Rock The Shores: Gallery & Recap

LBH Collective & m!Media July 29, 2015

It’s been a week since we had the opportunity to ‘Rock the Shores‘ in Victoria BC with the two-day music focused event. With temperatures soaring into the high 30’s for both days, tens of thousands of music seeking adventurer’s gathered together in Colwood BC to sweat it out watching a fantastic line up that held names such as The Bleachers, Current Swell, Jane’s Addition, The Black Keys, Edward Sharp, and many more.

Our team attended with the hopes of getting to know this event a little more intimately, as supporting local arts is a commitment that we and Atomique Productions share alike. Seeking always to review under the lens of passion and connected experiences; we wanted to wander throughout the crowd seeking to experience Rock the Shores first hand.

As a local event and knowing the community competition to attract attendees is stiff, this little festival has it’s work cut out for it.

Rock the Shores is produced by Atomique Productions. The two individuals that make up Atomique; Nick Blasko & Dimitri Demers are indeed as it seems by our digging, fuelled by passion. After few decades of friendship that was cemented in cartoons, lego, skateboarding & of course music, (yeah, that’s pretty rad!) these guys decided that they wanted to become known across the country for creating a company that is committed to supporting bands early in their careers, and for their dedication to tracking down some of the biggest national and international names for Victoria’s venues. Atomique officially launched as a company back in 1999.

By the time they were in their early 20s, between Nick & Dimitri, the two of them had booked bands, started bands, managed bands, launched club nights, DJ’d from the gulf islands to Washington, and had helped throw some of the biggest events Victoria had ever seen. In an industry dominated by corporate promoters, Atomique has maintained a ferocious independence; something we at Love Being Here value tremendously. They are committed to working with other local companies and to developing Vancouver Island’s arts culture.

With all of that, we knew we had to visit Rock the Shores and experience what was the brain child of two such committed individuals.

Rock the Shores: A party that is easy to afford, easy to get to, and that makes it easy to have the best weekend of your summer with a few thousand of your closest friends. – Atomique

RECAP

PROS: Rock the Shores turned out to be a great mid sized festival. As it was a smaller event it wasn’t impossible to navigate the entire area, quickly and easily. There was no roving between stages, it was laid out proficiently lots of access to alcohol with access points in various places around the site. There were multiple shaded areas – our group was fortunate enough to snag one of the sponsored areas which happened to be very close to the stage so the sound quality was 100%. The bathrooms where all located in one area, near the smoking area – both good that in that they were a bit of a hike away, and with that, smells were not a problem. I loved that is was a bit of a purist rock show. With the emergence of transformational and multi faceted festivals it’s nice now and again to just sit back and enjoy some music. (Don’t get me wrong, community focused festivals heavy on the art and education are still my fav, it’s what we do around here but the purist experience has a place too!)

CONS: I’d say the down fall to the festival was clear right away, it was hot out. Very, very hot and as water was only located in a few spots the wait to get some was LONG. Equally as long were the lines for the food trucks. I waited nearly an hour, and every line was about the same. That’s not acceptable in a festival setting. More water next year gentlemen and make the food truck alley a bit bigger.

GARBAGE: My last negative observation was one that has a lot to do with US, the festival goers as much as the festival organizers. THE GARBAGE WAS OUT OF CONTROL. I was so disappointed to look around as we left and to see a sea of cups left behind. It’s becoming a thing with Canadian festivals and I just don’t get it. I think next year – much more emphasis must be made to create a connected OUR SPACE environment, one that we all participate in the ownership of. We are responsible for our own actions, if you use a cup, be responsible for it to the end – throw it away, recycle it, don’t expect someone to clean up your mess!

Over all, Rock the Shores, was a fantastic experience. You can see by the pictures it was a good time, was filled with fantastic performers and I for one will be back next year.