Rockfest delivers on music, fails on organization and toilet paper
Max Szyc | Fulcrum Contributor
Photo courtesy of Cait MacKinnon
THOUSANDS OF INTIMIDATING metal and punk fans completely overtook the quaint town of Montebello, Que. this June. Growing exponentially from the few hundred fans that attended the inaugural festival in 2005 to 30,000 people this year, Rockfest is an annual heavy music festival.
Arriving at my first Rockfest late on the first of the two days, I spent several minutes wandering through the packed crowds. Two things stood out: there was next to no security or staff anywhere and there was more trash on the ground than I’ve ever seen at a music festival.
The conditions even prompted Damian “Pink Eyes” Abraham, frontman of Toronto band Fucked Up and my first band of the day, to cheerily comment by calling the event the dirtiest festival he’s ever played.
It quickly became apparent that Rockfest’s employees didn’t realize just how large an audience of 30,000 people was, as the virtually non-existent staff provided zero administration of campsites, a massive backlog of people waiting hours in line to get their wristbands, and a porta-potty situation that could only be described as hellish.
After catching great performances by Deftones and The Offspring, I was heading home when I noticed dozens of people clustered at the side of the road. They were waiting for a shuttle to a nearby campground.
The shuttle never showed up, prompting many of the stranded concertgoers to attempt hitchhiking home.
After a Saturday morning recharge that consisted of sleep, a shower, and cleaner, drier shoes, those who stuck around soon forgot about their woes as the music restarted.
Punk bands Pennywise and Sick of it All, as well as thrash metal legends Anthrax, delivered rowdy performances that had everybody moshing. Later, Lamb of God played to a huge crowd that packed the field to see them play their first Canadian show since singer Randy Blythe was acquitted of manslaughter charges in the Czech Republic.
However, the best band of the night—and arguably the highlight of the entire festival—was the monster performance delivered by FLAG. The unofficial reunion of L.A. hardcore punk pioneers Black Flag, featuring members from differing periods of the band’s 10-year existence, wasted no time whipping the crowd into shape by blistering through a 24-song set in 40 minutes.
Overall, Rockfest was an enjoyable festival that was not without its problems. If the trend continues, next year’s installment will feature an even more impressive lineup, so let’s hope that’ll include a more impressive display of toilet paper in the porta-potties.
