Mountains and plains

It's O-Down Hoedown time in the nation's capital. Ottawa's only country music festival had its kickoff at The Dominion on Thursday, its first show on Friday and moved into The Rainbow on Saturday with sets from Renee Yoxon, Montreal's Ol' Savannah and The Dusty Drifters.

Yoxon kicked things off with a set that was more jazz than country, though she did cover Dolly Party's Jolene among songs by Miles Davis and the old standard Brother Can You Spare A Dime?


Renee Yoxon at the Rainbow, September 24, 2011

Her guitarist is also named Rene (Gely, that is).


Renee Yoxon at the Rainbow, September 24, 2011

Ol' Savannah frontman Speedy D. Clark has a growly voice that reminds me a lot of Mississippi Grover's; the band plays a kind of stomping mountain music that went back to Clarence Ashley's The Coo-Coo Bird for a cover.


Ol' Savannah at The Rainbow, September 24, 2011

A copy of Willem Van Loon's The Story of Mankind was also demolished on stage. I only mention this because I knew Van Loon's son Dirk and was childhood friends with his grandson Wim.


Ol' Savannah at The Rainbow, September 24, 2011

Ace bluegrass combo The Dusty Drifters finished the night off. They've undergone some lineup changes since I saw them play at Zaphod's just a shade more than two years ago. You can see Ball and Chain's Michael Ball on standup bass.


The Dusty Drifters at The Rainbow, September 24, 2011

Here's banjo player John Steele.


The Dusty Drifters at The Rainbow, September 24, 2011

Of course you can catch them at their regular Sunday gigs at Irene's; there's more Hoedown action tonight at The Elmdale, with Lynne Hanson, Trevor Alguire and Orit Shimoni.

• Show reminder: Little Dog and Josh Charbot perform at The Rainbow tonight.

Out and down

It was a lovely night to be out and about in Ottawa, and a good night to take in Zaphod's free showcase with a trio of local bands doing their part for the O-Town Hoedown. As I walked in the door Use Every Part of the Deer were just wrapping up their set.

I don't know if they broke out the "stink organ" they used the last time I saw them live in May 2008, as I only caught one-and-a-half folky numbers by the duo of Matt McLennan and Susanna Wiens.


Use Every Part of the Deer, Zaphod Beeblebrox, September 21, 2009

The Dusty Drifters played a knockout set of bluegrass to a whooping crowd. Lots of excellent solo work from the sextet. It really was a sharp performance, and all miked acoustic instruments.


Dusty Drifters, Zaphod Beeblebrox, September 21, 2009

Train Jumpers finished things off. They played a cover of The Highwaymen's Devil's Right Hand. "The message is guns are bad and so is drinking before you play," said frontman Chris. I don't think the original featured the lyrics "Something, something, something."


Train Jumpers, Zaphod Beeblebrox, September 21, 2009

A swell evening, and there's much more hoedown action to come, with Prescott and Jehan Khoorshed performing at Irene's tonight.