I've been to a lot of festivals over the years, but I don't think I've ever been to one with as many issues as this Toronto Island Festival (though I hear the free Yeasayer show on Governors Island a few weeks ago was a similar disaster.) It took over an hour to get here from the mainland (ferry wait included) and when I arrived at the gate on Olympic Island, I was told that I couldn't bring my bag in. I then spent another 1/2 hour hunting around for an ATM so I could get $2 to put my bag in a locker, making me miss all of Band of Horses' set. (Two words: Rules Suck.) Then, once inside, I'm greeted with mammoth lines to all the food stands and Port-o-Sans; I didn't even attempt to get into the overfilled beer tents that line the field here. And, now, standing out here in the sun, I'm risking dehydration because the two water fountains I saw also had huge lines of people filling up multiple water bottles. There's only a single stage, with long waits in between sets.
When Broken Social Scene finally takes the stage, they say: "Thanks for believin'." Let's see if they can make me one.
