So, this year (as last year) my hubby usurped my camera, and I missed out on a ton of shots. I’m a very visual person, and feel like I’m failing at this post because I can’t post images that’ll describe what I saw. For that, I am sorry. Next year, I’ll either steal back my camera, or I’ll just buy a new one.

Tattoos:

So, here, I really have to apologize for not having shots of some of the awesome tattoos that I saw at MDF. There were a ton of well inked images, and a couple of neat ideas.

The interesting trend that the ladies of MDF presented is the thigh tattoo. I noticed this placement of images last year, and this year it was even more prominent.

I didn’t see many thigh tattoos that were great for imagery, but most of them looked lovely from the long view. I wonder if it’s not as prevalent up in the True North ’cause it’s too cold most of the years to show them off.

I think that it’s a great, and kinda sexy, piece of flesh to ink up. I’ll personally keep my mind on that area as I continue my coverage.

Back Patches:

So, as a designers, I’ve become a bit interested in the design of pack patches. As a communication medium it’s sort of an interesting mix. What is most important? What is a snarky little comment?

Patched vests/jackets, as a form of self identification, are really kind of neat. It’s such a definitive statement about “Who am I?” (Please excuse the extra photos. I’m still learning wordpress.)

Sluts:

So, I’m being kind and not posting one of the snaps that my hubby took over the weekend. (There were a few NSFW shots.)

About 2% of the people at MDF were sexy ladies dressed for clubbing. (It would have been a goth/metal style club, but clearly a club and not an outdoor fest.)

A few years ago, this would have irked me. These days, I’m not so insecure, and have a totally different outlook.

I have to wonder, how do these ladies stand all day in high heels when I can barely suffer through 12 hours in sneakers. How do they keep their make up fresh when I’m sweating off my sunscreen? How do they avoid burning their bosoms which are popping out of tiny bra-tops when I’m scalding my shoulders? I’m serious. I need to know these trick and techniques. Please!

Extra (typography):

So, I’m a designer, and some stuff REALLY bothers me, aesthetically. Typography is one of my pet peeves. I’m not a great typographer, but I know the basic rules.

One rule is: Blackletter was not designed for ALL CAPS.

I understand that Bathory’s awesome, so they get a free pass, but come on guys, graphic design students are all over the place. FIND ONE. Ask your buddy (or your buddy’s buddy) if your typography is reasonable.

If you want to break the rules, go for it. I ask only that you understand which rules you are breaking. That way your rule breaking has a point and a hell of a lot more impact. (Colophon for the above graphic: Wilhelm Klingspor Gotish)

I don’t know what is about these dudes. I end up with a sore neck and an angry hangover every time I head out to see them. I don’t know about you, but that equals an epic night in my books.

All photos by Maidenhell.

Tickets:

This is the second year that I bought a pair of tickets online via the MDF website.

This year, I wasn’t sure if I could make the trip (’cause of work) so we didn’t order the tickets until pretty late in the game.

Due to a small glitch on their end, only one ticket (of the pair) was mailed out. I kinda freaked out because of the lack of time until the fest.

I shot the guys back an email, and forwarded them my invoice. Within a week they had sorted out the issue and mailed me the missing ticket.

I also missed out on buying tickets for the Thursday pre-show (again because of work and stuff), but they held a late sale for a couple dozen tickets. I snagged a pair. Because of  the late date, the tickets had to be held at will-call. I was a bit stressed, but the will-call worked seamlessly.

Out of the two years of buying tickets, only once did I encounter a problem, and that problem was very quickly and easily resolved.

Beer:

This year, beer prices went up. *weeps*

Last year, a cheap beer + tip = $5. This year I was paying $5 + tip for beer.

I’m a marketing gal by trade, so I just have to make a comment about the UX of beers that take more than one piece of paper to buy. I’m not sure if it’s an issue of me not being familiar with the currency, or just that I tend to visit dive bars where $5 will pay for the drink and the bartender’s time. I probably would have spent 1.5x on beer if I could have gotten a drink with just one bill.

This year, they had two beer trucks. (Literally tractor trailers FILLED with bubbly goodness.) Seriously, how awesome is that?!? I can’t remember if they had two trucks last year, or if they had one truck (at the west end).

Last year, they ran out of the cheap beer about a day and a half in, but this year they were serving up to the end. (Or at least until Coroner, when I was done for the weekend.)

