Evolve Festival 2010
The Evolve Festival normally has its share of nay-sayers every year but, this year they caused a whole new sort of ruckas. Between having organizer, Jonas Colter, pseudo arrested at the festival site an hour before the gates opened, swapping security companies, having to pick your camp site before even seeing the grounds and having to stand in 2 separate lines for almost 2 hours after the assumed gate opening time of 12pm... I was a little skeptical as to how the weekend would pan out.
Well, I was pleasantly surprised!
After the initial bumps in the road at the gate, all seemed to go as smooth as a baby's bottom.
Tents started to pop up everywhere, the music started and by early evening the evolving was well under way.
Well, I was pleasantly surprised!
After the initial bumps in the road at the gate, all seemed to go as smooth as a baby's bottom.
Tents started to pop up everywhere, the music started and by early evening the evolving was well under way.
Camp Dirt (est. 2007 - Which is Noisography's home base at Evolve) was set up with more ease than normal and we came so prepared this year, it could have monsoon-ed on us and we would have made it out with not one dampened spirit!
We had 2 out of 3 Noisographers at Evolve this year, as Isaac was only able to attend one of the two festivals on our list (he opted for Sappyfest, which will be featured here in the next couple of days).
Being that Evolve is technically our yearly vacation, we covered as much of the festival as we could while taking it easy - fun was to come first!
Even so, I wanted a nice cross-section of artists, rather than sticking to the headlining bands on the main stage - everyone was paying attention to that.
Among the dozens of bands, artists, and DJs, we managed to capture a few great moments.
Here are some of the tiny, more coherent scraps from our notes and memories, along with a mish-mash of photos and videos - in no particular order....
Hooded Fang
A big chimey indie band with 7 members, all packed into the tiny stage at the Palace Yurt (with members standing on amps and spilling off to the side). These guys had a classic orchestra pop sound, reminiscent of BSS.
Paper Lions
Weirdo Pop Rock filled the Palace Yurt yet again - with various levels of attendance throughout the day, these guys none the less managed to draw a crowd eager to take a break from the insensate 4 on the floor pounding of the DJ stage.
Video:
Lullabye Arkestra
For a show that was nearly barren of an audience (with maybe a dozen or more attendees), these guys rocked out harder than any other act I saw that weekend. No chit chat, no downtime, just wave after wave of thick, grooving punk rock.
Video:
Moldylox
Drum & Bass from Halifax – I’m no expert on electronic music but the crowd was digging the catchy beats and tight mixes, even at 4PM!
Video:
Video:
Video:
Five Alarm Funk
Probably the highlight of the Main Stage all weekend. These guys threw down some serious funk mixed with heavy metal breakdowns and a pop/R&B horn section that was all over the map. There was plenty of groove for the dancers, and lots of fantastic instrumental work from the uncountable number of members all over the stage – not to mention costumed hijinks and shark v. ape fist fights!
Fred Penner
Video:
Jon McKiel
was a great way to start off a sunny afternoon. By the time I got to the Yurt there were all ready a few people sitting on the dirt floor while the band set up. Jon's perfectly heavy-but-melodic songs balanced the loud, catchy sounds of Saturday night, with the tuneful, down-tempo vibe of Sunday afternoon. The band was in fine form, with super catchy beats and swinging guitar leads backing up great to-the-point songwriting. Hopefully these guys will be back another year in a main stage or a late night set where they belong, a little more removed from the more reserved folk acts usually associated with early afternoons.
Logan Hudak
brought the house down at the Champagne Yurt on Friday night!
The yurt was packed to the brim, spilling dancing electronic fans out into the field...
Video:
We had 2 out of 3 Noisographers at Evolve this year, as Isaac was only able to attend one of the two festivals on our list (he opted for Sappyfest, which will be featured here in the next couple of days).
Being that Evolve is technically our yearly vacation, we covered as much of the festival as we could while taking it easy - fun was to come first!
Even so, I wanted a nice cross-section of artists, rather than sticking to the headlining bands on the main stage - everyone was paying attention to that.
Among the dozens of bands, artists, and DJs, we managed to capture a few great moments.
