Friday, July 26, 2013
After attending Hillside last year as spectators, we jumped at the chance to go back this year to celebrate their 30th anniversary. From the relaxed, family-friendly atmosphere, to the amazing – and healthy! – food options, and green initiatives, it has quickly become one of our favourite out-of-town festivals. It’s true what they say: Hillside is the best side. Go once, and become a lifer!
Misfits Workshop (Island Stage, 6:00PM)
We started the festival at the Island Stage. Hosted by radio host and Guelph native, Vish Khanna, the “Misfits” workshop featured (among others) Bry Webb, Daniel Romano, and Tamara Lindeman (The Weather Station). With so many different musicians sharing the stage, the setlist was chosen off the cuff – audience members would come up and pick a song from a hat; whoever’s song they pulled out would take the lead on it. The casual ambience encouraged requests to soon be shouted from the crowd, including one for a Rolling Stones song. Stirring up a bit of a mutiny, an audience member – who turned out to be Glenn Pelletier from 570News – climbed up on stage to sing “Honky Tonk Woman.” That’s the magic of Hillside – you just never know what is going to happen!
Kopecky Family Band (Main Stage, 7:00PM)
One of the more recent signings to Dine Alone Records, we were excited to check out Nashville’s Kopecky Family Band. Led by Kelsey Kopecky (vocals, keys) and Gabe Simon (guitar, vocals), the six-piece non-traditional “family band” (no one is actually related) boasted reverbed southern folk-rock and very much channeled a Fleetwood Mac vibe. They started their set with the whistling track “Are You Listening” from their album Kids Raising Kids. What was perhaps most impressive – and at times perplexingly so – was every band member’s ability to seemingly play every instrument, often all in the same song. From cello, tambourine and lap steel to double trombone, there was a little bit of everything.
Kopecky and Simon were also all about encouraging audience participation, from singing along to getting up on their feet and dancing. They proclaimed the message “music can go through borders and bloodlines” and that everyone in attendance was now a part of their family. Throwing maracas out to a few people up front for their last song, by the power of the Hillside Music Festival, it did actually feel like we really were all one big family by the end!
METZ (Island Stage, 8:00PM)
Toronto’s METZ were introduced with the language lesson that “Metz” means “to butcher” in German. Their punk-fueled grungy rock slayed rather than butchered the stage, proving them to be so much more than merely “noise rock.” There’s a reason the band caught the ear of Sub Pop Records and their self-titled album was shortlisted for this year’s Polaris Prize. Acknowledging the fact that a “hippie” festival such as Hillside wasn’t their typical gig, frontman Alex Edkins thanked the organizers for having them and urged the crowd to go nuts yet be safe amongst the tent posts. He appeared grateful yet shocked that those who had packed the Island Stage were missing one of the best songwriters in Bonnie Prince Billy over on the Main Stage to see them instead.
Their set also included “Get Off,” which recently had a video by Chad VanGaalen released for it, and “Wasted” before the band’s set neared its end. Launching into their last song “Wet Blanket,” Edkins mentioned they had tweeted at Diamond Rings to come up and dance with them but weren’t sure if he was even around yet. Lo and behold however, John O jumped up on stage then and there and while he wasn’t quite sure how to dance to their certain style of music, it was still a pretty awesome sight to see – even more so when he dove off to crowd surf!
Said the Whale (Island Stage, 9:00PM)
If the Island Stage was sweaty for METZ, it was downright tropical for Vancouver’s Said the Whale. Packed to the brims with a younger crowd, Ben Worcester (guitar, vocals) commented that the entire University of Guelph had to be under the tent. Regardless of whether this was true or not, the audience had one objective – to dance and have a good time. Playing their first Hillside, the band were only too happy to give them reason to. Matching the crowd’s singalongs and smiles, their easy breezy summer-pop harmonies infused some youthful energy into the night.
Playing primarily songs from last year’s Little Mountain, they also previewed a couple of new songs, such as the dizzying 50’s-rock set closer “I Love You,” from their upcoming album hawaiii. Proclaiming their love for the festival – “who knew this could be so close to Toronto!” – I’m pretty sure the feeling was mutual.
The Treasures (Lake Stage, 10:00PM)
Opting not to stick around for the glitzy affair that is a Diamond Rings set, we headed over to the Lake Stage to end the night with Toronto’s The Treasures. Described as “maple syrup with a kick of whiskey,” the greasy roots band were a breath of fresh Dakota Tavern-esque pedal steel-infused air that went down easy. Their slow burning tunes meant to be swayed to, such as the aptly named “She’s Burning,” provided a calming end-of-night atmosphere.
Having played the festival a few years ago, they were back – this time with a record Bring the Night Home released – and thanked the good sized audience for making them feel so welcome. They also treated the crowd to some new songs and a Flying Burrito Brothers cover before ending the night. | CD
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