Virgin Festival @ Molson Ampitheatre (August 30, 2009)

  Pet Shop Boys @ Virgin Festival: photo by Michael Ligon


Day two of Virgin Festival was more successful in it's festival vibe compared to day one with both the crowd and the bands basking in each other's enthusiasm. Even if I wasn't totally enamored with some of the acts performing it was at least satisyfing to see the crowd as well as the bands having fun.

First act of the day was French Canadian acoustic pop artist Coeur De Pirate but unfortunately I didn't arrive in time to catch her. I'd arrived a little after her set ended with grey clouds looming overhead although next act Norwegian electro-rock act Datarock did their best to bring some sunshine metaphorically to the festivities. Decked in red track suits, they brought a party vibe to the small crowd on hand with their set of electro-rock tunes, augmenting their sound with sax, guitars, keys, beats and drums. I'm not too keen on them myself but I'll give them props for their success in getting the small crowd on hand into it.

Danish band Mew, handpicked to open dates for Nine Inch Nail's current tour, were fortunate enough to also be added to Virgin Festival. I do commend Virgin Festival organizers for including them, especially as a main stage act, considering how obscure they are here in Canada. While they might be generally unfamiliar to Canadians at least their sound fit right in with the largeness of the venue. Mew's sound alternated between an epic, sometimes atmospheric quality with washes of synth and guitar, and a more succinct sound with clearer punctuacted guitar and drums, but it was vocalist Jonas Bjerre's higher-register vocals which tied it all together. Hey did anyone think Jonas looked like what Joel Plaskett might have looked in his youth? Someone dig up Plaskett's high school yearbook photo. Difficult to read how well-received they were by the half empty venue but I liked it.

My first foray of the day to the Virgin Radio stage was to see Toronto's Fritz Helder and The Phantoms. Quite a thin crowd at the beginning with the numbers only increasing slightly as the set progressed, it didn't seem to phaze the band at all. Even with guitar, bass, keys/programming and drums, there's a thin quality to their glammy, electro disco rock sound but they made up for it with an energetic and visually entertaining stage presence, as much in their dancing, voguing as in their outrageously glammy wardrobe and make-up. They're like Madonna, Prince and T-Rex, with a little hip-hop flavour all rolled up into one. How could you not be entertained by that?

It was New Orleans outfit Mutemath that I next caught over at the main stage. They specialized in a proggy brand of emo rock, with humming, moaning keyboards infiltrating the more conventional guitar rock histronics. Many seemed enamored with them and not only because vocalist Paul Meany at one point successfully handplant-flipped over his keyboard without killing himself nor because of the band's final raucous collaborative drumming outro. But such things made it definitely a memorable performance. And yes, they got a standing ovation from the crowd on hand.

I've read a few reviews of Cold War Kids' set at Virgin Festival and the consensus seems to rest with pondering why this band had such blogger buzz a year or two ago. But based on their Virgin Festival set, their general lack of charisma, and plodding indie rock tunes you have to wonder what all the fuss is about. Not terrible by any stretch, but sometimes being average is worse. Actually, they had one Gang Of Four-ish song that was actually decent but other than that I wasn't terribly impressed. If anything, they may have fared better on a small stage. Don't get me wrong - my general lack of enthusiasm for them wasn't necessarily the crowd's reaction as I'd observe more than a few persons who were definite fans of them.

An unknown entity from the outset, Montreal's Silver Starling played the Boardwalk stage with a good degree of success. With the sonics balancing melody with a bit of guitar histronics and subtler sounds like glockenspiel, there was also the benefit of male and female vocals. There was a bit of an atmospheric quality at times but at the same time there was a succintness to their which kept their sound from floating off into the stratosphere.

The party really started with N.E.R.D. back at the mainstage with the band's fusion of hip hop and rock influences. But moreso than the music, it was lead singer Pharrell's constant frontmanship that kept the crowd pumped, giving the ok to bring random fans, both guys and girls, onstage to party with them and his constant shout-outs to Toronto. Whether your a fan or not, they're the time of band that every music festival needs.

Back to the Boardwalk Stage it was for me to catch Toronto's The D'Urbervilles and really anytime you can catch their spastic indie rock and bespectacled lanky frontman John O'Regan's equally spastic dancing it's always a good time.

