As promised, here is my blog post about Rifflandia. I'm staying at the school after classes, because my internet is still down at my house (I feel like a real student, taking advantage of free wi-fi and everything!) I'm going to do the same kind of template as I did for my
Folk Fest blog post, but probably a lot shorter. So here goes:
The Players
Name: Chelsea Brown
Age: 19
Rifflandia Experience: First-timer
Special Skills/Knowledge: Chelsea can remember almost every song she has ever heard. This makes her a handy asset in that she knows the name of most of the songs that the bands she knows play (cough cough City and Colour).
Name: Zoe Smith (me!)
Age: 19
Rifflandia Experience: First-timer
Special Skills/Knowledge: Intensely read up on all things Rifflandia before attending. Schedule? She knows it. Wristband connect? She knows where. What buses to take? She's got it. Pre-fest meal? OH BOY does she have a plan.
(not pictured)
Name: Jessica and Laura
Age: 19
Rifflandia Experience: Again, first timers.
Special Skills/Knowledge: Unfortunately, we lost them after the first set. They had a good time though.
The Venue
The cool thing about Rifflandia is that it is split up into day and night venues. I only bought a day ticket, so we stuck to Royal Athletic Park from 1 until 9, where there were two stages set up, the main one and a smaller side stage. I liked this venue because it was accessible, spaced out (but not too much so), and the stages weren't competing with each other. The sets were actually lined up really well, so they were never overlapping/playing over each other. This also meant that, if you chose to, you could see all of the acts playing that day. There was also a sweet food vendors area, featuring all Victoria-based food companies, which was nice to see. There was also "Artlandia," a small area featuring art from- yup, you guessed it- local artists. The night venues are split up all over the city, playing in different bars, clubs, and theaters. I definitely want to check it out next year, because I think it's a cool concept (although less convenient than having them all in the same area). Vaguely related to venue is Rifflandia's "Wristband Connect" and "Winlandia." Basically, simply having a Rifflandia entrance wristband can get you deals, free stuff, and entries into various contests all over downtown Victoria. Unfortunately, we didn't take advantage of this, but it's definitely an awesome idea, and something I would want to take into consideration next time.
The Music
We stuck to the main stage all day, and saw 5 sets. I really enjoyed myself- there wasn't an act that I didn't enjoy. Also, all the acts were on schedule, which was awesome. So, briefly, here's the run down:
Vince Vaccaro: A Victoria native (I think), I only knew a few of his songs, but I liked his style. The Peak plays "Catch a Fire" and "Costa Rica" a
lot, but did you know he also does an awesome cover of Arcade Fire's "Wake Up?" Yeah. It's good. Anyways, Vaccaro was the first set we saw. It was good- his music was a perfect way to ease into the music-fest mind-set. Overall, I like his music to begin with, and was excited to see him live. He didn't disappoint; he also played a bunch of new music, including a song called "Emergency," which I really like. Also, instead of CD's, he sold download cards...
that you can plant once you're done with them and they grow into flowers because it had seeds embedded in it. Yeah. Cool.
Jets Overhead: I didn't really know any of these guys songs before Saturday, but Chelsea knew their music and really liked them. She was right- they were good, and I enjoyed their style. While their stage presence was a little boring, their music was still enjoyable. Also, they played some of their new stuff, which is always nice to hear from a band.
AWOLNATION: I'd only heard of AWOLNATION about a week before Rifflandia, and didn't even realize I was seeing them until a few days beforehand. I like them though; it's fast music that's fun to dance/singalong to. "Sail" is a particularly catchy one. This was a nice break in between some calmer, more "mature" music.
Cold War Kids: Literally the only thing I knew about these guys were that they did the song "Audience of One." While it was cool to have one song I recognized, I actually really
really liked these guys. They were probably my second favorite of the day. It's always nice to hear a band that you don't really know and end up really liking them. Also, they had some of the best stage performance we saw.
City and Colour/Dallas Green: This man is amazing. Seriously. I've liked City and Colour for a few years now, but I only really listened to his old stuff. Not anymore. I have 3 new albums in my iTunes, just waiting for me to listen to. For real, this guy was amazing live, and probably the only reason I didn't sink into a deep depression about not seeing Bon Iver in Vancouver on Sunday night. He had the best stage presence of the crowd, and the audience loved him. Chelsea and I waited about 45 minutes between Cold War Kids and City and Colour just so we could get a good spot. It worked- we were right at the front, and it was awesome. By the end of his set, people were crying, singing along, and calling for more. He casually sipped his way through a few bottles of beer throughout, and played mostly newer stuff, but the songs I recognized (and loved) that he played included "Sleeping Sickness," and "The Girl." He also played a fucking amazing version of "Body In A Box." Seriously, it was goosebump worthy material. For one song, he politely asked everyone to refrain from filming/recording/taking any pictures. While it was tempting, it was a really cool thing to do, and the whole atmosphere changed with it. Hands down, he was the highlight of the day.
Crowd Surfers: There were a lot of them. I'm about the worst person ever when it comes to carrying crowdsurfers, but they're always fun to watch.
That's all! I had a great time, although I little sad I didn't go for the Superpass (oh wait- I'm a student, and it's pricey. But still...). There were a lot of other awesome acts playing, like Mother Mother, De La Soul, and The Knocks (who I wanted to see
so bad). Rifflandia is a really cool music fest- read more about it
here.
The cool thing about Rifflandia is that it is split up into day and night venues. I only bought a day ticket, so we stuck to Royal Athletic Park from 1 until 9, where there were two stages set up, the main one and a smaller side stage. I liked this venue because it was accessible, spaced out (but not too much so), and the stages weren't competing with each other. The sets were actually lined up really well, so they were never overlapping/playing over each other. This also meant that, if you chose to, you could see all of the acts playing that day. There was also a sweet food vendors area, featuring all Victoria-based food companies, which was nice to see. There was also "Artlandia," a small area featuring art from- yup, you guessed it- local artists. The night venues are split up all over the city, playing in different bars, clubs, and theaters. I definitely want to check it out next year, because I think it's a cool concept (although less convenient than having them all in the same area). Vaguely related to venue is Rifflandia's "Wristband Connect" and "Winlandia." Basically, simply having a Rifflandia entrance wristband can get you deals, free stuff, and entries into various contests all over downtown Victoria. Unfortunately, we didn't take advantage of this, but it's definitely an awesome idea, and something I would want to take into consideration next time.
