On the Road Again
Live Reviews:

JAGGED EDGES — Kari's EDGEfest experiences
July, 1998
Winnipeg, MB

Ok. Just before we begin, I'd like to say that there are plenty of Sloan rip-off titles I could have used to describe my jaunt in the world of EDGE. Nothing Left To Make Me Want To Stay, The Good In Everyone, Everything You've Done Wrong, Anyone Who's Anyone, Underwhelmed, Torn, Smother (well, that's Eric's Trip, but still), Seems So Heavy, I'm Not Through With You Yet, etc. You get the picture. If you are reading this, you know how much I love Sloan, and if, by chance, you don't, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Kari, I'm the self-appointed #1 Sloan Fan, it's nice to meet you. I typed this out on my computer for two reasons:

1. So I wouldn't have to re-tell and re-write my story every time someone asked me how EDGEfest was; and
2. Everytime I tell someone about it, I get sad and angry all over again. I don't want to feel bad forever, so I figure the less I talk about it, the quicker I'll feel better.

The day started out sunny. My friends Andrea, Julie and I got to our gate at about 9:40 am. The doors were to open at 11:00am. We sat around and talked to some of the security guards for a while. Then the doors got pushed back at noon, and we all sat sweltering in the sun. Man it was hot!

We finally got in, me with my Sloan shirt, 4 signs (that said: Sloan Fans Rule, #1 Sloan Fan (with arrows), Chris - Do The Kick, and Crowd Surfing and Moshing Strictly Prohibited) and two disposable cameras. Andrea had her #1 IME Fan sign and camera. Julie wore a red shirt and bandanna! We were set for a day of excitement and stardom!

The first thing we did was look for my friend Mel at the FanFest tent, where she was working for the day. She was on her lunch break, so we headed toward the side stage. I was very tired, I stayed up late making the boys Sloan Buds Bracelets, and had gotten three hours of sleep.

Copyright, the first band, came on and launched into an energetic set, lots of songs off Love Story. So we're standing there, watching, and Andrea nudges me, and says, "Isn't that Andrew?" She pointed toward the side of the main stage, where a tall, solitary figure was looming in the shadows. Across the stadium grounds, I recognized him. We took off, running through the crowd. We reached the fence that was nearest him, and I threw my #1 Sloan Fan sign up. It got his attention right away, he gave a thumbs-up. Wow. My heart was pounding. I took a picture of him standing there, then motioned at my camera to him. He waved, and mouthed the word "later". Fine, I would have to wait. Andrea stepped in front of me and held up her #1IME sign to him. He shot a thumbs-down, she got really mad. For those of you who don't have the privilege of knowing Andrea, you've got to understand this: anyone slaggs IME around her, watch out!

I wanted to stay around for a while, but Andrew odviously wasn't coming down, so we eventually wandered away. I found Mel, we talked for a little while. She makes a great zine called Elevate Me Later, seriously, guys, everyone's gotta own copies of this zine. It's stellar.

Andrea, Julie (by this we had found Lindsay and others) and I watched some more of Copyright's set, when I looked over and Jay had replaced Andrew! Back we ran, and did the sign routine again. I got a picture of Jay standing there, then held up my #1SF. He loved it! He laughed, waved, and gave thumbs-up. I motioned to my camera, and he posed for me! It was adorable. We stayed until he left, and by that time Copyright was done.

I got even more excited, because Local Rabbits were up on the main stage next! I was close to the front, but off to the left. They played a great set, "Stomp Your BK's Down" was a definite highlight. I don't think they played "61 Days", and I was really looking forward to hearing it. Oh, well. The Rabbits rule. They had water balloons too, and seemed to enjoy moistening their audience!

During their set, I looked toward the wings (they had screens in front of them, but you could still see in) and caught a glimps of the superstar himself, Chris Murphy. I couldn't believe it! I had waited over six years for this, it didn't seem real. It had always seemed like they were figments of my imagination, like I would never get closer to them then my TV set. In case you haven't clued in by now, I've never attended a Sloan show or met them. I have been denied the privilege many times, quite unfairly too, but those are stories for another day. I almost fell over on Lindsay, I was overwhelmed! But that didn't last too long. I regained my senses, and held up my #1 SF sign. He saw it right away, smiled and waved. I waved. I waved back, and kept glancing at him through the set. Once, when I looked he was watching me. He gave a little wave, to make sure I waas watching, and then did the cutest thing. It's kinda hard to explain, if you saw the 1hour MuchEast special on June 28, you'll know what I mean. During the special, he called Patrick a giggler, and poked him with his index fingers. That's kinda like what he did to me. He hunched over and pointed both fingers at me, smiling the whole time. I know how many girls love this guy, and maybe I'm just gullible, but what a charmer! Wow. *Sigh*

