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By T Hobside Photos by Sprout

Pemberton Music Festival 2008 was all about the music …


The inaugural event was a success. 40,000 plus fans swamped the small town of Pemberton. Traffic was an issue; long waits on the highway were the biggest complaint about the festival. By next year I am sure this will be sorted out. The ground site was breathtaking, situated at the base of Mount Currie 5 minutes from Pemberton. The facilities were ample cooling stations, medic tents and showers. The camping was a bit dodgy, so we opted to fork out the big bucks and stay in Whistler, which didn’t really work out either, due to traffic delays and line-ups getting to and from the festival site. Admittedly, we should have planned a little better. That said; we can’t wait to go back next year.


The festival site was well planned out in regards to the stages ,food and beer garden locations. The Beer garden was in fact one of the only spots to chill out in full view of the stage. The bathrooms were handy and food and merchandise vendors were all located within near proximity.Restrooms were a bit dirty , okay downright disgusting! I am not sure why there was no one to clean them or why people messed them up , so bad!


We were able to get there Friday in time to see Serj Tankian from System Of A down, then Interpol from NY on the Mount Currie Stage. They were great, a little more laid back than the last time we saw them in 2002 at The Royal. They have a much more sophisticated and polished look. Interpol infectiously dispenses tempestuous rhythms, mournful melodies with dark and richly layered guitar riffs. Nine Inch Nails …absolutely ruled the stage. The moment they set foot onto the stage the crowd went wild. Trent was in fine form, his voice was strong and unwavering. They always put on a great live show.


Saturday was amazing, once we arrived. I caught Buck 65. I had never seen Buck 65 perform live, he is really cool. A one-man show, with legions of fans. The Tragically Hip were on freakin’ on fire. Gord stepped into his stage persona and went ballistic as usual. Contorted and twisted he belted out the lyrics of their songs, Veins popping, eyes bulging, frenzied and fanatic, he must be exhausted at the end of a gig. Shortly after 7 pm Black Mountain were over on the Lillooet stage performing to a meager crowd of diehard fans. Local line up Black Mountain has been touted as Vancouver’s next break out band. They played a good set, but the energy seemed to waiver half way thru. The bands songs are good, but seem to lack that heavy bottom end that their songs call for. The Flaming Lips are in a league of their own; their live show is like watching a nursery crime in progress. Complete with teletubbies on stage and confetti that must have drifted for miles. Tom Petty was absolutely fabulous. After almost 30 years of being in the business of making music Tom can really put out. He played his hits Free Falling and I Won’t Back Down. You could barely hear Tom with the audience singing along they drowned him out.

Leaving the venue to go back to Whistler Saturday night was a bit chaotic. With media shuttles in the ditch, and fans waiting for hours for shuttles ended it on a sour note for some.

Sunday was a bust for us…. we tried for hours to get to Pemberton from Whistler. We had been in line since 12:30 and had traveled from Whistler to Nairn Falls approx 12 km IN 3.5 hours. I must admit, I now know every curve and pot hole on the highway from Whistler to Pemberton.

Musically the festival was a huge success, logistically, we all need to tweak it! We look forward to covering the event next year…

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