Willow AustinThe first day of Sonic Boom 2016 featured a mix of wind, cold, huge lines, and screaming crowds.
Getting off the LRT at Coliseum, I was greeted by an icy blast of wind — one that wouldn’t let up for the entire day. Trudging across Northlands to the festival gates in Borden Park, I was thinking more about the layers of clothing I wish I’d brought than who was about to take the stage.
Wildlife, the third act of the day, brought their mix of fuzz-laced guitars and driving harmonies to the nearly-frostbitten crowd. Upbeat and energetic, the band seemed utterly unconcerned about the weather — the same couldn’t be said of the crowd gathering in front of them.
After sound-checking for herself (impressive, given the weather), Hannah Georgas brought the energy down with her synth-rich, ethereal sound. The Vancouver-based singer-songwriter and her backing band owned the stage. Despite her voice occasionally falling victim to the weather, Georgas played on, the performance highlighted by the mournful, angelic “Don’t Go.”
A few minutes after their scheduled start time, Australian alt-rockers Atlas Genius took the stage with an energy that seemed to stop short, at the end of the stage. Despite a slow start, frontman Keith Jeffries’ request to “warm up a little bit” was eventually heeded. The crowd bounced through an out-of-the-blue but welcome cover of Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” and kept the pace high through hits “If So” and “Trojans.”
After a blustery trip to the VIP port-a-potties (is there more of an oxymoron?) I was back in time for the start of L.A.-based New Zealanders, The Naked and Famous. The sound of their electronic-edged pop faded in and out as the wind blew the speakers from side to side. Despite the semi-dangerous scene, Alisa Xayalith and Thom Powers’ tag-teamed vocals got the hearts and arms of the crowd pumping.
One surprisingly quick lineup for a surprisingly good curry later, July Talk exploded onto the stage with hurricane force — the only band to upstage the festival’s stormy weather. Vocalists Peter Dreimanis and Leah Fay dominated the stage; Dreimanis was a coked-out Mick Jagger with the voice of Tom Waits and Fay the halfway point between Sara Bareilles and Florence Welch.
Tramping around the stage, hands all over each other, Dreimanis and Fay’s manic sexuality drove the band through the pounding guitars and seismic drums of “Push + Pull” and “Summer Dress” before finishing the best set of the night with the aptly named banger “Guns and Ammunition.” “Warm the fuck up, Edmonton!” Dreimanis screamed in his cigarette-stained rasp. That, the crowd certainly did.
After a long set-up wait, Halsey rose from behind an LED backdrop to belt out her radio-worn, EDM-pop anthems. Flanked by flames, steam clouds, and everything in between, Halsey’s set was highlighted early by “Castle”, which was the second track. From there, not even versions of “Closer” (her megahit with The Chainsmokers) and “New Americana” were able to get the masses going for more than a minute or two. She did tell a story about a certain piss-scented Whyte Avenue bar though — classy.
Then came the closer, Twenty One Pilots. Good God, the noise. I was standing face-to-face with the speaker stack and at times had trouble hearing the music over the 10 rows of screaming 12 to 16-year-old girls camped out in front of the stage.
Clad in balaclavas and red blazers, Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun tore through their hits against a backdrop of seizure-inducing effects. Joseph walked into the crowd on the hands of adoring fans for hits like “Heathens,” “Ride,” and “Stressed Out.” For his part, Dun’s whole drum kit was lifted out over the barrier in a rather spectacular feat of crowd surfing.
All in all, 13,000 fans made it through the gates (though the lineup did stretch for nearly a kilometre at one point) for a frigid, windy night. It was a pretty good time.
