell me if you heard it.

OK, I’m off to race back to the same stage to catch The Constantines at 5:30, who by the way are the KILLER replacement for Peter Bjorn & John, who are at the VMAs in Las Vegas tonight instead. I can pretty much guarantee you that the Cons won’t disappoint as their live shows are rowdy and have high audience participation… back with a report in a bit.

Tokyo Police Club start a Toronto Dance Club @ VFest ‘07 - Click to rate this photo

It’s only 4:33 and the main stage is close to being packed… I’m seriously impressed at the turnout at this year’s festival…

Anyways, Toronto homeboys, Tokyo Police Club hit the stage at 4:05 and they’re rocking out like they should be the headliners… The keyboardist is ridiculous! Not since Bjork, have I seen someone shake their hands so violently… During one of the songs, the bassist grabbed a snare and Graham started to drum. He was hitting the case so hard that he broke his stick!! Unfortunately, we got kicked off the stage before we had the chance to watch the rest of the set. There were just too many people on-stage watching their performance for the crew to finish their job!

Inside Scoop From Hannah Simone: So we’re in the trailer right now chilling and Hannah just gave us some dirt on TPC. She told us that when Graham was working at a bookstore he had to set goals and one of them was to be in a successful band before the next Harry Potter book was released… And guess what?? He followed through… Plus, she told us that Emily Haines shared her favourite “knock knock” joke with us. You can look forward to all these RAW interviews on MuchAXS!!! Plus, be sure to catch the NewMusic special on this amazing weekend soon!

Jamie T brings his British flair to VFest ‘07 - Click to rate this photo

I didn’t get what the big deal with Jamie T was until today. I had only heard his single Sheila before but when I saw him live today I figured out why my friends wanted to see him so badly. His music is quirky and fun, and he and his band totally have the drunken Brit thing going on. After one song, Jamie mumbled something about “givin’ her” and… hm I probably shouldn’t say the rest.

Anyways! As well, right before he ended with Sheila Jamie T told us about how his guitarist forgot how to play during their last show. Luckily for us nothing was forgotten and the set was a fun time and a laugh!

All hail the King! Louis XIV reigns supreme @ VFest ‘07 - Click to rate this photo

So Louis XIV just performed. How does a band from San Diego, California name themselves after a 17th Century French King, yet sound so damn British? I guess when you are trying to conquer the world, using your music as a weapon and your VFest stage as your castle, it seems fitting. Even their set-list sounds like a “we’re starting a new nation” to-do list:

Traitor
New Murder
Pledge of Allegience
Finding Out
God Killed
Misguided

That crowd looks pretty rowdy though. Look out Louis XIV! I smell mutiny!

Welcome to the ultimate hipster experience! As if, it wasn’t enough to see shaggy dos, bandanas, hairbands and skinny jeans on the bands, more than half the audience at Virgin Festival Toronto is outfitted in the same garb. So why not perfect your outfit than with a brand spankin’ new haircut? Mmmhmm, the lovely people at VFest knew their audience well enough to get a really trendy Queen Street West hair salon to setup a booth and do haircuts for more than half their charging price. Yes, for $25 dollars you can look like Billy Corgan or Brandon Flowers… Pretty outrageous eh?

Hell, if I didn’t get my hair cut last week, I would’ve totally got mine done - Kudos to the Virgin team for making us look good! So you walk in looking alright but you can leave looking like a million bucks. Some festival!

DD/MM/YYYY fill the day with their tunes @ VFest ‘07 - Click to rate this photo

I didn’t know anything really about DD/MM/YYYY when I went to see them today. At first I was a bit taken aback. They were filled with too much messiness and the yelling just wasn’t my thing.

As I continued to watch though, It began to grow on me. The set ended up being fun and quirky. I’m glad I stayed around to listen.

Seen - The Killers‘ trailer…

Just saw Earl Greyhound - a great way to kick off day 2 of Virgin Festival Toronto. Day One was astounding….really lived up to its “Rockstravaganza” status. My highlights - Paolo Nutini crooning to the crowd, M.I.A. bringing the audience on-stage for an impromptu celebration, The Arctic Monkeys…because it’s the frigging Arctic Monkeys (!) locals Dragonette and brit faves Enter Shikari. The weather was pretty great too.

I’m the guy who helps to make the festival happen. My “title” is “Director, Virgin Festivals“. What that means is I’m responsible for working with a bunch of folks to choose bands, pick venues and work through all of the logistics of hosting a Virgin Festival.

We did our first one outside London, UK last year in Toronto and one in Vancouver in May. Now we’re back to Toronto for a second go and it’s bigger and better than ever!

63 artists, 3 stages & a DJ tent make this festival brilliant. Plus you can do things like get a massage, haircut or even a tattoo! And the island is so beautiful. A grrr-eat place to really chill out and enjoy some great music. Even the ferry ride here is fun!

It takes us over a year to bring it all together. Finding the right bands & sorting all of the logistics. You have no idea the complexities of getting all of the stuff to the island! We’re setting up for weeks beforehand.

We’ve made the festival green this year - recycling, composting, using biofeuls, and making sure the island is in better shape when we leave than before we came.

Signing off for now…shoot me any questions you may have about the festival thing and I’ll be happy to respond.

Ciao
Andrew.

Justin Nozuka strums his heart out @ VFest ‘07 - Click to rate this photo

Day 2!!! Just watched Justin Nozuka on the Future Shop Stage by mistake. Had a plan to watch The Postage Stamps, and ended up seeing him instead. Sooooo amazing! He’s sorta like a more soulful John Mayer. It was soo cute too to see some of his family in the audience too.

Everyone should check him out for sure! Well, now I’m off to catch DD/MM/YYYY!

Seen - Everyone has their dog! Kazu from Blonde Redhead has brought her ferocious little canine with her today too.