Virgin Festival

Even onstage — while they’re in the middle of blasting through a song — Oasis can’t help but get in trouble. Half-way through Oasis’ headlining set, while the mega-band was busting out the old 1995 chestnut, “Morning Glory,” a man … Continue reading →

With rain pouring down on toronto Sunday morning, it seemed as though Day Two of V Fest was going to get more British flavour than the fact Oasis was headlining. As for Oasis, there were plenty of rumours of Gallagher … Continue reading →

Full disclosure: when I was in Grade Two, there is no way that I — or my parents — would have been cool enough to attend something like the Virgin Festival. And while there’s never any shortage of tykes being … Continue reading →

Apart from the swag tents and Guitar Hero station, V Fest’s backstage looks like the rock and roll camp out you wish you’d gone on for summer vacation. There’s musicians sipping beers at picnic tables. A cool canopy of trees … Continue reading →

While Bloc Party were still playing through a Toronto Island sunset, The Kooks were over at the TD Canada Trust stage. The foot-traffic jams between the stages were too daunting for me to brave (sorry, kids), but a good … Continue reading →

(Photo credit: Scott Andrews, Dose.ca) It’s been a couple of years since Bloc Party played the Toronto Islands. I caught their set at the Olympic Island festival in 2006, back when they were touring debut album Silent Alarm. … Continue reading →

(MGMT; Photo credit: Scott Andrews, Dose.ca) There was a moment Saturday afternoon where I was afraid the Jonas Brothers had somehow been smuggled on the Island. I was rounding past the autograph tent just as the guys from MGMT were … Continue reading →

(The Who at Glastonbury 2007, Getty Images) 3. Glastonbury 2008 “It was the first time we got to play in the dark. You do your thing during the day and it’s good, but you do it at night and … Continue reading →

(Barry Fratelli of The Fratellis at a summer festival that isn’t V Fest, Getty Images) I ran to the ferry (or, as I prefer to call it, the sandwich boat — one perk of V Fest, they’ll make you … Continue reading →

Before running for the ferry, I got the chance to catch up with Bloc Party’s Matt Tong and Gordon Moakes at their hotel in Toronto. So where do some of the biggest names in modern rock crash the night … Continue reading →