Ottawa Bluesfest 2013: Day 10

The final day of Bluesfest was a real scorcher - fortunately this time I managed my sun exposure a little better and didn't end up feeling baked. Shaving a couple of hours off the time I was there probably helped. Getting all the way to Wellington St. before realizing I'd left my camera at home did not help quite as much.

First stop: The Claridge Homes stage for a few minutes of JW Jones who was really ripping it up. I was tempted to stay but as a local I have to figure they'll be other chances to catch him live. He's hitting a few festivals this summer, but will be at the Black Sheep Sept. 8 and the Rainbow Sept. 21.


JW-Jones at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 14, 2013

My next destination was the River Stage; a former colleague and fellow music fan, Alan Kors, was singing the praises of King King after watching them Saturday. They had been on my go-see list but I ended up at Austra instead. The kilt-clad Glaswegians had a jolly time with some super-heavy blues-rock (a bit like Nazareth, I'd say) while boiling away in the sun.


King King at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 14, 2013

Back when I was in university and getting into the whole grunge thing, I picked up a copy of Alice In Chain's Facelift at Record Runner (I think? Might have been the place on the corner of Bank and Laurier whose name escapes me ...). I'm alarmed to think that 23 years have passed since then.


Alice In Chains at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 14, 2013

Following the sad death of frontman Layne Staley I wouldn't have thought the band could be brought back to life, but they pulled an AC/DC and got a very creditable howler in William DuVall.


Alice In Chains at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 14, 2013

Alejandro Escovedo was one of my must-sees. I've seen him at a couple of Bluesfests with a different lineup. Last time he had a cellist and violinist. This time around it was a two-guitars deal. They played a great cover of Neil Young's Like A Hurricane, and most of his set was very rocking.


Alejandro Escovedo at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 14, 2013

In normal times my next step would have been to wait around for Los Lonely Boys (who I last saw playing Barrymore's some time pre-blog; Tony D was the opener). To avoid sun-scorching I retreated to a shady place and had a bit of a lie-down. Unfortunately by the time I got up it was time to run off and see B.B. King. There were so many people I ended up closer to the Bell Stage than the Claridge Homes Stage he was actually performing on. Here's some photographic evidence of the distance involved ....


B.B. King at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 14, 2013

Before heading off to the festival I was wondering what kind of sad bastard would be showing up to watch boogie rock also-rans Cactus. That would be me, I guess, though I actually only took in a couple of songs before returning to watch B.B. King from leagues away.


Cactus at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 14, 2013

Last time I had a chance to see Los Lobos, I blew them off for a chance to see Alejandro Escovedo. Since they shared a stage with him this time around, no problems there. They started things off with Will The Wolf Survive and were generally great.


Los Lobos at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 14, 2013

I confess, I did pop over to the Bell Stage to see what Skrillex's new outfit, Dog Blood, was all about. 


Dog Blood at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 14, 2013

My final stop was to see a bit of Detroit legend Mitch Ryder, who was looking reasonably lively for a performer of his vintage.


Mitch Ryder at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 14, 2013

Now all I have to do is figure out my entertainment plans for the rest of summer ...

Ottawa Bluesfest 2013: Day 9

I promised myself last year, after get sun-dazed once again on my first all-day attendance at Bluesfest, that the following year I would generously apply both sun screen (externally) and water (internally) to ensure it didn't happen again. Well, it sort of worked - I was only kind of groggy as I watched Bjork's Tesla coil retreat to the top of the Bell Stage roof. Next year I'll bring an umbrella. On to the shows themselves.

First up, Roberta Bondar, It was early in the day so the crowd was sort of small, but they did a great job, I gathered from several snatches of conversation I overheard later they sounded particularly fine while bicycling along the river.


Roberta Bondar at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 13, 2013

Alex frets!


Roberta Bondar at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 13, 2013

Then it was off to the Black Sheep Stage to ... well, not do much for 20 minutes or so waiting for The Wicked Mercy to come on. This was the first time I've seen the local blues-rocking combo.


The Wicked Mercy at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 13, 2013

They didn't quite hold me so I went off to see who this Richard Perso person was on the Claridge Homes Stage. He's an Australian one-man band who plays a didgeridoo, percussion and guitar while singing. And before you say that sounds quite a bit, if not entirely, like that other big Bluesfest Xavier Rudd, I'll just note that he does sound different - there's less of a world-music groove in his sound. He is however just as amiable and amusing a stage presence as Rudd. He plays again today inside at the Barney Danson Theatre.