Hopping back to the main stage, I decided to sit in for Our Lady Peace's set. I'm not particularly a fan of there's at all but their tune "Somewhere Out There" does connect with me on one level. They played a mostly greatest hits set plus some other tunes I didn't recognize including a new song called "Paper Moon" which they introduced as inspired by Neil Young. It was most admirable to have witnessed frontman Raine Maida run up to the 300's when his prompting for the 300's and 400's sections to stand up didn't exactly transpire but once he got up there the sections stood up en mass, mostly to snap a photo of Raine up close. When the band closed with "Naveed" the sun finally started to peak out.

Back to the Boardwalk stage it was for me to catch that stage's final act of the day, Detroit's The Von Bondies. While garage rock isn't necessarily my thing these days, The Von Bondies did it more than well. They shredded, although not necessarily devastated the Boardwalk stage, but of the bands that played the Boardwalk Stage that weekend, The Von Bondies were probably the only band that could have played the main stage and fared more than well.

80's alternative dance-pop outfit Pet Shop Boys were a band that I'd always admired and liked although they were never at the level of any other 80's bands I loved like New Order, The Smiths and Echo and The Bunnymen. Their Virgin Festival set did nothing to change that but on the other hand their live show was absolutely spectacular. The stage production was fantastic featuring video screens, cool lighting, dancers, costume changes and a lot of geometric patterns. Pet Shop Boys' Neil Tennant was in fine vocal form sounding as good now as ever and with the band pulling out the band's synth-pop hits ('Suburbia', 'Go West', 'It's A Sin', 'Always On My Mind', 'Left To My Own Devices', 'West End Girls') it was a flashback to the eighties which I truly enjoyed.

Preceding Nine Inch Nails headlining slot, there was enough time to catch Boardwalk Stage headliners Plants and Animals. I was excited to see them after becoming more of a fan of them after seeing them play in Barcelona, Spain in June - yes, there was the novelty of seeing a Canadian band in Spain, but their performance(which was an outdoor one in a park as part of the Primavera Sound Festival) did much to convert me to their music. There's a jamminess that intermingles with melody but overall they present a joie de vivre that's so terrific to witness. And when they sing "Bye Bye Bye" and then the crowd joins in in unison it's so undeniably beautiful. Fortunately for the larger crowd that had gather for their set they'd set up their instruments outside of the tent playing under the blanket of a starry night with a few lamposts and a few stage light illuminating the area. Lovely.

At long last, Nine Inch Nails took to the stage for what had been billed as their last large-scale show ever, pulling out all the stops with an incredible light show and an emphatic musical performance. Whether it was fierce goth rock anthems like "Head Like A Hole", "Closer" and "March of The Pigs" or more subtle, audience-lighter-inducing songs like "Hurt" it was awesome to witness even if I'm not the biggest NIN fan. Particularly angst-ridden lyrics like "Head like a hole, black as your soul, I'd rather die than give you control" and "Bow down before the one you serve, your gonna get what you deserve" don't necessarily resonate with me on any level but man are they sure fun to sing.

So ends another instalment of Virgin Festival. Even with all it's problems I truly miss the festival vibe atmosphere of the Toronto Islands. Molson Amp just doesn't cut it in that respect. Perhaps they should have made the entire venue general admission which would have promoted a more communal vibe, allowing spectactors to wander around. But when you have security guards to confront every where you walk, it really stinks. I'm happy that Virgin Festival even happened at all but musically I wish it could have better - compared to the Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona, and Osheaga Music and Arts Festival in Montreal which were two other music festivals I'd attended this year, Virgin Festival drastically pales in comparison. Oh, and I was disappointed that there wasn't a dance/DJ tent this year - there's something comforting about hearing beats off in the distance. This year we had to contend with hearing people play Beatles Rock Band. It just isn't the same.

Photos: Virgin Festival @ Molson Ampitheatre (August 30, 2009)

MySpace: Datarock
MySpace: Mew
MySpace: Fritz Helder and The Phantoms
MySpace: Mutemath
MySpace: Cold War Kids
MySpace: Silver Starling
MySpace: N.E.R.D.
MySpace: The D'Urbervilles
MySpace: Our Lady Peace
MySpace: The Von Bondies
MySpace: Pet Shop Boys
MySpace: Plants and Animals
MySpace: Nine Inch Nails

Virgin Festival @ Molson Ampitheatre (August 29, 2009)

  Nils Edenloff of RAA @ Virgin Festival: photo by Michael Ligon


For Virgin Festival's fourth annual installment in Toronto it took place down at Molson Ampitheatre moving from the relative comforts of Toronto Islands which hosted the event the first three years. On the other hand, this year's Virgin Festival wasn't suppose to take place in Toronto at all but rather at Burl's Creek Park in Oro, Ontario just north of Toronto. However poor tickets sales and complaints about the location evenutally led to the change of venue to Molson Ampitheatre. For better or worse, that's where it took place over the weekend. Thanks to the folks at Segal Communications (handing the media accreditation requests for Virgin Festival Toronto) for approving me a reviewers pass for this year's festival [a photo pass would have been nice but hey whatever].

