Sloan

Well well, it looks as though I'm the first to comment on the show. Of course, Sloan did not disappoint; the crowd was wonderful and enthusiastic. Thanks for the hug and pictures, Jay! You're a real sweetie!

guys what a awsome show you put together. everything was perfect best venue ive been to, losta space great beer tents not to rowdy and best wings just off the fairy. and god i have never seen so many bands "come together"should i say.CANADIANS ROCK. thanks for takening pics chris hope to see them soon.i was the crazy blonde in front of chris and patrick. loved the drum solo chris ALRIGHT nice to see a little belly on you to!!!!
you guys are gorgous love the glasses
till next show -Chantel

Congratulations to Sloan (especially Jay) for coming up with, organizing and performing in such a wonderful celebration of Canadian music. Wonderful job of picking bands for this thing. My personal favourites were Sloan (more on this later), The Constantines, Buck 65, Broken Social Scene and Sam Roberts. I barely missed Death From Above, which is a damned shame because they have such a cool band name.

Probably the highlight of the entire day, besides seeing Sloan performing, would have to be meeting Jay Ferguson in person. I have never been so starstruck in my life. I was trembling while I was talking to him. It's stupid to say, since I know that Sloan are a bunch of down to earth guys, but I couldn't help it. I've idolized these guys since high school and they're still my favourite band. Jay is such a nice guy, and I'm so glad I got the chance to talk to him. If only I had a pen for an autograph. Oh well, I'll never forget that moment.

I've seen Sloan 3 times in concert, and this might have taken the throne from the Palais Royale as the best concert I've seen them do. Patrick was on fire tonight. I've never seen his fingers move that fast across the fretboard. His solos were jaw dropping. Jay was incredible on guitar and bass, and I was so glad that he played a couple of his songs. Andrew rocked during Sensory Deprivation and People of the Sky. He was amazing on drums the whole night. Chris Murphy was wailing on the drums tonight. Good god man. That was too much. Too much rock. Chris was his usual amazing stuff. Classic Murph. Don't worry about "Take it In" Chris. You released that song in 1991, and it's been a while since then. You did a great job with it anyways. Great song selection guys. I was so happy to hear songs like Penpals, 500 Up and Take it In.

All in all this has probably been one of the best musical experiences of my life. Sloan truly was the best band that stepped onto the stage today. Incredible show. I loved it. I'm never going to forget this day.

Great show, guys. It was actually my first time seeing any of the bands there. I actually went to see Buck 65 and Broken Social Scene more than anyone else, but in all honesty every single band that played was awesome. It was great how mellow and chilled people were there. I mean, fans would participate, but there was a very nice, relaxed atmosphere to the whole proceedings which must have made it a lot more fun to play. I know you guys came up as a band in Toronto so I'm sure you'll be playing here again soon and I'm sure I'll be there to check it out. You definitely just made a new fan of me.

Allow me to say that you boys did an outstanding job at the show last night. No...outstanding is an understatment. The amount of energy exerted by you and all the other bands was enough to be felt all over the Toronto area for sure. The show turned out to be without a doubt the biggest happening of the year in terms of Canadian music. Anyone who's Anyone was indeed there that day. My friend managed to obtain one of Andrew's drum sticks, and I got to shake hands with Jay, the man who rocks out with that kick ass Rickenbacker guitar that I so desperatly want. To say I wasn't star-stricken would be a lie. All in all, I'd say an amazing time was had by all. Definatly the highlight of my summer.

WOW!! Loved the show! We all had an amazing time at the hot august night... the music was great and all the rock stars were super cool to those of us posted out next to the VIP area. Thanks for the great time! Special thanks to Jay :D... good job putting it all together man. This concert definetly proved that CANADA ROCKS!!

-Me(Marc), Lydia, Ivan and Angela.

SLOOOOOOOOOOOO-OOOOOOOOOOAN!!

Great show by Sloan. I load of oldies which seemed to make the crowd happy. It was pretty funny to see Chris taking a photo of the audience. I really hope, Jay and the rest of Sloan pull off another show like this, since it was such a sucess.

