Now whether you refer to yourself as a Sledder or a Rabbit, June 30th to July 3rd you probably rolled up your jeans and dug out your best pair of converse to rock out to bands such as Why?, Girl Talk and a special performance by The Melvins on the Sled Island Mainstage. Olympic Plaza was full of people of all ages Friday and Saturday; crowding the front of the stage, and those old enough, packed the Beer Garden. It was my first time at Sled Island and I wasn’t too familiar with any of the acts, but my friends spoke pretty highly about a lot of the acts know how to put on a show you won’t soon forget.
The show started with a knock out performance by F’d Up. Lead singer, Damien Abraham, was singing while climbing the stage scaffolding and showed the crowd a little more skin than they were expecting to see. He even jumped into the crowd to join the mosh pit during their performance.
Even when it started to rain, the crowd still stuck around. Some of them puling up their hoods and others still jumping along to the music as though nothing happened. A few of our bloggers were able to enjoy being front row while a few even attempted crowd surfing, but don’t worry everyone made it out without a scratch.
The highlight of Friday night for me was definitely Girl Talk (you can check out a post about him by fellow blogger Alex). He seemed to become the highlight for everyone, as when he ran out on stage a group of people he had pulled crowd early ran out behind him. It was one of the best stage performances I have ever seen, there was confetti and toilet paper being blown into the audience and some YAA bloggers were throwing out some crazy dance moves!
I found the crowd on Saturday seemed to be a little worn out from Friday. Sledders that partook in moshing were encouraged to start jumping by the bands and unlike Friday night there wasn’t a different array of bands playing, they all seemed to have a similar sound. But the hit of Saturday night was definitely Dinosaur Jr., legends in the punk scene. The crowd seemed to double when they were called out to the stage and an infinite respect filled the plaza.
Now Rabbits, don’t worry, Sled Island is already preparing for next year! They are already accepting band applications to play 2011 via sonicbids at early prices that last until September 20th. And if you attended an event this year, Sled Island has set up a super quick post-Sled Island Survey, and after filling it out you can enter to win a pair of passes to Sled Island 2011! But Sled Island does not stop there. Festival director Zak Pashak has shifted his focus into politics, and is running for Ward 8 Alderman. You can find out more about his race on his website.
And finally, I would love to thank Kids Up Front for providing us with the opportunity to experience Sled Island 2010! If you don’t know much about Kids Up Front, you can learn more about what they do on their website and how you can help out. They are a fantastic foundation that provides event tickets for kids who don’t always get the opportunity to experience live music, sports or theatre and if you ever find yourself with extra event tickets you can donate them to Kids Up Front.