Festival Review : Distorsion Psychfest Day 2

After a great first night at Distorsion on Wednesday, things were looking good for the festival. Unfortunately, it made it hard to live up to that first night. Thursday started off poorly with the first band hitting the stage almost an hour late. With a four band bill and a start time of 9 p.m., time is precious. No one wants to be at a show late on a weeknight. 

Corridor finally took the stage with a very typical opening set. Their early songs were drawn out indie rock jams that melded into each other without ever providing something that would grab your attention.  As background music it is perfect, but not very engaging for a concert. They showed flashes of brilliance towards the end that were unfortunately never developed into anything. Their mediocre songs overstayed their welcome, and their good songs were painfully short and too little too late.

Moonwalkers followed up with something a bit more promising, but ultimately suffering from many of the same problems. They picked up the pace with a thumping rhythm section that got the crowd moving a bit more than before. Their songs were short and sweet, but ultimately repetitive. They made up for their average sound with a solid stage presence and style. They finished up their set with a particularly long jam that overstayed its welcome to the point that the room lights were turned on. While i appreciated the punkness of it, it only further delayed an already late show. 

Next up was Spaceface, which finally brought something interesting to the stage. A band featuring Jake Ingalls, a current member of the Flaming Lips, they brought the theatrics and a trippy psychedelic sound you’d expect. Contrasting the previous bands gloomy aggression, Spaceface provided some bright and bubbly upbeat music with a space disco feel. The highlight of the night was when they brought into the crowd a multicoloured play parachute. Yes, the kind you would use in gym back in elementary. They also tossed some balloons in for good measure. Ingalls then led the crowd through the typical games one would play with a giant multicoloured parachute. While Spaceface was not the headliner, they very well could have been with the performance they delivered.

It is now 11:45 p.m. and The Besnard Lakes, tonight’s headliner, are still nowhere to be seen on stage after finishing their soundcheck a few minutes earlier. On a weekend, having a show last far past midnight is tolerable. On a Thursday though, it’s just annoying. They easily could have had the opener on an hour earlier, so everyone could still get a goodnight sleep. There are very few bands I prefer seeing over sleeping, and The Besnard Lakes are not one of them. With the last bus home at 11:54 p.m. I chose to leave. I was told their show was incredible, for what it’s worth.