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O. Shows Cancelled After Accusations Of Hate SpeechFans To Decide Radiohead Album PriceSarah Polley Wins Big At DGC AwardsBif Naked Gets Hitched On the West CoastSubscribe to andPOP News Headlines (andPOP) - On what was supposed to be a day of rain, Virgin Festival's Sunday installment thankfully remained dry while offering up what was, overall, a better line-up than on sunny Saturday (best performance of the weekend still goes to Bjork, however). The list of bands I'd hoped to catch was double that of the day before, so a relatively early trip to the Toronto Islands was needed.
After sifting through the first security line, then the ferry entrance line, then the ferry exit line, then the ticket line, then the second security line, I quickly made my way to catch the final few minutes of a side-stage performance from DD/MM/YYYY (Day Month Year). Their sound is an explosive mash, and the band members play musical chairs with instruments, but it all comes together in a delightful mess. The Toronto boys also have a great time, at one point urging the crowd to take back the "raise the roof" motion.
"I can't believe you guys just did that," quipped the drummer/singer after a disquieting number of watchers joined in. Crossing the river onto Olympic Island, the site of the festival's main stage, brought the reggae-influenced Britpop sounds of Jamie T. While not necessarily my taste in music, the singer charmed the crowd to no end, bringing the audience interaction to one of the festival's requisite English performances after Arctic Monkeys failed abysmally on Saturday.
Next came a set from Toronto's very own Tokyo Police Club, a band that has enjoyed a huge surge of success, sure to continue growing after their recently inked deal with Saddle Creek Records. They played a tight set, received amazingly well by the cheering crowd, many of whom flooded toward the stage in the minutes before their set time. With a lull in main-stage action, I headed back over to one of the side-stages for an uninspired set from Blonde Redhead.
Not being familiar with much more than their name, I found the music largely ignorable; the most interesting aspect of the performance was a fake, stuffed horse that front-woman Kazu Makino used for a keyboard bench. This band likely translates better in a smaller, darker club, but falls flat outdoors in the daylight. Right after, however, came a rejuvenating yet all-too-short performance from The Constantines.
The band is well known for their amazing club shows, but they have no problem commanding a festival stage.
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