“The thing is,” Sam Endicott of The Bravery tells me, “Sometimes I lie.” He’s talking about the set he just played in the pouring rain at Edgefest in Toronto’s Downsview Park last Saturday. He yelled out to the crowd between songs: “This one goes out to the fat man dancing in the towel!” The crowd cheered wildly, though there was no such man. But, he is quick to defend, the girl he asked to show her boobs during the rainy set was real.

“I don’t understand how a guy can put his girlfriend on his shoulders and encourage her to show her breasts,” says the band’s lead guitarist, Micheal Zakarin. Though after some brotherly prodding from Endicott, he agrees that he often does that exact thing with his (possibly non-existent) girlfriend. Endicott tells me about a few things I know to be truths, like the time his bandmate, Mike Hindert, showed his penis to Glastonbury in 2005 and it ended up in a documentary about the legendary festival.

The Bravery has a reputation for being a tad rebellious, getting naked onstage and being general “bad boys.” They were kicked out of an Island Def Jam party a few years back for being troublemakers, and they were known for feuding with labelmates The Killers.

Sam Roberts plays in the background and Endicott muses, “We all have to find the Sam Roberts within us.” The boys are quick to tell me they’ve settled down in the past few years. Well, right before they tell me they don’t like journalists and Zakarin offers to put me up on his shoulders.

I ask why so many of the band’s songs are about regret. “I guess I have a lot of regret expressed through the power of song.” As I scramble to write down the prophetic quote, Endicott gets a little agitated. “This is why I don’t like music writers,” he says, “People will read that and think I’m a douchebag. I meant that to be funny.” Got it. Try not to take the nice musicians seriously.

As soon as I meet Attack in Black’s Spencer Burton, he expresses his disinterest in being interviewed by me. “Wow. Uh, this is awkward,” I joke.

“Oh God, you know I’m joking, right?” His handler looks back in a slight panic. “You know he’s joking, right?” They both look upset. After I assure Burton that I know he’s joking, he starts to explain, “Sometimes journalists just ask me if I’ve lied to them.”

Some people didn’t like the last piece I wrote about AinB, in which the band claimed they had a recently deceased fifth band member, Shiloh. “The people who didn’t like that article are crabapples,” Ian Kehoe, bassist, proclaims. I feel a little better.

Attack in Black is collectively tired. They’ve just flown in from Edmonton (they’re currently on tour with Jimmy Eat World) to do Edgefest for a slightly drab crowd and are flying out to Vancouver after the show. Lead singer Dan Romano actually lies down for a nap during the interview, which I try not to take personally.

They’re self-deprecating as always. When asked if some fans come to see them rather than headliner Jimmy Eat World. Burton tells me, “We have a healthy modesty; we know our place in the world… Okay, we hate ourselves.” Last thoughts from the band include, “Never pick up wooden nickels,” and, “Buy us a frisbee,” from Kehoe.

Montreal electro-pop outfit Creature, on the other hand, do not hate themselves. They rock the second stage, breathing light into an otherwise dismal day of rain and mud. “We are all in love with ourselves,” CowBella, the band’s singer/guitarist/cowbell player tells me.

“Narcissistic,” says Gina Simmons, singer and guitarist. “Make sure you write that down.” Their show is a mix of fun, energy and pop-driven beats. The crowd loves it and it’s definitely an Edgefest highlight.

The band is adamant about being genuine, having fun and dancing. “I like it when a band puts some thought into a show,” Sid-Z tells me.

“We need to be able to dance,” CowBella says, jumping in, “If we don’t dance to our own songs, we throw them out.”

“That’s why we have 900 songs,” Ho tells me, “All in different keys.”

“I’m going to get in trouble if I print lies about you,” I tell them sternly.

“That’s okay,” Ho says, “Lies are what the people want.”