Heavy TO (that's where I'm gonna be)

Several years ago I missed out on my chance for a road trip to Montreal to catch the inaugural edition of Heavy MTL, the first of Canada's now annual, simultaneous, two-city summer metal festivals. But that was 2008. Since then I've made it to the following Heavy MTL in 2010 and Heavy TO in 2011, and now I'm just about set to cover Heavy TO once again.

Heavy TO 2011

Heavy TO fest takes place this Saturday and Sunday, August 11 and 12, at Downsview Park in Toronto. I'm a little bummed it's the same weekend as Hamilton's Festival of Friends, meaning I miss a free performance by The B-52s. But I'm super excited to be seeing a bunch of bands I haven't seen in a long time or in some cases have never experienced live at all.

I'm going to be spending most of my weekend camped out in front of the two stages at Downsview Park, but I can guarantee that's where you'll find me when these bands are playing:

• Overkill (my one Overkill show was a great performance at Lee's Palace many years ago - I can hardly wait to see them again)
• The Dillinger Escape Plan (I interviewed and then witnessed DEP in a small club in Guelph many years ago. I'm way overdue for more)
• Suicidal Tendencies (when I was 17-18, ST were my favourite band for a while and I think this will be my 5th time checking out their live show. I hope they've still got it!)
• In Flames (yeah, they kinda lost me in recent years, but I've never seen an In Flames show I didn't like)
• Origin (this will be a first time for me - looking forward to it!)
• Fleshgod Apocalypse (possibly the most bombastic band on the bill? the apocalypse awaits!)
• Kataklysm (for how much I appreciate Kataklysm I'm surprised I've so seldom seen them perform...)
• Killswitch Engage (I had my Killswitch Engage moment, including one really enjoyable show. I hope this is another)

I'm also intrigued to see, for the first time, the big name bands and expect them to put on a damn good show, not just headliners System of a Down and, yes, even Slipknot, but also Marilyn Manson. (Manson, I'm putting in a request for "Dope Hat" right now!)

Providing my phone stays charged I expect I'll be sending out the odd live-tweet over the weekend, but I'll be getting a little more wordy for Exclaim.ca, reviewing several bands' performances. Keep an eye out for the review postings if you're so inclined.