A brilliantly beautiful sky met the first day of Arts & Crafts’ Field Trip – performers and fans alike couldn’t stop commenting on the sunshine and hot temperatures. Toronto’s Fort York steadily filled with smiling festivalgoers, liberally applying sunscreen and drinking beer. The booming sounds of the first performer’s set, Maylee Todd, could be heard all the way down the long line of people waiting to get into the gates.
A sizable crowd began to gather for The Darcys at the Garrison stage. Their energetic flavour of indie rock was the kick that listeners needed to stand up and get moving. They incorporated cool elements like looping, electronic drum pads and backup vocals filtered through a synthesizer. Near by, on the Fort York stage, Megan Bonnell was all smiles and “thank-yous” as she banged out frenetic piano rock tunes. Fans got comfy in the grass during her charming, folk-tinged set, and she commented on how sunkissed and lovely everyone looked.
Shad made the hot day even hotter as he set the stage on fire during his vivacious set. Backed by a DJ and a bassist/guitarist, Shad got the crowd moving with clever lines about everything from girls to living with his parents to being an immigrant in Canada. Shad’s unique, youthful energy was surely a highlight of the day. Listeners young and old enjoyed his distinctive sound. In a similar hip-hop vain, A Tribe Called Red are making extensive rounds to festivals all over Canada this summer. They stopped by field trip and got everyone shouting, dancing and hula-hooping during their set.
Genre-jumping folk rock group Lord Huron took the Garrison stage next, and performed a long, jaw-dropping set of energetic tracks. Lord Huron garnered a giant crowd, much of which stuck around for the Garrison stage’s next act, The Kills. Front woman Allison Mosshart threw around her blonde hair and stomped around on stage in high-heeled combat boots. Their set was entertaining, for both the ears and the eyes.
Meanwhile, Canadian indie king Kevin Drew treated a hungry crowd to all of their favourite songs from his solo career and his days in Broken Social Scene. He even brought out fellow BSS member Feist to back him up with some playful vocals. Drew had lots of things to say in between songs – he criticized the summer festival tradition of tossing a beach ball among the crowd, and he scolded Toronto radio station Indie 88 for playing the same songs too often. The crowd couldn’t get enough of his set, and Drew’s set definitely left the crowd hyped for the Broken Social Scene’s performance.
The evening’s feature presentation finally took the stage at 9:30pm – the biggest crowd of the night gathered for elusive post-rock act Interpol. Fans at Field Trip felt graced by their presence – the band has recently come out of a hiatus, and announced a record, El Pintor (Spanish for ‘the painter’), to be released on September 8th. They played a setlist of hits that spanned the band’s lifetime, like “Evil”, “Obstacle 1”, and “Lights”, and it was the crowning moment of a day filled with high-energy sets from exceptional musicians.
Among all the musical attractions, festivalgoers filled their free time with gourmet food trucks, hula-hoops, a watermelon eating contest, and live art installations. Day one of Field Trip set the bar extremely high for day two – but with huge acts lined up like Fucked Up and the Constantines, it looks like the festival can only get better from here.
_____________________________________________________________________________________ A Tribe Called Red _____________________________________________________________________________________
A Tribe Called Red. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
A Tribe Called Red. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
A Tribe Called Red. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
A Tribe Called Red. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
A Tribe Called Red. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
A Tribe Called Red. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
A Tribe Called Red. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
A Tribe Called Red. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
A Tribe Called Red. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
A Tribe Called Red. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
_____________________________________________________________________________________ The Kills _____________________________________________________________________________________
The Kills. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
The Kills. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
The Kills. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
The Kills. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
The Kills. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
The Kills. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
The Kills. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
The Kills. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
The Kills. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
The Kills. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
The Kills. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
The Kills. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
The Kills. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
The Kills. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
The Kills. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
_____________________________________________________________________________________ Kevin Drew _____________________________________________________________________________________
Feist with Kevin Drew. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
Feist with Kevin Drew. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
Feist with Kevin Drew. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
Feist with Kevin Drew. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
Feist with Kevin Drew. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
Kevin Drew. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
Charles Spearin with Kevin Drew. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
Feist with Kevin Drew. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
Kevin Drew. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
Kevin Drew. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
Kevin Drew. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
Kevin Drew. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
Kevin Drew. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
_____________________________________________________________________________________ Lord Huron _____________________________________________________________________________________
Lord Huron. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
Lord Huron. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
Lord Huron. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
Lord Huron. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
Lord Huron. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
Lord Huron. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
Lord Huron. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
Lord Huron. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
Lord Huron. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
Lord Huron. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
Lord Huron. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
_____________________________________________________________________________________ Vance Joy _____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________ Half Moon Run _____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________ Reuben and the Dark _____________________________________________________________________________________
Reuben and the Dark. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
Reuben and the Dark. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
Reuben and the Dark. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
Reuben and the Dark. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
Reuben and the Dark. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
Reuben and the Dark. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
Reuben and the Dark. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
Reuben and the Dark. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
Reuben and the Dark. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
Reuben and the Dark. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
Reuben and the Dark. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
Reuben and the Dark. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
Reuben and the Dark. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
_____________________________________________________________________________________ The Darcys _____________________________________________________________________________________
The Darcys. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
The Darcys. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
The Darcys. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
The Darcys. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
The Darcys. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
The Darcys. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
The Darcys. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
The Darcys. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
The Darcys. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
The Darcys. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
The Darcys. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
The Darcys. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
The Darcys. (Photo: Curtis Sindrey/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
Aesthetic Magazine | Album Reviews, Concert Photography, Interviews, Contests 
Alison Mosshart has curly hair? Did you even go to the festival? That’s the least of what I’ll pick apart.
Posted by Anon | June 9, 2014, 4:08 pmWe fixed it. Sorry about that!
Feel free to pick apart the rest of it.
Posted by Aesthetic Magazine Toronto | June 9, 2014, 5:21 pm