Virgin Music Festival , Toronto Day 1 TRIPPY!
Virgin Music Festival: Day 1
Sept. 8, 2007
Toronto, Canada
This was my first trip to the 2nd annual Virgin Music Festival in Toronto and I didnt really know what to expect. I was informed the concert would take place on an island and Ill be the first to admit I didnt realize that Toronto even had an island. Saturday morning I went down to the press check in and after getting sorted out I was told to wait for the next ferry. Ferry? This is where the differences between V Fest and other festivals began. I took a short ferry ride across the water to the Toronto Island Park. I exited the boat, roamed around the grounds for awhile and saw a beautifully laid out theme park filled with rides, food vendors and four concert stages. This was trippy! It seemed to me that this was Perry Farrells original vision for Lollapalooza, Come out to the island to see some great music, learn about some worthy causes, eat and drink and take a break and ride a roller coaster or a bumper boat.
My day of music began with the 20-year-old Scot that I just cant get enough of. Paolo Nutini took to the main stage at 2:15 in the afternoon and the crowd couldnt have asked for a better way to start the show. Nutini and his boys played a terrific 45-minute set which included his hits, New Shoes, Rewind and Jenny Dont Be Hasty along with an amazing new track Rainbows. The band also threw in an excellent rock cover of Mobys Natural Blues. The kid is really coming into his own as a live performer. Hes always had the material but in the early days it seemed hard for Nutini to interact with the crowd, choosing to look down at his feet instead of making eye contact with his fans. These days hes moving around, having fun, talking to the audience and the crowds are eating it up!
Next up on the main stage was K-OS. To be perfectly honest, Id never seen the man and his band live. On stage, K-OS combined all the great elements of The Fugees, Rage Against The Machine and Bob Marley. One minute he was crooning like Lauryn Hill with Pras and Wyclef backing him and the next hed fire up the political stance like Zach De La Rocha with a less aggressive Tom Morello on the axe. It would be hard to classify K-OS into any musical category because he doesnt define himself. From rock to reggae to r&b and hip hop, the man put on a show that I consider to be one of the festival's best.
Anticipation boiled over as M.I.A. was taking the stage. Shes played at so many festivals that Ive attended but, for whatever reason, Ive never had the chance to watch her perform. While I really enjoy her recorded work it just didnt seem to translate well live. The songs were there but the energy was lacking. That special something just didnt seem apparent. That being said, the ladys outfits were bangin! Pink sunglasses and black leather daisy dukes will go a long way when it comes to remembering what to write in a review. It is hard to forget such a memorable ensemble.
While sitting on the shore I took a much needed break and enjoyed my slice of pizza and a hot dog. The venue offers up the most amazing view of the downtown skyline. The break was short lived, however, because the Arctic Monkeys were about to take the stage. I really wanted to see what the hype was all about. I loved the Arctic Monkeys debut album but was less than impressed with their recent follow-up, Favourite Worst Nightmre. The kids from Sheffield were quite impressive as they ripped through an hour long set that included the wonderful I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor and the current hit Brianstorm. It was a much needed energy injection near the end of a long day. It got the crowd riled up and everyone wanted to see more! One of the highlights from the festival occurred hours later when I listened to the boys playing acoustically outside of their trailer. They played with assorted friends, drinking Strongbow cider and singing James Blunts Beautiful.
As with all festivals, multiple acts play at the same time and youre forced to make decisions as to what band(s) youd rather see. Interpol vs. Mute Math was case in point. I decided to see the second stage headliner, Mute Math, and keep up my streak of skipping Interpol festival performances. This was the best decision I made all weekend long! Im new to the phenomenon that is Mute Math but Im a definite convert. Without hesitation I will tell you that this was the best performance all weekend long. For whatever reason, these guys remind me a lot of The Police during their heyday but with added pop sensibility. Terrifically catchy songs combined with a great light show made for the most memorable performance of the day.
