That Rifflandia feeling has returned to Victoria as the first night of weekend one has concluded. Opening night featured a wide range of electronic sub-genres, from Dubstep to House to Experimental. Between four stages, twelve artists, and a handful of comedians, night one looked great from the get go. Without any further delay, let’s get into the first night of Rifflandia!
Have you heard of Big Night and what it can do for you? Festival goers were greeted by the cult-like collective walking around the avenue promoting the pilgrimage to The Dome. The atmospheric party ran The Dome stage from beginning to nearly the end of the night and brought out some guests including Saturday night performer, Jungle Bobby. For only being the second time Big Night has run, it has already developed quite the gathering. The stage was packed which should be noted for the next few nights, as if you want to see an artist there, get there early. For Big Night, the vibes were at an all time high and I guarantee the cause received some new followers.
Returning to the beginning of the night, the next stage to check out was the Base 2 stage. Starting the stage off properly was the house sounds of Mood Change. A very neat and relaxed set was provided and made for a nice way to ease into the festival. I took this moment to also check my surroundings. What was once Electric Avenue’s mainstage, has turned into a nice medium sized stage which I tend to prefer. The layout of the Base 2 stage also gives the opportunity for attendees to get closer to the stage as there’s no barrier, which feels more immersive.
It was finally time to make my first stop at the Main Stage. To start the stage off, Vancouver’s Kelland spun a set full of hype. Being the first performer on the mainstage is never easy, but someone needs to be first and Kelland took that challenge on and conquered it. Speaking of the main stage, the location of it was a great idea. I could already envision how packed the space would get but there was truly no bad viewpoint towards that stage. So for those preparing to get a headstart to the main stage for the festival’s other headliners, no need to stress!
The one artist I was truly excited to see prior to the start of the Festival, was Vancouver’s x/o. Harsh sounds, mixed with a wide variety of vocal progression made for an intense set at Base 2. While the festival mainly shared the one end of the electronic genre spectrum tonight, it was nice to get the experimental side as well. This is the one instance where I wish the Base 2 stage had visuals, because I could only imagine the sights we’d see mixed with the sounds we heard. On a side note, I’d like to take this time to mention that I caught up with x/o after their set and an interview with them will be released on the website soon, so stay tuned!
Before heading back to the mainstage, I decided to check out the Lafflandia stage. Local comedians like Dan Duvall and Elyott Ryan took to the stage and gave attendees a nice laugh break. By this time, I noticed the sound bleed between all the stages. Some stages were not too bad, but Lafflandia was competing with the mainstage all night. That is the only downfall of this year’s festival grounds but the spacing otherwise is great.
My only regret of the first night was not catching Kaleena Zanders for longer. From the few minutes I caught, I could already tell she would have a strong set. For the first time of this year’s festival, I could hear the crowd buzzing. “Did you see Kaleena?” and “Her set was insane” were common sayings and had left me reaffirming that I would not make this mistake again if Zander’s returns to Victoria.
Back at Base 2, Mount Pleasant was up and these gentlemen knew how to party. Bringing the house vibes, the duo spun to a very interactive crowd. Everywhere I looked, someone was grooving in their own way, from dancing to foot tapping. My initial idea was to just catch a short portion of their set as I did have other sets I needed to capture, but I couldn’t leave as I was so immersed in the vibes they were providing. I do support my decision to stay longer because their set was a nice discovery for me and I can definitely see myself adding their music to my playlist.
The name Destructo, at first I did not fully understand but after his set, I definitely felt my brain self-destruct, in a good way! Big box electronic music at its finest and for how packed the stage was, you could tell the crowd knew how good it was too. Visuals were on point for Destructo as well. After all the destruction, I needed a prescription to help with my since-destructed brain. Thankfully, Dr. Fresch was up next and he knew what type of medicine to give the fans; heavy bass. For his first time back in Victoria since prior to the pandemic, Dr. Fresch gave it his all and mentioned how he was excited to have returned to the island. These two sets from Destructo and Dr. Fresch blended into each other, which was nice to see since there was no real change of equipment, so why not keep the party going!
After the back to back mainstage sets, I decided to head back over to Base 2 and catch the final performer on that stage. Gl0bal treated us to some of the most energy filled dubstep of the festival thus far. Without hesitation, I can honestly say that this set caught me by surprise and made me a fan. While his set alone did the job, I must also point out that his energy itself was a nice touch. With the final sets closing at Base 2 and The Dome, everyone made their way to the mainstage for the final set of the evening.
Night 1 headlining duties were provided by British tech-house sensation, Chris Lake. Flashing lights, extreme visuals, and a well-crafted set would’ve already made for the perfect ending to the night. I say would’ve because not only did Chris’s set have all 3 of these items, but his set also featured the very first showing of the Rifflandia drone show. Up in the sky, drones danced to create a visually incredible experience. With this in mind, the ending to the night reached new heights beyond perfect and I didn’t know that could happen!
It felt nice to return to our little big festival. I can only imagine what the rest of weekend 1 will hold for our little community. To say I am excited is an understatement, but for the time being since I am exhausted, I will use that word. Now it’s time to rest up because we got a whole lot more to cover over the next couple days!
