AWmusic

This is one to file under “Rock,” but the music here isn’t even close to archetypal guitar rock—occasionally, a few chords/rhythms are repeated throughout a whole song. Also, some verse/chorus structures aren’t always as distinct as usual. This isn’t to say that this album is a huge departure, but it’s not a copy of any previous Oasis disc, either. I Think of it as 75% Standing On The Shoulders … & Be Here Now, and 25% Defintely Maybe and What’s the Story? I don’t really think of it that way, but I’m trying to put it in context.

“Bag It Up” is a solid rocker. The lyrics are a little obscure, but when Liam sings something like he means it, I’m convinced. “(Get Off Your) High Horse Lady” and “Falling Down” are psychedelic excursions that you can sing along to, the latter being among the best of Oasis (as sung by Noel).

A big deal has been made about the Liam-penned “I’m Outta Time.” The song is fine, but the band already has a lot of decent songs. The biggest and best Oasis songs are scattered throughout their albums, with a lot of good songs in between. Dig Out Your Soul is no exception. The album is very good, not amazing from beginning to end. We know the drill by now.

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Falling Down by Oasis

Saturday was day one of the festival, and as all of you know the Foo Fighters were the headlining band. For those of you who love them, they were fantastic, and for those who don’t I won’t say anything more.

Saturday though, I spent a lot of time wandering around the festival, going from stage to stage checking out some of the bigger acts and a bunch of the lesser known ones. I have to say that the biggest surprise of the day for me, was a little band called The Airborne Toxic Event or TATE as they shall be henceforth referred to as. They hit the main stage as the second act of the day, following a short set by Mark Robertson. Mark Robertson was OK, but the music of TATE was both easy to listen to and easy to rock out to at the same time. They seemed really grateful to be preforming there and deserved the applause they got from the small crowd, which was to be expected for the second band of the day. Definitely give them a listen if you haven’t already.

Sometime Around Midnight by The Airborne Toxic Event

Also on the main stage was MGMT and Against me! Who were more popular than the earlier bands, but did nothing terribly new, exciting or entertaining. For me, they were just what was to be expected. The last non-Foo Fighting act on the main stage was Bloc Party, and I found their show to be entertaining and filled with good music.

Helicopter by Bloc Party

I also got a chance to walk by the Oh Henry Stage, but there was nothing special there on Saturday. The second stage however, had too huge artists from the U.K. take the stage. The Fratellis and the Kooks played one of the most active sets of the day, really engaging the audience and making it fun. Especially for the drunk fans moshing in the front. That was Day one.

Before I move on to day two, I’d like to say that the festival was very well organized and they did their best to keep it clean and fun for everyone. My only complaint in that regard is the ferries, but that is to be expected when attending a concert on an island.

Moving on to day two. Oasis hadn’t been to town in four years, so the place was JAM PACKED to see them play. Much more people than day 1. This was a good day to stay mostly at the main stage because almost all of the acts there were great. Danko Jones definitely wins the award for craziest performer, from having us giving the middle finger to the sun to his rant about how his band wasn’t family friendly. Very entertaining guy. The Weakerthans, a Winnipeg band definitely stole the afternoon part of the show. They had almost a cult following and the music was fantastic.

One Great City by The Weakerthans

Also great on the main stage were the Silversun Pickups. The Stereophonics had pretty standard music, and nothing really set them apart from anyone.

Then came my personal favourite part of the day, and that was getting to see Shad. Shad is a rapper from London, not far from Toronto and it showed. There were more people there to see him on the small stage than there were at the second stage at the time. Shad looked nothing like your typical rapper and his lyrics were completely refreshing. His overall performance was the highlight of my day and getting to hang out with him after his show was really great, down to earth guy.

Now A Daze by Shad

Paul Weller put on a good show as the last band before Oasis. Oasis was definitely interesting, when the fan jumped onto the stage it was the stupidest thing ever. He did however get his ass kicked by Liam Gallagher, and I did see a video of it. It was pretty fun. He deserved everything he got, idiot nearly ruined the concert for everyone there.

All in all a fantastic weekend. The usual overpriced crappy food, accompanied by some great music, and some less than great music.

To finish off, I leave you with a final thought,
Do Bananas Float? (Editor’s note: I think Zack is a strange one. Agreed?)

More photos after the jump!
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