It was all about making magic on day two of the Phillips Backyard Weekender. Whether it be on stage, in the crowd, or by putting beets on a cheeseburger, everywhere you looked, there was something you hadn’t see before.
Not long after the gates opened on day two, local talent Jason Verners began performing the most high wire of acts: close-up magic. Playing to a small group of Picnic-ers hanging on his every word, Verners performed elite-level tricks with simple, household items, even leaving our own Tyson Elder with a very wet $50 bill (I also got to participate in one of the tricks, but no big).
Slim Sandy & The Hillbilly Boppers opened the day musically with a touch of vintage rockabilly country-swing and holy crap they have their own comic strip! Afterward, Vancouver-born Louise Burns played a soulful, rocky, think The-Strokes-meet-Stevie -Nicks set that paired well with the afternoon sun and a Phillips Citricity Grapefruit Zest IPA.
Back on the Picnic-er stage, local time traveler Diamond Café performed a dramatic, soaring set that beautifully wore its 80s nostalgia on its sleeve and shoulder pads.
On the main stage, Portland’s Federale rode through town like a gang of bandits on horseback. Ripped right from the pages of a Tarantino script, Federale are an Ennio Morricone, spaghetti-western inspired confederacy with a big, lofty sound. Each Federale album tells a story, and most of those stories end covered in the blood of their enemies. There’s country music, and then there’s cowboy music; Federale is the latter.
Dessa kept the crowd moving and thinking with a hybrid set of rock, rap and poetry. More than a lyricist, Dess is also a published author who brought some of her written work, along with a charmingly relaxed and engaging stage show, with her.
Runners up for the headlining spot, !!! (pronounced “Chk Chk Chk”, obviously) ripped the parking lot a new one with a live set that was pure, distilled human energy. Channeling his inner-Jagger, !!! front man Nic Offer was a one-man powder keg of party and performance. Literally climbing the walls with funkiness, if the Phillips Backyard Weekender had a roof, !!! would have blown it the fuck off.
Comedian, musician, improviser, beatboxer; Reggie Watts of Comedy Bang Bang and The Late Late Show with James Corden fame closed out the night with comedic flair. While Watts may be better known as a comedian, his musical talent is no laughing matter. Armed with nothing but a microphone, loopers, and his genius, Watts gave a hilarious, beat-heavy, sort of stand-up sort of hip-hop set that is unlike anything else you’ve ever seen. As both a comedy and music nerd, I’m pretty sure Reggie Watts is my spirit animal.
Magic makes it possible to believe that the unbelievable can be made real. With that in mind, the second day of the 2018 Phillips Backyard Weekender was pure magic.
