Bluesfest: The Ethics

The final Sunday of Bluesfest was a bit of a dud - honestly, there wasn't much I felt like sticking around for -but it did give me a chance to catch up with some local bands I hadn't seen in a while, as well as a couple of out-of-towners. First on the list of locals were The Ethics, last seen (by me) performing at Raw Sugar in April 2011.

Kevin Hersak rocks the shades.



Jeff Gleeson in the pink.



Matt Arnold of Soiree fame handles the low end.



Marcus Ward works the keys.



The whole lot, including drummer Paul Ross!



Singalong action!



Faceoff action!



Kicking action!



More Paul!



Unfortunately I only caught a bit of their smart pop set; then it was off to watch The BushPilots.

Ottawa Bluesfest 2012, Day 12

The final fay of Bluesfest for 2012. I confess I didn't catch a lot of it. With everything so muggy I figured about four hours was my limit, and I spent it watching primarily local bands, along with New York's The Postelles and (again) The Monophonics.

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.

Moral majority

Jeans Boots was followed by The Ethics. The Ottawa band has been around for several years now. They played a set of pretty sharp pop music; the recorded stuff I've heard has a folky tinge and reminds me of a soft-spoken Wilco. Live, as is often the case, they had much more oomph.

Kevin Hersak goes Nudie.



Jeff Gleeson sings!



Also in the band, but tricky to photograph due to the Raw Sugar's layout are keyboardist Marcus Ward, drummer Paul Ross and bassist Matt Arnold, who has appeared here before in The Soiree.



Stringy action!



Keyboard action!



Kevin bends!



More Matt!



The whole lot!



Fashionable action!



The end!



A really nice performance of songs that are intended for their next album.

• Show reminder: Jeff Andrew, Jesse Hill and The Rough Sea play The Rainbow; Ann Walton, Megan Jerome and Peter Duschenes are at the Elmdale.

Sugar and molasses

My musical plans last night were made at the last minute. Initially I had thought about going to see Born Ruffians at Ritual, but I left my ticket-buying to the last moment, and needless to say didn't manage to get one. Instead I popped over to Raw Sugar. Previous shows there have been pretty jammed, but this time around the turnout was commendable but not wall-to-wall like it was for the Kelp showcase. On hand were a couple of Saskatoon combos Jeans Boots and Slow Down Molasses, and local quintet The Ethics.

Jeans Boots is fronted by Jeanette Stewart and a cast of thousands (okay, two: her bandmates from Slow Down Molasses, Ryan Drabble and Tyson Brooks). Slow Down Molasses has already professed their love for Julie Doiron, and I'd say that goes for Jeans Boots too. JB comes in two flavours, electric and acoustic. This was the electric, "get kicked out of the folk festival" version. It was super-fuzzy, with the bass used more to build up a wall of fuzz than keep time. I liked it very much indeed, and picked up one of her two CDs the moment she cleared the stage.


Jeans Boots at Raw Sugar, March 30, 2011

They really did rock out.


Jeans Boots at Raw Sugar, March 30, 2011

Next up were The Ethics, a band I have heard much of but have yet to see live. I'm glad to have done so since they put on a very sharp pop performance, entirely composed of songs they'll soon be laying down in the studio. The pictures I took unfortunately don't do justice to the whole band - the layout of Raw Sugar isn't friendly to those musicians not up front.


The Ethics at Raw Sugar, March 30, 2011

Finally Slow Down Molasses hit the stage. They stretch the indie rock gamut from shoegaze to roots rock to pop. They've recorded with Julie Doiron and pulled off a cover of My Bloody Valentines' When You Sleep with aplomb.


Slow Down Molasses at Raw Sugar, March 30, 2011

Also, everyone wished Rolk Klausener happy birthday. Yay!

• Show reminder: The Brains, Evil Farm Children, The Krap Skraps, The Mudplots and The Grave Mistakes are at Mavericks; The Withering Pines, J.J. Ispen and The Paper Crown perform at the Elmdale. Eamon McGrath and The Goodnight Webcams play Zaphod's.