Sunday, September 25, 2011

Mountains and plains

It's O-Down Hoedown time in the nation's capital. Ottawa's only country music festival had its kickoff at The Dominion on Thursday, its first show on Friday and moved into The Rainbow on Saturday with sets from Renee Yoxon, Montreal's Ol' Savannah and The Dusty Drifters.

Yoxon kicked things off with a set that was more jazz than country, though she did cover Dolly Party's Jolene among songs by Miles Davis and the old standard Brother Can You Spare A Dime?

Renee Yoxon at The Rainbow
Renee Yoxon at the Rainbow, September 24, 2011

Her guitarist is also named Rene (Gely, that is).

Renee Yoxon at The Rainbow
Renee Yoxon at the Rainbow, September 24, 2011

Ol' Savannah frontman Speedy D. Clark has a growly voice that reminds me a lot of Mississippi Grover's; the band plays a kind of stomping mountain music that went back to Clarence Ashley's The Coo-Coo Bird for a cover.

Ol' Savannah at The Rainbow
Ol' Savannah at The Rainbow, September 24, 2011

A copy of Willem Van Loon's The Story of Mankind was also demolished on stage. I only mention this because I knew Van Loon's son Dirk and was childhood friends with his grandson Wim.

Ol' Savannah at The Rainbow
Ol' Savannah at The Rainbow, September 24, 2011

Ace bluegrass combo The Dusty Drifters finished the night off. They've undergone some lineup changes since I saw them play at Zaphod's just a shade more than two years ago. You can see Ball and Chain's Michael Ball on standup bass.

Dusty Drifters at The Rainbow
The Dusty Drifters at The Rainbow, September 24, 2011

Here's banjo player John Steele.

Dusty Drifters at The Rainbow
The Dusty Drifters at The Rainbow, September 24, 2011

Of course you can catch them at their regular Sunday gigs at Irene's; there's more Hoedown action tonight at The Elmdale, with Lynne Hanson, Trevor Alguire and Orit Shimoni.
  • Show reminder: Little Dog and Josh Charbot perform at The Rainbow tonight.

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