Oh you kids!

The Rock N Roll Adventure Kids are officially Marcos on guitar and his brother Billy on drums, with both contributing on vocals; third member Oscar comes and goes on bass guitar. They're big on the Trash Can-cisco rock scene (I totally made that phrase up), and kick out some sludgy pop rock.



Those Ribak brothers.



Billy in red.



Marco sings!



Billy croons.



The whole lot!



Rhythm section action!



More Oscar!



Singalong action!



Running about!



And of course the mandatory falling down action.



Marco and Billy would be back, to work it on out as Nobunny's rhythm section.

• Show reminder: The Panama, Lights Left Behind and Fire and Neon perform at Zaphod's; Bluesmyth plays The Rainbow.

Sex action

The Handsome Sexies may call California home, but at least one, Scotty "Beerwolf" O'Connell is actually an Ottawa native. Of course he uses a pseudonym in the Handsome Sexies —
Hector Handsome — so he can avoid the unwanted attentions of starstruck fans ... or something like that. This gig was the first of two in a row in Ottawa, sharing the stage with Nobunny, The White Wires and Rock N Roll Adventure Kids.

Ian Manhire makes the introductions.



That big ol' Polish Combatants' Hall stage, with Hanz Handsome and Hector.



More Hanz!



Drummer Horatio Handsome.



The whole lot! The pink balloon was a refugee from some event the previous night.



Extra Hector and Horatio!



Falling over action!



And some final Hector, before the band made way for The Rock N Roll Adventure Kids.



... At least until the next night at the Montgomery Legion Hall. They ditched the masks and played an even shorter set of gonzo Oblivians style punk than the night before, mostly because of technical difficulties.



Horatio handles the traps.



Hector sings, and breaks another string.



As you can see, he was down to his low E.



The Beach Blankets played next, but Beerwulf and Co. were back for more as The Jinxes. There aren't any pictures by me of that though, because my Nikon had the first of its technical mishaps.

• Show reminder: There's more Action at the Dom as they play a matinee show with The Suppositories; The Hangers, The Living Sound System and The Dirty 30s rock The Rainbow.
  

Odds and ends

What to see after Dave Alvin? My first stop was the Main Stage, where a relatively small crowd had gathered to catch the headlining Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I got a free copy of their concert DVD a few months before Bluesfest and was quite entertained by it, despite the fact I'm not a huge fan. Despite a stirring rendition of the Cramps' Human Fly, they still couldn't keep me, so I split after a few songs.

Karen O's light-up spiral mask doesn't show up well in this photo - actually nothing does.



The crowd loved the confetti.



Karen and Nick.



After that I went off to see Jennifer Warnes. The lady famed for Famous Blue Raincoat might have gone over well with the crowd (it was hard to tell, they were almost all sitting down) but I couldn't find it in my heart to enjoy someone who uses a lectern.



It's not very punk rock.



Mind you my photos of her did turn out a little better.



Anyway, back to The Yeah Yeah Yeahs' and their splintery new wave tracks.



All we photographers ask for is more blue, less red in the stage lighting ...



That, and gigantic eyeballs.



Anyway, they still didn't grab a hold of my earlugs, so I went off to witness the last man who can really get the party started: Buckwheat Zydeco. Besides the obvious popular choices (i.e., White Cowbell Oklahoma and their scantily clad lasses), Buckwheat Zydeco is one of the most popular hits on my Flickr photostream.



There is something about a big accordion that makes for a good photograph.



After a few more songs I was ready to head home ... so I did. And there goes Bluesfest for 2009. From now on it's nothing but basements and nightclubs - at least until next July.

• Show reminder: In the most anticipated show of the season, The Action return for a show at The Dominion with The White Wires; they're also playing Sunday with The Suppositories. The Cat Empire and Hey Ocean! drop into Bronson Centre Theatre; Neuraxis, Revocation, The Last Felony, Darkness Rites, Fumigation and A Darker Day play loud at Cafe Dekcuf; Good2Go and The Cutmen perform at Irene's Pub; The Rainbow hosts Take The Boys, The Dirty 30s and Stick 'Em Up. David Gogo pops into Mavericks.

Better halves

I've seen a bit of Dave Alvin before, at an earlier Bluesfest when it was still on the grounds of City Hall. That show was a bit louder and featured more kicking from Dave. In the intervening years he's mellowed a bit - if only temporarily. He acquired a band of top female session musicians, convened with the aid of steel guitar sorceress Cindy Cashdollar from a flock of acclaimed female session musicians. His other crew is The Guilty Men, so this one is The Guilty Women.

Here he is with the rhythm section of bassist extraordinaire Sarah Brown and drummer Lisa Pankratz.



The man himself.



Leaning action with Amy Farris and Sarah Brown. Or, as I'm sorry to say, the late Amy Farris. She passed away in October, just a few months after these photos were taken. She played with Alejandro Escovedo and Brian Wilson (not at the same time) among others. She's also backed Susanna Van Tassel, as has Pankratz.



And let us not forget Cindy Cashdollar, lap steel and pedal steel queen. Another Tassel vet, she's played with such varied folks as Graham Parker, Ryan Adams Leon Redbone, Asleep At The Wheel, The Manhattan Transfer and Bob Dylan.



Dave and Cindy work it on out.



Dave applauds his women.



More Brown! She has a couple of albums to her own name, and has also recorded with folks like Dr. John, Sue Foley, Barry Adamson, Albert Collins, Buddy Guy, Ian McLagan, Otis Rush, James Cotton and Memphis Slim, among others.



Dave frets!



Country-rocking action!



Lisa behind the kit.



Dave was most pleased to have Christy McWilson doing backup vocals. She's done a lot on the Seattle scene with The Young Fresh Fellows, Picketts, Squirells, Minus 5 ... even Mudhoney.



Singalong action!



There was a fair amount of sound coming from The Dead Weather's set, so after a few acoustic numbers Alvin turned to his trust Stratocaster to increase the volume a little.



Rhythm section action!



More Amy!



Faceoff action!



Farris also did some singing.



Whole lotta shakin' going on!



Not many kicks, but some definite bending.



A fine show, if a little sadder in memory. Then I headed off to the main stage to check out The Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

• Show reminder: Animal Hospital, Aidan Baker (of Nadja fame), This Quiet Army and We Fled Cairo make some noise at 443 Kent St.; Torngat performs on the NAC's Fourth Stage; Not Even Death, The Cowards, Pectangular Fism, Autumns Fall, Temptress and Seen Through Your Eyes do it for the kids at Mavericks; Giant Hand is at Raw Sugar; Lights and Jets Overhead electro-pop into the Bronson Centre Theatre; Defined, Inire and Apparatus rock Cafe DeKcuf; Irene's hosts the Drew Nelson Band. Six-string savant M. Mucci, Musk Ox, and Extinct or Alive... perform at The Avant-Garde.