Sunday, December 30, 2012

Bluesfest: Terry Gillespie

After the White Wires' hot but brief set, I went over to the Black Sheep stage to see some of Terry Gillespie's performance. Born in Canada, raised in Britain and Michigan, now residing in Vankleek Hill, his bluesy show was a flashback to the old Bluesfest.

Terry sings!

Terry Gillespie at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

Faceoff action with Lyndell Montgomery. She's also a well-known collaborator with Ember Swift.

Terry Gillespie at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

Extra Terry!

Terry Gillespie at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

Wayne Stout shakes it.

Terry Gillespie at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

Lyndell rocks the violin.

Terry Gillespie at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

Eye contact action!

Terry Gillespie at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

Lyndell goes back to bass.

Terry Gillespie at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012


Also on hand, the Texas Horns.

Terry Gillespie at Ottawa Bluesfest 
2012

Kaz toots!

Terry Gillespie at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

Trumpet action!

Terry Gillespie at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

And so on!

Terry Gillespie at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

Then it was off to see The Pack A.D.

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Ride your pony

It was a might chilly out last night, but not cold enough to stop the rock'n'roll denizens of Bytown from trekking to the House of Targ and listening to some punk and rock courtesy of power-pop titans Mother's Children, crazed quintet Party Knives and new-ish punk combo Raw Raw Riot. All three bands put on fine sets, and there was plenty of wacky crowd action to go with it.

First up Raw Raw Riot with some shouty punk!

Raw Raw Riot at the House of Targ
Raw Raw Riot at the House of Targ, December 28, 2012

Singalong action! They covered The Runaways I Wanna Be Where The Boys Are.

Raw Raw Riot at the House of Targ
Raw Raw Riot at the House of Targ, December 28, 2012

Party Knives were on next, and as usual chaos resulted, largely thanks to the rambunctious denizens of the Fun Boy Clubhouse, anda big stuffed pony - always a mercurial combination! But first, Owen takes a stand!

Party Knives at the House of Targ
Party Knives at the House of Targ, December 28, 2012

Eh, he's always climbing on stuff!, this time it's Lethal Enforcers!

Party Knives at the House of Targ
Party Knives at the House of Targ, December 28, 2012

Sammy rides the pony, crowdsurfer style.

Party Knives at the House of Targ
Party Knives at the House of Targ, December 28, 2012

On to Mother's Children, and more pony!

Mother's Children at the House of Targ
Mother's Children at the House of Targ, December 28, 2012

Ken sings! They unveiled a lot of new tunes slated for the next album.

Mother's Children at the House of Targ
Mother's Children at the House of Targ, December 28, 2012

Needless to say, things finished off with yet more crowd-surfing.


Friday, December 28, 2012

Bluesfest: White Wires

Bluesfest's Thursday started with a bang, courtesy of locals The White Wires, a band I've seen quite a bit of, and yet not enough. I Heartily regret being unable to see them last week at Babylon (work, alas). For this gig they had Boyhood's Caylie sitting in on drums.

Ian rocks the shades.

The White Wires at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

Luke shows off his Dirty Donny-wear.

The White Wires at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

Caylie hits!

The White Wires at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

Pink guitar action!

The White Wires at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

The whole lot!

The White Wires at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

Ian sings!

The White Wires at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

Extra Luke!

The White Wires at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

Rhythm section action!

The White Wires at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

Ian jumps about!

The White Wires at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

Extra Caylie!

The White Wires at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

Telecaster action!

The White Wires at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

And so on!

The White Wires at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

Caylie hits some more!

The White Wires at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

Emmanuel looks on.

The White Wires at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

The end!

The White Wires at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

Apparently there was some sort of announcement at the end of their Babylon show ... quite what it was, I know not.

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Bluesfest: Bad Religion

Back when I was in university I listened to a fair amount of Bad Religion, but I haven't really followed anything they've done since about the time of Recipe For Hate. Nonetheless, I was pleased to get a chance to see them perform live. I giant outdoor festival seems like a bit of an odd match for an intensely political punk band, but I'm sure it's not a first for them. They were actually recruited to the Bluesfest lineup late in the day. The Offspring were to perform (as a substitute for another act if I recall correctly), but had to cancel. Bad Religion did a fine job of filling the gap, though they also had a bout the smallest main stage draw I've seen for any act.

Greg Gaffin talks fast!

Bad Religion at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

Bassist Greg Hetson kicks in some harmonies; behind him is drummer Brooks Wackerman.

Bad Religion at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

Guitar action with Brian Baker!

Bad Religion at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

Greg Hetson kicks in some more guitar!

Bad Religion at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

Religious action!

Bad Religion at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

Greg sings!

Bad Religion at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

The crowd goes wild!

Bad Religion at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

Shadowy action!

Bad Religion at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

Singalong action! Plus, that's some setlist!

Bad Religion at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

The end!

Bad Religion at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

Their next album, True North, is slated for some time in 2013.

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Bluesfest: Big Boi

Though I'm mostly a rock'n'roll guy, I do branch out quite a bit, and there are a few rap albums in my stack of CDs. And like many who only dip their toes in the genre, the albums of Outkast make up an outsize portion. I really enjoyed Big Boi's solo effort Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty as well - it was on my Top 10 list in 2010, and his live show didn't disappoint either.

The man himself.

Big Boi at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

Needless to say he wasn't up there alone ... I believe it was Killer Mike and Blackowned CBone kicking it with him, but I won't swear to it.

Big Boi at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

Hip hop action!

Big Boi at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

They were kidding around a bit.

Big Boi at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

Blackowned action!

Big Boi at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

Black and white action!

Big Boi at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

Cutmaster Swift was working the decks.

Big Boi at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

Gripping action!

Big Boi at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

And in colour.

Big Boi at Ottawa Bluesfest 2012

Since the show he's released album No. 2 Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumours.