Ashes Divide played a decent set. I haven’t heard their entire album but what I heard yesterday had a very APC feel to it. Sam Roberts was pretty rockin’. Him and his band played all of the hits everyone knows and loves. They have a very “Canadiana” feel to them, much like that of the Tragically Hip.

STP played all of their hits as well. Scott Weiland talked to the crowd a bit which is something I always like at a live show. He didn’t chit chat as much as I liked but then again no lead singer ever does . It had rained all kinds during the day but luckily my friend Steve supplied me with a rain protector thing that kept me reasonably dry. Scott commented on the rainbow that appeared during their set and asked Chester Bennington, lead singer of Link Park, to come on stage and sing with him. But other than that, he didn’t really say much and Chester didn’t make an appearance.

When Linkin Park finally came on they started out with some mellow songs that I’d either never heard before or just didn’t recognize. According to a blurb I heard on the Edge today this was due to half the band being missing because of a problem at the airport. The part of the band that was missing was looking to get a helicopter to make it the venue but for some reason that never happened for whatever reason. After those first few mellow songs, I pretty much recognized every song. All in all their set was very flashy but Chester didn’t talk to the crowd at all. I wouldn’t say STP stole the show but they definitely put on a better one.

Other than the acts there was tons and tons of rain. Where’s there’s rain, grass and lots of people there’s bound to be mud. I saw numerous people covered in mud from head to toe throughout the day. Also saw a bunch of guys mudsliding. The other big topic of news was the beer area that was terribly executed for some reason. The line to enter the area was enormous and super slow moving. The beer area had a maximum capacity so once people were in, they didn’t bother to leave. My friends and I didn’t even bother trying to get beer because of this. Word from the radio station is that this will be rectified next year.

All in all, Edgefest 2008 served as a decent way to pass the time for a Saturday afternoon. Hopefully they will be some good bands next year .

I have to admit, Trent Reznor is pretty brilliant by beating the pirates at their own game. Instead of the album leaking out two weeks early, he put it online himself two weeks early. It’s hard to say if this is really where music is headed though as Trent himself said in an article I read a while back that his experiment with the Saul Williams’s “Niggy Tardust” album didn’t go as planned. Then again, he did make a reported killing on “Ghosts I-IV” but that was because he put out a limited edition deluxe version that sold out and went for a few hundred dollars. So while this approach works for a band as big as nin, it debatable if the idea is for everyone.

I’ve listened to the album and it’s decent. None of the songs have really jumped out at me just yet besides “Discipline”. Maybe if my computer would stop acting retarded I could listen to it a bit more…