Although mostly overcast weather conditions predominate the weekend I'm thankful that the rain kept away although if it had come, the one good thing about the main stage being at Molson Ampitheatre was that it was covered and I had seating in an area which was mostly covered as well. But otherwise Molson Ampitheatre really sucked the energy out of the crowd for many of the acts that played its mainstage - no offense, but many of the acts weren’t seasoned enough to play such a big stage and it would have been more enjoyable to see them on the the second stage(Virgin mobile stage). So with iPhone in hand I hastily jotted down random thoughts about the acts I say as the day went on.

Unfortunately, I missed first main stage act Mates of State - I hope they weren't too discouraged to play to a mostly empty venue but I'm sure their sunny keyboard-drums driven pop music was enough to put a smile on at least a few faces. It was with Toronto's Valerie Poxleitner aka Lights, playing the main stage that I started my day off with. Whenever it happened, I'm glad she's lost the Wonder Woman-esque headband that I used to see her wear cause she looks so much more adorable without it. I think I caught a tune of hers on Much Music, a radio-friendly synth-pop ditty that I didn't think much of but while her live set does maintain her radio-friendliness, it also displayed that she does exude a certain amount of charm and likability and a level of musicianship(on keyboards and keytar) that proves she isn't just a pretty face. If I were to heard on the radio sometime, I won't be so quick to change the station.

Brooklyn's Grizzly Bear were the next band I saw. Quite frankly they'd have fared much better playing the much smaller second stage (Virgin Radio stage). Although I'm not too familiar with them I appreciate their creative approach to pop music. I'd refrain from calling them pop music although they do have underlying pop sensibilities. Their music encompasses vocal harmonies, subdued rock instrumentation and has a an ebb and flow, building to crescendo quality. As much as I appreciated it, and as I'd also heard other people vocalize their appreciation, I think they'd have been better off playing the second stage.

Speaking of second stage, it was off to the Virgin Radio stage (located on the Ontario Place grounds) where I went to check out Toronto's Thundereist. I'd caught them earlier this year playing the WinterCity festival in the most frigid temperatures imaginable - perhaps much of there energy during the performance was just to keep warm, but it was also a fun spectacle to witness especially with the b-girl dancers the band brought along for that show. This time around it was just the Thunderheist duo of producer Grahm Zilla and MC Isis as well a live drummer that joined them for the show. MC Isis admitted that it was a little weird playing during the day [and having to play a stage that overlooked a waterslide, no less] but whether it be the daylight or the subdued crowd, there was a lack of excitement to the set. Perhaps more of the blame should go to the crowd - MC Isis put in some effort with some funny banter and even climbing to the edge of the stage to sing over the crowd the Toronto's notorious reputation for mannequin-like non-responsiveness once again prevailed.

A certain part of me is saddened that Sloan's ranking in the main stage lineup couldn't perhaps have preceded headliner Ben Harper or even penultimate act Pixies. Rather Sloan were relegated to fourth last act of the night, preceding Paolo Nutini. I only wish they were much more popular than they really are, especially with them approaching 20 years in the music industry. As with all the acts on the main stage leading up to that point, it was just disheartening to see all the empty seats in the 200-400 sections. But what the biggest indie band Canada did prove was that they had some appreciative and devout fans in the audience especially responsive to the band's biggest hits like "Everything You've Done Wrong", "The Lines You Amend", "The Good In Everyone" and closer "Money City Maniacs". For the most part the crowd seemed a bit subdued - even during a fan-favourite like "People Of The Sky", the crowd seemed eerily still, and not much crowd participation seemed to take place, even during the 'ba, ba, ba, ba ba' part of the song. Three additional members joined the band adding an extra presence although the crowd seemed laid back only finally until set-closer "Money City Maniacs" prompted the crowd to finally start clapping.

