About a week and a half ago Age and myself attended Edgefest 08. This was my first time at Edgefest and was really only there to see Stone Temple Pilots.
Edgefest 2008 marked the return of Edgefest after taking a year off. This years Edgefest was held at Downsview Park and entertained a huge crowd. This years line up included Linkin Park, Stone Temple Pilots, Sam Roberts, USS, The Flatliners, Attack In Black, Ashes Divide and more!
Age & I didn’t get there until about 2:30 so we ended up missing USS, which I wanted to see, but from what I’ve read they were great! As we were scouting for a spot to sit and get ready for Ashes Divide to hit the stage I couldn’t help but notice the enormous line for the beer tent. This line was insane! At first the line got lost in the crowd by the stage but then it started to bend and go past the entrance to the beer garden and it almost got to the point where it was by the entrance to the park!
Anyways onto the show. The first band that we got to see was Ashes Divide. Ashes Divide is a side project by A Perfect Circle’s guitarist Billy Howerdel. I was pretty excited to see them live since I enjoyed their debut album ‘Keep Telling Myself It’s Alright’. Their set was enjoyable to watch and luckily the weather held up too because they put on a good show! Next up was The Bravery. I saw these guys open for Incubus last year and I’m only familiar with the hit singles. They include An Honest Mistake, Time Won’t Let Me Go and Believe. I didn’t find their set to be enjoyable since it was pouring during their whole set! And even if it wasn’t raining I’m sure I wouldn’t have enjoyed it anyways!
Next up was Sam Roberts. Last time I saw him live was at the first Vfest in 2006 and I almost forgot how good he is live! He played his hits like Brother Down, Bridge To Nowhere and Them Kids and they also jammed for a bit which added to the experience of seeing him live again!
After Sam got off the stage STP took longer than expected to hit the stage but that didn’t matter because they rocked out for their entire one-and-half hour set! The minute they showed up the crowd went crazy for their whole set. Without saying anything the band opened up with Big Empty and pumped out hit after hit after hit! Including Crackerman, Vasoline, Plush, Sour Girl, Interstate Love Song and Sex Type Thing. Not only did STP rock out and sound great live but Scott Weiland put on a show within a show! His onstage performance was great, whether it was from running from one side of the stage to the other, grabbing his megaphone and using it to sing or during Plush when he leaped off stage and performed by the light stand! They are a great band live and I am extremely fortunate to have seen them live!
Once STP finished their kick ass set it was off to the second stage to see The Flatliners. These punk rockers from Toronto were the headlining band for the second stage and they did not disappoint as they put on an awesome show and their energy added to the whole experience of seeing them live.
Closing the show was Linkin Park. They started off their show in a weird way (at least I think they did). I saw Linkin Park last year during their Toronto stop for their Projekt Revolution tour and I was hoping to see a similar performance. However they opted for a slower start to this performance with just Mike Shinoda and Chester Bennington playing a toned down version of Breaking the Habit followed by Pushing Me Away then the rest of the band showed up and tore into What I’ve Done. The crowd was very energetic and responsive. Age & I didn’t stay for their entire set but from other reviews that I’ve read they put on a good show.
All in all it was a good day except for the rain, the sore feet, the packed TTC bus and the huge beer line up. Oh and the Batmobile was there too!
