Of all the incredible music festivals to hit the Toronto area this summer, the most star-studded is surely the Wayhome Festival in Oro-Medonte this weekend. Big name artists including Neil Young, Kendrick Lamar and Sam Smith, as well as the tacit link to the cooler-than-though Bonarroo Festival in Tennessee have Wayhome heaped with enough hype to jam Hwy. 400 traffic for days. But, like all good multi-stage festivals, choices must be made. Here are what we see as the five that will present music aficionados with the greatest degree of difficulty. Deal with it now, and enjoy:
Courtney Barnett or The Decemberists?
Answer: Courtney Barnett. When we checked out the lineup, both these artists were near the top of our lists of potentially great sets and both are playing late afternoon sets on Friday afternoon. The Decemberists are not only a great band, they also put on a fantastic live show. And Courtney Barnett, a relative newcomer, has put out one of the best new albums of the year. With apologies to The Decemberists, who have been through the area a few times in support of their latest, very fine album, we suspect this will be the only time to check out the compelling Aussie for a while, so might as well jump at the opportunity. Should be killer.
Do we stay for Alt-J and come late to the Neil Young show, or bail before it ends to watch Fucked Up?
Answer: stay for Alt-J. Neil Young is an incredilble artist. He’s an icon. He’s the man. No question. But when he gets a bee in his bonnet about environmental issues that result in certain concept albums, he's a stickler for seeing it through. Does anyone remember the whole Greendale experience? We do. We sat through two hours of questionable “environmental rock opera” songs at the Air Canada Centre for a short set of favourites as an encore. And we’re fairly certain Neil Young’s latest, The Monsanto Years, dedicated to a thorough dissection of the agri-chemical giants evil ways, will be front and centre on Friday night. There are no other bands playing opposite Young for the bulk of the show, but there are two choices that must be made. Do you, dear concert-goer, stay until the end of the Alt-J show at 9:30 and risk missing the first 30 minutes of Young’s set? Or, do you leave before Young is finished to get upfront for Fucked Up’s 11:30 set? Young is scheduled to play for three hours, our guess is that the new material will come at the beginning of the set.
How To Dress Well or Timber Timbre?
Answer: How To Dress Well. Timber Timbre is a beloved Toronto favourite, especially after turning out their latest album, Hot Dreams. The band is slotted in on Saturday evening on the WayAway stage after the Kendrick Lamar main stage. The band is on opposite How To Dress Well, who performs on the WayBright stage. The American singer-songwriter Tom Krell isn’t a very well-known performer north of the border, but we caught a glimpse of him during the Luminato production Contemporary Color and we like. We love a good Timber Timbre show, but they’ve made the rounds with Hot Dreams and we’ll surely be seeing more of them real soon. But this weekend, check out How To Dress Well, you won’t be disappointed.
St. Vincent or July Talk?
Well, July Talk has come a long way in a relatively short period of time behind the strength of their self-titled debut album. They give a scorching live show. People tend to throw undergarments. Oh, it’s the scene man. But it’s St. Vincent. And we just cannot abide by concert-goers opting out of a chance to see this incredible performer. She broke her foot stage diving people, okay? It’s just that simple. If you break bones in the name of entertainment, you will always get our vote.
Watch Sam Smith, or try to beat the traffic home?
Oh stop, you aren’t going anywhere. So, you might as well stick around and enjoy this dynamic performer who will surely bring the festival to a close in a wonderful way. Then, have a late-night snack and enjoy the time in the thousand-car lineup to pen the perfect sick note to get out of work the next day. Done.
