TV on the Radio (photo: Blake Morneau)
I arrived at Rock the Shores 2015, the fourth instalment of an annual outdoor music festival in the suburbs of Victoria, BC, late on Saturday as The Sheepdogs were winding down their ’70s revival act. There was a perfect amount of time to check some of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros and hit one of the many wonderful food trucks onsite before The Black Keys brought their groovy blues assault to the stage. I didn’t really know much of what Edward Sharpe were all about and I was shocked at their incredibly strong Neil Diamond/Brother Love thing. I can see why people on psychedelic mushrooms would like this band so much. Unfortunately, I wasn’t on any kind of mushrooms, so I was fine with moving to the food trucks for much-needed sustenance.
Kid Sister ice cream bar (photo: Blake Morneau)
Alas, upon making my way to the food area I found not warm, delicious nutrition, but rather lines: long and awful lines. Talking to people I discovered that some of them, still near the back of their respective lines, had been waiting for over 45 minutes. “Sold out” signs started to shoot up and all hope seemed lost. But nestled way in the back, without lines, was Kid Sister and their fantastical chocolate dip coconut ice-cream bar. This delightful frozen gem, with its wonderfully hard, thick chocolate shell, saved my life and gave me the energy I needed for the hazy blues thump of my beloved The Black Keys.
The Black Keys (photo: Blake Morneau)
I don’t know if the sun had just punished all of the energy out of the crowd, but they were surprisingly subdued for one of the most powerful sounding acts out there today. The Black Keys’ Patrick Carney hits the drums hard, like really, really hard. It’s difficult to not at least nod your head to his pounding. I was in full dance mode. As great as The Black Keys are at this point (and, make no mistake, they are still a legitimately great band), there’s no danger in their sets. They’re going to play “Next Girl,” “Howlin’ for You,” “Gold on the Ceiling,” “Lonely Boy” and all those other massive hits they’ve accrued over the last few years of conquering music.
Father John Misty (photo: Blake Morneau)
I found the real excitement on Sunday night during Father John Misty’s sexy Southern-soul sermon and TV on the Radio’s blistering set of inspirational goodness. Both acts reaffirmed all the reasons I still get up the strength to attend massive sea-of-people events like this. Misty strutted about the stage, working songs off his acclaimed I Love You, Honeybear, an album that I apparently have to revisit soon. TV on the Radio may have been less interested in talking with the audience than Misty, but they were there to inspire, and inspire they did. I could barely stand how full my heart felt by the end of their set. I was back some feet from the dedicated crowd at the front of the stage, but even while dancing amongst the sitters on their blankets I forgot about the heat and just loved a great band playing great songs.
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