Scottish born Paolo Nutini was next up on the main stage. With a crack band accompanying him that included trumpet, sax, harmonica, ukulele, guitar, drums and bass Paolo's music spanned bouncy folk rock, ragtime-ish numbers, breezy, summery folk pop and blues-tinged rock with his slightly vibrato-tinged vocals guiding the songs along. I'm not too partial to his music but neither is it the worst thing I've heard. For the record, there were many in the audience that were enjoying the set. In particular, there was a group of bare-chested dudes as well as several girls wrapping themselves with large European flags who were dancing enthusiastically during most of the set. Such evidence of fan appreciation does showed that his third-last-act-of-the-night ranking in the lineup behind Pixies and Ben Harper was perhaps well-deserved.

It was then off to the third stage (Boardwalk Stage) to catch Toronto's The Superstitions. The female-led young four piece played a set of garage pop tunes that were enjoyable on first impression. Melodic yet gritty they do have a tight set of tunes which I found surprising from such a young band. Lead vocalist Nyssa who sang for most of the set barefoot has the sort of voice that's mature beyond her years, and one gets the impression that she does have the capability to really belt it - if only she did it more often.

A real festival atmosphere started with Paolo Nutini's set with the venue starting to fill in and the audience becoming more enthusiastic but it really kicked in to high gear with Franz Ferdinand. Franz Ferdinand kept things uptempo for their entire set playing hits like "Take Me Out", "This Fire" and "Ulysees" and once again frontman Alex Kapranos proved his arguably the best frontman of any rock band out there at this moment, at least in my honest opinion, providing visual stimuli with his energetic stage presence and guitar playing as well as backing it up with his thoroughly energetic vocals. Although I consider "This Fire" as one of the best set closers in recent memory, it made an earlier appearance in their set this time around. But really, to see the audience fist pumping in unison and singing along to the song's chorus ('This fire is out of control, I'm going to burn this city, Burn this city') it was a pleasure to see the crowd finally really having fun.

Who better to follow up then Pixies. I'd seen them twice in the past - November 2004 at Arrow Hall and prior to that in May 2004 at Coachella in California - it's been a while. As with those past shows, The Pixies continue to churn out the hits for fans. Kicking off with a fierce rendition of "U-mass"[so, so good to hear Frank Black scream "It's Educational!"], they played practically everything I wanted to hear ("Head On", "Wave Of Mutilation", "Planet of Sound", "Here Comes Your Man", "Debaser", "This Monkey's Gone To Heaven", "Where Is My Mind", "Gigantic"). In perhaps a nod to Canadians, they also included their wonderful cover of Neil Young's "Winterlong". The crowd was pretty much enraptured with their whole set. The Pixies were definitely should-have-been headliners. If you wanted more proof you'd have witnessed the mass exodus of people exiting after The Pixies finished. Poor Ben Harper.

Before Ben Harper and Relentless 7 took the stage, some like myself made a bee-line to the Boardwalk Stage to catch Toronto's own The Rural Alberta Advantage. Already a crowd on hand and actually the band starting a tad earlier than their 9:10 pm set time, I managed to eventually get right to the front (perk of having a media wristband!). The crowd being a mix of current fans and I'm positive, new converts, the band were as convincing as ever playing a selection of tunes from their debut full-length "Hometowns". Armed with what's their bread and butter, that is acoustic guitar, drums, glockenspiel, tambourine, handclaps and vocals, and maybe a few other things, they played their indie acoustic folk tunes with as much enthusiasm as you'd expect from bands that are amplified. But really it's the melodies and lyrics that are the ultimate selling points. I'm sure they won over a few new fans.

Out of a sense of completion rather than enthusiasm, I stuck around for headliners Ben Harper and Relentless7. The crowd had thinned out more than a bit after The Pixies but there still remained a devout number of music fans that made it a little less discouraging for Mr. Harper. Thank God it was dark - I could only imagine how empty the lawns might have been at this point. It's not that I don't think Ben's talented. On the contrary, he's very talented as he displayed with his soulful vocals and virtuostic skills on the steel lap guitar. His band Relentless 7 played the blues-rock angle although less about technical virtuosity and more from a casual rock n' roll angle. For those who remained back for his set, many were enthusiastic for Ben as he and his band wandered through various styles and tempos. An enthusiastic response from the crowd brought back Ben and band for a one song encore which was a cover of a heavy metal song, whose title can't place but the chorus goes like 'a ah ahhhhhhh ahhhh, a ah ahhhhhhh ahhh ah' (I know The Roots also covered it at Osheaga at the beginning of August). And so ended Day One.

