Rifflandia Recap: The weekend that was, wasn't, then was again

As you probably already know last weekend was the Rifflandia Music Festival. I had the pleasure of attending that festival along with my fellow bloggers Brenda Lee and AlexofAnders (who were much more punctual with their posts). But don't give up on me yet internet world as I still have a story to tell.

I started the festival on thursday night at element nightclub just in time to catch Said the Whale. They put on a fantastic show to a capacity crowd and played a whole bunch of new songs. From the sound of them their new album is gonna be an ear pleaser, and I can't wait till it comes out. After an encore filled with more new goodies the band left us with the timeless advice of "Now go see Shad!" I quickly heeded that advice and made for Market Square to catch Shad's set. As you may have heard from Alexofanders Shad did not disappoint either. I was especially happy to hear Rock to It and I Get Down; gotta love the hip-hop with the acoustic guitar in hand. After Shad Champion took the stage and I gotta say I've never seen a crowd so alive. With his G-Strings backing him up including Pilou Côté doing an amazing, amazing job on vocals the crowd was a writhing, sweaty, collective of very satisfied people.


Friday night for me was supposed to start with In Flight Safety but because of some delays, I ended up catching the Library Voices instead. Its a good thing I had my extra beer and missed that bus because the Library Voices were something awesome. Their high energy show had the whole everyone going, no small feat to the mostly sober 9:30 crowd. The lead singer was everywhere, standing on the barrier on the stage, jumping into the crowd, climbing the speakers, and all while still singing. The base player was no slouch either, enjoying himself just as much and giving the crowd a great show. The whole band blew me away and I picked up their EP and a t-shirt to thank them for such a great performance. After that show I'd been hoping to catch the Dudes and Mother Mother in Market Square but upon arriving a line-up half a block in length greeted me. Somewhat disappointed but not overtly so as I'd seen both bands before I headed back to Sugar nightclub for Zeus and the Most Serene Republic. Zeus put on a great show and I was glad I did get to catch this much hyped band(hype well earned as it turns out) but it seemed as though by the time MSR started the sound guy had fallen asleep as there was nary a lyric to be heard over whatever noise the speakers were spitting out. Most Serene Republic did not let this deter them however and still put on an excellent show. I hope they're able to track down their gear in Vancouver.


Saturday night was the night I was most looking forward to. I was really looking forward to seeing Jon and Roy, Jets Overhead, Hey Rosetta!, and Buck 65, and really really looking forward to Hey Rosetta! I made the effort to get downtown early that night as they were all playing in Market Square and I wanted to avoid the line up. No luck. My heart sank when I saw the massive line up confronting me. My girlfriend and I waited for a bit but as the security guards wandered up and down the block shouting that the venue was at capacity and no one could get in until someone got out I realized it was a lost cause. I knew what bands were playing and I knew no one would be crazy enough to miss out on them. So after much ranting and moaning about why they shouldn't have put all their headliners in one venue, and how there was only two all age venues open that night with Market Square being the most popular, we made our way over to Sugar once more in the hopes that the sound guy had woken up. As it turned out the sound guy was awake; he would have been hard pressed to sleep through the head bangin Pack A.D. set we saw. Man those two rocked and Maya Miller even kept us entertained between songs with her witty banter and insistance that it was Friday. Once the Pack finished up we decided we'd head over to Rooftop to catch the Holy Fuck DJ set. It was one of the shows that had been added to make up for the Market Square line up the previous night, and, I assume to relieve pressure on Market Square that night. I'd missed out on Holy Fuck's show earlier in the night and I figured this would kinda make up for it. Alas my hopes were once again dashed when no member of Holy Fuck was to be found at the Rooftop. A bartender confirmed our fears when she said that the bar was closing in 15 minutes. Needless to say Saturday night was quite disappointing and I voiced my concerns on the Rifflandia facebook group.


Sunday came with some renewed optimism. Brendan Canning was supposed to do a DJ set that night and I thought I might as well catch one more act. And then I got a facebook message from the Rifflandia group alerting me to two Mother Mother shows for those who missed out on friday. With hopes buoyed once more I made my way downtown for the earlier all ages show. A friend of mine had even picked up passes at the Rifflandia HQ that guaranteed us entry, and enter we did. Mother Mother played an excellent show and the crowd ate it up. You could tell every person there was there just to see Mother Mother as in between songs you could hear a pin drop. I was impressed that Mother Mother was able to make it back and do two more shows on such short notice, and the fans didn't seem to mind either. After that show I was too rocked out to catch Mr. Canning's DJ set so I headed on home.