Richard Perso at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 13, 2013

Next up, soon to be intergalacticly famous trio Half Moon Run. Devon Portielje hails from Ottawa, but the band formed in Montreal.


Half Moon Run at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 13, 2013

I saw a crazy number of people wearing their T-shirts post-show, but I thought their Sunday-morning sound wasn't quite suited for a giant stage.


Half Moon Run at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 13, 2013

I split pretty quickly to watch Mehdi Cayenne Club, who have a lot more oddball charm. You'll recognize Olivier from sundry other quirky area combos.


Mehdi Cayenne Club at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 13, 2013

Francis rounds out the trio on keys.


Mehdi Cayenne Club at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 13, 2013

It's been a heck of a long time since I last saw Capital Grass & The No-Men. They have the dubious honour of being the first band I ever photographed with a point-and-shoot.


Capital Grass & The No-Men at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 13, 2013

Accordion action with Darcy!


Capital Grass & The No-Men at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 13, 2013

Then it was over to the Claridge Homes Stage for a super set from Winnipeg's Imaginary Cities.


Imaginary Cities at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 13, 2013

My next stop was the River Stage for some traditional Newfoundland music courtesy of quintet The Dardanelles. The performance came complete with an explanation of the difference between jigs on the Rock and elsewhere.


The Dardanelles at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 13, 2013

The Black Sheep Stage was apparently having a "blues" day. The tipoff was the number of lawn chairs. Firebelly were making their first appearance at Bluesfest and doing a solid job of representing in the Chicago style.



I had no idea who Mykki Blanco was before catching his set on the Bell Stage. He was sporting a pair of boxing trunks and pink butterfly pasties, and he's a bit of a character. There's rap, performance art and a fair dose of identity politics mixed into his performance.


Mykki Blanco at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 12, 2013

From that eye-opener I journeyed back to the River Stage for a bite to eat and some of The Knocks' danceable stuff.


The Knocks at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 13, 2013

I was quite interested to see what Austra's stage show would look like in the bright light of day, having seen her accompanied by mystic hand-waving in December 2011 at Ritual. She pulled it off by morphing into a hipster child in giant sunglasses and coveralls.



Then over to see Death Grips put on a serious hardcore set of severe grimacing. Unfortunately, no Zach Hill.


Death Grips at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 13, 2013

I also went to see Phosphorescent, which was more in my line, but spent most of the set lying down in the shade as I was beginning to feel a bit groggy.


Phosphorescent at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 13, 2013

Before hitting up the main stage for Bjork I did a bit of a wander, including to check out Stars from a vast distance. They sounded pretty hot.


Stars at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 13, 2013

Even better was the Jon Cleary Trio, who had some dynamite funky soul in the New Orleans style.



Bjork wrapped things up in majestic style with a choir of dazzlingly bedecked ladies, a rather unnecessary Tesla coil. She ordered that no photos be taken, so you're spared the photographic evidence of her huge bouffant of red hair. Her glittery dress with an off the shoulder cape was quite impressive as well. As for the final day of Bluesfest, I am, as ever, most looking forward to Alejandro Escovedo.

Ottawa Bluesfest 2013: Day 8

My expectations for Friday were not great for this Bluesfest, but it ended up offering one of the festival's highlights. I expected The Waterboys to be pretty good, but they really put on a dynamite set. There was plenty of other good stuff on tap as well, most of it involving violins.

I found Ilvekyo to be reasonably easy on the ears as well, although overly earnest alt-rock is not one of my favourite musical genres.


Ilvekyo at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 12, 2013

I also checked out the Back Sheep Stage, which had all-DJ schedule yesterday. Here's The Gaff. He seems to have a good record collection.


The Gaff at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 12, 2013

Then I toddled over to catch Loon Choir on the River Stage. They always put on an energetic show.


Loon Choir at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 12, 2013

They're headed west on tour soon.


Loon Choir at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 12, 2013

I also caught a brief bit of Matthew Good's set.


Matthew Good at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 12, 2013

Mike Scott and Steve Wickham may be the only original members of the Waterboys, but it's always been a bi of a revolving door, so no harm there.


