Eaux Claires is one of the more unique festivals I have attended. It takes place in the woods and almost every set is one giant super group after another or, as Bryce Dessner says, band camp for adults. At almost every set a cameo was made. It felt as if we were witnessing a gathering of the inner circle, as if we had stumbled upon some secret groovy coven. Almost as if we were intruding.

Set in the woods the festival grounds were broken into two parts. The first was an open field where the two main stages rested. In between there was a beautiful structure made out of wire that housed an organ that played in between sets! This was one of the art proposals accepted, called Baroque. In the main grounds one could also see the Chippewa River. Wild flowers even grew along the fence that many picked and shared with each other.

The other two stages were accessed by a tromp through the woods. For those of you who have seen season 1 of True Detective, you felt as if you had entered Carcosa. The tromp through the woods though was lovely and gave the festival a wild and verdant touch. You could take the “straight and narrow” path up a hill or take a detour through a more enclosed path that featured all sorts of art installments ending with a pulsating wooden structure that would have rivaled the works of Bridget Riley.

Now that I’ve described the mystical, hobbit-esque layout that came from the mind of Justin Vernon, lets get to the good stuff, the tunes!

The first set that I want to pay homage to was LNZNDRF. This band is comprised of The National and Beirut. In fact, the band’s name comes from an amalgamation of their last names (Ben Lanz and Bryan and Scott Devendorf). Their sound is epic, expansive, trippy, layered, and engaging. They took to the stage in matching tie-dye jumpsuits and blew my mind. The rain pounded down on my head but it didn’t matter as they blew through Mt. Storm, Kind Things, and Beneath the Black Sea. They also played new songs from their latest EP, Green Roses.

Bon Iver closed out the festival on Friday and played for the first time, their latest album. The entire festival has a gothic, almost theistic vibe. (Things like the organ and the fact that your festival guide book referred the show as a hymnal) and I have to say, Bon Iver’s set seemed a little megalomaniac-esque. People forget that Bon Iver is a band, it’s not just Justin Vernon. Yet the spotlight was kept only on him, even during sweet saxophone solos or the fact that he had an entire woodwind section backing him up. He also used a little too much auto-tune and glitch for my taste, a close friend made an accusation that, perhaps, Justin has been hanging out with Kanye. However, It was a privilege to be present for the unveiling of a new album. He stuck with the supergroup theme of the festival and brought Bruce Hornsby and The Staves on stage, (The Staves, by the way, are mystical nymphs that could siren sing me into any awful predicament). Bon Iver’s new album still has elements of what made him a Grammy-winning artist, it’s still this incredible idea that sprouted from the head of Justin Vernon. It’s a production in a new direction, I’m just not sure if I’m following.

Saturday was bright and sunny and perfectly matched Jenny Lewis’s set. She encompassed not only the supergroup aspect but also the art programs present at the Festival, it was either Asht or In-Motion that came on stage during Just One Of the Guys and did an interpretive dance to the song. Not sure if Jenny or the rainbow fringe marijuana jumpsuit had a bigger presence.

Erykah Badu was incredible. She was late due to travel circumstances out of her control but she blew my mind. That is all. Beach house was a perfect addition to the lineup and during the set, while I sprawled in the grass full of Leinenkugel, Jenny Lewis and Jonathan Rice walked right past me and I thought I might explode.

One of the biggest surprises came at the very end of the weekend. Chance the Rapper blessed the stage with his presence during Francis and the Lights set. Justin Vernon was there too but it makes sense for him to close out his own festival.

Eaux Claires might not be very loud or very big but it’s an escape. It’s something new and it might be out of your comfort zone, which is good. It’s only in its second year so it has a lot of growth and change ahead of it, which will be exciting. It you haven’t considered it yet, next year might be the time.

All image are courtesy of Eaux Claires

The post You can’t rain on Justin Vernon’s Parade: Eaux Claires 2016 appeared first on Quip Magazine.

While some managed to leave Downsview Park with just a muddy footprint (how they got around the grounds is a mystery to me) most people were covered in mud to their knees. The passionate music fanatics were decorated with war-stripes and covered in spots because during each particularly good mosh pit, it would rain mud.

Downsview Park covers cornfields of space (minus the cornfields) with multiple hills building a scenic landscape around the four stages. We all witnessed some wonderful sunsets over the weekend and a bunch of people flying kites under a grey sky. The carnival portion of the festival was lost amid the massive space and while everyone seemed to enjoy a Colossal Onion most people missed the (sad, sad) circus themed wrestling match somewhere in the middle of the park.

Now that we’ve set the scene let’s get to the music.

The crowd was clearly divided; most people only came for one day with Saturday being the heavier, louder line up and Sunday showcasing the now old-school headliners. Taking Back Sunday and Rise Against immediately turned into a tight muddy mess with people surfing back and forth in front of the stage dropping on the ground like hot potatoes, throwing ripples of mushy water onto the surrounding crowd. This crowd is serious, no shame, just glory and slightly angry joy.

On the more subtle side of performances, Awolnation drew half of the park to the hill saving the infamous “Sail” until the end. The band’s energy is pretty fantastic but they seemed to lack focus. Tracks vary in sound – so much so that if you heard the beginning and the end of the set separately, you’d think it was two different bands. We call this a one hit wonder, but go ahead, prove us wrong.

Looking around it was obvious Death From Above 1979 drew a good chunk of the crowd. A varied piece of the audience was proudly wandering the park in branded t-shirts both days of Riot Fest. With a new album, The Physical World, having just recently hit the shelf, DFA1979 was on fire, killing it track after track while poking fun at the suburban kids in the front rows.

The highlight of the night was The Flaming Lips circus. With all of the theatrics decorating the stage, the music was lost into the wonderland of “giant fuckers” dancing around Wayne.

The following day a competing performance from Die Antwoord wired up the day. Both Ninja and Yo-Landi Vi$$er entered the Rock Stage with masked dancers and orange jump suits which fairly quickly peeled off in layers down to the signature short-shorts. As Yo-Landi would say: Bye-bye.

Overall Sunday proved to be a more steady flow of smooth sound. While Stars briefly tried to raise a political revolution in between guitar tuning, Death Cab for Cutie brought together all of the lovers, secret fans and well, everyone who’s ever heard “Soul Meets Body.” This was peaceful and cheerful with people swaying and nodding to the music almost in tune.

The transition to The National seemed only natural. Ohio brought it home. Thank you Riot Fest, for keeping us warm at night.

See more photos from Riot Fest on our Facebook page. 

photos by Luis Enriquez

The post This isn’t a carnival. It’s a circus. Riot Fest Toronto appeared first on Quip Magazine.