Security:

I have said before, and am saying again that the security down in Baltimore is AMAZING.

I would be more than happy to pay a 5% surplus on a ticket if it meant getting the service that the MDF security provides. Seriously. As overpriced as the TO shows are, I would pay 5% more if it means that I don’t have to worry about being harassed by the brats that are running the security at most of the TO metal shows.

The MDF security team are competent, professional, and friendly. The first guy that I encountered insisted that he wristband me before my hubby because ladies come first. He joked that his wife would be angry if he didn’t treat the ladies nicely. At every interaction, the security members actually smiled.

The security team were well equipped to deal with metalheads. They let us have a good time in the pit, and didn’t freak out.

The group in the photo-pit reached out to the crowd-surfers, cradled them in their well-muscled arms, and gently deposited them on the ground.

I think that a large part of the difference is that these guys are well trained and physically capable of dealing with the crowd. These guys are literally pros.

Unfortunately, this year there was a bit of trouble with security. I missed out on the situation (hubby and I left after Coroner) and our roomies also missed out (they left after most of Ghost), so I can’t add any new info to the event. I’d skip the whole thing (since I can’t personally report on it) but this was kind of a big deal.

From Ryan Official MDF (From their forum – Scroll down to post #11):

“Well, from what I’ve gathered from some people connected to Sonar, this sounds like a couple of bad seeds working security that just lost their composure, and instead of just pinning down a trouble maker and carrying him away from a place where people are congregating and trying to leave peacefully, they used mace without really needing to. As someone else said, it’s unfair to consider all of these guys “thugs”, especially the countless guys that we’ve worked with there for 5 or 6 years now, as we know they wouldn’t use excessive force for the sake of being a tough guy. Ultimately, mace will NEVER be allowed on any security guard ever again at MDF, except for 1 responsible head person that knows when they REALLY need to use it, which will likely be never. From what I was told, the mace incident out front stemmed from someone saying he was going to kill a cop, but still, the best remedy to the problem would have just taken only a few of the numerous security guys sitting down around the entrance and just carrying him away from the area without making much of a scene.”

As it stands, I have never had a negative incident with security at MDF. It sucks that it happened, and hopefully everyone involved are doing ok.

I debated about the best way to talk about the fest. Hellbound always has an awesome review, and I saw a few of those guys down there. If you don’t subscribe their site, I’d recommend it.

Also, my buddy Laura who road-tripped it down with us will likely have a lot to say about the weekend.

I figured that my best angle of attack is to focus on the experience. There are a few factors that stuck out over the weekend. I’m going to break the weekend down to three topics:

1. Organization: On buying tickets, beer, and the pepper spray incident.
2. Fashion: On tattoos, back patches, and sluts.
3. Incidents: On jerks, performances, and beach balls.

Congratulations to Jen and Jon on their recent matrimony.

It’s always very awesome when two metalheads meet up and are so great together.

Great metal chicks are SO rare, and Jen is a real prize.

The first time that I met Jen was at the (now dead) Trinport. She asked me “Do I look like an elf?!?” I have no idea what conversation she’d been a part of prior to this, but it’s kinda sorta awesome.

I met Jon through the hubby. Frankly, every conversation that I’ve every had with him was great.

Jen and Jon are so very lovely. Congrats guys. All the best! \m/

This was my first time at SN. I’d heard about it, but never quite managed to make it out. It’s an intimate space, but it was exactly right for this event. The crowd packed in to shove the Governor into his next year of life.

All of the bands brought a good show. I’d love to go into more detail, but as I previously alluded, I indulged. Lots. Very much lots.

I was most excited to see Eclipse Eternal. Although they’re local, I hadn’t been out to see them in ages. They hit us with a new stuff, and a good oldie.

I’m gunna have to get off my butt and hit up their shows more often.

Good times. Now I’m off to try to stretch out my headbanging muscles. Ooh.. the pain.

As much as I love the Tdot, it’s nice to roadtrip out to some other cities to check out their scene. (Even if the bands aren’t from the area.) The crowds fascinate me.

Hubby and I have an ongoing debate about which is better: “Toronto Crowds” or “Montreal Crowds”. He insists that Montrealers have more energy and enthusiasm. I say that they’re just as excited, and just as aloof as us Torontonians. I expect that we’ll still be fighting this fight when we’re 80.