The entire show was amazing.... BSS totally moved me, and Sloan was amazing.... overall the show was fantastic...I yawned through most of Pilate's set... it could use some work.... otherwise....sloan has impressed me once again.....Money City Maniacs was awsome...and when Kevin Drew came on stage to complete the non-stop co-mingling between bands, that was just awsome....

Great set list!

My highlight of the evening: a sweet rendition of 500 Up. What a treat!

Thanks for organizing a great show, Jay!

I can't believe that for as long as i've been enjoying the music of sloan (from back in the DGC compilation days!) that i've never really seen them live.
i was undoubtedly impressed and overjoyed at the olympic island show...got to have a second brush with fame meeting chris (i had previously walked by him on queen st. about 5 yrs ago and he gave my friend and i a coy and confirming look as we gasped, "is it him?!") We were the girls who kim stockwood referred to as pretty, Chris!!! she referred to you as something else! i must say all the guys in the band are aging quite gracefully and andrew you are so unabashedly handsome that....well i digress! Anyway, thank you Jay for bringing together the best of the best in Canadian music...finally got to see pilate live and was very pleased ...hope we can party like that every year!!!!
Teresa
ps...how cool was it when k-os came on!!!! what a show!!!!

The only disappointment were the numerous times that Sloan asked the crowd to sing. Just as I got into the rythym of a song, it gets cut off at the chorus...the crowd sings (if they know the words) but without microphones, it is difficult to hear. I know this is an attempt to get the crowd involved, but doing this for half the set ruined the flow of solid songs. I did not pay for a ticket to hear myself sing.

I drove all the way from Boston to see my favorite band of all time on their home turf, along with my new close second Broken Social Scene, and then you can pretty much go down the list of the rest of the lineup , but anyway wow what an increbible day, I really felt like everyone got to take part in something very special.

Down where I live, when I go to see Sloan I am one of maybe a few dozen folks jumping up and down and screaming the words to every song, and having most of the people look at me like I'm crazy, so it was a dream to be amidst thousands of people singing along to every syllable. Could that have been the biggest crowd Sloan has played to?

Thank you Sloan for years of great music, and for putting together possibly the greatest day of music that I have been lucky enough to witness. And the island and the city were just beautiful. Now I want to move to Canada! Sloan rules!

Most impressive: BSS & Arcade Fire. I cannot wait until Arcade releases their album. Broken Social Scene were the "go to band" - every other band wanted a piece of them~! Biggest oversite of the day: Sloan not asking the horn section to play with them ;-) Way to go guys, can't wait for next year's event... it is going to be annual right?

Wow, that was more amazing than the last time I saw sloan perform and even then I overwhelmed about how great they were. The best bands were definately saved for last, although they all completely rocked. Thanks to all the tall guys who took pictures for me so that my pictures would actually have the bands in them. The whole day was awesome and I hope that this becomes an annual event. Thanks to Jay for being in pictures with us and Patrick for pointing at our sign. That totally made my year!
SLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAN

The show was, of course, an excellent SLOAN show, but to the person who said it topped Palais--were you even at the Palais show? That was the absolute BEST show that I have ever seen! Maybe you were not there on the night that I was (Murphy's birthday) but it was awesome!! Thanks to Chris for the pics with "the girlz" and Patrick, TWICE we let you walk by without grabbing you for a photo as you were with your child--hope you appreciate it. Jay--nice pink shirt, and Andrew, you are a God!!! Til the next show boys!

PS--since when do you OPEN with "Underwhelmed?"

wow. thats all i have to say. the performance was amazing! i still cant get over how great it all was. everything was so perfect and sloan sounded awsome! people should really give this band more credit for everything! they're just too amazing, unbelievable (and hot!) to miss! i love the glasses n hair, too! very sexy!!! love you guys! -nat

the show was amazing. i cant wait to see u guys again. i was just wonderin if anyone could post the set list

anyone have a setlist? this is all i remember (i'm most likely forgetting songs and the order is by no means correct)...

