BIG MUSIC FEST 2015
FEATURING
SOUNDGARDEN, JANE'S ADDICITON, MONSTER TRUCK,
AND
EXTREME!
feature EDITORIAL REVIEW
Words & Visuals By: Fridae Mattas
Additional Photography By: Kenny Godinho
Saturday, July 11th we arrived in Kitchener near the end of The Glorious Sons' set for Big Music Fest at McLennan park. The festival was a full week of festivities from July 6th to Jully 11th, each day had a variety of things from food, films, activities and performances for all ages. The only day I was free enoough to cover the festival was July 11th and it was a pretty solid lineup! Rocking the stage was: The Modern Hearts, The Mohrs, The Glorious Sons, Extreme, Monster Truck, Jane's Addiciton and Soundgarden. It was the first time in my life trekking to the booneries of Kitchener and with me to help out was photographer Kenny G. The venue was a giant park, reminded me of a smaller version of Downsview Park in Toronto's northern tip, I felt more at home minus the woodchips! (I'll take mud and grass over woodchips anyday!). High five to me, this year I actually submit the media forms on time! Have wanted to cover the festival in the past but always forgot about the media deadline, as I seem to do every year for TIFF.
Anyways, before I get carried away, initially the plan was to shoot all of the bands...But yeah, it seems like The Glorious Sons, The Modern Hearts and The Mohrs are still on the need to cover list with a few other bands I always miss! After getting the passes and passing security check we walked into the fenced park. The areas were divided into three sections; the Regular GA area, the V.I.P area and the food area which was tied in with the GA section. There were still a few food options in the VIP area of course, like The Rancho Relaxo foodtruck that I had no idea existed! For those not familiar with Toronto, the Rancho Relaxo is a long time Mexican restaurant and venue in Toronto and now they have a food truck! The only thing I did not like was the non existent media area, when not wandering most of us hung out stage left in the V.I.P area between sets. Every other outdoor festival I have covered except Warped Tour had a media area of some kind, either backstage or in a corner of the park near the stage. The farthest media area was for the first HeayT.O festival, they set up the media tent outside the venue, not exactly the brightest place to put it. Such a hassel going through security every time we went from tent to stage and vice versa. Needless to say, the following year it was setup backstage.
Lawd, I've jibbered so much already, must get this novel a little lighter in words so let's get to it! After Glorious Sons performed, one of the banders migrated over to sign autographs and take selfies with some of the fans at the barricade. He wasn't the only one to take time for a few lucky fans, a couple of the Monster Truck members went over to chat, selfie and sign as did Jane's Addiciton Axemaster Dave Navarro. Navarro joined some fans for a few minutes after the bands set. I always give much respect to entertainers who take the time to reach out to their fans because without them, they would not have the cool job of living their dreams for their main source of income.
The first band we shot was "Extreme", I completely forgot about this band! Thanks to my Dad I know a few of their songs such as "More Than Words", "Get The Funk Out" and "Wind Me Up". I had no idea what to expect from this 80's rock band...They blew me away, frontman Gary Cherone had so much energy for a man in his early fifties. He definitely had this Jagger vibe, obviously one of his influences. Vocally he wasn't bad at all, kept it steady and got the crowd roaring. Guitarist Nuno Bettencort killed those rifs. Bassist Pat Badger was a little delayed with getting into the groove but after vox Gary pulled his hair and dragged him across the stage he was fired up. Overall it was a fantastik performance, this band is a definite must see if you want entertainment and talent in your face Extreme is worth your time.
The next band on the docket was Monster Truck! I have seen pieces of their sets before but, I've always missed the media call to shoot the band. This time was different, I made it to catch the whole set! MT was very entertaining, especially guitarist Jeremy Widerman who was putting on a show, jumping all over the place! As you can see in the shot to the left, he achieved some great air time. Always good to see Canadian's kicking ass! Monster Truck is a modern blues rock band from Hamilton, not too far from Toronto some even refer to it as the GTHA (Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area).
Vocalist Jon Harvey was on point, at times he seemed a little shocked by the amazing response from the crowd. Not only was the crowd impressed with the band, Jane's Addiciton Guitar afficianado Dave Navarro checked some of the bands set. Navarro later tweeted about how great they were and how the guitar playing was great. Completely agree with Axe vet Dave, they all played extremely well, Brandon Bliss on the Keys was animated and as thorough as one can be behind a keyboard. Can smasher Steve Kiely had the rhythm on lock. Go check Monster Truck, make the time for some good ol' rockin' blues!
Once Monster Truck wrapped their set, it was Jane's Addiciton's turn to rock the stage and they did just that! Honestly, I just wanted to chill, watch and listen to the performance. After a few hours of wandering on woodchips sober, the pain party was kicking in. My back, shoulders and neck were not co-operating thanks to a car accident I was in a couple weeks ago. Doctors keep telling me to take pain killers but I'm not about the ingested chemical life! If there is a natural herbal version sure, pass it along, I refuse chemical concoctions. People get addicted to that shit and become reliant, I just deal with the pain through yoga and troop the fuck on.
