The measured approach

At previous Bluesfests there usually seemed to be some act I'd never seen but sounded interesting playing at the same time as acts that I had caught before, but figured I could skip this time around. That didn't happen as frequently at this Bluesfest, which either indicates I've seen a whole lot more music than I thought, or the folks at Bluesfest are booking the same acts again. I've certainly seen and enjoyed both Ryan Shaw and Metric before. Since I knew I was going to see Iron & Wine later I decided to go and see Metric -again - at the Rogers Stage, if only because they were closer.

James Shaw breaks out the Theremin.



Emily Haines seemed a bit more cheerful this time around, and she upgraded her outfit from the hoodie-wearing street urchin look she sported when I caught the band in 2007.



Ray Winstead mans the low end.



Hair-shaking action!



Tambourining action!



Face-to-face action!



The whole lot!



James gets to yell some too.



You have to give Haines credit for really throwing herself into her performance.



Bass-lifting action!




Run for your life!



Emily gets her axe.



Guitar action!



Clapping action!



After a couple of final festival dates - Sonic Boom and Bumbershoot - they're off to Australia for a few weeks of touring. After about 40 minutes of their fine set I headed back to the Subway Stage to see Iron & Wine ... but it wouldn't be the last I heard of Metric.

• Show reminder: Guy Del Villano performs at the Elmdale House.

From blues to blast

The weather for Day 2 of Bluesfest 2009 was certainly an improvement on opening day - in fact I doubt you could ask for nicer weather: Sunny, not too humid, a lovely breeze. Ideal circumstances to watch music outdoors.

I heard the Brothers Chaffey before I saw them, as I bicycled along the Ottawa River. Bluesfest now has a bike depot conveniently located near the river behind the Fast Food Joint Stage so it was just a few minutes between leaving it there and plopping myself down near the front row. Curtis, Matthew and Co. played a great sounding set. They usually do, but I suspect they might have had a boost from Ken Friesen, the producer of their last album Bloodlines, manning the soundboard. Lots of great tunes from both their albums, plus a cover of The Kinks' I'm Not Like Everybody Else.


Brothers Chaffey, Subway Stage, Bluesfest, July 9, 2009

I had hoped to catch a bit of Kyrie Kristmanson,but unfortunately she finished stuff off before I could tear myself away from The Brothers Chaffey, so I settled back at the Fast Food Joint Stage to wait for Holy Fuck to get things started. They sounded pretty good, but weren't knocking me out like they have at previous shows, so I headed off about a 20 minutes into their set to seek out a good spot for Metric's performance.


Holy Fuck, Subway Stage, Bluesfest, July 9, 2009

There was a huge crowd awaiting Metric's arrival - no surprise there - but they were pretty well-behaved compared to the last time I saw Metric at Bluesfest where I spent their entire set being squished against the barricade. I've liked Metric ever since I saw them open for Broken Social Scene (a band that didn't persuade me I liked them at that Capital Music Hall show), but I'm not a fanatic about them, so once again I split for the Fast Food Joint Stage and an act I really did want to see.


Metric, Rogers Stage, Bluesfest, July 9, 2009

That would be Iron & Wine. Yesterday I was admiring Darcy Yates' facial foliage during Flash Lightnin's set and ideally musing he was a contender for best beard of Bluesfest ... alas, he must hand the title to Samuel Beam, at least for now. If Sam had been around during the 1950s he could have been a beard model for all those biblical epics like Ben-Hur. Beam played a lovely set; his voice and guitar-playing were both top-shelf and both his songwriting and between-tunes banter are enlightened by his considerable intelligence, humour and powers of observation. His comparison to the sound-bleed from Metric's ongoing performance to having an SUV with music pumping out of it pulling up beside you at a light and interrupting a conversation with a dinner date was most amusing.


Iron & Wine, Subway Stage, Bluesfest, July 9, 2009

After that captivating set, I tootled over to the Black Sheep Stage. As before, I stopped at the Hard Rock stage to snap a couple of photos of the act playing there, in this case The Road Hammers. On the way back, they were playing a cover of ZZ Top's Legs, and doing a decent job of it.


Road Hammers, Hard Rock Stage, Bluesfest, July 9, 2009

Oumou Sangare is known as the Songbird of Wassoulou, a region of Mali with its own particular style (or perhaps that should be styles) of music. The eponymous form for which Sangare is known features a lot of the instruments familiar to anyone who caught Toumani Diabate's set last year. It was an entertaining set, highlighted by a pair of very energetic dancers and of course Sangare's soaring vocals. She's also got Living Colour drummer Will Calhoun on board in addition to a bunch of African pros.


Oumou Sangare, Black Sheep Stage, Bluesfest, July 9, 2009

I made my way back to the bike depot as her band was kicking off the encore; not only did I beat the rush, but I made it home in time enough to walk over to the Atomic Rooster and catch both bands slated to perform there that night. In fact, Fear of Lipstick was just finishing off their sound check as I walked in.

The Moncton, New Brunswick combo has been touring with The Creeps for the last few days. The two bands share an affection for hard and fast Ramones-style punk rock.


Fear of Lipstick, The Atomic Rooster, July 9, 2009

The Creeps ripped through a typically great set, with some additional strangulation-by-audience thrown in.


The Creeps, The Atomic Rooster, July 9, 2009

And now it's really time to go to bed!

