The Rifflandia Festival took over bars, clubs, public spaces, and Royal Athletic Park in Victoria last weekend as dozens of acts like Girl Talk, Serena Ryder, Dragonette, The Skatalites, Dear Rouge, Head of the Herd, Jon and Roy, The Airborne Toxic Event, We Hunt Buffalo, and Death Cab for Cutie entertained audiences of all ages.
Photo credit: John Bollwitt for Miss604.com
On Saturday, September 13th, Seattle-based Death Cab for Cutie took to the main stage at Royal Athletic Park in Victoria to play their very last show together, with all original members. Co-founder and guitarist Chris Walla announced his departure from the band earlier this summer and this was his final performance. As long time fans of the band, John and I were very excited to cover this momentous event.
Photo credit: John Bollwitt for Miss604.com
Music has always been an important part of our relationship and, way back when, Death Cab for Cutie’s Transatlanticism was the first album that John gave me when we first met. We’ve enjoyed their entire catalogue over the years and even played some of their songs at our wedding in 2006. Following their career and their music over the years, including their last album Codes and Keys which was recorded at The Warehouse Studio in Vancouver, it was important to us to make it to this show at Rifflandia — and it was even more magical than we could ever have imagined.
Death Cab for Cutie at Rifflandia
Knowing that it was Walla’s last show already made the performance in Victoria special, and I saw many on Twitter share that this was a “bucket list” concert for them. The fact that a meteor streaked across the night sky during their set was incredible to believe, making the send-off entirely unique.
The band came out playing “I Will Possess Your Heart” followed by “Crooked Teeth”. We spent the first two songs in the photo pit madly attempting to document the scene as vocalist Ben Gibbard took to the keyboard and bassist Nick Harmer bounced around in front of Jason McGerr on the drums. Walla was the focus for John, over on the right side of the stage.
“We Laugh Indoors” and “Photobooth” followed before Ben Gibbard told to the crowd that it had been 13 years since their last show in Victoria: “We’ll be playing a lot of old tunes tonight,” he announced as the band continued with “Title and Registration”, “Doors Unlocked and Open”, and “Long Division” during which the meteor passed by overhead.
“Grapevine Fires” had the crowd swooning, holding up lighters and glowing phones, as did “I Will Follow You Into the Dark”, which was once voted as one of the most beautiful songs of all time.
“Title Track” off of the band’s We Have the Facts and We’re Voting Yes from 2000 was a nice throwback, “New Year” got the crowd jumping again, as did “Cath”, and “Soul Meets Body” before they left the stage.
Ben Gibbard. Photo credit: John Bollwitt for Miss604.com
Craving more, the audience made their request for an encore known. The group returned to the stage for “Movie Script Ending”, which was followed by the very last song with Chris Walla — an up tempo version of “Marching Bands of Manhattan”. A bittersweet ending to a bittersweet moment in time.
The end of the set was capped off with a full band group hug on stage as thousands bid farewell and best of luck to Chris Walla. Death Cab will live on however, having just recorded a new album that will be released in early 2015.
All photos (except for a few of mine) in this post are by John Bollwitt for Miss604.com. View John’s photos on Flickr. Read more festival coverage »
The Rifflandia Festival took over bars, clubs, public spaces, and Royal Athletic Park in Victoria last weekend as dozens of acts like Girl Talk, Serena Ryder, Dragonette, The Skatalites, Dear Rouge, Head of the Herd, Jon and Roy, The Airborne Toxic Event, We Hunt Buffalo, and Death Cab for Cutie entertained audiences of all ages.
Photo credit: John Bollwitt for Miss604.com
John and are I no strangers to music festivals, as we cover half a dozen every year — from Austin, Texas to Pemberton, BC — and have attended four within the last three months alone. This was our very first time at Rifflandia, after hearing great things in the past about this festival that has been around since 2008, and we immediately saw what all the fuss was about. We were told there would be food, fun, families, craft beer, multiple stages, arts and crafts, and more — and it was all true. From a half-pipe skateboard ramp and kids play area, to Phillips Brewing’s tap truck and open concept beer garden, it was a delightful experience.
