Rogers Picnic ‘08!

Toronto’s second annual Rogers Picnic was a rather interesting affair.  The diverse lineup provided a great mix of music while the weather prompted several strange moments.  Overall, it was a pretty great day.  Here’s my rundown of the bands and their sets:

 

Thanks to the world’s slowest ticket ripper I came just in time to miss The Carps.  There has been some buzz about this band and from what I heard they seemed to bring just the right amount of energy to kick the day off right.

 

Next up, Born Ruffians were given a strangely early time slot despite their growing popularity.  The band did a good job of entertaining concertgoers as they funneled into the park and almost managed to play clear of the rain.  Their set provided a solid foundation of things to come later in the day, infectious pop and unexpected experimental flourishes.  Born Ruffians were strong and tight for a three-piece and despite a short set, played enough interesting numbers to live up to the early hype.

 

 

Dizzee Rascal performed immediately thereafter and had a tough task of being the first act to entertain fans in the rain.  Despite this early obstacle, his set managed to sustain the energy established by Born Ruffians.  Backed by an entertaining hype man as well as one DJ, Dizzee Rascal stormed through several impeccably rehearsed cuts and almost made everyone forget about the rain.  One downside about this set was Rascal’s insistence on ending every single song with a cringe-worthy “making some fucking noise” chant.  Aside from this, the set proved to be entertaining and a good entry as the only hip-hop act on the bill.

I kind of wish the sun was out for Vampire Weekend.  Their set consisted of non-stop solid summertime jams.  The band was remarkably tight while the material rarely strayed away from its recorded versions.  I’m pretty sure lead singer Ezra Koenig should be nicknamed Captain Charisma or something like that as his banter was nearly as entertaining as his bathing suit get-up.

 

While Vampire Weekend managed to avoid the torrential downpour, Animal Collective was hardly as lucky.  Fortunately, they put on one of the best fucking sets I have ever witnessed.  Kicking things off with an unrecognizable jam, the band (consisting of only primary members Panda Bear and Avey Tare) moved into familiar territory playing an absolutely astonishing twenty minute version of Fireworks.  As this began to fade out, Panda Bear quickly jumped into his solo cut Comfy in Nautica.  The song’s opening sample continued to get louder and louder until it was positively blaring.  At this point, the rain broke out and the umbrellas went up.  As thick fog and intense rain covered the atmosphere during the near-perfect execution of this song, I was certain the apocolypse had arrived.  The moment was nothing short of stunning.

 

Chromeo came on afterwards and managed to bring everyone back to earth.  The duo effortlessly pounded out tracks and genuinely looked like they were having a great time.  Extra points for probably the best showmanship of the day while managing to initiate a spontaneous dance party in the rain.

 

Tokyo Police Club followed and kicked out the jams.  The four-piece was tight, energetic as well as all of the other characteristics that come from non-stop touring.  TPC has evolved into a band worthy of the large stage and were a great choice as the last energetic band of the day.

 

Up until Cat Power, the show managed to avoid hitting any weak spots.  However, Chan Marshall and company had the difficult task of battling with a totally inept sound crew and overcoming the flood of low-end bass on their mix.  Marshall’s banter was incredibly limited other than the one remark claiming that her voice had “never sounded worse.”  Her constant retreats to a cup of tea suggested an illness of sorts while her endless signals to the sound crew hinted at frustration.  This set could have been one of the strongest of the evening but managed to be sort of a flop instead.

 

Dear Rogers Picnic organizers, next year you should book a legitimate headlining act (See: last year’s choice of The Roots).  Choosing City and Colour prompted myself and most other concertgoers to flee to the streetcars before the emotional troubadour even played a note.  I’m sure the set could have been entertaining, but I do not support him as the day’s final act.  Oh well.

 

Rain aside, the Rogers Picnic proved to be a pretty good event.  Fort York is a great and remarkably functional space for such an event.  The food tents consisted of fairly short and quick moving lines while the washrooms were bearable.  Also, high fives to festival organizers for employing individuals to monitor the recycling bins in order to ensure excellent waste management.  Cheers and hopefully next year a more exciting headliner can hold down the stage.