Andrew Judah opened the first night at the ninth edition of Rifflandia Festival in Victoria Thursday night (September 15), playing to a gradually growing crowd at one of the festival's premier night venues, the Victoria Event Centre.
While the room itself lent a certain indie-charm to Judah's set, the sound was abysmal at first, just a wall of piercing hi-mids through the eardrums. Undeterred, Judah and his drummer brought a ton of energy and stage presence to their fantastically varied and layered set, with soul/math-metal breakdowns, Christian rock references, automated bass lines and delicate guitarwork.
The highlight of Judah's set was when he set up a stack of loops, put down his guitar and met his drummer at the front of the stage to make a huge ruckus on a collection of paint buckets, which the by-then-large crowd got really into. Judah appears to be a master of the subtle art of looping, and assisted by a laptop and the strong percussive element, the total package was a refreshing and original set.
While the room itself lent a certain indie-charm to Judah's set, the sound was abysmal at first, just a wall of piercing hi-mids through the eardrums. Undeterred, Judah and his drummer brought a ton of energy and stage presence to their fantastically varied and layered set, with soul/math-metal breakdowns, Christian rock references, automated bass lines and delicate guitarwork.
The highlight of Judah's set was when he set up a stack of loops, put down his guitar and met his drummer at the front of the stage to make a huge ruckus on a collection of paint buckets, which the by-then-large crowd got really into. Judah appears to be a master of the subtle art of looping, and assisted by a laptop and the strong percussive element, the total package was a refreshing and original set.