AWmusic

Now time for the conclusion to my in depth look at Cutting Edge Music Fest 2008.

I left off talking about the single most entertaining event hosted by any music group in the history of my experiences at music festivals. The Johnstones were going to talk to us about anything and everything to do with sex; not to be confused with their newest album by the same name which I shall be reviewing in the weeks to come.

I volunteered myself to help them out with one of their activities of putting a condom in our mouth and rolling it over top of a banana. Who should beat everyone else at this activity but me; I’m ashamed of my talent but at least the Julian and Brent of The Johnstones thought it was freaking amazing. It was the best time I ever had hanging out with a band, and they didn’t turn down a single question no matter how sexual or perverse it was.

Now onto the part of the review where I actually talk about the music itself.

The bands that I went to see that day were just a slice of the pie that was awaiting that weekend. The first band I went to see up close and personal were of course The Johnstones who I had actually never listened to before this as with many other bands I saw that weekend. The Johnstones played a pretty solid set although I didn’t stay for the whole thing because I ended up meeting a couple different women that weekend if you know what I mean. The Johnstones appealed to me because I love ska, they just play so upbeat that you can’t help but shed a smile while listening to them. They like to joke around a lot as well, they’re like if you took 5 class clowns from an entire school, gave them some instruments and told them to play in a band together. That’s The Johnstones in a nutshell right there, and because I liked them so much I actually went and bought their CD later that day.

Next up was Guns’N’FN’Rosez, a cover band for the original Guns N Roses, who left me thoroughly pleased and totally surprised. These guys played like they were the real deal and had the crowd wanting more. Most cover bands don’t usually meet my expectations and especially when you’re covering a band as big as Guns N Roses at that. These guys even had their own Slash! They played their set list flawlessly and best of all they played my favorite Guns N Roses song “Knocking on Heavens Door” which is a cover itself.

Now for a little two in one action review of both USS and Mix Master Mike of the Beastie Boys. The two are more similar than you would guess, and both I got to watch from backstage and actually stand beside while they played in front of a giant audience. USS I had heard about a week earlier on the radio a couple times but had no idea that it was them at the time. They had a unique performance, better than most of the other bands that played that day probably because they’re better known. Suffice to say they had dancers, props and a whole bunch of stuff going on all at once on stage which made their performance a lot more entertaining to watch. I’ve now become addicted to the songs “2 and 15 16ths” and “Hollow Point Sniper Hyperbole”, those two songs have been in my top playlist for the last couple weeks now and they’re just so catchy that I haven’t been able to get them out of my head since. As for Mix Master Mike, he was the headliner of the day. Didn’t have much time for any of the fans seeing as his plane was late, he basically gave 2 minutes of his time to each of the VIP guests such as myself before he went on stage. Soon as he started mixing he got everyone dancing, and I mean everyone. I was a little too interested in the girl I was with at the moment to care too much about the music but the one song I really got into and stopped everything for was his remix of BYOB by System of a Down, one of my all time favourite bands.

Day two was the big day for the bands as a lot bigger and well known bands there that day including such favourites as Ten Second Epic, illScarlett, Shotgun Rules, and my all time favourite band; Alexisonfire.

The bands I just listed there were my most highly anticipated bands for the day and will be the ones I talk about here even though there were many more that I could go on about and who were just as good.

Shotgun Rules made a lasting impression on me because not only did they help sign something for a friend back home so I could cheer him up with something signed from one of his favourite bands of all time but they actually talked and chilled with me more than most other bands that weekend. I bought their CD even before having actually listened to them that day and getting a chance to actually hear some of their material. Fugitives and Refugees will be another CD I’ll get to in a matter of time. Despite all that I promised I would come out to see them after chilling with them early on within the day. I got to see them from backstage and although I did find some of their material to set me off, I generally enjoyed myself and found that their music was something I had to let grow on me, which it has over the last little while. Suffice to say they were ecstatic in their performance and that’s usually what I look for the most when I’m watching a band live.

