Bluesfest: Library Voices

Last time I saw The Library Voices, I was a bit underwhelmed. Part of this might be because they followed The Grates and Blue Van, two bands that know how to put on a great show, but musically I thought there was a bit too much going on. They do have quite a few folks on stage plucking and strumming and hitting and tweaking! Flash forward to Bluesfest, and I have to say I was much more impressed. Maybe they're hitting their groove. Their new album is certainly winning a lot of plaudits.

A shouty bit! And no, I still can't tell their guitarists apart, but I'm guessing this is Carl Johnson.



Saxophonic action from Paul Gutheil!



Random drumming, Brendan Ross on guitar and Amanda Scandrett on keyboards.



Extra percussion.



Amanda is amused!



That's bassist Eoin  Hickey-Cameron at left.



Gripping action!



Bass-lifting action!



Saxophone action! (And a largely obscured Michael Dawson, I guess.)



Mike Thieven hits!



Bonus Carl!



Mike makes sounds.



Singalong action!



Mighty swell!

• Show reminder: KO, Redlight King and The Fantastic Flow drop it like it's hot at Ritual; Ivardensphere, Iszoloscope and Ad-ver-sary get technological at Zaphod Beeblebrox; Vid Warren and Tess Cartwright perform at the Rainbow.

Bluesfest 2011: Day 6

I managed to roll out of bed and get on my way to Bluesfest a little earlier on Sunday - early enough to catch Jolie Holland performing on the Claridge Homes Stage. For the most part she played solo, but she did have a violinist from one of her bands, the Grand Chandeliers on hand to help round out a few tunes.


Jolie Holland at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 10, 2011

After that I went off to the National Bank Stage to see Paramedics, which is composed of various members of The Property Line, Relief Maps, Love Machine and other bands. They've got a percussion heavy electro-rock sound with raucous indie music thrown into the mix. Frontman Jordan Allen is heading off to the halls of academe this summer, so this was one of their final shows.


Paramedics at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 10, 2011

I'm gonna throw in a bonus Jamie Kronick photo, just because.


Paramedics at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 10, 2011

I didn't have any particular place to go after they finished so I followed the sound of Autumn's Canon to the MBNA Stage in time for their last couple of tunes. They've got a few familiar faces, including Marty Sobb and Silver Creek bassist Mark Laforest.


Autumn's Canon at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 10, 2011

Diamond Rings was on hand for some one man 1980s dance action. For a single guy he did a good job of filling up the stage with his running about and posing.


Diamond Rings at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 10, 2011

I had been intrigued by the sounds coming from the Hard Rock Stage as I passed by on my way to see Diamond Rings, and I confess they lured me back to catch some of their funky worldbeat stuff. Don't see conch shells played much on stage these days ...



Spam Allstars at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 10, 2011

I also popped by the Claridge Homes Stage to check out some of The Dropkick Murphys. They seemed to be having a good time, but there's just something wroing about seeing a hardcore band playing on a festival stage ... As an aside, is it just my aging ears, or are the bass levels on the two big stages way too high this year?


Dropkick Murphys at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 10, 2011

With more free time on my hand, I went off to see some actual blues music in the form of Jim Suhler and Monkey Beat, who mine from the same vein as Stevie Ray Vaughn.


Jim Suhler and Monkey Beat at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 10, 2011

There seems to be a lot of dance-oriented music at Bluesfest this year - witness the next act on my radar, Neon Indian. A fun bunch.


Neon Indians at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 10, 2011

Speaking of fun bunches, the next band I saw was The Library Voices, who were the same crazy lot I saw at Mavericks on June 17, 2010. A year later and there's still plenty of running about and even more saxophone tossing. They also sounded really great, a big improvement to my ears over their Mavericks show.


Library Voices at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 10, 2011

I returned to the Hard Rock Stage to see veteran funk combo The Funky Meters put on a hot set (I did split for a few songs to see Yukon Blonde, but then returned). Rusell Batiste drummed with such vigour I fear he almost demolished his kit ... his riser was vibrating crazily for much of the set. The band was also joined by Spam Allstars saxophonist A.J. Hill and Ivan Neville, who was playing later on the Subway Stage with his own band Dumpstaphunk.


The Funky Meters at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 10, 2011

And now for a Yukon Blonde photo, taken in a quick dash over the hill to see what was up.