This was not the first time FridaeTV covered Jane's Addiciton, nor will it be the last! Formed in 1985, the bands unique mix of rockin' blues jazz funk launched the band and they still manage to sell out shows in 2015. Perry Farrell is the bands creater and frontman, he's the same age as my Mom but my Mom looks like she's in her early forties at most. Farrell put on a good show, I did wish he moved away from that synth box he was always playing with, that was his spot for majority of the set. Vocals were okay, he sounded better and was much more entertianing the first time I caught the band. Jane's Addiction rocked an eleven track set, kicking it off with "Up The Beach" the first track on their 1988 debut record "Nothing's Shocking". Most of the material played was old school Jane's Addiciton, the crowd was fine with that! Lead Guitarist, Axemaster Dave Navarro looked like the struggle was real with his guitar, he tried fixing the problem but ended up trading it out for another. Once he had the working axe in hand, he was all smiles. Navarro was fully clothed when the set began, but by the time the second tune was being rocked "Mountain Song" he was topless. For a man in his late forties he is pretty fit, and his tattoos look sick. It was a very hot summer day and I don't think the ladies minded the topless version of Navarro.
There is no denying the skill Navarro posseses, the years of practice is heard as clear as the blue sky above can be seen. It's always amazing to hear him shred, I would love to have him rock a solo on one of my tunes! Bassist Chris Chaney was playing with heart, it was seen and felt by the audience. Compared to Farrell and Navarro he was more on the shy side. Drums we're on lock Stephen Perkins kept the beat tight by smashing those cans viciously, his facial expressions were priceless.
The band played what the crowd wanted to hear and put on a pretty cool set. When Kenny came running over amazed by the stage performance for the tune "Whores", where two females were dangling from a harness which was literally hooked into the skin at the centre of their shoulders, that must have hurt! At this point in the set I was sitting on the woodchips listening to the music and watching the screen closest to me. They had the hanging "Whores" as a part of the set before, there was something similar done for the 2013 set at the Molson Amphitheater in Toronto. The guitar solo was music to my ears, literally! Rock bands today are not the same, many leave out guitar solo's, I feel like many guitarists today can't shred like the axemasters of the past. The band mellowed things out for the last tune of the set with steel drums set up and Navarro strumming an acoustic guitar which is rare. The set was very entertaining, I would recommend everyone check them out.
Photography By: Fridae Mattas
The last band to hit the stage was veteran grunge rock band Soundgarden. Originally formed in the mid 1980's, Soundgarden is one of the bands responsible for creating the Seattle Grunge sound that made past label mates Nirvana, legendary. Although Soundgarden was the first Grunge band to sign with a Major Label, they never hit the level Nirvana did. Soundgarden disbanded in 1997 and reunited thirteen years later in 2010. To this day I thought I have never seen this band live, it turns out I have! Everything about them triggered a deja vu, memory unlocking. It was guitarist Kim Thayil's performance that uncovered the lost memory, it was exactly the same as when I first saw them. After scanning my brain for some recollection of when I caught the band I recalled a friend and I hitting up a dress rehearsal of some kind at the Molson Amphitheater. From what is remembered I could not make the full set due to the coverage of Pride Toronto.
Back to present day's performance, which technically is yesterday's seventeen track set. A little slice for those that did not know, according to guitarist and founding member Kim Thayil the band will be releasing a new record sometime in 2016. There is no official word in regards to when the band will be recording it. We went into the pit for the last time maybe five minutes before the set with additional rules. Security also booted everyone without a professional camera from the media pit. That is understandable, especially when you have this one girl with a gigantic ipad taking photos obstructing our camera space which had been annoying many of us throughout the day. An ipad is not a camera, we do not use those to shoot live music.
The rules for shooting Soundgarden was you had to stay on either the left or right side of the stage and a few feet back, you were not pemritted to stand and shoot centre stage. I overheard someone say Chris Cornell, the bands vocalist doesn't like it when people are taking photos from there. Well...It turns out my camera didn't like the Divo too much, majority of my stills particularily of this set were extremely blurry. You can see the trend by the quantity of photos from the other bands covered. Anywho, ahaha I had to squeeze that in there, I felt like a white girl for a moment! It could have been worse, I mean they could have made us sign a waiver owning the rights to our art as some have. You would think my shots would be fantastic standing where I was, but it was the biggest challenge of the event. There was maybe like forty people crammed in, we litterally were in a lions den it was ridiculousl Oh, not to mention "Biggie" the security guard who kept going back and forth to grab a surfer or boot a non camera "media person". Trust me, the struggle was real trying to shoot around Biggie Jr.
All in all the band put on a decent performance, to tell you the truth....They kind of bored me, compared to the electrifying sets of the bands who hit the stage before they did, the headliners kind of fell short. The only thing that was incredible about Soundgarden was vocals, Chris Cornell pulled through with a stellar vocal performance. For a veteran guitarist there was nothing new from Kim Thayil, his skill was there but the charismatic axemaster vibe was missing. Drummer Matt Cameron slayed those drums he was fantastic, I thoroughly enjoyed watching and listening to him play. It's no wonder he also slams cans for Pearl Jam. The bands Bassist Ben Shepherd tried to be lively but it came off a little lackluster, however, he did play well. Soundgarden ended their set with Slaves and Bulldozers, I thought they were going to end it with Rusty Cage but I was close, they played the hit tune just before. They have this cool back drop, kind of reminded me of Rob Zombie's a few years back. If you are a fan of Soundgarden go see them live! Enjoy the photos, below my Soundgarden shots are Kenny's festival photos, take a look there are some good ones. FridaeTV's first time at Big Music Fest is a wrap, thank you to the BMF team for the opportuinity to shoot some fabulous talent, hopefully next year I can cover more of the festivities!