REVIEW
Rifflandia
When: Saturday
Where: Royal Athletic Park
Who doesn't know the words to Cake's Short Skirt/Long Jacket? You probably weren't at Rifflandia then, because this crowd gave lead singer John McCrea's deadpan delivery a hearty punch in the gut.
The second day at Royal Athletic Park and third day overall for this year's festival wrapped with a solid set from the California-based five-piece.
"This is fleeting, we may never be here again," said McCrae. It seems the crowd took it to heart, bopping along to Vince DiFiore's trumpet lines.
The crowd got to know many of the group's songs from their latest album, 2011's Showroom of Compassion, especially in the first half, following an opening of Sheep Go to Heaven and one of the perennial favourites, Frank Sinatra.
But nothing really compared to the band's revival of the early hits that earned them space in fans' hearts like You're Never There and the Short Skirt/Long Jacket performance that reminded everyone why Cake was tonight's headliner in the first place. In the same vein, they ended their encore with one that many were waiting for: The Distance.
Overall, they maintained their smart and sarcastic reputation, while putting on a simply fun show.
It's no surprise the crowd was feeling it though. After recovering from the badassery of hardcore punks F---ed Up, dance-worthy electronic sets from both Morgan Page and producer Lunice, as well as the beast of a musician that is the White Buffalo, audiences got amped up with 10 sets before Cake even touched the stage.
Reign Wolf, Zerbin, Xylopholfs and Bright Light Social Hour warmed up the crowd, beginning at noon.
Albertan alt-rockers the Dudes, known for just giving it on stage, fused pop-friendly vocals with rock 'n' roll instrumentals.
Well-loved Vancouver singersongwriter Dan Mangan proved he has honed his sound over the years and kept fan favourites like Robots fresh, walking into the crowd and crowning an audience lady with a cardboard robot head while serenading her.
Sloan delivered exactly as expected. They won the Canadian music industry award for most inoffensive band long ago, rarely inspiring either rage or passion in listeners. A string of tracks from Album Twice Removed brought audiences back to 1994 and in an unusual move for a side-stage act, they performed an encore with The Good in Everyone.
After a killer set last night, the Stanfields carried their Nova Scotia-bred Celtic-infused punk to the side stage, giving the perfect excuse for crowd-surfing and wild jumping.
Rifflandia continues today at RAP with Mother Mother, Everlast, Reggie Watts, The Head and the Heart and more.