Photo credit: John Bollwitt for Miss604.com
The audience was comprised of families, students, and young couples like us who either setup picnic blankets, danced under the tent of the Rifftop Tent Stage, or clapped along with their favourite bands at the main stage. It was a very chill, very positive atmosphere, with smiles all around and unique vendor tents — like a barber shop or TEDx Victoria conversation lounge.
Photo credit: John Bollwitt for Miss604.com
By my estimates the venue was much smaller than Holland Park in Surrey, where we have covered the Fusion Festival for several years. John compared it to the Brockton Oval in Stanley Park, giving it a very intimate festival feel — and the music sounded great.
The Airborne Toxic Event
Dum Dum Girls
Rifflandia was such a pleasant event, with Royal Athletic Park a quick walk from downtown, a nice selection of food options (gluten free Thai to Tacofino and mini donuts), the ability to walk around the grounds with a beer (if you were of age of course), and last but not least a really rockin’ lineup.
All photos in this post are by John Bollwitt for Miss604.com. View John’s photos on Flickr. Read more festival coverage »
The YWCA Women of Distinction Awards have posted their call for nominations today, far ahead of previous years which began the process in January ahead of their May event. From September 15th, 2014 until January 22nd, 2015 you can nominate a remarkable woman in your life, community, or at your company for recognition at the 32nd annual YWCA Women of Distinction Awards.
Categories for the awards include: Arts, Culture and Design (sponsored by TD Bank); Business and the Professions; Community Champion; Education Training and Development; Entrepreneurship; Environmental Sustainability; Health and Wellness; Non-profit or Public Service; Technology, Science and Research; Young Women of Distinction; and Outstanding Workplace. All nominees will also be entered in the Connecting the Community award category.
The 2015 ceremony will take place Tuesday, May 26th at the Vancouver Convention Centre. Follow the YWCA of Vancouver on Facebook and Twitter for more information along with the YWCA Women of Distinction Awards @YWVanWODA on Twitter.
Miss604 is a proud sponsor of the YWCA Women of Distinction Awards for the 6th year!
YWCA Metro Vancouver is dedicated to achieving women’s equality. Their mission is to touch lives and build better futures for women and their families through advocacy and integrated services that foster economic independence, wellness and equal opportunities.
When Nardwuar, the most unique and talented music researcher and interviewer of our time, states that his band will be opening up for his favourite band of all time, you should stop what you’re doing and get tickets for that show immediately. On Thursday, October 2, 2014 The Evaporators (with Nardwuar) and The Flintettes will open for The Sonics at Vancouver’s Rickshaw Theatre.
The Sonics took rock and roll to the edge in 1963 and laid the groundwork for the garage punk and grunge genres we know today.
“Driven by Gerry Roslie’s fearsome, bloodcurdling howl, Larry Parypa’s pummeling, distortion-heavy guitar work and Rob Lind’s greasy, squalling sax, the Tacoma, Washington-bred combo delivered a brutal, propulsive sound and a swaggering, primal attitude to match.”
“The Sonics became regional stars throughout the Pacific Northwest, where their over-the-top performances made them a consistently in-demand live act. But their assaultive approach proved a bit too extreme for national mainstream exposure at the time. The original Sonics splintered in 1967, but the band’s influence and mystique continued to grow steadily in the ensuing decades, as their vintage work was rediscovered by succeeding generations of fans and musicians. Meanwhile, such Sonics standards as “Psycho,” “The Witch,” “Strychnine” and “Have Love, Will Travel” continued to turn up in film soundtracks, TV commercials and the set lists of the countless Sonics-loving bands who emulated—but never duplicated—the band’s sound.” [The Sonics: Bio]
Tickets are now on sale for this show and can be purchased online or at Highlife, Neptoon Records, Northern Tickets, Red Cat, or Zulu Records for $26.50 (plus fees). Follow The Sonics on Twitter and Facebook for more information about the band’s upcoming shows.