To end the night I needed to catch a glimpse of Bjorks performance so I could leave with a smile on my face. The queen of Iceland always makes me feel all warm and fuzzy and this was no exception. She took the stage wearing a golden dress and it seemed as if she had painted her forehead green. The cast of characters behind her reminded me of the Polyphonic Spree on acid. Like the Spree, multiple members donned multi-colored robes but these backup performers had painted their foreheads, as well. It was awesome! I stayed long enough to hear the first couple of songs and then hightailed it to the ferry for fear that Id be stuck on the island all night long.
Stay tuned for a report of Day 2 of V Fest...
Old Dems "Savaged" by New Left
Kudos to the far left fringe. Their ritual sacrifice of Joe Lieberman has really put them on the road to their next heroic presidential election defeat in 2008. Who knows, if their voices keep on dominating the party, they may even screw up the Dems "foregone conclusion" victory in November. Better start writing those new "election fraud" stories now folks, just in case.
Faulty voting machines or otherwise, a Democratic party appearing to be dominated by far left extremists, naive peaceniks, and environmentalist watermelons (green on the outside, red on the inside), is doomed to failure. This is an uncomfortable truth that can't be lost on party strategists, but what can they do? The kook fringe are the dominant voices in the party, and the Republicans are bound to capitalize on that.
This modern reality is not lost on Lanny J. Davis, the former counsel to President Clinton, who writes about the new Liberal McCarthyism, in a scathing opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal.
My brief and unhappy experience with the hate and vitriol of bloggers on the liberal side of the aisle comes from the last several months I spent campaigning for a longtime friend, Joe Lieberman.
This kind of scary hatred, my dad used to tell me, comes only from the right wing--in his day from people such as the late Sen. Joseph McCarthy, with his tirades against "communists and their fellow travelers." The word "McCarthyism" became a red flag for liberals, signifying the far right's fascistic tactics of labeling anyone a "communist" or "socialist" who favored an active federal government to help the middle class and the poor, and to level the playing field.
I came to believe that we liberals couldn't possibly be so intolerant and hateful, because our ideology was famous for ACLU-type commitments to free speech, dissent and, especially, tolerance for those who differed with us. And in recent years--with the deadly combination of sanctimony and vitriol displayed by the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter and Michael Savage--I held on to the view that the left was inherently more tolerant and less hateful than the right.
Now, in the closing days of the Lieberman primary campaign, I have reluctantly concluded that I was wrong.
Davis goes on to cite some examples of the hate speak he's read on Liberal blogs:
"Ned Lamont and his supporters need to [g]et real busy. Ned needs to beat Lieberman to a pulp in the debate and define what it means to be an AMerican who is NOT beholden to the Israeli Lobby" (by "rim," posted on Huffington Post, July 6, 2006).
"Joe's on the Senate floor now and he's growing a beard. He has about a weeks growth on his face. . . . I hope he dyes his beard Blood red. It would be so appropriate" (by "ctkeith," posted on Daily Kos, July 11 and 12, 2005).
On "Lieberman vs. Murtha": "as everybody knows, jews ONLY care about the welfare of other jews; thanks ever so much for reminding everyone of this most salient fact, so that we might better ignore all that jewish propaganda [by Lieberman] about participating in the civil rights movement of the 60s and so on" (by "tomjones," posted on Daily Kos, Dec. 7, 2005).
"Good men, Daniel Webster and Faust would attest, sell their souls to the Devil. Is selling your soul to a god any worse? Leiberman cannot escape the religious bond he represents. Hell, his wife's name is Haggadah or Muffeletta or Diaspora or something you eat at Passover" (by "gerrylong," posted on the Huffington Post, July 8, 2006).
"Joe Lieberman is a racist and a religious bigot" (by "greenskeeper," posted on Daily Kos, Dec. 7, 2005).
And these are some of the nicer examples.
As far left influence grows, traditional and moderate Democratic Party candidates must be feeling increasingly trapped. Even if they back-pedal and tearfully repent their "sins", they could still face being Liebermanned.
It a tough choice. Lose the nomination by not towing the line of the left or lose the election by looking stupid. Mind you, seeing what Joe had to put up with at the hands of the Krazy Kos Kids, you might not blame them for wanting to keep the loony left happy:
Homoerotic imagery used to demonize Lieberman in Daily Kos post.