So over all Rifflandia was a pretty rockin time. Yes there were some disappointments, but for a festival only in its second year I would say they did pretty good. The organizers made a solid effort to make up for missed shows with last minute additions. Admittedly this didn't always work out (the Holy Fuck DJ set for example) they didn't give up, and voila they somehow pulled two Mother Mother shows out of their hat. I even got a personal facebook message from one the festival people saying that one of those guaranteed entry tickets would be held for me. Despite my earlier reservations I was impressed with how much the organizers wanted to satisfy the fans, and this is one fan they did satisfy. I'll be back next year Rifflandia!

Rifflandia Recap in Pictures : Friday Night

Aidan Knight

Tegan and Sara

Zeus

The Most Serene Republic

Click here for the complete set of photos, as well as Thursday night's set on my Flickr.

Rifflandia 2009 – Day Two

After a dinner involving raw oysters (maybe not best thought out pre-concert dining choice), we headed over to the Alix Goolden hall as I already saw line forming before 5pm and Aidan Knight didn't even go on till 7:30p. We got there just as Aidan was in the midst of his first song. Luckily there were some seats left at the front to the side of the stage, well, only somewhat luckily, as my view was blocked a bit by a speaker although I could still see Aidan and he was playing solo. Aidan's songs are a nice, mellow singer-songwriter style but with some really fun and quirky lyrics. His personality really comes through in his songs as is easy to tell from the banter with the crowd in between songs. They may have come for Tegan & Sara but they were definitely charmed by the “Old Heartbreaker” to quote Aidan. His Michael Cera-esque mannerisms were hilarious in that slightly awkward way but he was very self-assured and that was really present in his playing. I'm sure Aidan gained a fair number of fans last night even if they were disappointed to hear that he's already taken (sorry ladies).
After he finished his set, we were greeted by a friend and fellow music lover by the name of Michelle Edwards whom we knew from commenting on the CBC Radio 3 blog. An Horse then took the stage and the crowd couldn't be happier. I'd never heard the Brisbane duo before but they seemed like a perfect match for a bill with Tegan and Sara. They had an awesome rock/folk styling a little in the same vein but not really, they have their own thing going on. We lucked out even more as Michelle texted us into the first song that she had room for us up in the front row on the balcony and as I couldn't even see the drummer, Damon, this was a welcome upgrade. There was a lot of banter with the crowd who was just buzzing with excitement and love for the performers. At one point a girl shouted out “Jesus loves you” and Kate yelled back “I'm sure he loves you too”. These guys had a great time playing and you could tell it, I thoroughly enjoyed their type of rock/pop/folk but how could one not for as their MySpace says, they sound like true love. I think both bands just fed off the massive energy in the room, which just made for a magnificent showcase even before Tegan or Sara took the stage. We could even see them watching An Horse's set from the sidelines and were really getting into it.
Finally came the moment everyone was waiting for, Tegan and Sara were about to take the stage. The stereo started blaring (Your love keeps lifting me) Higher and Higher which makes me think Ghostbusters II and then the lights went out and the crowd lost it, the screams and cheers were deafening, you could tell this crowd was dying to see Tegan & Sara. When the lights came back on there was some endearing banter with the crowd and some sibling rivalry before they tore into hit after hit such as the Con and Walking with the Ghost. Later in the set they asked if it was alright to play some new stuff as they always like to try new stuff in Victoria first, roars of approval from the crowd gave them their answer and they started up Hell. I really liked this new song, it was a heavier rock than a lot of their older stuff. They played a few more new songs like I'm Directing and Red Belt. Red Belt was little lighter and felt like a love ballad and rightfully so. Tegan had explained that it was a long song for the neighbourhood she lives in. Vancouver's eight blocks of hell as the The Province calls it but to us it's just the downtown East Side, an area that definitely needs a little love. From these new songs I can tell that the new album is going to be big. This is the first time I've gotten to see Tegan & Sara and not only was it a fantastic mix of new songs coupled with the ones I know and love but the banter is the part that really makes it a show. It's at times hilarious, cute and even a little bearing. Tegan says that Sara's only nice on stage but I find that somewhat hard to believe. These guys and their backing band really are doing something great and you should make sure you take part if you're given the opportunity. I will admit though, I ducked out near the end because I wanted to make sure I didn't miss music worthy of the gods, Zeus!

