I arrived early enough to catch the tail end of The Ethics set, sounding as sharp as they did back when I caught them at Raw Sugar a while ago.
The Ethics at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 15, 2012
That done, I went over to the Claridge stage for The BushPilots set. They're sounding more like Jerry Jerry and The Sons of Rhythm Orchestra every day ... not that they were too far away from there in the first place. I think the youngsters waiting for K'Nann were a bit nonplussed by their roots-rockin' ways.
The BushPilots at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 15, 2012
Next up were Ottawa expats The Balconies who had a sizeable crowd for their set on the River Stage. They were looking a lot more rock (at least singer Jackie was, with a lot of red lipstick and black hair) and sounding quite a bit more rocking as well.
The Balconies at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 15, 2012
I figures I should go and see what The Postelles, over on the Electro Stage, were all about. They come from New York and played some straight-ahead indie rock. Good guitarwork and some soulful vocals from these guys, but not really gripping to my ears.
The Postelles at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 15, 2012
With not much else on the radar (I completely blanked on the Royal Wood show in the Barney Danson Theatre), I checked out some more of The Monophonics soul-funk. They covered some Syl Johnson, Terry Reid's Bang Bang and went out on Thin Lizzy's Underdog. Here's the horn section in action.
The Monophonics at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 15, 2012
Lastly I took in some Young Empires. They're a Toronto Band that likes mixing a few world beat sounds into indie-electro sound. Can't say it was my bag.
Young Empires at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 15, 2012
And that's it until next year. I wasn't as taken with the linup this year, though there a few spots of pleasing peculiarity.
1 comment:
Sadly, you missed the show of the day (for me, at least): Jamiah on Fire and the Red Machine, a group of Chicago kids (17, 13, 11) who played a great set of mostly Hendrix covers.
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