Blazing Day at Downsview for Edgefest 2012

By: Chiara DiAngelo –

A view from the crowd at Edgefest 2012. Photo: Curtis Sindrey

We spent a fun-filled (albeit scorching hot) day at Downsview Park for Edgefest, packing in as many bands as possible – both old favourites playing the side stage and some of the larger mainstage acts that I had never seen before.

Josie Dye of 102.1 The Edge may have best summed the day as she introduced Death From Above 1979: “We go to festivals all around the world and then we come to Edgefest and realize how amazing Torontonians are” – from the music, to all the friends I ran into, to the insane crowds, it was truly a great festival all around!

Acres of Lions – 12:35PM @ Side Stage

With 20 minutes to win over the early festival-goers, Victoria, BC’s AcresofLions pelted out a set of all fun and no filler, including the songs off Collections most likely to garner a reaction from the crowd – “Set Me On Fire,” “Kids,” and the aptly named “Reaction.” Handclaps and singalongs ensued as the crowd edged in closer to the stage. Tossing out free ice cream bars and awarding one lucky audience member with backstage passes probably didn’t hurt either!

The Balconies – 1:10PM @ Side Stage

Having interviewed TheBalconies’ commanding front-woman Jacquie Neville earlier in the week, I caught a bit of their set before moving on. She had promised a highenergy performance and once again, that’s exactly what they delivered. The way she moves on stage is a sight that absolutely needs to be seen.

USS – 1:30PM @ Main Stage

Jason “Human Kebab” Parsons of USS at Edgefest 2012. Photo: Curtis Sindrey

Toronto duo Ash Boo-Shultz (vocals, guitar) and “turntablist hype man extraordinaire” Jason Parsons (aka Human Kebab) of UbiquitousSynergySeeker (who have also added a drummer in Matt Murphy) got the party on the main stage started early, chugging a bottle of orange juice before their set. On top of Boo-Shultz’s electric intensity was Human Kebab, whose main role appeared to be getting the already large afternoon crowd as riotously into their performance that included such hits as “Yo Hello Hurray,” “Anti-Venom,” and “Laces Out,” as possible. Back flips and clapping his feet while in a handstand and crowd-surfing twice – once from each side of the stage – definitely helped do the trick. Other highlights were a smooth jazz stretch-and-sway break and Boo-Shultz using a record as a guitar pick on their cover of Oasis’ “Wonderwall.”

Having been introduced as the band that would “steal the show” for Edgefest-goers, well that turned out to be a pretty accurate statement to say the least!

The Coppertone – 1:45PM @ Side Stage

I managed to catch part of TheCoppertone’s set over on the side stage. With a rotating cast of band members to back her, for this set Amanda Zelina had Jeff Heisholt (The Trews, Peter Elkas) on keys and was even joined by the lovely Emma–Lee from Toronto on backing vocals. This lady has a fiery soul to match her flaming hair and her blues and soul influences really came through in her performance. With a voice that makes your jaw drop, there is something truly special about Zelina. I’ve yet to meet someone walk away from a set by The Coppertone not completely in love with her and I doubt that Edgefest was any different.

Today’s set favourites were “You’re the One” and “Last Goodbye’s” off the EP Hymns for the Hollow.

The Darcys – 2:20PM @ Side Stage

Toronto’s TheDarcys play lush piano-driven rock masterpieces with magnificent and gorgeous arrangements. Their set often had frontman Jason Couse playing guitar and sitting/standing at the piano within the same song. The highlight of their short set (and almost every other show I’ve seen) was “Shaking Down the Old Bones,” with the haunting lyrics “right heart, wrong time” and “stop thinking like a millionaire.”

The four-piece have become quite well known within the indie music scene, especially since releasing their self-titled album on Arts & Crafts, and it was good to see such a positive reaction from the mid-afternoon crowd at a rock festival such as Edgefest. As a bonus, they were selling limited edition CD’s and even offering up free t-shirts to new fans in exchange for a tweet.

Young The Giant – 3:10PM @ Main Stage

Jacob Tilley of Young The Giant at Edgefest 2012. Photo: Curtis Sindrey

Irvine, California’s YoungtheGiant started kind of slow, seeming to almost melt into the stage from the heat and garnering minimal crowd involvement at first despite playing music that was made for summer. The band threw in an older track “Shake My Hand” from the days when they were known as The Jakes as well as a new song, “What You Get” before finally capturing the crowd’s collective attention with “Cough Syrup” and of course closing song, the powerful dance track, “My Body” had everyone in a frenzy with all arms in the air.

The band has taken a picture of every show they’ve played since February – you can check out the one from Edgefest posted on their Facebook!

