When Atomique Productions first announced the One Night Only Concert Series at Phillips Brewing, we were beyond excited with the prospect of several concerts over the summer (similar to the events that happened there before the Phillips Backyard Weekender became the festival it is now). Unfortunately, it wasn’t the case this year but there is promise it may happen next year.
Even though it wasn’t a series of concerts, One Night Only tapped into the nostalgia of early Phillips Backyard Weekenders and one-off events that have happened at the brewery. Laughs with old friends over some of Victoria’s best beer and cider brought back great memories.
With a slightly tweaked layout, and moving the food trucks, Phillips felt like it was double the size. And that was a good thing, because there were over 3000 people in attendance for this sold out concert.
While the crowd trickled in to the Phillips’ backlot, Victoria’s Lo Waight & The Rattlesnakes serenaded the crowd with their fast-paced and upbeat tunes, quickly gathering a loyal fanbase, with some even recognizing the band from their residency as The Zone’s Band of the Month in 2018.
Despite being fairly squished together between bails of hay and other accoutrements, the band beamed smiles and pure joy as they added a slight country twang to the evening. Lo Waight is quickly becoming of Victoria’s mainstays in the music scene, and it’s a pleasure to see perform live. If you have a chance to see them live, do so. Also, Lo just got the cutest puppy named Roo.
When Daniel Wesley took the stage, he exhaled a mellow vibe across the growing crowd as he and his band played. As he launched into his second song, he described his sound as “beach music,” and we couldn’t agree more. His songs instantly transport you to warm summer nights huddled around a beach fire with friends while the tide gently slaps against the rocks. Beach Music is also his aptly-named EP he released in early July.
It’s no secret that Rocktographers loves Yukon Blonde, and we’ve been clamouring for the band to play a gig on a Saturday for one reason…to hear them play Saturday Night on a Saturday night. We’ve come close on some Friday nights, but this time, it finally happened. It was everything we’d hoped for and more.
Being the penultimate band of the evening, Yukon Blonde kept things tight with a short but sweet set. That being said, they knew when to stretch things out and get funky. Their set had a deep dive in their most recent record, Critical Hit, but speckled with radio hits like I Wanna Be Your Man and Love The Way You Are. If you weren’t grooving to these indie rockers by the end of their set, you were doing it wrong.
Throughout the night you’d catch glimpses of the Metchosin One peeking around the backdrop to watch the other acts. Every time someone would see him, a cheer would erupt and he’d scuttle off to the safety of backstage. That cheer was nothing compared to the deafening roar of the 3000 people which filled the brewery lot as Jesse Roper sauntered onto the stage, barefoot, drinking a cup of tea. You could have powered a small city with the energy coming off the crowd. It was electric. High voltage.
That energy kept going for the entirety of Jesse’s staggeringly long set. He and his band rocked for nearly two hours. It’s hard to do anything for two hours, let alone rock the way Jesse does. His one-of-a-kind stage presence mixed with his Stevie Ray Vaughn styled blues rock is the reason people keep coming back to see him time and time again. How he can rock 3000 faces and stay as humble and down-to-earth is one of the great mysteries.
Early in the evening, as Jesse ripped the crowd into a frenzy during his song Yukon Girl, a blue bra flew directly over photografriend and contributor Adam Lee’s head, and landed at the base of the stage. The stunned look on Adam’s face was priceless and will remain one of our favourite moments of the entire day.
There was a lot of things to enjoy at the One Night Only event, but it’s hard to not talk about the elephant in the Phillips Backyard. The winding, twisting, and seamlessly neverending lineups for beverage tickets, food, and the washrooms. With some of the bathroom waits taking up to 45 minutes, there was a clear miscalculation on how many bathrooms would be needed for aging bladders.
Angry and possibly intoxicated guests took to lashing out at anyone who they could see with the appearance of working for the concert. This included the photographers. We were personally yelled at to “fix the line up bullshit!”
Clearly these folks have never waited in line for a brunch hotspot in Victoria.
After the festival, the internet went scorched earth on the concert, the brewery, the promoters, the bands, the staff, the volunteers, and worst of all, other concert goers.
While the aftermath of the festival has been pretty devastating, it’s hard to not to have seen the writing on the wall beforehand. Event pages were filled with complaints about not being able to bring lawn chairs, picnic blankets, umbrellas, outside food, and we even saw a question about bringing a knife [Insert eyeroll emoji]. It was like the people who were coming to this Jesse Roper show had never been to an outdoor concert before.
Negativity aside, the One Night Only concert series was filled with great music, great beer, and great friends. It was a fun mix of concert and chaos. We hope that the One Night Only lives up to its name and becomes a concert series. We think that, maybe next time, we need just a few more portable toilets.