So, nary a minutes to spare before Zeus' 10:15p start we left the Alix Goolden Hall to get down the street to Sugar Nightclub. We got in without any hassle and could hear music filling the stairs to the second story so I assumed we had just missed the start of Zeus but when we got to the stage Library Voices were still playing. Looking at the crowd and the band who was especially drenched in sweat, we'd been missing on hell of an energetic and dance inducing performance. I wouldn't expect any less from theses guys and I was glad to catch the last two songs. The crowd hadn't gotten too big yet as I'm sure there was going to be lots of people pouring out of Tegan & Sara and funneling either to the already packed Market Square or Sugar. Myself, I was where I wanted to be and danced away to Library Voices. Once as they finished I got to take in the venue a little better and I will say that after two nights of starting in the Alix Goolden Hall, it was nice to have a beer when out at a show again. It seemed that the sets and the breaks in between were made longer to compensate for Cuff the Duke moving to the Market Square. As much as I would have loved to see Cuff the Duke, the elongated sets were fine with me especially after Zeus took the stage.
Zeus is a band that'd I'd been hearing a lot of buzz about, especially after their tour with Jason Collett. I heard something that they even did the backing playing for him too, but maybe that's just an un-instantiated rumour. I can easily see why people have been talking, their style of pop and roll must only come from living off the manna of the gods. If the above picture of guitar pile-drive tells you anything, it's that this band knows how to put on an awesome show and they just blasted into their set. They were constantly switching up instruments for songs, the poor Wurlitzer keyboard was balancing on the other keyboard. It only had the one tumble to the floor near the start but it's still kicking. The raw energy coming off the stage just electrified the crowd and got their asses moving, mine included. I was already familiar with a few Zeus songs like How Does It Feel and Marching Through Your Head but it was amazing to hear them live with a crowd that was just as excited as I was. Zeus built on that excitement with every song, they were unstoppable up there. Being the merch fiend that I am, I got a shirt immediately after the set, an awesome design of the god himself, Zeus. I hope when Zeus comes to your town, you're there to witness it because someday they'll be filling up huge venues and you might not be able to get in. By the time Zeus ended Sugar was getting really full and the crowd seemed to be descending into their alcoholism. I think there were a lot of people who got turned away from Mother Mother & The Dudes at the Market Square so they piled in here to drink away their dreams of beautifully harmonized vocals and graduating from Dudeversity. Still, if they made it for Zeus I'm sure those dreams were forgotten quickly in the waves of godly music.
After Zeus, The Most Serene Republic took the stage. These Milton based rockers came out to a sweaty crowd that was ready to party. The crowd was really getting into what TMSR was dishing out. They played some familiar songs, which were good, but it seemed that someone had decided that the drunks couldn't hear so they pumped up the volume, which was a shame. I saw instruments go up on stage such as the banjo and violin that I just couldn't make out in the distortion, even when I tried moving farther from the speakers. Still, this didn't deter the crowd at all as they started throwing their arms up and Adrian Jewett threatened to crowd surf even if it meant breaking his spine on the barricade. Don't worry, no Adrian's were actually hurt. They let loose a lot of energy, which is just what the crowd wanted, so much so that they even managed to call TMSR back for an encore. If I knew we could get encores at the festival still, I would have loved to try and get Zeus back up there.

Now that we're all up to speed on Friday night, lets look forward and onwards to tonight! Seems to me there are two really big acts vying over the late night spot, Buck 65 and Pink Mountaintops. Seeing Buck 65 do his thing would be pretty cool but I think I'm going to try and catch Pink Mountaintops. Buck 65 is playing the Market Square, playing before him are Hey Rosetta!, Jets Overhead, Jordan Klassen, Jon and Roy, Penderecki Quartet and Caracol. I'm not that familiar with anyone but Hey Rosetta! who are amazing and if you haven't seen them then this might be the spot for you, but be warned, I think the Market Square is going to fill up again tonight. Especially since the only other all ages venue is the Metro Theatre and it's probably going to be done around 10:30pm. Pink Mountaintops have a more familiar line-up to me with Vancouver rockers The Pack A.D. and local Victorians Hank & Lily. Colourbook and Mexican Power Authority are also on the bill, these guys are some other new ones for me.