Minutes later, another figure appeared beside him, and Chris seemed pretty friendle with him. Lindsay and I had a hard time figuring out if it was Patrick or not. Turned out it was. His hair has gotten longer than it was last time I saw him, and it looks more like it did in the Smeared era. I got a picture of Chris, Patrick and Andrew walking down the stairs after The Rabbits were done. Chris looked over and saw my sign again, and he put his hands on his hips and stuck out his bottom lip. Kinda in an "Oh, you think so!" pose. I know, his mom's probably got me beat! He posed for me, but then he had to go.

I was walking around with Lindsay and we found Andrea and Julie in line for The Killjoys signing. So we got in line, too. The line wound around in a semi-circle, so we could talk to them. They told me Andrew had come to the fence just a minute before and signed a bunch of programs. He signed Andrea's, he wrote: "I love IME, Andrew". So she told him she forgave him for what he did earlier, and she said he was back on her good side. He was happy about that. He made me a program that said: Kari, #1, Andrew." Short and sweet! He also gave them his bottle of water to give to me. I was so happy!

I met The Killjoys, and they signed my poster. Gene was the nicest guy. Mike seemed oblivious to everyone, and Shelley seemed scared and unsure of everyone. Gene liked my tag. It said: "Hello, my name is Kari. In case you have not been informed, I am the #1 Sloan Fan. No one else comes close, so don't even try. Thank you." Anyway, I got pictures of all three of them.

Andrea, Lindsay and I headed back to the main stage, because Econoline Crush would be heading out soon. That's when I realized that The Local Rabbits were doing their signing right then. I wanted to go see them, but Andrea and Lindsay didn't, because they didn't like them. Geez. So I ventured off by myself.

On my way to FanFest, I stopped at the fence to see if anything was happening. Deja Springfield was there, signing stuff. He left before I got there; too bad. I saw him twice more, and called hello. He waved two fingers at me once, and said nothing the second time. I don't like that guy at all. He was wearing the same thing he had on at Much, and had at every single other EDGE date. Does this guy have no clothes? Really . Sorry, I shouldn't go so low as to insult him based on his wardrobe choices, but he really bugs me. Craig Wright would have been a way better correspondent. At least he has more than one shirt. Oops, there I go again! Plus, Craig also has a great prsonality, an interest in music , and he's honest. He doesn't seem to pretend to be something he's not. His interestes range above and beyond running down beaches topless and "curling up into the fetal position and yelling at people as they walk by on the street." Arg.

Anyway, I stopped at the fence, and all the Deja followers had left. I looked around, and before long, Patrick Pentland himself walked towards the grassy pass. I called and he started to come over. Two other girls had heard me call, and they came running. He reached us, and said hello. I casually asked if I could preserve his beautiful face in photo form. He bashfully obliged my request, and assumed the position. It was a perfect picture, except the two girls kept shoving stuff at him, trying to get him to sign it. So we kept getting interrupted. I finally got the picture taken, and then he had to leave. I did tell him I liked his shades. They looked just like mine. I think he had those clip on ones attached to his glasses, though. But still, he thought it was cool. I love my sunglasses.

I reached the tent and got in line, turned out I was the second last person to meet them. They took a long time with everyone. I got into line and there were five people ahead of me, and I wasn't done until Econoline Crush had left the stage! But it was worth it. I like Econoline Crush, but meeting The Rabbits was better. They signed one of my programs, Jason wrote "Sloan Sucks", a reaction to my sign and name tag. I heard that Chris had been in the tent with them, but left before I got there. I told Jason I would show them and then get Andrew on him, he laughed. They made me a poster, too. There were posters there, but they all drew stuff on themselves. Ben wrote "You kick ass babe!" and signed his name. He drew something gross and Pete added to it. Pete is suddenly being known as Peter, I don't like it. I told him that and he said something about his mom liking it better... KJS was surprisingly calm. He calmly signed my poster, calmly talked to me, calmly got his picture taken. Pretty creepy. I had heard that The Local Rabbits were conceited jerks, but I waited to believe that until I met them myself. I thought they were sweet guys. Go and buy some of their albums, please.

Chris and someone else (Jay, I think) were doing interviews with Bill (from Much) in the field. Andrea got some shots, including some good ones of Bill. Do you think he smokes? Ewwwww...