Here are some of the tiny, more coherent scraps from our notes and memories, along with a mish-mash of photos and videos - in no particular order....
Hooded Fang
A big chimey indie band with 7 members, all packed into the tiny stage at the Palace Yurt (with members standing on amps and spilling off to the side). These guys had a classic orchestra pop sound, reminiscent of BSS.
Paper Lions
Weirdo Pop Rock filled the Palace Yurt yet again - with various levels of attendance throughout the day, these guys none the less managed to draw a crowd eager to take a break from the insensate 4 on the floor pounding of the DJ stage.
Delhi 2 Dublin
The headliner for Friday night...
Not really my thing - seemed a little too pretentious for me, but hey... that's just my opinion.
It was definitely catchy and the crowd loved it!
It was great to see that there was an added big screen to the left of the stage. Us short people can never really see whats going on, on stage, unless we are standing at the very back. I hope that this idea carries through to future Evolves.
The headliner for Friday night...
Not really my thing - seemed a little too pretentious for me, but hey... that's just my opinion.
It was definitely catchy and the crowd loved it!
It was great to see that there was an added big screen to the left of the stage. Us short people can never really see whats going on, on stage, unless we are standing at the very back. I hope that this idea carries through to future Evolves.
Video:
Lullabye Arkestra
For a show that was nearly barren of an audience (with maybe a dozen or more attendees), these guys rocked out harder than any other act I saw that weekend. No chit chat, no downtime, just wave after wave of thick, grooving punk rock.
Video:
Moldylox
Drum & Bass from Halifax – I’m no expert on electronic music but the crowd was digging the catchy beats and tight mixes, even at 4PM!
Video:
The Champagne Yurt
was the happenin' spot all weekend long! I swear this place didn't stop pumpin' out the tunes! The bass had you movin' and the lazers were a plenty! Nice job Evolve Crew, on getting the sweet ass light show! It definitely made for a crazier night time experience than normal - which is quite the feat!
was the happenin' spot all weekend long! I swear this place didn't stop pumpin' out the tunes! The bass had you movin' and the lazers were a plenty! Nice job Evolve Crew, on getting the sweet ass light show! It definitely made for a crazier night time experience than normal - which is quite the feat!
Video:
Oka
These guys played a total of what? 5 sets during the weekend? I lost track after awhile...
Even so, these guy brought the dance! No matter where they played, the main stage or the yurt there were people happily gettin' their groove on!
These guys played a total of what? 5 sets during the weekend? I lost track after awhile...
Even so, these guy brought the dance! No matter where they played, the main stage or the yurt there were people happily gettin' their groove on!
Video:
Five Alarm Funk
Probably the highlight of the Main Stage all weekend. These guys threw down some serious funk mixed with heavy metal breakdowns and a pop/R&B horn section that was all over the map. There was plenty of groove for the dancers, and lots of fantastic instrumental work from the uncountable number of members all over the stage – not to mention costumed hijinks and shark v. ape fist fights!
Fred Penner
was surely the most talked about performer of the weekend. Complete with songs about sandwiches and a group hug, Mr. Penner had people in a mess of smiles and tears. Defnitely a moment to remember for those who took it all in.
Video:
Saturday morning breakfast was a little rough...
The Breakfast Lines were huge as there were only 2 places serving it. There wasn't even a seperate place to go get a quick cup of coffee or bottle of water, so no matter what you wanted, you had to stand in one of the same 2 lines. It was making a lot of people cranky... even I got a little on edge after waiting in line for 45 mins only to have them tell me they were out of bacon. *boo* So... there was no bacon and the 'toast' was litterally just floppy white bread with butter on it... but it served its purpose. The other half of the Camp Dirt crew stood in the other line up and got us some sweet coffee from the Horn Of Plenty and it totally made up for our un-toasted toast!!
Hopefully next year the village will grow, with more options for eats - or at least a booth specifically for beverages, hot or cold, to keep the lines/waiting down for those who just need something quick.
