Home improvement

I first saw Becky Abbot at Bluesfest in 2005. The billed performer then was oft-touring blues rocker David Gogo, joined on stage by Abbot and Tony D. Come to think of it, it was the last time I saw her too. Another first, a photo was my introduction to telephoto lens, a 210mm I bought for my Pentax back in the days of film. Here is that photo, taken July 12, 2005:



And now here is my first picture of Becky at her 2009 show on the Main Stage, taken four years and four days later, to be precise. As you can see my skills have improved somewhat (also the lighting was better).



I don't recognize any of her band ...



... apart from guitarist Dan Hay, also seen with Crush Buildings, strangely enough (I also hear the bassists's name is Alan).



More Becky!



Hair-tossing action!



More hair-tossing action!



Dancin' action!



Drumming action!



Gripping action!



And so on.



Her sultry pop take on the ouevre of Lucinda Williams and Neko Case (among others) is not really my bag, so after a few songs I went off to see Louisiana Red. She's performing this Friday at the National Arts Centre as a "special guest" of the Downchild Blues Band's 40th anniversary celebration.

Start to finish

If nothing else, Saturday's Bluesfest promised to bookend the day with a couple of hot sets. At the start of my day - which actually commenced at 3 p.m. - Hollerado played the main stage, while at the end Drive-By Truckers, one of my favourite bands, performed on the Fast Food Chain Stage. What happened in-between was pretty good too.

Hollerado put on a typically energetic set of their smart guitar rock. They remind me at times of Weezer. I suspect if they'd come around 10 years ago they'd be huge; as it stands there was a small (for Bluesfest, I'm talking about a few hundred people) but appreciative audience, including Louise Brown, who is a major fan and fielded a water bottle tossed by lead singer Menno Versteeg.


Hollerado, MBNA Stage, Bluesfest, July 18, 2009

They brought in some of the Uplift Gospel Choir to add vocals to a vocals to a few songs like Fake Drugs and Americanarama.


Uplift Gospel Choir with Hollerado, MBNA Stage, Bluesfest, July 18, 2009

I planned to go to the Black Sheep Stage, but with a few minutes to kill I decided to watch some of Paul Reddick's performance. He was on next at the Telecommunications Giant Stage. I reviewed and enjoyed Paul's Villanelle when it came out a few years back, and his rootsy blues-folk has its appeal.


Paul Reddick, Rogers Stage, Bluesfest, July 18, 2009

That said, I figured a good time was to be had watching Woodhands perform. They didn't have any female vocal accompaniment for this show (unlike a previous gig I caught at Club SAW), but still had the crowd dancing through a rainshower that lasted up until they performed a cover of Eddy Grant's Electric Avenue.


Woodhands, Black Sheep Stage, Bluesfest, July 18, 2009

That done I went over to see Becky Abbot perform on the main stage. She brought a sultry touch to covers of Neko Case's Hold On, Hold On and Lucinda Williams' Changed The Locks. She has a nice voice and as I've observed before looks smashing, but I far prefer the originals.


Becky Abbot, MBNA Stage, Bluesfest, July 18, 2009

I did a circle around the Bluesfest setup to return to the BlackSheep Stage, which included a brief viewing of Louisiana Red on the Fast Food Chain Stage and a brief pause to contemplate the T-shirts (sample motto: "Jesus Never Tapped Out") at the Hard Rock Stage, which was given over to gospel acts. He's playing again today in the Barney Danson Theatre


Louisiana Red, Subway Stage, Bluesfest, July 18, 2009

The Deep Dark Woods are a Saskatoon band sometimes described as "alt-country". Judging from their performance on the Black Sheep Stage, I'd say they've listened a lot to the The Basement Tapes. Their show was quite entertaining, though it too was accompanied by a start-to-finish rain shower.


Deep Dark Woods, Black Sheep Stage, Bluesfest, July 18, 2009

After that there was still a few minutes of Otis Taylor's set at the Telecommunications Giant Stage. He was doing a good job of impressed the youngsters waiting for Ludacris to show with his psychedelic blues.


Otis Taylor, Rogers Stage, Bluesfest, July 18, 2009

I wondered a bit more. I was surprised to see Papa Mali performing on the Fast Food Chain Stage. Turns out he is also part of Rhythm Council. I didn't catch enough of the set to say more.


Rhythm Council, Subway Stage, Bluesfest, July 18, 2009

I went back to the Black Sheep Stage to see what That 1 Guy was all about. First he played a song on his boot. Then he played a song on that piping gizmo he uses. The lyrics struck me as a bit like a nursery rhyme. It was a very rhythmic performance - let's say he's the Les Claypool of pipe and boot. He's also playing again today in the Barney Danson Theatre.


That 1 Guy, Black Sheep Stage, Bluesfest, July 18, 2009

After grabbing something to eat I settled down in front of the Fast Food Chain Stage to watch David Lindley. I'm a big fan of his work with Kaleidoscope, and he's an acknowledged master of a variety of stringed instruments. He covered Blind Willy Johnson's Soul of A Man, Warren Zevon's Seminole Bingo and Bruce Springsteen's Brothers Under The Bridge, separating each with an interesting and sometimes amusing introduction. Although Ludacris' set occasionally bled in, for the most part it was an entrancing demonstration of his colossal skill as a musician and his compelling voice. I think I'm going to catch him again today at the Hard Rock Stage.


David Lindley, Subway Stage, Bluesfest, July 18, 2009

After that I just hunkered down and waited for Drive-By Truckers to take the stage. I have all their albums and both their DVDs, so you could say I'm a fan. I thought they played an awesome set and the rest of the crowd seemed to agree. Best of all, they ran out the clock on their encore, playing for an hour and 45 minutes in all.


Drive-By Truckers, Subway Stage, Bluesfest, July 18, 2009


Drive-By Truckers, Subway Stage, Bluesfest, July 18, 2009

Always good to see a performer live up to your expectations.

Shocking Blue

Wednesday's Bluesfest schedule ended with not a whimper but a bang as a thunderstorm moved in about 9 p.m. and forced various performers to pull the plug part way through their sets. I did manage to catch C.R. Avery, who sounded really excellent, Garrett Mason, part of The String Cheese Incident (the third stupidest name in musical history, after The Rainbow Butt Monkeys and Phil Collins) and Dutch Mason.
The Prime Minister of the Blues sounded in good voice, though due to poor health he performs in a wheelchair. The String Cheese Incident were somewhat tantalizing, but I couldn't really pass up an opportunity to see Mason since future performances are, shall we say, likely to be scarce.
Son Garrett's sharp suit belied a dirtier-than-his years blues sound. C.R. Avery 's human beatbox schtick had a cool hard rock edge live, thanks in part to Ottawa's Brian Simms on guitar (if memory serves, I caught him last playing bass with Janice Hall).
It's a shame to miss John Mayall, but such is life.
And now, a few pictures from David Gogo's Tuesday show.

Gogo goes wah-wah.



And is joined on stage by local blues guy Tony D; the lady is Becky Abbott.



For some reason a disproportionate number of my pictures from this show were of Abbott instead of Gogo. Funny, that. This was also the first time I used my new 210 mm telephoto lens. Next time: More flash.