Underwhelmed
Live On
The Rest of My Life
The Lines You Amend
Losing California
500 Up (feat. Kevin Drew from Broken Social Scene)
Coax Me
People Of The Sky
Sensory Deprivation
Everything You've Done Wrong
Penpals
False Alarm
Take It In
The Good In Everyone
Money City Maniacs
-------------------
The Other Man
If It Feels Good Do It

i'm sure one more from Action Pact was played, but can't remember...maybe Hollow Head or Ready For You?

if anyone else can help me out...that'd be appreciated...

Dear Mr. Jay Ferguson,

I'd like to take this opportunity to say a humongous THANK YOU for putting this fabulous festival together. How DO you sleep with those genius wheels turning all the time? It's unfathomable.

I totally enjoyed the whole experience. Couldn't afford the $5.50 per crappy can of beer tho, which sort of wrecked my 'hanging-in-the-beer-tent' plans. We also left our originally purchased tix here at home in London, so had to wait 2 hours at the Ticketmaster to buy them again, subsequently missing both the Death from Above and Arcade Fire sets. My fiancee's family is great friends with Richard Parry by the way - he gave us his meal tickets cuz he felt sorry for us, and wished us luck at surviving the rest of the day. What a guy. Don't you think he looks sort of like Gary Busey playing Buddy Holly in that TV movie? :)

Anyway, I digress. Rockin' show, great acts coming together to worship the outdoors and showcase Canadian Rock talent. All the bands were really excellent, and I loved the jamming together aspect that was incorporated in some of the sets. Maybe do more of that next time? That would be very interesting to see.

Highlight for me was walking back to the ferry (we lagged off early) with a group of people (total strangers) singing along while you guys played on stage. That was great. Ferry ride back, not so great with people acting like asses.

I definitely think we should all get together next year and do it again. How's Aug 6, 2005 sound? Get your people to contact my people.

Thanks again Jay (and the rest of you guys!).

Merideth wrote:

"The show was, of course, an excellent SLOAN show, but to the person who said it topped Palais--were you even at the Palais show? That was the absolute BEST show that I have ever seen! Maybe you were not there on the night that I was (Murphy's birthday) but it was awesome!!"

Daniel wrote:

"I've seen Sloan 3 times in concert, and this might have taken the throne from the Palais Royale as the best concert I've seen them do."

...

Sloan was spectacular when I saw them at the Palais Royale. Every time I've seen Sloan live they've put on a good show. From my opinion as a fan(and musician) they were dead on at the festival.

I've never seen Patrick solo like that. His solos are usually nothing short of great, but the way he was playing at the festival was awe inspiring. Both Chris and Andrew were a cream dream on the drums. Sensory Deprivation almost made me have a heart attack. I didn't know who to watch, as all of them were jamming so hard. Jay was terrific and solid as usual. I would hope that one day I could play as clean and flawless as he does.

It was an amazing setlist, and they totally threw some songs in that I wasn't expecting. It's a special treat for me to hear something I've never heard them do live before.

I'm not taking anything away from the Palais Royale show, because I was there and I loved it. I also bought the double live album and I'm starting to think I'm going to burn a hole in that cd because I listen to it so much. The hot August Night festival was a perfect concert on a perfect day. Everything worked out for Sloan and they deserve it. It was a treat to all who appeared.

Also, whoever you contracted out to sell the beer did a good job. I can't stand drunks in the crowd, so $7.50 for a beer is a good way to deter drunkards as they would fear the repercussions on their bank account. It was safe, and everybody was in a good mood and having fun. It was a success.

Thanks,

Daniel

WOW! That was the first time that i have seen sloan play, but not the last. It was the best day of the year. great lineup, Canadian bands rock!!! can't wait till next year!!!

ok...my first post on this doesn't seem to have gone through or "approved" so i'm gonna try this again...does anyone have a setlist? i'm gonna try an attempt one from memory...but i'm sure i'm missing songs and by no means is the order correct:

Underwhelmed
Live On
The Rest of My Life
The Lines You Amend
Losing California
500 Up (w/ Kevin from Borken Social Scene)
Coax Me
People Of The Sky
Sensory Deprivation
Everything You've Done Wrong
False Alarm
Penpals
Take It In
The Good In Everyone
Money City Maniacs
----------------------------
The Other Man
If It Feels Good Do It

I'm sure there was one more from Action Pact I can't remember...possibly Hollow Head or Ready For You?

in any event, this was by far the best out of the 4 Sloan shows I've seen...very loose and fun show!

