Rifflandia Day 3

Jesse Roper

The heavy rain that had plagued the park for the first few bands dissipated just before the set from Jesse Roper. A Victoria native, it was fitting that the weather would fluctuate so rapidly for him. As the sun came out, Jesse’s barefoot antics and dramatically nonchalant guitar solos coaxed a waft of unidentified herbs out of the crowd. After a frenetic harmonica duel and an insane drum solo involving the drummer’s head, Jesse unleashed his solo madness and the patron saint of tie dye jumped on stage with a large flag.

Tacocat

Despite listening to a few of this band’s songs and reading their spiel in the Riff magazine, I wasn’t too sure what to expect. I know they would be girls with beachy/punk vibes but didn’t know much else. Tacocat sounds like Best Coast but with a full band, and with a Bethany that eats Lunchables on the daily. They were the first band to make me wish I had earplugs in, but I enjoyed their well coordinated seapunk aesthetic.

Tacocat being Tacocats

Hollerado

Following a set on the East Coast the night before, the band was clearly tired -obvious not by their questionable playing but by their synced outfits. Despite the apparent lack of sleep, the group continued to put on a fun show and appeared to be full of energy.

Emancipator

A producer from Portland, Emancipator was a rare foray into electronic dance music for the shows at the Athletic Park. His trip hop beats immediately brought out the west coast festival vibe in the crowd, with furry animal hats appearing out of nowhere. He had a live violinist playing with him as well which added a more “live” dynamic to the electronic productions.

Joey Bada$$

There is something strange about watching 14 year old upper middle class girls getting down to music like this, but somehow none of that matters once Joey starts rapping. Accompanied onstage by bottles of Hennessy and champagne, Joey came out with guns blazing and destroyed. One of the best sets of the festival for sure. One highlight: Joey bringing all of the 14 year old girls from the front row onstage to dance with him.

Julian Casablancas & the Voidz

I was surprised to learn that Julian was now sober after seeing his set. His vocals were on point and the music was great, but as he stumbled around stage I tried to guess what was in his red cup – probably just water. It was amazing to see the voice I had heard for so long in it’s human form, and the band was so good that it was actually difficult deciding who to look at during the set. The highlight for me: Beardo shredding on the Kalimba for the intro to a song (while telling the sound guy how to tune his guitar). Absolutely nuts.

Julian grimacing at some unfortunately timed feedback