Photos: Virgin Festival @ Molson Ampitheatre (August 29, 2009)

MySpace: Lights
MySpace: Grizzly Bear
MySpace: Thunderheist
MySpace: Sloan
MySpace: Paolo Nutini
MySpace: The Superstitions
MySpace: Franz Ferdinand
MySpace: Pixies
MySpace: The Rural Alberta Advantage
MySpace: Ben Harper and Relentless7

Virgin Festival 2008 - Day 2

Oasis @ Virgin Festival (September 7, 2008)


Day 2 of the festival started out rainy, contributing to dawdling on my part in leaving home on time, and resulting in me missing Spiral Beach's opening set on the Main Stage. My day began at the third stage (sponsored by Oh! Henry) with local electro-rock act Opopo rocking out for the respectable sized crowd on hand. I'm sure I've seen these guys open a show at The Opera House I'd been to - I wasn't particularly feeling them the first time, though this time (and maybe it just the good vibes of the festival atmosphere) I appreciated Opopo more for what they really are which is just a fun party band.

Before I'd got to the Oh! Henry Stage I had passed the TD Stage where they were still setting up for Sebastian Granger and The Mountains. There wasn't many people at the TD Stage though after Opopo ended their set it seems a lot of people headed over to check out Sebastian Granger and The Mountains at the TD stage. The band's vibrant power pop seemed to help the sun peek out from behind the clouds at times. I dug the songs at times, and they do deserve a second listen on my part. With Saddle Creek snatching the band up to distribute their music in the States, I mean, there must be something, right?

Day 2 of the festival was a lot more walking between stages, and continuing that threaded I march back on over to the main stage to see The Weakerthans. Surprisingly, while The Weakerthans seemed to be as mellow on stage as The Cons were the previous day, The Weakerthans' more direct approach with pop melodies made their set connect better with me.

Back on over the foot stage to check out Matt Costa though his set was more of an afterthough because I'd primarily went over to grab a free eco-friendly messenger bag from the Motorola tent. Since I was already there, I decided to head over to the TD stage where a large crowd was on hand watching Matt Costa who was in the midst of finishing his set. Largely of the acoustic, folky variety, Matt Costa performed a few pleasant(nothing more, nothing less) sounding songs.

I went back to the mainstage for a pick-me-up in the form of Silversun Pickups whose melodic rock songs reminded me of 90's alternative rock (thankfully more Smashing Pumpkins than Stone Temple Pilots).

I stuck around at the main stage for UK's Stereophonics but only for a few songs as I wanted to make it over to the TD stage for the start of Sons and Daughters' set. Surprisingly popular with the crowd it seems, Stereophonics went for the gold from the start playing basically a greatest hits set("A Thousand Trees". "Have A Nice Day"), at least from the several songs I'd heard.

Off to the TD Stage it was for me but while over there at that side of the island I strolled over to the Oh! Henry stage where buzzed(and deservedly so) about rapper Shad was finishing off his set which a little unfortunate for me since I'd hope to catch more of it but Shad did come back for a brief "encore" which really was just him doing some casual freestyling.

Back to the TD stage I went for Scotland's Sons and Daughters, one of my favourite acts over the last several years. There glammy, rebel rock is undeniably a kick in the pants in comparison to the most of the rest of the acts of the day. Like Spiritualized the day before, it was a little strange seeing Sons and Daughters in daylight, rather than the last couple of times I saw them at Lee's Palace (which guitarist/vocalist Scott Patterson mentioned was a venue he loved to play). Unfortunately original bassist Ailidh Lennon wasn't there, and here duties were taken over by some gent, though adequately so.

Another act that I can cross out now from my wishlist is Paul Weller who was the penultimate set of the main stage this day. Playing favourites like the sublime dub-beat of "Wild Wood", the terrific Style Council tune "Shout To The Top" and exhilirating versions of Jam classics "A Town Called Malice" and "Eton Rifles" plus a bevy of tunes that ranged from great to jammy, I thoroughly enjoyed the set and was as much relieved that he seemed (well at least part of the set) to go over well with the younger kids.

And of course we all know what happened with Oasis and the Gallagher brothers. The guy who had pushed Noel and tried to take a swing at Liam before being tackled by security has turned out to be 47-year-old Pickering man, Daniel Sullivan, who was charged with assault and will appear in court next month. I wonder what the fuck he was thinking. I have to give credit to the the Gallaghers and the rest of the band for coming back and finishing off the set albeit what turned out to be a shortened one, and no official encore. Is the Toronto Virgin Festival cursed or what? The festival's inaugural year had Massive Attack cancel at the last minute and had headliners The Flaming Lips forced to play a shortened set due to curfew laws and the band starting their set late. The second year of the festival had the scorchingly hot Amy Winehouse cancel her appearance. Unfortunate incident aside, I'm glad Oasis were able to play as much as they did. "Morning Glory" (at least until that now infamous incident happened) was truly euphoric while Noel's subsequent solo rendition of "Don't Look Back In Anger" just truly tugged at the heart. Glorious, indeed.

