July 28, 2013 — There can’t be any better way to spend a Sunday afternoon in July then at a concert on Georges Island. Smirnoff sponsored the event which featured The Town Hero’s, Gloryhound, The Stanfields and The Trews. It’s was really nice to see a bill this strong that consisted of all local talent.
To get the day started we boarded a boat that transported us from the Halifax waterfront out to Georges Island. The boat ride was a brief but relaxing checking out all the sailboats that were on the water. The event organizers had boats going back and forth throughout the day to accommodate everyone in attendance.
The first band to take the stage was Cape Breton’s The Town Heroes. This powerful duo have received tons of positive press recently. They were voted “Best Band of 2012” and “Best New Artist 2011” by The Coast’s best of music poll to name a couple. The Town Heroes performed a short but energy filled set to open the show. If you listened to this band with your eyes closed you would never believe that there was a 2 piece band on the stage. The crowd on the island gave them a nice warm welcome and we would recommend checking these guys out if you have not already done so.
One of our personal favorites, Gloryhound, were the next band to hit the stage. They played their hit songs like Electric Dusk and TKO Tokyo as well as some soon to be released new material. They have been in the studio working with local music legend Joel Plaskett and we cant wait for the new material to hit the streets. These guys are a very dedicated band that goes as far as recording every practice. They follow each practice taking notes and criticizing the things they could have played better. Every time we see this band they deliver. Today by the end of their set they left nothing on stage except 4 puddles of “rock and roll perspiration” .
Many bands would struggle coming on after the very tight performance by Gloryhound. The Stanfields however took the stage like they owned it, unleashing the typical Stanfields non stop energy rush on the crowd. The media personnel at the show were required to wear a bright orange and yellow vest to identify ourselves. This made us stand out like a sore thumb, but it also made life simple when going to different area’s to get pictures. What makes this funny was that the front man from The Stanfields requested one of his own to wear on stage after seeing ours. I would have given mine up in an instant, but no such luck it stayed with me for the duration. By the end of The Stanfields those in attendance were feeling no pain. It appears that Smirnoff, sunshine and rock and roll make a pretty good combination. The majority of people that have seen The Stanfields perform live would not hesitate to catch another one of their shows. In this case we are among the masses, we make sure to catch this band every chance we get.
The final band to take the stage was The Trews. Normally we refer to the final group as the headliner, but we feel any of the 4 bands today could easily fill that role. The Stanfields left the crowd energized, now it was up to The Trews to keep them there. Looking around the venue it was quite obvious that The Trews had no trouble fulfilling the task at hand. The crowd was dancing and singing along to hit after hit served up by The Trews.
All 4 bands did an excellent job, so our hats off to the event organizers. The well balanced combination of bands worked like a charm, and each bands sound was unique enough that it never got boring. Gloryhound was our top choice today but we enjoyed the entire show.
Verdict: 5/5