Over at Element Nightclub playing at the same time as Hank & Lily (8:30p) is the electronic dance dynamos Holy Fuck. I've never had the pleasure of seeing Holy Fuck so I'm thinking I'll check this show out then head over to Sugar, sadly to miss Hank & Lily who are really amazing. I hope you guys go catch their show, I'm really sad to miss it but I don't think I can pass up Holy Fuck. Something that really caught my eye was the Metro theatre's bands for the night, we've got Laura Smith at 8pm then Char2D2 at 8:45pm and finally at 9:45pm there's Jon-Rae and THE RIVER!? I thought they haven't played together for ages, am I behind the times? I'm inclined to think the guy writing up the printed festival schedules made an error as the site says Jon-Rae Fletcher (although, here's the link: http://www.rifflandia.com/#/line-up/post/103/jon-rae-and-the-river) and same goes Jon-Rae's MySpace. Still, It'd like to see him again and Metro is practically a block from Sugar so we'll see if I can do all the running around to make I happen.

Anyways, those are my thoughts on Saturday night. I'm curious also as to what Brendan Canning's DJ set will be like but it's way out at UVic, I salute those who make the journey for it.

Having a great time here on the Island, hope you are too where ever you are!
- AlexOfAnders

PS. Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @AlexOfAnders, ask if you want pictures or anything. I'll do my best to provide. Speaking of providing, here for your entertainment is R3-TV's Dudeversity

Cuff the Duke: New Video and Tour Dates

Found this video via CBC Radio 3 from the (recently released) Cuff the Duke album Way Down Here

Cuff the Duke - P r o m i s e s



Catch Cuff the Duke and Friends at

MON SEP 14 Chicago Schuba's
WED SEP 16 Minneapolis The Uptown
THU SEP 17 Winnipeg* Royal Albert
FRI SEP 18 Saskatoon* Amigo's
SAT SEP 19 Calgary* Broken City 8 PM and 10 PM
SUN SEP 20 Calgary* Broken City 8 PM
TUE SEP 22 Edmonton* Pawn Shop
THU SEP 24 Vancouver* Biltmore Cabaret
FRI SEP 25 Victoria RifflandiaFest
SAT SEP 26 Kelowna Habitat
TUE SEP 29 Thunder Bay C2
WED SEP 30 Sault Ste Marie LopLops
THU OCT 01 Sudbury** Townhouse
FRI OCT 02 Kingston** Grad Club
SAT OCT 03 London** Call the Office
THU OCT 15 Hamilton*** Casbah
or in person at The Casbah Lounge or Dr. Disc
FRI OCT 16 Toronto*** Horseshoe
or in person at Soundscapes and Rotate This
SAT OCT 17 Toronto*** Horseshoe
THU OCT 22 Peterborough Montreal House
FRI OCT 23 Ottawa Babylon
SAT OCT 24 Quebec City Le Cercle
TUE OCT 27 St. John's The Rock House
THU OCT 29 Charlottetown Baba's
FRI OCT 30 Halifax The Paragon
SAT OCT 31 Fredericton The Capital
Guests:
* Zeus
** The Stables
*** La Strada

Elsewhere in the Blogosphere

The Line of Best Fit talks to Women (the band, not the gender).

Exclaim says EMI is abandoning Independent music stores

The Forest City Lovers have a new Vlog from their European tour.

Phog Lounge is posting multiple thank yous to people who helped make Phog Phest happen.

Pete Nema has Zeus at the Dakota.

Amy Millan Tour Dates Announced

Amy Millan is touring Canada in September and October in support of her new album 'Masters of the Burial' but for those of you still buzzing from Saturday's Broken Social Scene show, Amy will be doing a free show at Harbourfront on July 25 with Gentleman Reg! You can download "Bruised Ghosts" from Amy's new album from Quick Before it Melts (along with a track from Zeus).

Amy Millan - Skinny Boy



Saturday July 25th, 2009 Toronto, ON Harbourfront Centre
Wednesday September 30th, 2009 Montreal, Canada Ukrainian Federation
Thursday October 1st, 2009 Peterborough, ON Montreal House
Saturday October 3rd, 2009 Kingston, ON The Grad Club
Wednesday October 14th, 2009 Toronto, ON The Mod Club
Sunday October 18th, 2009 Winnipeg, MB West End Cultural Centre
Monday October 19th, 2009 Saskatoon, SK Amigo's
Tuesday October 20th, 2009 Calgary, AB The Marquee Room
Wednesday October 21st, 2009 Edmonton, AB Myer Horowitz Theatre
Saturday October 24th, 2009 Vancouver, BC Biltmore Cabaret