Photos: Virgin Festival @ Toronto Islands (September 7, 2008)

Virgin Festival 2008 - Day 1

Bloc Party @ Virgin Festival (September 6, 2008)


I have to give a big thanks to the Virgin Festival for approving my media accreditation this year. With perks like a VIP ferry, free dinner each day, a relatively comfortable VIP area, and access to the photo pit for the Main and Second stages, it's really spoiled me for any future outdoor festivals I'll be attending.

Although this year's lineup didn't necessarily bowl me over, with a little effort and good time management I still got to check out an interesting if not decent selection of artists throughout the day. Day One started out with me missing some of the mainstage acts, but I was able to get into the Molson Canadian Rocks Zone to catch some of The Fratellis' acoustic set, at least before they called it quits after they got drowned out by The Constantines who began their set on the main stage soonafter. Who ever thought of overlapping those two sets, well, nice one.

The Constantines' set was my first opportunity to utilize my media pass and snap some photos of the band up close so I made a dash over to the mainstage. Though The Cons' melody and grit was musically in top form, it seemed one of their most subdued performances.

I stayed for a bit but then decided to head over to see Uk's Spiritualized scheduled to peform over at the TD Bank Stage just over the foot bridge. My rushing wasn't necessary as the start of Spiritualized's set was delayed. While Spiritualized's last jaunt through town was disappointedly to some a gospel acoustic set, this time around it was the electric band version. With a band and a couple of soulful, backup singers, Spiritualized performed a selection of newer songs and older fan favourites. It wasn't as cathartic experience as I'd hope (maybe it was seeing them perform during the daylight) but still it was very good, and it was all worth it just to see them play "Come Together".

With The Fratellis acoustic set having been cut short a few hours prior, I decided to stick around at the TD stage and catch their electric set, and as such, while there were many a fan in the audience and while I recall bopping my head at times, I seriously do not remember anything else about their set.

Back to the mainstage Against Me! had just begun their set of aggressively sung and played though infectiously melodic pop music. Not the first time I've heard them (God knows how many times I've heard Edge 102.1 play their 'hit' "Thrash Unreal") and I'm not a big fan of them but they were a needed shot of adrenaline for the day which up to that point had been kind of mellow.

As dusk set, the penuntilmate act of the day UK's Bloc Party didn't disappoint, drawing on older favourites and some newer material. While I musically I prefer Bloc Party over headliners Foo Fighters, I will give props where due and say that Foo Fighters and more specifically Dave Grohl knows how to draw a participatory element from the crowd, whether that be communal chuckling in reponse to Grohl's humourous banter or group singalongs(in particular to a few acoustic renditions of songs like "My Hero" and "Everlong"). And that Dave Grohl is one foul-mouthed dude. Don't let his angelic smile in the "Big Me" music video fool you.

Photos: Virgin Festival @ Toronto Islands (September 6, 2008)

Where Did It All Go Wrong?

As I get down to sorting through my photos and collecting my thoughts on this year's Virgin Festival which went down this past weekend at Toronto Islands, Noel Gallagher could apparently be mending a broken rib due to some unknown dickhead who ran on stage during headliner Oasis' performance of "(What's The Story) Morning Glory) and pushed him down from behind, and took a swing(unsuccessfully) at his brother Liam before security guards tackled the asshole to the ground. Oasis.net has this to say about the incident (Londonners, keep your fingers crossed for Tuesday night's show):

"Oasis', Noel Gallagher was attacked by an unidentified man during the band's show in Toronto last night. While Noel and the band were performing 'Morning Glory', the assailant ran on from the back of the stage and pushed Noel from behind, who fell heavily on to his monitor speakers.

Despite his injuries, Noel returned to the stage a few minutes later to complete the band's set but was taken to hospital after the show to be examined for a suspected fractured rib and ligament damage. The assailant was detained in police custody and will be charged with assault.

No decision has been made regarding Tuesday's concert in London, Ontario, but fans are urged to keep checking the band's web site Oasisinet.com and local media for updates."

If curiosity is eating at you, there's video of the incident, here and here. (video links via The Panic Manual).

Also Information Leafblower, was quick on the draw and got a few photos. (via Chromewaves)