"The Third Annual Virgin Festival"

Show: September 6, 2008 @ Toronto Island Park, ON.
If you weren't at Toronto Island Park this past weekend, you better have had a good reason not to be. The third annual Virgin Festival hosted a spectacular line up of epic and up and coming bands, who rocked it hard for thousands of fans from across the globe. With four main stages, games, contests, and tonnes of freebies, there was never an idle moment.

The ferry ride to the island was all about anticipation - sharing the exitement with friendly concert goers on the boat, nearing the increasingly louder sound of music from LIGHTS, Constantines, Against Me! and so many others. The festival's four stages were packed with great acts, making it hard to choose which ones to reach, since the set times overlapped - the only downside to the weekend. As Bloc Party played an amazing set on the Virgin stage, their English neighbours, The Kooks, took the TD stage with so much energy it was incredible. Led by frontman Luke Pritchard, the band had such an intense hold on the crowd that, when commanded, everyone sat on their asses while singing along to "Do You Wanna". Before their set was over, fans rushed back to the Virgin stage to catch Day 1's headliners: the Foo Fighters. Aside from the texts from diehard Nirvana fans on the big screens beside the stage, the crowd was not disappointed. Between Hawkins' impressive drum solo, a comedic triangle solo, and the stunned silence that "Everlong" induced upon thousands in the crowd, the Foo left those on the Island wanting more and undoubtedly stoked for Day 2's festivities.

The second day of V-Fest featured more amazing numbers, including SIlversun Pickups, Stereophonics, Matt Costa, Paper Lions, Arkells, OPOPO, and The Pigeon Detectives - just to name a few. Yoav, an insanely talented musician slowly emerging onto the North American music scene, played a one-man show with nothing more than a guitar, his vocals and some tech gear used to loop his beats. One main stage at the festival was more of a dance tent which was an endless party hosted by DJs from the likes of Moby, Deadmau5, and MSTRKRFT, who wasn't even set to play, but filled in when Day 1's headliner, Sebastian was unable to fly in for the weekend. I don't need to mention much about Oasis' set, because the most interesting part of it, to say the least, is already all over YouTube. The Brit rockers definitely recieved mixed feedback from their audience, as some were pleased as ever while others were left expecting an encore and more from "The Best Band in the World."

Fans of the festival can surely expect the most from Virgin in its fourth year, and those who missed out should probably make a mental note to grab a ticket for next year's V-Fest. Photos, line-up, and other info about the festival may be viewed at:

www.virginfestival.ca