The Waterboys at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 12, 2013

Not only did they bust out the expected hits such as Fisherman's Blues and (of course) The Whole Of The Moon, they also showed off a couple of hit new tracks, I'm Still A Freak and I Can See Elvis, to good effect. They threw in The Raggle Taggle Gypsy, a reading of W.B. Yeats' The Second Coming (Slouching Toward Bethlehem) and finished with an encore of Will The Circle Be Unbroken.


The Waterboys at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 12, 2013

For whatever reason, Great Big Sea has never done anything for me. I admire the between-song banter, but the tunes themselves leave me flat. Thus, I went over to the River Stage to check out Balkan Beat Box. They're quite an active lot.


Balkan Beat Box at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 12, 2013

Saturday I'm hoping to check out Death Grips, Phosphorescent, Austra and Bjork, as well as sundry fine local acts.

Ottawa Bluesfest 2013: Day 7

My stint at Bluesfest Thursday night was a short one. I arrived in time to check out Jack Pine & The Fire, stayed for the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and took in a couple of other acts, but I wanted to be at Pressed for 9 p.m. so I didn't linger.

First stop, the River Stage for Jack Pine and company. I saw him at Cafe DeKcuf in March of 2012 and really dug his mountain music style. I was equally impressed with his band.


Jack Pine and The Fire, July 11, 2013

After a few songs from them I went over to the Black Sheep Stage to inspect Les Mosquitos. They had some reggae style grooves and  a high quotient of songs about drugs.


Les Mosquitos at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 11, 2013

Good energy from this quintet.


Les Mosquitos at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 11, 2013

Next stop was the Main Stage (or the Bell Stage, as I suppose I should call it), to check out an old favourite, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. Spencer, Judah Bauer and Russell Simmins always put a lot of energy into their show, and Jon's pants brought back happy memories of their sizzling Babylon set back in 2007.


Jon Spencer Blues Explosion at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 11, 2013

Finally, I went over to check out some of Larry McCray's set (and grab a bite to eat). He was good in 2009, and good this year too.


Larry McCray at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 11, 2013

Then it was time to make a beeline for home and grab my "real" camera for the evening's Damo Suzuki performance - more on that later.

Ottawa Bluesfest 2013: Day 6

Knock on wood, but it looks like the danger of lightning and rain has passed the Ottawa Bluesfest by for the rest of 2013. We can now safely indulge in the usual heat prostration and sunburn while enjoying music under the sun and stars. I quite enjoyed Wednesday's offerings, even though the only band I went with a serious hankering to see didn't do anything for me.

I breezed in past The Claridge Homes Stage for some brief exposure to Atlas Genius. Brief exposure to the Australian combo was sufficient to satisfy. It wasn't painful, but I didn't find it interesting either.


Atlas Genius at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 10, 2013

Although not strikingly different, Family of the Year proved much more engaging.


Family of the Year at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 10, 2013

Or perhaps I was just entranced by Christina Schroeter's fluorescent yellow hair.


Family of the Year at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 10, 2013

As for Animal Collective, who I really like and greatly enjoyed when they played the Bronson Centre ... nope, not working for me. I listened for a bit, then decided to head off and see what else was going on.


Animal Collective at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 10, 2013

Glad I did, since El-P put on a great show at the River Stage.


El-P at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 10, 2013

It's all about the guest appearances! Killer Mike was the previous act, so needless to say there was some Run the Jewels action going on.


El-P at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 10, 2013

I foolishly did not stay to the very end, instead heading for the Black Sheep Stage to see what The Dunwells were doing, and if they were doing it well. I have to say I found their lyrics a bit cloying. Then again, maybe everybody's lyrics sound cloying after a dose of El-P.


The Dunwells at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 10, 2013

Back to River Stage for a bite to eat and the elegant soul of Solange, only slightly mangled by sound woes (she sounded great regardless).


Solange at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 10, 2013

And finally, over to the main stage for a good set by Weezer. Not as fine as their first one at Bluesfest in 2011 mind you. The only Rivers Cuomo antics this time around were placing a mayfly on a camera lens.


Weezer at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 10, 2013

I suspect I'll confine my Bluesfesting to Jack Pine and Jon Spencer today, then pop over to Pressed.