Yukon Blonde at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 10, 2011

After that, it was time for the show (so far) of the festival: Leon Russell on The Hard Rock Stage. He has a killer band with him and they tore through a fabulous set of classics, given that inimitable Russell twist, such as Bob Dylan's A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall, his well known medley of Jumping Jack Flash, Papa Was a Rolling Stone and Paint It Black, as well as his own A Song For You. By coincidence, he ended with the song M. Ward had wrapped things up with last night, Roll Over Beethoven, in a medley with Great Balls of Fire. His ace guitarist Chris Simmons also turned in a fine version of Walking Blues. Unfortunately my wee Fujifilm EXR 550 is not really up to the task of taking photos in such low light ...


Leon Russell at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 10, 2011

I would have enjoyed a bit more original material, but regardless of that an incredible set.

• Show reminder: The Polymorphines, Alex Bien Band and Jon Travis play Zaphod's. Delta Moon is at The Rainbow.

 

Book business

Library Voices finished the night off. They're a Regina group with a relatively extensive lineup and a fondness for classic British pop of the Moody Blues-Zombies style.

Introductions are made, all of which I forgot, except that Carl Johnson, Eoin Hickey-Cameron, Karla Miller, Michael Dawson, Amanda Scandrett, Mike Thievin, Paul Gutheil, Brennan Ross are in some way involved.



One of the band's several guitarists and Paul Gutheil on saxophone.



Faceoff action with ever-active bassist Eoin Hickey-Cameron



Singalong action!



Everyone gets down, except for Eoin who gets up on Mike Thieven's drums.



Synthetic action.



I think Eoin got down and then got back up.



Shaking about from the other side of the stage.



Synthing and singing from stage left.



Paul toots.



Eoin's a shouty chap.



Noises are tweaked.



Library action!



More synthetic action!



More Mike!



More singalong action!



Monitor standing action!



Yet more standing on the drumkit!



Then they all piled into the van and went off to do shows with Young Galaxy and The Besnard Lakes. They're back in town October 3 at Cafe DeKcuf for a show with Paper Lions and Bend Sinister.

• Show reminder: Capital Grass and The No Men, The Haggard Beat and Devin Johnstone are at the Elmdale House; Hometown Hecklers, The PG-13s, Wooka Tribe, The Fab Habs, The Record Set and Casting Curses play Cafe Dekcuf; the basement at 439 McLeod gets heavy with sets from Swords, Mountanaka and Alaskan. Crash Karma and Escape Mode perform at Mavericks. The Murder Plans, Slim & Popular and Claude Munson roll into the Cajun Attic.

Hither and yon

It's NXNE time again, and that means a trickle of bands from far foreign parts will be passing through town, maximizing the bang for the buck of their airline tickets with a bunch of extra shows in Canada and the U.S. Thursday night we had folks from Copenhagen, Denmark, Brisbane, Australia and Regina, Saskatchewan gracing Mavericks stage. The band I was there to see, and enjoyed the most, was The Blue Van.

I saw The Blue Van play a super set with a bunch of Danish compatriots in March 2006. It was the last show I photographed with film before my switch to digital (brought on by my Pentax Super ME's untimely death). I remember stewing as bassist Allan Villadsen jumped about in a most photogenic manner. They once again rocked out, with organist-guitarist Soren pushing his instrument around and over, just like at their last show. And jumping!


The Blue Van at Mavericks, June 17, 2010

The Grates are an Australian trio (augmented for this show by another guitarist and keyboardist) fronted by the energetic and vivacious Patience Hodgson. All her jumping about was making me think of early 1990s indie-pop band Whale. They certainly like their guitar fuzzy as well.


The Grates at Mavericks, June 17, 2010

Library Voices capped the evening. I wasn't quite feeling them as much as the other bands, though they have a pretty bouncy bassist too. Unfortunately with eight people on stage there wasn't as much room to jump about. They had a bit of a 1990s indie-pop feel as well. I could see them on a bill with You Say Party! We Say Die! though they aren't as dance-centric as that band. They're quite upbeat, even when singing about the end of the world.


Library Voices at Mavericks, June 17, 2010

From here, The Blue Van head to Montreal, The Grates are off to Brantford and Toronto, while The library Voices are going to Guelph for a show with The Besnard Lakes and Young Galaxy.

• Show reminder: Andy Brown and Telfer play The Rainbow; Hellbros, Farewell Cool reason and Caution Inc. rock Zaphod's; Sadie Hell, Ghostkeeper and The Arbitrarys are at the Elmdale House; Al Wood and The Woodsmen roll into Irene's; The Mahones, Continetal and The Beer Barons party it up at Mavericks.