I never expected to hear Underwhelmed as an opener or even Take It In!

Awesome show guys...thanks to Jay for organizing it...btw, Jay, if you ever read this, me and my friend saw you on the Wards Island ferry on the way over but didn't want to bother you...but we did shake your hand after you got off and were looking lost...(although you probably don't remember)...

thanks for adding Broken Social Scene to the bill too! best concert i've seen this summer!

Not to detract from the great set I saw in New Orleans last month, but it was amazing to FINALLY get to see Sloan headlining on their home turf AND with my Canadian husband by my side. What a great set and what a great day! We had a wonderful time and there was no crowd surfing, either. Incredible! I would like to give big props to Jay for putting together such a fabulous line up and for being so gracious to us fans. I can't believe you guys did "Take It In!" What a treat. I look forward to seeing many more Sloan shows in Canada in the future.

im looking for a set list. does anyone have it?

WOW. That was the most amazing concert I've ever seen - not only did it contain my favourite band, SLOAN, but it has expanded my musical horizons and has given me even more motivation to start my own band some day. All of the bands, from Death from Above all the way to SLOAN, were consistently awesome. Even if a band wasn't "my style", I still appreciated the fact that they were skilled instrumently, vocally or that they were just plain energetic and enthusiastic. (Actually, after seeing these bands, many of them have entered the realm of what is "my style"). Here's my two-cents on each band:

Death from Above - the drummer was funny, and I thought it was cool that SLOAN would select a metal band in the mix. "Free the Whales!"

The Arcade Fire - I admired this band's musical experimentation a lot - they weren't a ska band despite the use of horns, and they also had a xylophone, violin and an accordion. I also liked the fact that there were both girls and guys in the band, and that the girls, especially that one with the long hair, really got into it. I even bought their CD - sweet stuff!

Buck 65 - not being a fan of rap, I simply thought this guy's lyrics and the way he conducted himself on stage was absolutely hilarious (in a good way). He was definately amusing.

Broken Social Scene - Only knowing their songs that are played on the Edge, I wasn't sure what to expect - but they rocked! I really enjoyed the rhythms they came out with. They've got me hooked!

Constantines - Unfortunately at this point I was starting to ach from standing at the front for hours, so I didn't appreciate these guys as much as I could have. I think they had meangingful lyrics, and I really liked the fact that they incorporated the flute into one of their songs (I play the flute in my school's band, so that girl's my idol now!) My friend Kendall and I saw that girl's mom trying to get to the front to take a picture of her daughter playing the flute (she suceeded, of course.)

Pilate - At this point I had taken an asperin and was still aching and starting to feel tired - I had been up since 6 am. You could tell these guys were a newer band, just by their rather still stage presence, but I think they have a lot of potential.

The Stills - these guys woke me up from my daze, with their more upbeat songs and wilder stage presence. I found their performance to be a pleasant surprise, actually. Much more rockin' than I expected. And another band to add to my "CD's to buy" list...

Sam Roberts - This band really hyped up the crowd, what can I say? I enjoyed their set very much and I absorbed the energy - only to be pumped up for SLOAN next! Brother Down was really fun, and I thought thier songs were pretty catchy.

SLOOOAAAAANNN!!!! Wow! Awesome! Craz-Mazing! I've seen SLOAN 3 times now - opening for The Strokes, The Kool Haus on Chris' birthday in November - but this show was absolutely amazing! Patrick was roaring his riffs, Jay was high on happiness, Andrew was banging to the beat and Chris was crazy! He dropped a drumstick, his glasses fell of on a couple occassions and I've never seen him pull so many scissor kicks on stage! Keep on rockin', Murph-man! Absolutely, awesome, awesome set - I too was extremely pleased to finally see Underwelmed, Take It In, Penpals and 500 Up. Love those songs! Everything You've Done Wrong was beautiful - and is it just me, or do SLOAN play If It Feels Good Do It better and better everytime I've seen them? I can't believe how much they have improved thier live performances within a few months (since November, the last time I saw them.) I was completely blown away! Excellent, excellent show, guys! And a special thanks to Jay - you have an awesome taste in music, man. Keep it up! That hot August night is the highlight of my summer, and an event I will never forget!