The Breakfast Lines were huge as there were only 2 places serving it. There wasn't even a seperate place to go get a quick cup of coffee or bottle of water, so no matter what you wanted, you had to stand in one of the same 2 lines. It was making a lot of people cranky... even I got a little on edge after waiting in line for 45 mins only to have them tell me they were out of bacon. *boo* So... there was no bacon and the 'toast' was litterally just floppy white bread with butter on it... but it served its purpose. The other half of the Camp Dirt crew stood in the other line up and got us some sweet coffee from the Horn Of Plenty and it totally made up for our un-toasted toast!!
Hopefully next year the village will grow, with more options for eats - or at least a booth specifically for beverages, hot or cold, to keep the lines/waiting down for those who just need something quick.
Rich Aucoin
This was Rich's second run at Evolve... and even though his set last year was well received, it was no match for this years lights/ projection show & dance party! Everyone was jumping up and down in in unison and shouting the lyrics that were projected on the screens.
It was a sight to see and a lot of show to take in at once!
*good job Rich!*
Video:
Freedom Danish & The Root Sellers
These guys sold me... the beats were awesome and the show that went with it was intense!
Complete with dancers on the stage, bouncing around behind the decks and Zack Trash on stilts *wearing my fantastic dread wig* dancing like a mad man in amongst the crowd! I still have no idea how he managed to pull off those moves without falling off his legs! It was honestly incredible!!
This was Rich's second run at Evolve... and even though his set last year was well received, it was no match for this years lights/ projection show & dance party! Everyone was jumping up and down in in unison and shouting the lyrics that were projected on the screens.
It was a sight to see and a lot of show to take in at once!
*good job Rich!*
Video:
Freedom Danish & The Root Sellers
These guys sold me... the beats were awesome and the show that went with it was intense!
Complete with dancers on the stage, bouncing around behind the decks and Zack Trash on stilts *wearing my fantastic dread wig* dancing like a mad man in amongst the crowd! I still have no idea how he managed to pull off those moves without falling off his legs! It was honestly incredible!!
Jon McKiel
was a great way to start off a sunny afternoon. By the time I got to the Yurt there were all ready a few people sitting on the dirt floor while the band set up. Jon's perfectly heavy-but-melodic songs balanced the loud, catchy sounds of Saturday night, with the tuneful, down-tempo vibe of Sunday afternoon. The band was in fine form, with super catchy beats and swinging guitar leads backing up great to-the-point songwriting. Hopefully these guys will be back another year in a main stage or a late night set where they belong, a little more removed from the more reserved folk acts usually associated with early afternoons.
Logan Hudak
brought the house down at the Champagne Yurt on Friday night!
The yurt was packed to the brim, spilling dancing electronic fans out into the field...
Video:
Slowcoaster
came out early on the main stage to a none the less decent sized crowd. I didn't spot the the requisite '12 paper roll' of past years, though the guys were all decked out in Mexican wrestling masks that made for an interesting look! It must have been hot as hell in those masks, but as always SloCo delivered smooth jams, seamlessly blending east coast rock, folk, and reggae with extended jams and crowd sing -a-longs.
came out early on the main stage to a none the less decent sized crowd. I didn't spot the the requisite '12 paper roll' of past years, though the guys were all decked out in Mexican wrestling masks that made for an interesting look! It must have been hot as hell in those masks, but as always SloCo delivered smooth jams, seamlessly blending east coast rock, folk, and reggae with extended jams and crowd sing -a-longs.
Video:
The weekend ended on a high note - we ended up switching some rides around, so my sister and I got to spend an extra night at our beloved festival.
We danced the night away and had the best Evolve we've experienced yet!!
Tiffany & sister, Gillian
2 Noisographers - Dan & Tiff
6 yr Evolve veterans
Now, we wait - and see what Jonas will cook up for us next year!
Hopefully you'll see us there!
The weekend ended on a high note - we ended up switching some rides around, so my sister and I got to spend an extra night at our beloved festival.
We danced the night away and had the best Evolve we've experienced yet!!
Tiffany & sister, Gillian2 Noisographers - Dan & Tiff6 yr Evolve veterans
Hopefully you'll see us there!
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