I woke late on Sunday. I’d missed the Pride Parade that I was supposed to be a part of and instead woke up feeling crusty and hungover. Grim was the only word to describe it. A shower, some yoga, and a matcha were in order to fool the world into thinking I’m human.
I headed downtown with time to spare and spent a bit of time in the Phillips Tap Room. I enjoyed a Dinosour Stone Fruit Slushie and looked through my photos of the past few days. The slushie hit all the right spots and soothed my hangover. I had a brief chat with a guy I went on a date with a few months ago and we high five as we parted ways (I guess that’s healthy?) and I headed into the site.
It was definitely a more sparse crowd today, and people seemed sleepy but happy. I grabbed the first beer poured of the day and headed over to my usual viewing spot.
Victoria rock band Trophy Dad came out swinging to shake off the Sunday blues and draw the crowd in. The quartet has great stage presence and you can tell they were having the best time in the summer sunshine. Their enthusiasm was infectious as they cruised through songs like their new single Rust and did a rousing cover of Cher’s Believe. The lead singer, Nevil Meyer, had a broken foot and was rocking an air cast boot. He took a Polaroid photo of the audience and proclaimed “holy fuck, my leg HURTS!” They ended their set by telling the audience to make good choices and telling us that they love us. We love you too, Trophy Dad.
After that, I needed something covered in cheese to help my hangover. I opted for a Hawaiian pizza from Urban Wood Fired Pizza that was delicious and made quick!
Haley Blais was next on the schedule and she was lovely. Her voice was strong through her set and the band gently swayed in the afternoon breeze. The vibe from the set was calm and chill, which seemed to make everyone chatty. Blais has a new album coming out in September, and she closed her set with Coolest Fucking Bitch in Town which grabbed everyone’s attention at last.
I grabbed more water and had a wander through the misting arch, but then it was suddenly time for Whitehorse. The husband-wife duo from Winnipeg have an aesthetic that makes me weak (hello, aqua jumpsuit on the lovely Melissa McClelland with her beautiful platinum feather hair!), and their folk-rock music was blissful in the sun. They played songs off their new album I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying and some old faithfuls like Sweet Disaster and Baby What’s Wrong? They closed out their set with Broken and I felt a bit more whole because of it. Or it could’ve been the pizza and water.
Sudan Archives was the one artist I’d been waiting for all weekend and she exceeded all expectations I had of her. The LA-based violinist played in Iowa the night before and most of her things didn’t arrive with her. She graced the stage in a rainbow fishnet jumpsuit, rainbow pasties, and rainbow bikini bottoms from a local sex shop, and it was the best pride outfit in the whole backyard. She was lively and devoured the crowd before spitting them out. People were going wild for her and she was going wild in return. She bowed and hand picked her electric violin, taking up the entire stage with her presence. Selfish Soul and Freakalizer are two highlights, and I danced as much as my feet would let me.
At this point, I headed to the Greek to Go truck and grab a calamari wrap. I sat on the AstroTurf laid out for the lawn games and took a breather to look through my phone notifications and not be on my feet.
Bahamas took the stage (early!) as I finally found a spot to sit and eat my dinner, but they were easily heard in the entry lot. I made my way to the back of the lot to take it all in: the final act of the weekend, the crowd gently swaying in the evening air, and also perhaps double fisting some Tilt Lager because I had leftover drink tickets. The band played through a few recognizable tunes while our favourite group of youths was against the fence with a TOWER of drink cups. It was essentially a very expensive version of a wizard staff (if you know what that stupidity is – we can be friends) and Jurvanen noticed it, took it onstage, and managed to sing a song holding them all. It was the most exciting part of their set, and a good way to end the festival: quietly and gently sending us to the late evening.
Having some time to digest the weekend – here are my Tilt! wins:
- The young guys and their friends who danced hard for every performer.
- The excellent manageability and ease of the festival: queues were brief for the bathrooms, beers, and food, there was lots of space in the backyard with good views of the stage, and there was water everywhere!
- The gin and tonics. Phillips makes a cracking gin called Stump and everyone should try it.
- Loop Performance Ear Plugs. Worth the money. No ringing ears.
- Crashing in my own bed at the end of the night.
- How happy all the volunteers were; they were always smiling and dancing, and I even got some glitter from a lovely lady at the beer line!
So, it was worth it. Every sore muscle and hangover. Check out the next Phillips Backyard Weekender Reverb August 11-13. I know I’ll be there for another round.