As the teachers’ strike in BC continued this September I found the perfect activity to enjoy with my niece and nephews, whose ages range from 6 to 14 years old. With blue skies above and a crisp pre-autumn breeze at our backs, we piled in the car and headed out to the Meadows Maze in Pitt Meadows.
I first toured the Meadows Maze, operated by the Hopcott family (of Hopcott Premium Meats) on a grey and drizzly day back in June when the corn was just starting to pop up from the soil:
Returning last Friday, the corn was over 2 meters high and a perfect challenge for corn maze adventurers like us:
We arrived right at opening (11:00am on Fridays) and there was already a line-up in the gift shop where tickets are purchased. As we got our wristbands, corn maze maps, and clue cards for a fun mystery to solve within the maze, two school buses of young children also pulled up — Meadows Maze was the place to be!
There are three options for exploring the maze. The first, which is the smallest, is the Farm Tracks Maze for young explorers. In this mini-maze guests search for 6 hoof print stations. When found, trace the hoof print, exit the maze, and match the print to an animal to solve the mystery of “Who stole Farmer Joe’s pie?”.
Our group was a bit older so we went for the second maze option: Farm Scene. This is a medium size maze, within the larger Mega Maze, that also has a mystery to solve. Armed with clue booklets, we were to find stations on which farm scenes were depicted. By process of elimination, based on what we saw at the stations, we collected clues and eliminated suspects (weapons, suspects, and the crime scene) leaving us with only one possible scenario at the end and one suspect to lock up for the disappearance of Farmer Joe.
Two of my nephews fought to be at the front of our line and triumphantly rejoiced whenever they were the first to spot the clue stations. My youngest nephew simply enjoyed being in the corn and proclaimed himself “King of the Corn!”. He would walk ahead of us, turn down an adjoining route, and pop out to scare us when we passed. Lucky for me he was wearing an easy-to-spot red shirt so this auntie didn’t get too panicked when he would leave the pack.
My niece, the oldest of the crew, was in charge of photography. I handed her my camera and she took every one of the images used in this blog post.
The kids enjoyed this activity although we should have brought some water with us as the “I’m thirsty” chorus began about 25 minutes in on that very warm morning. The snack station was nearby so we rehydrated once we solved the mystery, after about 45 minutes. Everyone was pretty excited to complete the exercise and call out the suspect who was depicted as a cartoon (with the other barnyard suspects) on a board at the exit.
My niece’s favourite part was finding the platform in the middle of the Mega Maze, which we learned wasn’t a part of our Farm Scene course so we must have taken a wrong turn. Regardless, it was a great place to look out at the entire property and enjoy the view of the 6km maze.
Since we did the medium size maze in 45 minutes, stopping to look for clues, I would anticipate about 90 minutes to complete the Mega Maze. We were done with the corn after our Farm Scene activity and we enjoyed the rest of the Meadows Maze fun for the rest of the afternoon. There’s a petting zoo, pig races, bee observatory, 40-foot slide, corn cannons, hay wagon ride, corn barrel train, picnic areas, and more all included with admission.
The kids weren’t hungry so we only had drinks at the snack bar but there were many other treats offered, like slushies, popcorn and fudge which was churning right behind the counter.
Until October 19, 2014 the Meadows Maze is open 3:30pm to 10:00pm Mondays to Thursdays (mornings are for reserved groups only); Fridays and Saturdays from 11:00am to 10:00pm; and Sundays 11:00am to 6:00pm. Tickets are available for purchase online or in the gift shop when you arrive. General admission is $13 (for ages 13+); $10 (ages 3-12); and free for children 2 and under.
Follow the Meadows Maze on Facebook and Twitter for more information.
