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Virgin Festival 2009

Here's what I'd do.

I'd make it a 1-day event at Downsview Park featuring the followiling line-up...

Cold War Kids
Mew
Grizzly Bear
Thunderheist
Sloan
Franz Ferdinand
Pet Shop Boys
Nine Inch Nails
The Pixies
 
Back to Toronto

Virgin Festival retreats to Toronto

Virgin Festival retreats to Toronto
Last Updated: Thursday, August 13, 2009 | 2:17 PM ET Comments0Recommend1CBC News
Ontario's Virgin Festival has moved back to a Toronto location.

The summer music festival will be held Aug. 29 and 30 at the Molson Amphitheatre at Ontario Place.

The festival is making the last-minute move in response to fan complaints about the original choice of locations — Burl's Creek Park in Oro, Ont., 20 kilometres from Orillia.

"Since we announced the details for Virgin Festival Ontario ticket sales haven't been what we had hoped for," said Andrew Bridge, director of Virgin Festival Canada.

Bridge said they asked fans why they weren't buying, and found they wanted a festival that was easier to get to.

The concert is being headlined by Ben Harper & Relentless7 and The Pixies, and features performances by Nine Inch Nails and 30 other acts.
 
Isn't Lollapalooza in Chicago generally thought of as the biggest/most successful of the annual music fests (in North America anyway)? Where is it held....in a major park downtown, within walking distance of transit and hotels......it is a big boon to the city's economic and artistic life.

I am glad V-fest is back in the city....but we need to find a place where there is that park atmosphere (at the ampitheatre it will feel just like a multi-act concert rather than a fest...I think) with multiple stages and food vendors, etc.
 
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Lolla is definitely up there. Coachella is probably the most respected though (and I believe they now have train service to the site too). Also SxSE in Austin, Texas (while sort of a different beast) is also urban in nature.

My issue isn't that these events have to be located right in the 416, simply that they should be located somewhere (for example, on the VIA corridor) where people can get to without driving. I've been to the big festivals in the UK in fields in the middle of nowhere and was always able to get there by train.

The Toronto Islands is easily one of the nicest locations for a festival in North America. Unfortunately, there's just so many logistical issues. It would be great if we could have a downtown site, but I'm just not seeing one. Sherbourne Park will likely be too small. Perhaps somewhere in Lake Ontario Park?
 
I love Lollapalooza! Such a great festival in the heart of the city. I like how i can walk out the front door of my hotel and be at the entrance to Lollapalooza. Toronto doesn't have any outdoor space large enough to host a festival that size, Downsview park maybe but it's not in the downtown area.
 
I got a ticket just so I can see NIN's supposed last Canadian performance.

It's a shame Toronto doesn't have a big enough venue where we could have a festival like Lollapalooza, that is in the downtown area without disturbing residents, and requiring a ferry to get there. A pedestrian bridge to the Islands would definitely help in this situation. Then the festival never would have had to be moved to middle of nowhere anyway.

Downsview would work however, and is only a short subway ride away from downtown, and easily accessible from major highways.
 
Bonnaroo is definitely there too...Lollapalooza is a second-tier festival now. Coachella and Bonnaroo dominate their respective halves of the United States/North American market. Rothbury joined Lollapalooza in competing with Bonnaroo for the East Coast now, but it is a friendly competition (i.e. they share information on different acts to maximize unique visitors).

If the 1-day idea earlier in this thread were realized, I would definitely go. Otherwise, neither lineup in strong enough...for $30 yes, no more. Well, maybe the Pixies are worth more...haven't hear their live show yet. All the other bands either suck live or have already been through town in the past few months...lame repeats.
 
True, Ottawa Bluesfest is up there as far as "urban" festivals go.

Can anyone paste the schedules for both days? My browser won't open their PDF.
 
Nine Inch Nails were so very very good. I missed Pet Shop Boys, due to traffic on the highway, and walking to Beavertails, only to find it closed :(

Back to NIN. They put out everything they could. Trent even smashed 2 guitars, which I haven't seen him do since the tour for The Fragile. I was hoping for some sort of special collaboration like they did for the NYC shows, or a couple of songs they don't normally do, but I'm still very satisfied. I really hope that this won't be their last shows, because they've still very much got it!

Trent was sick too, yet you couldn't even tell, except for a couple of small moments when I heard his voice crack.
Also the crowd was very awesome for a Toronto crowd. Very loud and having a great time. People moving around and there was a mosh pit. Lots of people singing along to many of the songs too, which if they recorded this concert, will be surely showing up on the release for the tour when it comes out.

I also saw Darkstar416 and simply_Dan, and I believe another mod (but I'm not sure who it was exactly), outside the lineup(!) to the men's washroom.
 
Too bad that may be it for NIN in Toronto - at least we had four shows in the GTA (Amphitheatre in June, Copps in November and ACC last August) over the last year or so.

Great set-list and nice to see that Trent broke the stupid 11 p.m. curfew rule by a good half hour (his set was just over 2 hours). Much better set then when for some bizarre reason NIN was opening for Jane's Addiction in June.

Just four more dates in L.A. prior to the machine being shut down.
 
Both days weren't sold out. pretty sad! a festival with big name bands and they can't sell out a relatively small venue.
 
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