Ten Second Epic was a band I had heard of basically anytime I would talk to one of my friends back home but never actually heard of their material before. Basically she knew a couple members of the band so I decided hey if she likes them so much, maybe I’ll give them a chance. They actually surprised me in more ways than one. Although I don’t remember any of the titles to any of their songs, and can’t remember a single word from any of their songs, I still found myself bobbing my head to each and every note like they were a band I had seen a million times before. None of their songs really opened my eyes and made me go wow I must get this CD, or hey this is such an awesome song I must download it as soon as I get home. I just found that their music was really awesome to just chill out to and enjoy it for what it was.

Now onto the two biggest names of Cutting Edge Music Fest 2008; illScarlett and Alexisonfire.

IllScarlett was a band I had never really listened to up until Cutting Edge Fest, but found myself getting a lot more into the more I listened to the m that day. I’ve had friends go on about how awesome they were, how awesome they played live, and how I should buy all their CD’s because they were just that great. I just never decided to do any of that or listen to any of them up until I actually watched them play live there in Grand Bend, Ontario. They were simply amazing, hands down amazing, like it wasn’t like they were rock gods or anything but they played like they were playing for the fans and not just themselves which became a lot more evident later on that night. My two favourite songs by them are now “Heaters” and “Life of a Soldier”. I can’t say that I loved all the songs they played that day and was waiting on the more popular songs that I had heard them play on the radio or that friends had played for me a couple times but then again that’s basically how it is with all bands. Overall they played a fantastic set list that more than pleased the illScarlett fans that had packed the entire field which hadn’t been seen at all since Mix Master Mike the previous night. IllScarllett also played a private acoustic session for all the VIP’s later that night which gave me a chance to meet up with the band in person. They are very loyal to their fans and even asked if the whole private session could become a full public session which it somewhat became in the end with the exception that the non VIP’s had to stand behind a gate to watch. It was a great experience and got closer to illScarlett than I think I shall ever be again. I even got to toke one up with Alex and chilled with him for a bit which has now become one of my favourite celebrity encounters to date yet.

Finally we get to the grand finale and grand puba of all performances of Cutting Edge Music Fest 2008; Alexisonfire. I knew I would have to get their early to get a good view of my favourite bands of all times, and I was correct. I got there an hour early and found that getting front row was going to have its cost. By getting front row I was rewarded not only a chance to have a better view of this most epic band but also the reward of getting every bone in my body squished and bruised. It had its cost but was totally worth it, I was not moving for anybody or anything. What can I say, Alexisonfire is truly amazing, there’s nothing bad or wrong I can say about their performance whatsoever. The only thing I can say though is that all they played was their mainstream stuff which seems to be the way they roll these days. Close to nothing off their first two albums played that night, mostly everything and anything off of Crisis. I don’t have a beef or grudge with that at all, it’s just that I would have liked to hear some of their earlier stuff played too, you know like before Dallas Green became the main part of the band and all. All in all it was an amazing performance just would have preferred some of their more early work in the mix there as well is all I’m saying. I stayed an hour after the concert just to see Dallas Green after all the other concert goers had left. It took me multiple times to get Dallas’ attention while he was helping to clean up the stage and it was finally after I flashed my Alexisonfire heart skull tattoo that I got to meet and chill with him for a couple minutes. He was an okay guy just seems a little stuck up now that he’s like the biggest thing to come out of Canada since Rush or The Tragically Hip.

To close things off here, I’ll make the comment that this was definitely the best weekend of my entire life and was just what I need to relieve some of the stress I had been under for a while. I’m definitely heading back next year because although I didn’t put in everything that had happened to me that weekend, it was a blast every single day I was there. Made tons of new friends, four of which I still keep in contact with and plan on seeing real soon, many random adventures that even got me on the radio, great bands, great food, and just memories to last a lifetime. If ever you get the chance to attend Cutting Edge Music Fest in years to come I would totally recommend going, you won’t regret it one bit. Four days of pure partying and two days of amazing bands, you just can’t go wrong. I loved it there and I’m more than sure you would too. Hope to see some of you out there next year. As for me, this is me signing off for now but be sure to check in next week when I review Scars on Broadway’s debut album. Keep on rocking.

Sunny Days by The Johnstones
Brooks Was Here by Shotgun Rules
Count Yourself In by Ten Second Epic
Knocking on Heavens Door by Guns N’ Roses

Tags: concert