- Rifflandia happens every September in Victoria, the capital of BC. Situated on Vancouver Island, a 90-minute ferry ride from Vancouver itself, Victoria is quaint and pretty, the kind of place locals go for a weekend getaway, and where many others go to retire. But in spite of, or perhaps because of, its more relaxed outlook, Victoria has a relatively strong and dedicated club scene. (Although let's not forget that this city gave us Mathew and Nathan Jonson, The Mole and others.) That scene gets its time in the spotlight during Rifflandia, a city-wide showcase of the arts split between a family-friendly shindig in Royal Athletic Park and a diverse nighttime schedule spread across a dozen venues. With quite a few events focusing on dance music, I approached my first time at Rifflandia wondering whether or not the festival could hold up for the sound's devotee.
In short, it did, primarily because of its adventurous sense of diversity. Each venue had its own personality. There was the outdoor Market Square, with an all-ages area full of overexcited kids and a rather outsized stage setup for the festival's more EDM-leaning acts (though Addison Groove's rhythmic acrobatics went down well, too); the alternative arts collective WolfSheep, who turned their combination tattoo studio, gallery and art shop into a makeshift club with some eye-catching stage design; and then Lucky Bar, a hallway with an elevated DJ booth that holds about 180 people and has a fantastic soundsystem. I wouldn't hesitate to call it one of the best clubs in the province, and certainly the best in Victoria.
Lucky Bar was home to Sub|division, a long-running monthly night responsible for much of Victoria's more forward-thinking parties over the past five years. Their programming this year reflected their ever-diversifying purview: Tessela and Avalon Emerson packed out the tiny room, with a queue stretching almost around the block. Emerson covered a wide spectrum, from her own lush origins to classic house material, while Tessela held back, preferring heady cuts by the likes of Kassem Mosse rather than a brutal lashing of breaks. And though Visionist delivered an uneven, haphazardly-mixed set of hip-hop and grime, Graze made up for it the night before, dropping a stunning 90-minute live set that kept the room moving and hungry for more. That's another thing about Victoria—the crowds are eager and unpretentious, more than willing to take left turns with the DJs.
Rifflandia also showed off Victoria's cast of characters, wizened veterans and younger newcomers (one of whom gave me an EP on a USB stuck inside a sandal) alike. In some cases, they even had peak-time slots to compete with the headliners. It was an illuminating look at homegrown electronic music from the Island and in Vancouver: local duo Hi-Q Soundsystem played an ambitious dub set with live instrumentation, Monolithium and Jacques Porveau both took an adventurous approach to blending club styles, and Vancouver stalwarts Max Ulis and Michael Red performed well, the latter impressing with a live set of fluid and atmospheric dubstep(ish) beats. Even the drinks had a local emphasis: eschewing any large corporate sponsorship contracts, Rifflandia chose local breweries and wineries instead, meaning that relatively affordable and high-quality choices replaced the usual overpriced festival swill.
The festival wasn't without its sore points. Capacity issues meant that club hopping after midnight was essentially impossible, so you had to be strategic about what you wanted to see and when. The city's relative sleepiness meant that there was zero afterhours presence, and sound was uneven—while excellent at Lucky Bar, Market Square's system turned crunchy for Hrdvsion and was way too quiet for Addison Groove. The daytime event in Royal Athletic Park had a wonderfully communal feel, with local shops, vendors and excellent food, but suffered from generally aimless programming. Switching from overcooked indie pop (Dragonette) to listless indie rock (The Airborne Toxic Event) to possibly the worst band I've ever heard (Airbourne), only The New Pornographers lived up to what an act on the main stage of a festival should sound like. But that's a relatively small consideration for someone who came to the festival for the nightlife, and you could purchase separate passes for the nighttime anyways.
And the evening hours offered more than enough. I haven't even mentioned what went down in the other ten venues, like boatloads of Canadian indie rock, rap shows from Ratking, Danny Brown and Del Tha Funky Homosapien, a punk show or two and plenty more. Rifflandia has a lot to offer no matter what kind of music fan you are, and there are worse places to spend a weekend in than Victoria: full of natural beauty, good food and friendly people.