Headstones frontman Hugh Dillon admits he may be squinting into the sun during his Toronto band's outdoor set tomorrow at Edgefest in Barrie's Molson Park.

Headstones -- a hard-rocking outfit made for dark, packed, smoky taverns -- take the main stage about halfway through the annual Canada Day music festival. That means they'll be performing sometime in the late afternoon,

But, hey, it's not like Dillon and the boys haven't played in daylight before.

"We played the first Roadside Attraction and we were slotted early in the day and, in a lot of ways, it's fun," Dillon says. " 'Cause it's an exciting vibe because you're playing with a bunch of other bands. There's a whole different set of crew guys. And, in a lot of ways, that's really where you're either a phony, in terms of your interpretation of your own work, or you can really play under any condition.

"And that's what we've learned to be able to do. We go out there and play regardless. I've played to 100 people and to 10,000 and if we're excited about what we're doing, then it just translates."

Still, Headstones -- whose fourth album, Nickels For Your Nightmares, has sold 30,000 copies since its release in April -- seem to be one of the most under-rated groups in Canada despite exciting live performances and some solid songwriting. Not to mention Dillon's live-wire reputation on stage and off, although these days he's clean and sober.

It was that presence that led Toronto filmmaker Bruce McDonald to cast him as the lead in the critically-acclaimed 1996 rock 'n' road movie, Hard Core Logo.

"I get a lot of people saying, 'You should be bigger than you are,' or, 'What's kept you down?' " says the singer. "The thing that keeps me going is that we have slowly, by inches, gotten bigger and better. And the records, I think, prove that.

"There's nothing wrong with being an underdog band. It's just a lot of work trying to change people's misconceptions. I guess this is why Edgefest is good for us, because it gives us a chance to play in front of all these people and it's really down to the music."

Speaking of which, the biggest surprise about Nickels is the strength of the more contemplative tracks like the first single, Settle. That's not to say there isn't also plenty of anger -- perhaps best summed up in one song titled F--- You.

"This was a hard record to make in a lot of ways; you don't really notice how complex some of these songs are," says Dillon, whose band will tour North America in September.

"There's a song called Pinned You Down, which is like five-four time or something bizarre and it's a difficult, difficult song to write, let alone perform. And you get people just kind of going, 'That's a fast one.' They don't realize how complex it is.

"I think we've just gotten better as musicians and with writing and everything else, we're just more confident. It's just easier to state your opinions and not self-edit."

That may be true on record but Dillon, normally an outspoken interview, is uncharacteristically diplomatic when asked about this year's Edgefest lineup, headlined by U.S. neo-grunge act -- and frequent cringe-inducers -- Creed.

"I heard Filter was playing and I'm a huge Filter fan," he says. "And Creed, I'm not all that familiar with them. You know, I don't want to put down any bands. They're doing a job, I guess. I'm just happy to be playing, that's all."