And then came day two.  After an evening spent avoiding rain, watching great bands and acquainting myself with the magical island, I headed home for my solid nine hours (I'm an infant) and awoke like a kid on Christmas morning.  (Read: I couldn't fall asleep because I was too excited and instead woke up at 6 a.m.)



One breakfast and one blog later (which you've already read because you're savvy like that), I was back on the road to Guelph and despite the oppressing humidity (seriously - my hair put Monica Gellar's to shame), I was prepared for a day that defined "epic", "awesome" and "all other words synonymous with badass".

First up was an interview with My Son the Hurricane, a 14-piece brass band-meets-hip-hop group that brought (as Steph said) the funky-fresh beats to a dreary afternoon.  Before their set, we spoke with three of the members - Jacob, Danno and Andrew via zoom mic for yours truly (meaning you will hear our sweet voices on the radio waves soon) about everything from the state of Canadian hip-hop to the concept of "novelty acts", and the boys were kind enough to give us great answers as well as a stack of cootie catchers to hand out at our neighbourhood booth.

After our interview, we were back to our "roam around the island" ways, and after I caught up with the AUX Weekly team during their interview with Frazey Ford, the lot of us got caught in the rain and we sought refuge under what seemed like an enormous tree (and what turned out to be a collection of branches).  The good news?  Nothing bonds people like standing under umbrellas and branch-trees.  The bad?  Any hopes I had of looking attractive/glamorous were out the window.  Cue: me looking like Jack White (ala NXNE all over again).





Luckily, the rainstorm was the perfect excuse to sneak into the Island Tent for My Son the Hurricane's enthusiastic set.  As promised, they were energetic, interesting and genuinely stoked to be there, and as the folk fans danced and rocked out to Beastie Boys-meets-big band, you could tell that Hillside really was a festival where music - regardless of genre - comes before all else.

Afterwards, Steph and I bid adieu to our pal Steve, embraced our "screw you, rain!" attitude and made peace with the fact that despite our best efforts, we were going to get soaked.  Therefore, we sat on Steph's tiny raincoat in the middle of a muddy field and waited for the Colossal Jam: a folk music free-for-all featuring Jason Collett, Sarah Harmer, Los Lobos, members of Zeus and Calexico.  (Don't mind if we do.)





"Epic" was an understatement.  Regardless of what music you like (as an electro/shoegaze fan, even I opened my heart to the sweet sounds of Canadiana - or is it North Americana?), the set was magical, and as each musician took turns leading the makeshift band in song and melody, mud and rain became an afterthought, and even though the clouds opened once more and poured like no tomorrow, nothing could dampen (ha - get it?!) the spirits of everyone within listening range.  True, Steph and I bailed early to grab more food and abandon our shoes (it was over - it was basically a walk or wipeout situation), but still - we relished in those moments of folk fantastica.

Before we knew it, it was 6 pm (seriously?!), Basia Bulat was onstage, Judith and Sam had finished their tent duties, and the four of us could finally reunite and submerge ourselves in the awesomeness of the evening lineup.  As per usual, Basia was lovely, charming and genuinely likeable, and as she hammered out songs from both acclaimed albums, we danced sans shoes, hotdogs and/or curry in-hand and cameras at the ready.





And then it was time for Jason Collett.  Since I had to cover his set for AUX (and you can read that review here), we moseyed up to the front to secure a sweet photo spot and danced our "God damn it, our clothes are soaking wet and we're pretty cold" worries away.  Yes, we knew all the words, yes, we hugged intermittently and yes, we watched as his kids danced at the side of the stage, thus re-defining the concept of "cuteness realized".  However, the best part?  The sun emerged once and for all as the audience in its entire sang along to everyone's favourite (and ever so true), "I'll Bring the Sun".  (Magic?  Methinks yes.  Always yes.)





Following Mr. Collett came the iconic Sarah Harmer, and though we only stuck around for a couple of songs (we hung out backstage for the rest of her set - so in all fairness, we could still hear her lovely voice), we were bewitched by her talent, charm and genuineness, and it was obvious as to why she's remained so prevalent in Canada's ever-changing underground music scene.  The good news?  I wrote a review for AUX, and you can read it here.  The better?  We found the comfiest/best spots backstage and hung out there for an eternity.  (And I promise we're not douchebags - it's just where everyone (from performers to volunteers) gathered to eat, drink and be merry.)  My personal "Hillside highlight" was drinking tea under the full moon.  (Seriously - you can't make this stuff up.)







After nightfall it was time to disband, and when Sam and Judith headed to Grand Analog, Steph and I stayed sitting for tea and coffee, chatting with the lovely Carly and Bryn.  However, it wouldn't be a festival without catching a couple more sets, so splitting our time between shows, we took in the funk-tastic sounds of Grand Analog before heading to the Island Stage for Vancouver's Japandroids.  And then?  It was time for sleep.  We gathered the flock (Sam, Judith, Steve and his pal Emma) after snacks, and headed back to the campsite before I made the trek back to Small(er) Town Ontario for a good night's sleep.  One more day to go, and I needed to get my rest on.

Needless to say, this story is to be continued.

xx

- A.