To top off the awesome music, my friend and I got to meet the guys from Broken Social Scene on the ferry back! (They couldn't go to the after party because they had a show the next day.) Nice guys! They even let me take a picture of my pal with the lead singer! Boo-yeah!

ok, gotta say...LOVED the opening with underwhelmed!! awesome way to kick off an amazing set! all in all, this was definitely the best sloan show i've seen...you guys have seriously kicked it up a notch in the last few years - good on ya!!! very cool to hear 500 up and take it in, as well as the two greatest songs from one chord to another! amazing job putting this together guys (way to go jay!)
if i could make just one small request though...i could die happy if i heard 'deeper than beauty' just once at a show!! pleeeeeease! :) :)

see ya next time,
kittykate

Well...what a show! I was so impressed with the way that everything was organized and with all of the bands. Really enjoyed Arcade Fire and Buck 65. Sam Roberts had so much energy in his live performance, and having Kaos there was pretty amazing.
And then, there was Sloan...what can I even say? How can I put my utter amazement and awe into so few words? You guys totally blew me away (as always) And when Chris got on the drums I could hardly believe it, Chris you KICKED!!!!!! And the set list was so great, I was so impressed that you played so much Classic stuff! Your enthusiasm and energy remain unsurpassed.
The vibe in the crowd was also great. The guy standing behind me (just like myself) knew every single word to every song, and its always cool to see another die-hard fan.
I can't think of a better way to spend a day in August then chilling on beautiful Toronto Island listening to some rockin' Canadian bands with other very cool Canadians.
Props to Jay for organizing it, and I really hope that you'll do it again next year. Thanks for a very memorable day!

I'm 16 and I got my parents to drive all the way from New Jersey to see the show. I'd only seen Sloan once several years before with Pete Yorn but I've had all their cd's for quite some time. Sloan absolutely rocked and I got to meet Jay before the show which was awesome. I thought Sam Roberts was really great, too. I've been a fan of his for a while but it was my first time seeing him. Awesome job putting it together and if you do it again next year I'll make the trip again without a doubt

First of all, I'll say that Sloan is in my list of top 5 favourite bands (among greats like Morrissey & Depeche Mode). I completely adore them, they can put me in the greatest mood no matter how crabby I am. Here's the part I don't like to admit. This show at Olympic Island (I know.... they were amazing) seemed way too familiar. I'm not talking about atmosphere. I'm talking about the set list. I've seen Sloan 3 times in the last year, and I remember them opening and closing with the same songs. I'm not really complaining (I couldn't even name a song that I skip on any of their albums), but for the loyal fans that see them as often as they can, a little variety would be nice. It's not like you guys don't have a lot of songs to be able to mix it up a bit. But, like I said, I love you guys and every time I see you in concert I seriously have the best time, screaming and singing with the best of them. Know that I wil continue to support every way I can, even if you decide to play the same songs over and over till I die. Still love you.

If anyone has a recording of this show, please email me at the address above...I'd love to do a trade or B+P!

Thanks!

hey.
my dad dragged me along to this show and i dont regret it what so ever! i'm 12, just bought A Sides Win and i hope you're playing toronto soon.
bye!
P.S. Chris- Little Italy rocks!

hey
thank you guys soooo much for that awesome night.thanks for adding bss and sam roberts and buck 65 and the constantines to the bill. love them all. that k-os appearence was hot. h-o-t hot! chris, if you read this, i've seen you at the starbucks at the cornor of college street and euclid like a million times! well, i hope you guys do another all canadian thing again soon, great to see canadians not taking any shit from the americans. love you all,
jas
12