RIFFRANDIA!!!

This past weekend was insane. I had the great pleasure of being given a press pass to Rifflandia, an annual music festival here in Victoria. I was teamed up with my new friend, and fellow Nexus employee, Shane, who had a grandiose plan for a pure gonzo experience of Fear and Loathing proportions....and they didn't exactly fall short. The weekend was awesome. Substances were consumed (nothing dangerous) crazies were encountered (mostly the pretentious kind, not the dangerous kind), and a lot of awesome music was enjoyed (and a lot of music was also sarcastically scoffed at).

Here is a small recap of bands that really stood out to me:

Beach House It might have been the pot cookie talking, but this band was fantastic live.

Zeus These guys were just plain fun. They did a cover of a Genesis song, and it was AWESOME. Their lead guitarist also completely nailed that Beatles' Rickenbacker tone that I love so much.

Holy Fuck Pure madness. Don't care for their recordings, but I'd seem them live again any day.

Library Voices Loads of fun, super energetic band.

Timber Timbre Pretty sombre, gave me a sort of mellow Murder By Death vibe that I liked quite a lot.


Other than being introduced to these wonderful bands, I also learned a few things. First off, press passes are a golden gift from God, and by God I mean my superiors at the paper. The kind of gift that lets you jump ques, go closer to the stage than any non performer, and generally push your way through a crowd with that sense of purpose that only an asshole photographer can really have.

Speaking of pictures, I really really need a faster lens for show photography. I was shooting with my 55 mm that only goes to f 3.5, and though I got some great shots, I also missed a lot of other opportunities because it just couldn't get in enough light. I will not be able to afford anytime in the next 10 years so I will merely cry. People also tend to like crappy music. It's depressing.

Also, in my short life as a show photographer, I've been in a lot of different crowd situations. I've photographed punk/hardcore shows where people are pushing and hitting each other, and metal concerts where I've seen people get concussions, but I've never had more difficulty navigating to the stage than at Holy Fuck's set at Element. The crowd was more or less a lot of hipsters and people on E dancing in one large sweaty mass. This mass was near impregnable, and easily offended by anyone trying to navigate its narrow corridors. That being said, my favourite shots of the weekend were of Holy Fuck. Great show.

I'll be putting pictures up soon on my website, and they'll also be in the next issue of which is out on Wednesday. Check out Nexus' website at http://www.nexusnewspaper.com