When There's Nothing Left To Burn, You Have to Set Yourself on Fire

Who: the artists of the Virgin Mobile Music Festival 
When: September 8 & 9, 2007 
Where: Toronto Island Park/ Toronto, ON 
With: Ryan 
Of Note: I will never love anything as much as that guy loves the Stars; THE KILLERS 

I desperately wanted to see The Killers, because 'Hot Fuss' rocked my world.  Then 'Sam's Town' came along and rocked it even harder.  The only time The Killers were going to be anymore remotely close was at the Virgin Mobile Festival in Toronto.  And so, via facebook, I said, "Ryan, light of my life, would you like to go to a music festival with me?"  And, we were on our way. 

Day 1

Paolo Nutini 

Fun story about Paulo Nutini - because I am a narcissist, when I heard a song called 'Jenny', I wanted to buy it.  I did a bit of googling and ended up purchasing Paolo Nutini's album, mistaking his 'Jenny Don't be Hasty' for what was actually the Click Five's 'Jenny'.  In some respects, his album felt a bit like it was pandering to me, including a song with my name in the title and a song about shoes.  No matter, I was excited to see him.  Ryan commented that Paolo was better than he expected.  It was a good set, nuanced, delivered with his signature accent and soul.  

K-OS

K-OS is a Canadian based rapper that Ryan was really excited to see.  I remember very little about it, other than I think Ryan was a little disappointed. I enjoyed his 'Drop Beats, Not Bombs' t-shirts. 

M.I.A. 

Huh, she's a thing now, huh?  I don't remember much about this. 

Matt Costa 

Matt Costa's disc was one that I had purchased prior to the festival, as research.  I really liked it - it was perfect 'cute boy with guitar' music.  He was not so impressive live, which I found disappointing.  Check out 'Yellow Taxi', 'Cold December', or 'Whiskey & Wine' to get a sense for what he's about.

Arctic Monkeys 

Ryan wanted to see the Arctic Monkeys because he had a friend who loved the Arctic Monkeys and he wanted to make him jealous.  They were better live than I would have expected; I'm not a huge fan of their particular brand of Brit-pop normally.  

The end of Day 1 was epic, so epic in fact that it will get its own post.  I suggest you tremble with anticipation until it goes up.  

Day 2 

Dirty Vegas

Man, I loved 'Days Go By'.  I loved it as an upbeat dance-y song on my running playlists; I loved it stripped down acoustically.  I was not expecting the electronic tent to be what it was.  As I recall, they had awesome couches and fun vodka drinks though.

Tokyo Police Club

Ryan summed it up best, "If you only have one song, and that song is just saying your band name over a and over again, is that really what you open with?  Doesn't it just kind of go downhill from there?"

Stars 

I had a passing familiarity with Stars because they had been featured on some of the OC soundtrack mixes (don't judge me) .  Apparently, they are HUGE in Canada, having gotten their start in Toronto.  Their set was really cool - I was excited to hear 'Your Ex-Lover is Dead', which features one of my favorite lyrics ever, the title to this post.  You can tell why their dubbed as "eloquent indie darlings" - the two leads' voices blended perfectly and the songs ranged from sweet and lilting to yearning and back around.

Maybe even better than the music, though, was That Guy.  He was standing a little ways up from us and he was more excited about the Stars than most people will ever be excited about anything.  He was out of control, over the top, enthusiastic - dancing, cheering, yelling, singing, clapping.  Maybe it's because he was Canadian or because he was just so darn enthusiastic, but the crowd embraced rather than ridiculed him and he definitely added to the experience.  

The Killers

Like I said, The Killers rock my face off.  The first time I heard 'Mr. Brightside', I was transfixed.  The part of the song that says, "Now they're going to bed/And my stomach is sick/ And it's all in my head/ But she's touching his chest now" is one of the most cleverly crafted passages ever - the first time I heard it, that little pause before "chest"....I mean, you're expecting something different, but are relieved for him plus feeling a little bit of gotcha and...it's one of those perfect lines of music I talk so much about.  I still listen to Hot Fuss in its entirety once a week (bonus points for 'Jenny Was a Friend of Mine'!) and was super excited when 'Sam's Town' came out.  I was most excited to see them.

They did not disappoint.  Their set was really cool - it was set up like a Tiki Bar, with twinkle lights and a huge Sam's Town backdrop.  They started out the set, like the opening of the 'Sam's Town' album - Sam'sTown>Enterlude>When You Were Young.  It was amazing.  By the time they got around to the hits from 'Hot Fuss', the crowd was out of control.  

Brandon Flowers is one of those rare front-men who has a full-blown, over the top rock star swagger - but with enough self-awareness that he doesn't come across as a complete douche.  He is another one with a voice that just does not stop either - I could listen to him for hours.  The set hit all the right high notes and we ended Day 2 on an incredible high.  

Other things of note: 

- Before Day 1, we stopped for breakfast and I spilled Maple Syrup all over my white polo shirt.  I was rescued by a friendly, prepared lady in the bathroom who fixed me up with the Tide pen.  No stain!

- It was colder than we thought it was going to be.  Thus, Ryan ended up buying a jacket. 

- I'm pretty sure I saw Evan of Real World Challenges fame but didn't approach him to ask him about it.  It would make sense because he was Canadian.

- I always tell people that Ryan is one of my favorite people in the whole world.  Week-ends like this one are part of the reason why.  

(All photos via Ryan's phone, via facebook)