The Sheepdogs – 4:10PM @ Main Stage

Ewan Currie of The Sheepdogs at Edgefest 2012. Photo: Curtis Sindrey

Having been on the side stage at last year’s festival, casual rock stars TheSheepdogs made the jump to the mainstage this year, playing in the heat of the afternoon. Not only did this four piece from Saskatoon, SK’s set feature their new song “The Way It Is,” it also showcased some of the best off of Learn & Burn, including “The One You Belong To,” “Southern Dreaming,” “I Don’t Get By” and crowd favourite “I Don’t Know.”

With their retro 70’s throwback classic stoner-rock sound, a haze of smoke hanging in the air, and what seemed like an infinite number of crowd surfers (one of whom had to be rushed off on the back of a security guard after being caught and pulled out of the throes of the crowd), it brought to mind thoughts of what Woodstock must have been like back in the day.

Silversun Pickups – 5:40PM @ Main Stage

Brian Aubert of Silversun Pickups at Edgefest 2012. Photo: Curtis Sindrey.

Right from the opener “Skin Graph,” LA’s SilversunPickupsprovided a high-powered high-energy set, which also included “Mean Spirits” and “The Pit” off their new record Neck of the Woods as well as“Lazy Eye” and “Future Foe Scenarios” from 2007’s breakout record Carnavas. While Silversun Pickups don’t really play the type of music you would expect to inspire crowd surfing, it sure did today. The band seemed slightly overwhelmed with the response they received from the crowd, Nikki Monninger (bass, vocals) voicing a sweet and unassuming “thank you” and Brian Aubert (guitar, vocals) commenting, “You’re way too nice to us, it’s unbelievable.”

Mentioning their love of playing Toronto, they definitely knew their audience – Aubert quoted Scott Pilgrim not once but twice throughout their set: “Hi, we are Sex Bob-omb and we are here to make you think about death and get sad and stuff” – though I really doubt that a set from Silversun Pickups could possibly make any festival-goer sad.

Yukon Blonde – 6:40PM @ Side Stage

The crowd at the side stage had grown significantly and the beach balls were out in full force by the time I returned for BC Rockers YukonBlonde, whose set would close out the day’s festivities on this side of the park. There are few things better in life than watching Yukon Blonde rock it out on a hot summer afternoon. Their set showcased tracks off their latest record Tiger Talk including “Radio” and “Iron First” and as the last band on this stage, they were even granted an encore. The real set stealer however may have been Jeffery Innes’ tucked-in psychedelic-printed shirt.

Death From Above 1979 – 7:10PM @ Main Stage

Jesse Keeler of Death of Above 1979 at Edgefest 2012. Photo: Curtis Sindrey

It has been eight years since noise-rockers DeathFromAbove 1979’s You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine was released back in 2004, but the duo of Sebastien Grainger and Jesse Keelor don’t seem to have aged a day, still ripping it up with ferocious bass lines, hell-raising drums and their signature squelches and squeals. They tore up the main stage and likely made the dreams of many an audience member’s teenage-self come true. Truly a duo that is larger than life, I definitely got more than a little weak in the knees being so close to the stage during songs like “Romantic Rights” and “Blood On Our Hands.”

Their set also included shout-outs to the ‘burbs of Scarborough, East York and Mississauga (where they are from) and some ribbing on Mayor Ford and past Toronto mayors, calling them all “f*cking pigs.” As an added bonus, the limited edition pink vinyl of You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine was available for purchase at the merch booths for all those that missed out on it on Record Store Day!

Billy Talent – 8:50PM @ Main Stage

Ben Kowalewicz of Billy Talent at Edgefest 2012. Photo: Curtis Sindrey.

While it rained the last time BillyTalent headlined the fest back in 2009, the weather was on their side this time, providing  a perfect night as the backdrop to their hour-plus long set to close out Edgefest 2012.

The four-piece originally from Streetsville kicked off with “Devil in a Midnight Mass” and dove right into a setlist that spanned their hits from Billy Talent I, II and III, plus the intense new single “Viking Death March,” which gave the ardent crowd a preview of what’s to come on their upcoming album Dead Silence. With a relentless tour schedule, the band commented that it was “good to be home” and dedicated “The Suffering” to all the Maple Leafs fans in attendance. Singer Ben Kowalewicz spent much of the time on stage screaming into the microphone from his crouched perch with one foot on the monitor, while Ian D’Sa and Jonathan Gallant tore it up on guitar and bass respectively and Aaron Solowoniuk hammered away on the drums. 

I may have lost track of the band since the days of “Try Honesty” but it was a pretty incredible experience to see so many thousands of people that into them. It was obvious many had made the trek out and hacked it in the sun all day just for this band. And well worth it!