• Show reminder: Aside from Bluesfest stuff, both at Lebreton Flats and in the Market (Peter Murphy at Mavericks!), there's Uncle Cat performing at Irene's and The Ireland Brothers Band plus The Andrew Shedden Band at the Elmdale House.

By any measure

It's been a few years since I saw Metric open for Broken Social Scene. Since that 2003 show I've seen a song or two from them at Bluesfest, but never felt the urge to stick around for a full set. Things changed this year, in part because the other options were INXS on the main stage or Ten Years After at the Black Sheep Stage, but mostly because by the time Built to Spill had finished their set a massive crowd had materialized behind me and there was no escape. I'm a little surprised the pictures from this show turned out as well as they did, considering I was stuck in the middle of a surging crowd and the lighting was rotten. At least I got to take a few pictures after the first two songs: The official photographers were banished from the space between the barrier and the front of the stage after two tunes. With good reason; besides any shyness on the part of the band, the space had to be nice and clear so the security people could hoist the showgoers who surfed over peoples heads (mine included) over the barrier to freedom. I'm not sure what purpose all the pushing and shoving serves, but the audience seemed to enjoy it. For my part I almost sprained my wrist hanging on to the barrier for dear life.

An early picture taken while fiddling with settings. Someone must have used a flash.



Metric action! With James Shaw, Joules Scott-Key and Josh Winstead.



Emily Haines is looking more like Madonna by the day. Maybe it's the hoodie.



As before, Winstead was getting a very punchy sound.









James Shaw in the aforementioned rotten lighting.









I wish this picture had turned out a little more in focus, but such is life.



And that's that. I think next time I'll stay clear. I'm not a huge fan, and I don't fancy being trampled to death - although that would be preferable to seeing INXS.

• Show reminder: The Love Machine, Brights, The Adam Brown, and Riot Service perform at Club SAW. The Nads, Squelchbox and Deluxe Mixed Nuts play End Hits; The Consumer Goods, Sarah Hallman and Hollowtip Hearts play Zaphod Beeblebrox; there's also a benefit for Darfur at Barrymore's with The Carps, For The Mathematics, and The Watters Brothers.

Jump around

Friday was the first day that I didn't have to make any decisions about which band I was going to see when: First I went to see Gogol Bordello, then I went to see Sebastien Grainger et les Montagnes, followed by Built to Spill and Metric. The only other possibility on my to-do list was Tokyo Police Club, but their slot overlapped too much with Built To Spill. There was already a healthy collection of people at the Rogers Stage when I arrived for my second Gogol Bordello show. The bass was really thundering, and the band was just as active as it was at Barrymore's. The barrier did prevent the more personal forms of audience interaction (at least while I was there), but a good time was had by all regardless.

I think Eugene Hutz should put out an exercise tape.



A few minutes before the end I went off to the River Stage to grab a good spot for Sebastien Grainger et les Montagnes. I've seen Sebastien before as part of DFA 1979. His Montagnes are a thumping rhythm section, while he's bringing the rock and various grimaces.



There was a brief wait for Built To Spill, spent photographing rainbows and flags, then it was time for Doug Martsch and his merry crew. Well, his not-very-merry crew. as stage performers go they're fairly low-key. I've been enjoying Built To Spill's work since 1993. I was actually trying to find a Treepeople album, had to settle for Ultimate Alternative Wavers and have been an on-and off admirer since. The three-guitar lineup can really rock out the tunes. I believe that's Jim Roth at right. Netson is much hairier, and has more writing on his guitar.



Last time I saw Metric was at the old Capital Music Hall opening for Broken Social Scene on June 12, 2003 (I'm not counting a previous Bluesfest performance where I only stayed for a couple of songs). I admired that show (though BSS did gull me by saying they were about to break up). The crowd was enthusiastic during Metric's set four years ago; last night they were going bananas. While I was watching Built To Spill several thousand teenagers and 20somethings sneaked up behind me (one industrious young lady actually inveigled herself between me and the barrier). The band test-ran a new song called Up In Flames on the audience and played a bunch of favourites like Dead Disco that had the fans sloshing back and forth.



The crowd up front was an incredible crush and by the end I was feeling a bit compressed.

• Show reminder: A History Of, Medium Mood and Good Night Knights perform at End Hits as part of the Yo Rodeo art show; Flow 14, Rockets Away and Machine Gun Dolly rock Zaphod Beeblebrox; The Warriors, First Blood, Too Pure To Die and Daggermouth do the same at Mavericks. The Jason Kent Band and Eric Vieweg perform at Irene's.

Measure for measure

I'm busy changing the filing system for my pictures, from the "Lying in piles on my floor" system to the "Put in vaguely chronological order in boxes" method, and have come across some photos of Metric. Since they play tonight at the new Capital Music Hall (as they did last night, both to sold out crowds), I figured I'd post a few of them as they were on Dec. 6, 2003, opening for Broken Social Scene.

Emily Haines sends it out.



Guitarist Jimmy Shaw.



Bassist Josh Winstead; his sound got a lot of compliments in post-show audience chit chat.



Haines slides as drummer Joules Scott-Key taps away.



Measured action!



Look up there!



My shutter speed was really too slow on this picture, but the colours are nice.



Things really took off for them in the two years following this show.