Music Lovers Together Again For TURF 2014 At Fort York
July 9th, 2014
It’s hard to believe that it was over a year ago that the first installment of the Toronto Urban Roots Festival took place at the Fort York grounds. Spread over four nights and two days, TURF was without question my favourite weekend of the 2013 summer, which I think is something to be said having ventured down south to Tennessee for Bonnaroo a few weeks earlier. For TURF’s second edition, the festival condensed into three full days, beginning Friday July 4 and wrapping Sunday July 6. This year, a new “natural amphitheater” stage was introduced and set times on the 2 main stages were separated by a 15 minute break, allowing festival goers to grab a bite from the local food trucks and keep the day as stress-free as possible. With the Gardiner Expressway as a backdrop and another carefully curated “rootsy” lineup, TURF once again instilled a feeling of peaceful serenity within one of the busiest sections of the city.
DAY 1 -FRIDAY JULY 4
The festival began with an important keynote from Collective Concerts founder Jeff Cohen, urging the first “TURFers” to engage with their local councillors about the importance of live outdoor music for our city*. With the election on the minds of most active Torontonians, this was an important time for Cohen to raise the issue to the crowd.
http://vimeo.com/99991919
*Now, before I continue with my coverage, I must remind you that if you attended TURF and want to see it happen again at the beautiful Fort York grounds, use 4479’s super-handy Campaign tool to find your local Councillor and instantly tweet them your support for outdoor live music festivals in Toronto. Do it NOW, and feel free to use the hashtag #TOMusicCity. Ok, back to the review…
Following this, Toronto’s Born Ruffians took the stage, setting things off in the scorching sun with an energetic set as people poured in after finishing up their work week.
Andrew Bird followed on the West Stage, showcasing his fantastic whistling and looping-violin skills before his bluegrass band The Hands Of Glory joined him on stage for a highly memorable set. The train passing by north to the stage actually helped build the southern wanderer mystique of the band’s sound. By the time Gary Clark Jr. was ready to take to the stage, most of the TURF crowd had entered the gates and were certainly ready for a good ol’ fashioned rock show. Clark’s guitar work seems almost effortless and it was pretty clear that many in attendance got their money’s worth on his set alone . LA’s Local Natives followed over on the West Stage, proving to be the perfect soundtrack for the sun to descend to.
After catching a decent chunk of Local Natives set, I was really left with no choice but to see the always entertaining Deer Tick on the unique new South Stage situated right under the Gardiner Expressway. Singer John McCauley (pictured below dueling with guitarist Ian O’Neil) seemed to be having a blast in the unique intimate setting, and even personally apologized to a fan for not being able to play their request for “Mange” due to how much time it would take to tune his guitar properly. The band ripped through tracks off their latest album Negativity and even threw in a cover of “La Bamba” to close out their set. Black Joe Lewis followed on the South Stage, while Beirut closed out the main stage with a heartwarming set of soaring harmonies and ensemble brass numbers.
I was lucky enough to catch the Bathurst streetcar at the right time to see Andrew Jackson Jihad open up for Toronto’s Hollerado at Lee’s Palace for one of the TURF Club Series shows. While Andrew Jackson Jihad’s folk/punk style had the place moshing accordingly, Hollerado had the floor pogo-ing and singing along with a trio of female backup singers. The seemingly endless blasts of confetti and blacklit backdrops made for the perfect after-party to a successful first day.
DAY 2 – SATURDAY JULY 5
Saturday kicked off with LA “punkgrass” group Old Man Markley who set the day off right for those early enough to catch their mid-afternoon set. If the lower-tempo folk of Shovels & Rope wasn’t for you, then Old Man Markley (which is the band’s name, not just one member) proved to be the perfect opener for cult favourites Andrew Jackson Jihad (also the band’s name), who like the night before, brought their faithfulls along with them to the South Stage, singing along to every word with a raised fist and a smile.
Later on the West Stage, Drive-By Truckers ran through some fan favourites and tracks from their latest effort English Oceans. Both Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley exchanged guitar solo and vocal duties, showing their relationship as songwriters and friends may be as strong as it’s ever been. As Hood wrapped up his “18 Wheels Of Love” introductory anecdote to a roaring applause, DBT were assured they had pleased the die-hards in VIP and even gained some younger fans who now have 18 years of stellar back catalogue to sift through.
Without a doubt, the most memorable performance for years to come will be the Violent Femmes set at 5 PM. The Femmes played their most well known and beloved album from front to back, starting with everyone’s favourite (and album opener) “Blister In The Sun”.
#ViolentFemmes bring fan on stage who asked if he could play tambourine on “Add It Up” with a sign. Wow! #turfTO pic.twitter.com/o9iirF5uiD
— 4479 (@4479Toronto) July 5, 2014
During “Add It Up”, the band pulled a fan on stage who requested to play tambourine with a homemade sign. It was an unforgettable moment for the fan who became an instant celebrity on the grounds, and even for the spectators in the crowd who rarely witness such a surreal moment. New Jersey’s The Gaslight Anthem, who played Fort York last year for the short-lived Grove Festival, seemed humbled by their welcome and much more comfortable with their festival-friendly set than last time around.
Here’s the scene at historic @fortyork as the Gaslight Anthem plays #TurfTO! #TOMusicCity https://t.co/b8ZEKTQr1y
— 4479 (@4479Toronto) July 5, 2014
Gaslight’s bare bones style of rock set up the East Stage perfectly for headliner Sam Roberts Band, who packed the venue for some dancier numbers off his latest album Lo-Fantasy and fan favourite sing-a-longs of his Canadian radio hits.
The magnificent @samrobertsband closing out Day 2 at @turfTO. What was your favourite set today? #TOMusicCity pic.twitter.com/yZQ47KaU3n
— 4479 (@4479Toronto) July 6, 2014
DAY 3 – JULY 6 2014
The weather cooled down considerably for Day 3 thanks to some cloud coverage, but that didn’t stop Toronto’s July Talk from breaking through the overcast and smacking some life into the crowd. Frontman Peter Dreimanis raced on stage slapping his cheeks with his palm, while singer Leah Fay had everyone memorized with her impressive mid-verse acrobatic skills. Following July Talk on the East Stage was gypsy punk collective Gogol Bordello, who got the dirt flying through the air from all the dancing going on in front of the stage. Those lucky enough to get some of singer Eugene Hutz’s red wine on their clothing left with a special festival souvenir not sold at the merch booth.
Over on the West Stage, Jenny Lewis charmed both old and new fans with tracks off her upcoming album The Voyageur and even some Rilo Kiley classics. Joking that she was dressed up as an “adult party clown”, Lewis did certainly had some tricks up her sleeves, switching between guitar, keys and vocals without missing a beat. This was best showcased in the song “The Next Messiah” off her last album Acid Tongue. Like July Talk did across the field, Lewis’ set was an excellent setup for Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, who debuted some new songs off his solo album Sukierae (pronounced sue-
Closing out the perfect weekend of music was 90’s alternative heroes Neutral Milk Hotel, who kindly asked everyone to put their phones in their pockets and simply enjoy the environment one last time. Those looking to close out their TURF experience with some dance moves treked over to the South Stage one last time for Hollerado‘s set. The band seemed genuinely humbled by the crowd size, with frontman Meno Versteeg even admitting his wife skipped their show to watch Neutral Milk Hotel. With the crowd begging for an encore but the sound curfew being in effect, Hollerado took to the stage to lead the crowd in a heartfelt singing of O Canada.
Words & Photos by Bram Gonshor
