Due to my school and work schedule, I was not able to attend all of the concerts, but I did manage to catch Carly Rae Jepsen and Marianas Trench on Friday, as well as OneRepublic on Saturday. Lots of kids and parents and teenagers and people like me who don't really ever want to grow up.
In case anyone reading does not know, Playland is Vancouver's biggest amusement park and the oldest in all of Canada. Located in northeast Vancouver, it is open from April until October and during the month of August, hosts a fair with the Pacific National Exhibition. During this fair, the number of rides at the park doubles and there are additional shows and exhibits for visitors to enjoy.
SPF is an outdoor music festival which takes place at the PNE Amphitheatre, located in the north side part of the park, surrounded by bleacher seating that faces the North Shore mountains. The view is absolutely breath-taking and the music was equally beautiful and fitting.
Carly Rae Jepsen performed songs from her album Tug of War as well as her EP Curiosity. She exudes a cuteness that few popular musicians out there have, and her voice is quite impressive live. After releasing one of the most popular songs of 2012, it was a bit strange to see her here at home, basically talking to the audience as if she were in her own living room. Jepsen was accompanied by a group of dancers in the crowd, who seemed to have a choreographed dance to every one of her songs.
Marianas Trench were perhaps the biggest headliner of the weekend, performing to a full crowd that had acted as if they hadn't seen these guys in years. There's definitely something special about performing to your city, and this was something Josh Ramsey constantly reiterated throughout his band's set. Perhaps one of the greatest moments was when Ramsey himself hopped off stage onto the floor. I could feel this collective gasp amongst the crowd, a quarter second of silence and then a rush of people running towards him. Fans were fleeing the bleachers, racing towards the singer as he ran (with bodyguards beside him) through the crowd, all the while singing the lyrics to the band's latest single "Desperate Measures." At one point, he ended up in the bleachers before rushing back to the stage and declaring that he felt as if he "had just gotten to second base with my hometown." I know how that feels, dude. I know how that feels. (no I don't)
OneRepublic serenaded the crowd with cool instrumental ambiance that was pretty perfect for the warm, comforting summer weather that seeped through Vancouver this weekend. Ryan Tedder kept throwing in French words to charm us. It kind of worked. Performing everything from their hit singles to covers of "Stand By Me, "SexyBack" and "Seven Nation Army", these guys squeezed as much variety as they could into an hour long show. I'm not an avid admirer of this band, but I really love it when musicians perform like it's the first show they've ever done and the last show they'll ever do. These guys really enjoy what they're doing, and their energy was very infectious. I was highly impressed with their performance. In addition, they have a cellist, and any band with string instruments gets bonus points in my book.
There is definitely nothing like a summer music concert in the great outdoors of Vancouver. It was nostalgic and fun and heart-pounding and cringe-worthy all at once.
I must say, there's nothing like hearing thousands of kids singing the lyrics "They slap you like a bitch and you take it like a whore" simultaneously in their squeaky little youthful voices.
It must be experienced to be believed.
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