I find that Metalheads are Metalheads. The enthusiasm is pretty much ratcheted up to 11 everywhere.

I’m not a huge fan of old school, parti-esque style of these bands, but these guys both got me up to the front of the stage. There was a ton of drinking, and a ton of headbanging, and all around good times.

Aside from the show, hubby and I did a bit of the tourist thing. I highly recommend this. Whenever I get to take off to a new city for a show, I like to take a few hours to see the sights.

On this trip, we swung by the Biodôme. We saw the baby owl that in that picture (yes, baby, the thing is supposed to look that huge) fly for the first time.

The trainer said that they expected it to fly in the next couple of days, but it just took off to that post on the left. She had a bit of trouble getting ahold of it again. It was epic.

Anyways, the point of this story is that it’s always worth taking a few hours to check out something different when you get the chance. (A note to those heading to MDF, check out the National Aquarium if you aren’t too hungover.)

Ak! (I know)

I could, at this point, make some legitimate excuses, but I think that you guys deserve better than some lame nonsense.

Frankly, lately, I’ve sucked with posting. I’m going to try to get back to where I was, and push further, and give you guys something worth reading.

Tomorrow, I’m going to post a brutal, honest, angry rant.

P.S. Thanks to everyone who voted in the video pole. I’ll add more moving content in the future.

Maybe it’s the images, rather than the embedded videos that are slowing you down.

Please vote and/or comment. Anything that I can do to improve your experience will make me happy. \m/

Instead of going over the ups and downs of the bands (there are a ton of great review out there), I’ll give you my impressions as a newbie at MDF.

My hubby had gone down for MDF7, but I was stuck up in the great North for a good friend’s wedding. I benefited from hubby’s knowledge of the streets, parking and hotels, etc.

Trip down:

Thanks to google, our trip to visit our buddy in Washington, DC (not the Washington at the other side of the continent that I had initially suspected) was marred only by the slightest of detours. The most excitement we got was when the border guard went through our bags so thoroughly that he opened every one of the sandwiches we packed for our trip in his quest for weapons and drugs. It was amusing, rather than alarming since my car group and I are all a bunch of squares.

Washington:

Our buddy Thor (that’s really what his dad named him.) put us up before the fest so that we could check out the US capital. We checked out the air&space and natural history museums. Free, ftw! Thanks US tax payers. I wish that Ottawa did that.

Maryland:

I was all ready for the fest when we pulled into Baltimore, but it was still super early, so we all checked out the Aquarium (a must-see. It’s pricey ($25USD), but well worth the cost.)

We checked into the hotel, grabbed a bite to eat and then hit the grounds by 3pm.

This was my first time out, so I was feeling a bit lost as I passed through the gate.

MDF:

I’m not going to go in chronological order here. I’m going to start with my strongest impressions, and go from there.

1. Security was AMAZING. These people were clearly professional. There were polite and proficient.  Toronto metal security (lazy and corrupt) would do well to take notice.
2. Bar staff was also wonderful. Even on day 3 after constantly serving booze to thousands of metalheads during 14h shifts, these people were attentive and prompt. Again, Toronto, LEARN!
3. The layout was amazing. The three stages were well laid out (anyone complaining about the side stage didn’t notice the awesome view from down on the street). Vendor and bars were well placed. Shade and seating were scarce, but with bit of a walk around, I was always satisfied.
4. There were two washrooms per gender plus a line of porta-johns. I have no idea which ladies clogged the several johns, but DAMN you!
5. The organization of the whole thing was almost flawless. The only hiccup was the line-up incurred due to the farmer’s market. (Seriously guys, talk to the FM guys and work out a more fluid entry.) Unfortunately, Honkey Kong played only to those (like myself) who had escaped the line and slid inside)
6. Bands were awesome! Yeah, I know. You’re thinking, why are the bands last? Well, frankly, I expected them to excel, and they did. The lack of stress sort of dropped them from my mind for this list.

Shopping Concourse (pic by Nat)

Street stage (night) (pic by Kev)

Street stage (day) (pic by Kev)

(Sorry for random formatting. I don’t know how to do CSS clears in wordpress)

Hubby Uploaded some clips to youtube: (in no particular order)

Anyways, to sum up this post in one word: GO!

Some of my friends are already booking hotel rooms for MDF9. I’ll be down, getting another horrible sunburn and eating way too many burgers. I hope to see you guys there! \m/