This all happened before Sloan had even hit the stage! I was on Cloud 9, but my happiness soon came to a screeching halt.

Andrea, Lindsay and I managed to snag 2nd row spots, just left of centre (sorry, punny but true). Not bad considering we had just gotten there. I love Matthew Good, but this was the one moment in my life where I really wished he would get off stage! They finally finished, and the moment of truth loomed near. I had my backpack on, my shades on my head, and my two signs and camera in my hand. It was pretty squishy in there, I could barely hold up my signs. So I held up my Sloan Fans Rule one the crowd really seemed to like it.

Finally, the band was introduced, and they strutted out onto the stage to take their respective places. I managed to get a shot of them just as they began to play. Then the strangest thing happened. It felt like the crowd collapsed onto us. Imagine the weight of 10,000 people on you, that's how it felt. My bachpack was getting crushed, people were flying over my head, I was in the middle of a mosh pit that shouldn't have been there. I moved with the crowd, worried about my bag the whole time. There were some pretty valuable things to me in there. Soon enough, I got tripped. As I went down, my signs were separated , and the moshers got a glimpse of my "Crowd Surfing..." one. They were not too happy. I heard "Let's get her!" and next thing I know, I'm being kicked, punched, stepped on... you name it. It was stupid, and barbaric. Ifinally managed to get on my feet, and call me crazy, but I shot a desperate look at Chris and Jay. Of course, they didn't see me, and what could they have done anyway? I just felt like I had to try. I love Sloan, anyone reading this knows that, but I had to pick between my safety and my band. I was in a lot of pain, and I decided I had to get outta there. It took a long time, and a lot of pushing, but I finally fought my way out of the crowd. The whole time, I just kept thinking "Why is this happening? I'm at a Sloan show!" I couldn't believe it. Everyone knows moshing and the like is not allowed at Sloan shows. What is with these people? Couldn't the punks wait for Green Day to release all their angst? Why did they do it during Sloan, and why was I a victim to it? No one should have to go through that. It was horrible, and devestating. But that's not the worst part.

Remember how I said I was wearing my backpack? Suddenly, I realized it felt light. Looking over my shoulder, I found it to be hanging open, the contents of it gone. I remember one of the "attacking" moshers trying to pull it open, but I thought I had jerked it away in time. Guess not. I was left with my signs, some lip balm, my other camera that had about two pictures on it, and my Patrick sunglasses, which were now badly warped and bent. Luckily, I had no ID, and my money was still in my pocket. But I was dehydrated, dizzy, sore and constantly blacking out. Plus now all my stuff was gone. I lost it. I found two of my friends, and I started screaming. I've never been more disappointed in a crowd of people in all my life. And this crowd was supposed to be special. They were Sloan fans. I always thought we were a special breed. I think I'm just too trusting a person, maybe that's what always ends up getting me hurt. At any rate, my friends took me to geta drink and sit me down so I could regain full consiousness. Needless to say, I missed the whole Sloan set. I waited 6 years, and it was the worst set I've ever attended. But it isn't Sloan's fault. (It's not the band I hate, it's their fans... see Coax Me.) Here's the list of stuff I lost:

• My prized possession, a signed copy of Navy Blues that Radio Sonic sent me. It was autographed by Chris and Patrick. I wasn't going to bring it, because I didn't want them to sign anything (I was working on the old "Bands get sick of people just asking for signatures, they just want to have a good conversation with a fan." principal), but I threw it in at the last second. Nothing I owned meant more to me. I loved that CD, I know, it's just a CD, but it was a treasure. And it was mine.
• A press photo of the guys from OCTA. My favourite mag (Uptown) sent to me to replace another picture of them that was stolen from me. That was so nice of them, I couldn't believe it. I did, however, find this item after EDGEfest was finished. It was in a crumpled up, soaking wet mess on the ground, but it was in one piece. I brought it home, and have since tried to dry it out, and glue together what I can. Soon, it should be able to go back into it's gold frame in my room, I hope.
• The water bottle Andrew gave to Andrea and Julie to give to me. At least I had it for a little while.
• The poster The Local Rabbits made for me.
• All my signed programs (Andrew's, LR, Killjoys)
• My camera full of all my pictures. I found this later on, too. Or what was left of it. I asked a security guard if they had seen it, and a girl pointed it out to me. This guy heard her, too, and he beat me to my film. Just as I bent to retrieve what I could, he stomped on it in front of me. Then he snickered something nasty like "Sloan Sucks" and ran away. Arg!
• My Navy Blues stickers
• Jay's birthday present. It was nothing big or expensive, but I brought it just in case.
• My navy blue hoodie. My favourite piece of clothing I own (next to my Sloan shirt). I really miss that. It was Discus, so comfy.
• My shorts. I got those back.
• My Econoline Crush CD
• My Foo Fighters CD (The Colour & The Shape)
• My signed Killjoys poster
• My posters I made for the Sloan show that said HEY YOU in huge letters
• A $9 bottle of sunblock
• My favourite blue hair scrunchie
• My ticket stub

