VELD Music Festival Toronto, August 4th & 5th, Downsview Park
The inaugural VELD Music Festival was held this weekend during yet another record breaking summer heatwave for Toronto (a city where residents cherish their actual “beach weather” days each summer, and regularly count them on one hand over a season). For anyone not celebrating this August long weekend at a lake, VELD was the place to be. While Saturday’s temperatures tested the fans at a site without much shade, Downsview park was well utilized offering many areas of rest and respite for those creative thinking types.
The Bacardi Tent offered sets by Krewella (an unofficial winner of the festival via t-shirt sales) and local stars Manzone & Strong and Mark Oliver, as well as a cool but mucky barn yard like ground that offered the promise of photo-ops of Glastonbury-type mud covered kids later on (which never happened- remember, this is Toronto after all).
The ample VIP area for both VIP ticket buyers and media was a mecca most notable for its large tent and comfy leather (pleather?) sectional seating, great hillside viewing of the stage and lots of personal space- an anathema to the kids in the pit but necessary for the over 30 crowd.
Crossing the festival site from one end to the other took 5 minutes, 10 if stopping to photograph Smurfs, texting Roman Centurions on crutches, committed Mau5ers with homemade mau5heads in various states of loving care or adventurous disrepair, and lots of friendly people who asked to have their picture taken without caring or knowing if or where it would end up anywhere online for them to find, but simply wanting to be part of the great event.
The crowd, especially the faithful dedicated who staked out the front of stage for both days, was a free, happy and positive community, in stark contrast to the image of group thinking mercurial and irresponsible EDM fans that is often portrayed in the media (helped along by some of the alternative party scene media). While alcohol was almost prohibitively expensive, they did serve shots at the bar. The scent of weed was surprisingly rare in the open air, and the free water fill up station was much more lined up than the bars. This was definitely not the same crowd from Toronto festivals past, or our hardcore booze smuggling 80’s and 90’s (a fine hobby it was). If these people had many drugs, they seemed to handle them fine.
The smooth and happy tone of the weekend was aided by good festival organization, logistics, ample water sprayed on the crowd by patient and cool security guards (who also picked up those same goddamn 4 beach balls over and over again like indulgent dads) and the few Toronto police spotted seemed to happily coexist with the crowd in a break from needing to do much enforcement. Adding to the idyllic scene that made one sigh and mourn the once great Virgin Music Fest on the Island (RIP 2006-2009) there were nice touches like a variety of mainly smaller food venders offering everything from pulled pork sandwiches to Caribbean food to Toronto youth staple Pizza Pizza, and ice cream vendors located around the site.
What about the music? As shown by the great numbers of VELD t-shirts sold (a beautifully designed logo, to be sure), the crowd was there to enjoy the whole experience more than any one act. This speaks to the inclusiveness and democratization of EDM today: while local musical hero Deadmau5 has a well deserved hard core following (his brand of mau5 ears -in this world- wholly, happily subverting the meaning of the tired Disney original) and has achieved greatness worldwide, hipster favorite (and unironic positive spirit) Steve Aoki was another huge draw, bringing his unique vibe to a swelteringly hot afternoon where none of the kids in front was willing to give in to the heat and lose their place. Aoki finally set sail in his rubber boat on top of a willing crowd who held him aloft. Sun stroke be damned. Even more impressive was a fan in a wheelchair who was lifted above the front rows later in the fest- his look of euphoria and fear was exactly right. Knife Party’s set was strong and they held onto the Aoki crowd with their own skilled set. AVICII’s festival closing set on a beautiful, breezy Sunday night opened with The Who’s “Baba O’Riley” (commonly known as Teenage Wasteland) and for the three song allotment many photographers forgot their jaded Toronto masks and camera rigs for a time, gave in and simply danced in this highly privileged, lone aisle. Deadmau5 perfomed in a sudden rainstorm that gave a tribal air to the crowd, making the word “baptism” sound not even a little silly. While media were thwarted from the usual pit access here, it was a good time to put the equipment away and just be. The Mau5 knows best.
For the tastes of the fans old enough to remember the 90’s heyday of Prodigy and the greats of the hardcore Jungle scene (and the fans of any age with a more sophisticated type of palate for hybridization and an appreciation for classics across genres) Bassnectar’s set cut through Sunday’s offerings like a sword. It was alive, vivid, surprising and all made sense in an artist who seems to have a deep musical vocabulary. His set was far and away the highlight of Sunday and of the festival. Having just come off Lollapalooza, where Bassnectar closed out Perry’s tent, Toronto was treated to a great musical tour (and may have been taken back to school.)
(Part 2 to follow including pictures from Sunday performances and more of the fans and the scene)
Bitter Dregs Magazine 
You must be logged in to post a comment.