The Hillside Festival prides itself on a family-friendly (and really everything-friendly) vibe, which means smiling, dancing toddlers are as familiar site as jaded twenty-something. Many performers clearly got a kick out of playing for spectators a notch or two below their usual demographic, smiling and waving to the cheerful young’uns.
Legendary children’s performer Fred Penner flipped the script Sunday on the Lake Stage, gearing his set to an older demographic. Though he performed earlier in the day at the kid-friendly Rainbow Stage, this performance reached across generations. Entering the 40th year of his career, the Winnipeg-born entertainer has seen his followers grow up and have their own children and now has the luxury of playing for them all.
With a schtick that drew on nostalgia (who can forget The Cat Came Back?) and cameos from Serena Ryder and Dan Mangan, the iconic performer turned his set into an intergenerational celebration of unselfconscious childlike glee. There were plenty of kids at his set, but the 20 and 30 somethings seemed to be having the most fun, dancing, clapping and singing along like they never forgot the words.
That would be a tough act to follow, so Shad was lucky to play a different stage. The London, Ontario MC packed a tent full of engaged fans, a few of whom rapped every word from a privileged perched atop the stage. Shad’s lyrics are some of the wittiest in contemporary hip hop and it was great to hear the crowd cheer at every punchline. Live, he proved he has the flow to match. Not a single one of his gemlike lines was lost under his breath.
Back at the Main Stage, Sloan’s Hillside headlining status was less a blessing than a curse. By the time they hit the stage, many had already bolted off the island to beat the traffic home. The band had a chance to do some jamming with Broken Social Scene frontman Kevin Drew earlier in the day, but their official set was cut short just as they were hitting their stride.
After starting with a trio of songs off their new record, The Double Cross, they dipped into their far-reaching back catalogue (as always, Money City Maniacs was a nostalgic highlight), but the crowd obviously hungered for more as the curfew forced the band to stop playing and the fans to return to a life of regular bathing, comfortable beds and responsibilities.