Andrea found me a little while later. She just ran up and hugged me, she didn't say a thing. She just seemed to understand, you know? It was exactly what I needed right then. Thanks Andrea, you rock.

The next thing, after I calmed down, was to get in line for Sloan FanFest. We ended up being first. I met a whole bunch of cool girls there, if any of you ever see this, thank you for understanding and being so nice.

A whole bunch of Econoline Crush leftovers cut us, so I ended up not being able to see the guys first. But when we did get in, I was overwhelmed. I had waited 6 years for this moment, and it was in the worst circumstances. I cried, and told them everything that I could. Andrew wasn't there, so I told the other three. Jay looked stunned and upset for a minute, but didn't say anything. Patrick's jaw hit the floor and he said "Are you ok?" He seemed honestly concerned. I said no, I was hurting, but I would survive. He accepted my answer and moved onto the next person in line. Chris, on the other hand looked confused. He told me to move over to him and explain it again. So I did, while two stupid girls about 5 feet away yelled "I love you, Chris!" and "Will you marry me, Chris?". Note to all, when someone is obviously upset, and needing to talk with someone, don't interrupt them, ok? Chris totally blocked them out, he didn't even look. For a few moments, he was all mine! (Selfish, Possessive...) Andrew came in with Mel halfway through my explaining it to Chris. I had put my signs on the table to show them, but I think they thought I wanted them to sign them, so they did. Noooo! I didn't say anything, though. Oh, that would've sounded good. "No, please, I don't want you to sign anything -- Chris, No!" Right, sure. Slap his hand away...

Anyway, Chris asked me if I had gotten a program, and I told him they were all stolen. So he grabbed one, wrote my name in big bubble letters at the top and wrote "I'm sorry about these festival goons" underneath. Then he passed it back down the table and made sure everyone else signed it. He put my signs on the ground beside his chair, which confused me, because I was sure he knew I wanted them back. Should I walk away, or try to stay close in case he wants to talk to me? I ended up managing to stay, and he finished with some other autographs. Then he got to my signs. He crossed out the word "Prohibited" and wrote "For Arse Holes". Then he posed for a picture with me. It was nice. I gave the guys the Sloan Buds Bracelets I had made for them, and gave Chris gum I got for him. Patrick spun the bracelet around in his hands, (it was one of those spiral ones), looking mezmerized. It was funny. Chris put the bracelets I made for him in his wallet. That flattered the hell outta me. His wallet is apparently a very special place, only important things go in there. Like the ticket stub for his first concert. I almost forgot my program, and Chris called me back to get it. So now I have two autographed signs and a signed program. I left. feeling horrible still. Some of my friends went back and took pictures for me (I wanted some but I couldm't take them myself). I missed every performance after Sloan. The only one I saw all the way through was The Local Rabbits.

Something did happen (besides finding my picture and shorts later) that cheered me up a lot, for the moment. I saw my friend Mark, and I got to meet his girlfriend Joey (I hope I spelt that right, if not, I'm sorry). She's really nice. Anyway, Mark is the drummer in a Winnipeg band called The Harlots, and they should be really good (I haven't had a chance to see them live yet) so please go and see them. He's really cool, and he really cheered me up without even knowing it. Thanks Mark!

I met three cool girls afterwards, in the parking lot. They were really nice and they liked Sloan. They listened to a lot of my story, too, so thank you, whoever you were!

That's about it for my EDGEfest experience. It wasn't very good, I'm still devestated from losing all my stuff. Especially my Navy Blues CD. I hope whoever has it takes care of it for me... it's a treasure. At least I got to meet Sloan, finally. I guess I shouldn't complain. It was mostly my fault that all this happened, right? Anyway, thank you for reading this, whoever you are. If you're not already a friend, you are now!

Hey - pick up a pen and write me!

Kari D., #1 Sloan Fan
27 Vanscoy Road
Winnipeg, MB
R3R 1H4
no1sloanfan@hotmail.com