Joshua’s Live Music Memories (part 2): WayHome
Everything’s on pause this summer – but WayHome got a head start on the trend back in 2018 and we’ve been hoping that someone will hit play again ever since.
Over the course of three summers, we saw some cool art, fun music, and big headliners take the stage at WayHome, and it’s easy to look back at a long list of memories and good times and hot hot weather. For this post, though I challenged myself to bring the list down to three acts that I remember most fondly when they played their sets – with 5 more honourable mentions, you can see just below here.
There are also non-musical memories that I love. The way the WayHomies treating each other like a community and looking out for one another (and me), getting a sweet french braid in a last-minute appointment in the VIP beauty bar, my miracle cold beer from the trunk of the car, backstage interviews, holiday and Canadian Music Week parties, and more. I miss WayHome. And honestly, I’m at the point where I’m starting to wonder if maybe 2022 is the perfect time to bring it back as we’ll hopefully all be ready to get back together in groups of thousands to see music we love.
That would be great.
So, check out my three picks, and if you were at WayHome in 2015, 2016, and/or 2017 – leave a comment and tell us which performance(s) you remember most fondly.
Honourable Mentions: Kendrick Lamar, Walk The Moon, St. Vincent, Tegan and Sara, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats
The Killers – WayHome Stage, WayHome – July 24, 2016
When The Killers closed the Sunday main stage, I was excited. Heck, I’d been excited for quite a while leading up to their set. With so many hits and bangers to play, I couldn’t wait to see them get up there give ’em to us. What I didn’t expect was for The Killers to open with Mr. Brightside and blow me away instantly. We were sitting in the grass near the barn in the VIP when the music started and I was so surprised at the first song that I pushed Trish and yelled/shouted/screamed.
From there, the band just kept on rolling. They played a 15 song set (including the encore) and were an amazing cap to our second WayHome weekend. The energy on stage and in the crowd was fantastic. There was singing and dancing and happiness all around. And it was exactly what happens when the best of festival life happens.
What a fantastic night it was to be in a big crowd and watch a band of rock and rollers come out on stage and sing for us.
“I fanboyed hard during this set. I screamed and I cheered and I danced throughout the set and my smile was big, like I meant it, and my heart was full of happy.” – me, July 2016
Hit play on this fan-shot video from the middle of the crowd and feel what it was like to be there for Human.
Neil Young and the Promise of the Real – WayHome Stage, WayHome – July 24, 2015
When Neil Young was announced as a headliner for the very first WayHome Festival, there were competing thoughts of “Why aren’t we going with new music” and “Yes! Bring on the legend!” – in the end, I’m glad they went with the legend.
Originally, this was scheduled to be a regular 90 minute to two-hour set, but Neil Young said he wanted to play three hours, so it became a three-hour set. And boy howdy, did he make it count. With 24 songs including acoustic versions of After The Gold Rush and Heart Of Gold to start the show, and eclectic electric jams of Keep On Rockin’ In The Free World, Down By The River, Unknown Legend, and more, the set was packed.
Partway through the show, I started doing the math to try and figure out the average song length with the extended guitar solos and jam sessions going on. In the end, the average came out to about 7.5 minutes per song from the two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.
At 69 years old, Neil Young put on a rock and roll show that was full of piss and vinegar. There were classic hits and new protest songs. There was weird Uncle Neil stuff (like throwing Ontario organic cherries into the crowd) and as much energy as I can ever hope to have if I get to that age.
Backed by Lucas Nelson and the Promise of the Real, Neil Young gave us more than I could have hoped for on the first night of the first WayHome Festival.
Thank you, Neil.
Here’s a fan-shot video of Keep On Rockin’ In The Free World. Enjoy!
Arkells – WayBright Stage & Interview, WayHome – July 23, 2016
Two weeks before Arkells released their fourth album Morning Report, they gave the WayHome crowd something to cheer about.
My Arkells memories from that day start a few hours before the band’s 8 o’clock set though. As the afternoon sun beat the hell out of the crowds, we made a trip back to the media tent for some water and shade – and my phone buzzed when we hit the wifi. “…we have you guys down for the arkells at 2:50. Can you make it?” I replied five minutes later to say yes – and had 18 minutes to get ready to sit down with Max and Mike while Trish took our photos and we all chatted.
We talked about the new record, changes to the stage show (Max playing less guitar and having more freedom on stage, as well as the introduction of the Northern Soul Horns and the Arkettes), podcasts, what had changed over the years, and more. Trish snapped photos while we sat off to the side of a trail near the trees, and it was great. It was also a wonderful set up for the show later that day.
Note: I have a collection of photos that Trish has taken of me with artists during interviews and hangouts – and one of the pics that I keep on the wall in my home office is of Max and Mike and me from that interview.
When the band did take the stage, they crushed it. They were in the pre-headliner spot on the WayBright stage – which gave them a big crowd, no competition from a bigger band, and they played in that magic hour from daylight to darkness.
Max, Mike, Tony, Tim, and Nick played 11 songs in their hour set – and made all of them count. Max jumped down off the stage and sang as he crowd surfed during A Little Rain. The crowd sang along at peak volume for Leather Jacket and 11:11. The energy was great, there was a pride in having a Canadian band putting on a show like this, there was a familiarity with the songs, there was love for their cover of The Tragically Hip’s My Music At Work. The whole thing was wonderful.
It was 2016, but I can still feel it. It helps that if I’m ever feeling a need for some live music while I work, I can hit YouTube and watch/listen to Leather Jacket, A Little Rain (A Song For Pete), Drake’s Dad, Private School, and My Music At Work and I can feel myself off to the side, watching and dancing and jumping and singing.
If there was a moment at WayHome where I went all-in on an artist, that I became a fan and not just someone who appreciated the music or kept tabs on new releases, this was that moment for me.
I’d seen them once before and I’ve seen them a few times since – but that one, that evening spot on a side stage at WayHome in 2016, was special and memorable.
Scroll through the photos from the interview and set – and hit play on the performance videos if you want to feel some of that live music love.
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