Here comes trouble

Like Greg Davis, Ohbijou passed through town not so long ago. They mustered a capable performance on The Black Sheep Stage in July, but I didn't stick it out, preferring to see what Joel Plaskett was up to on another stage. This time I caught their whole set, and found it very pleasant, although a week after the fact I'm having a hard time remembering any details (although this may be cause listening to Thai pop has wiped all competing melodies right out of my brain).

Ringleader Casey Mejica gets down on the glockenspiel. Andrew Kinoshita usually plays mandolin, but here he's taken over Heather Kirby's bass while she handle's Casey's Tele.



Anissa Hart works the high notes while Casey's sister Jennifer plays in the background.



Keyboardist Ryan Carley in closeup.



Heather on bass ... She's obstructing the view of drummer James Bunton.



Andrew back on eight strings.



More Casey.



Sisterly singalong action.



And so on!





Six-sevenths of the whole lot!



Sweet, but sandwiched between Megafaun, Greg Davis and Akron/Family they seemed kind of unremarkable.

• Show reminder: Subsistance, Machine Gun Dolly, The Suicide Pilots, Obscene Bastards and The Zero Hours play Cafe Dekcuf; Magnolia Electric Co. and The Watson Twins perform at Zaphod Beeblebrox.

All in the family

Akron/Family have been super every time I've seen them, and last night was no exception. Despite having lost some gear two nights ago to some light-fingered louts on Toronto, they were as buoyant live as at previous shows at Zaphod Beeblebrox and the First Baptist Church on Laurier. They also changed things up a bit, absorbing some tourmates into their live show.

First up were Megafaun, the only act on the bill I hadn't seen before. Here are brothers Brad and Phil Cook. I'm not quite sure who's who, but I do believe it's in that order.



They segued directly into Greg Davis' number. He also opened for Books a little while back.



Ohbijou rolled through town for Bluesfest just a couple of months ago. I liked their sound a bit better this time.



Finally Akron/Family put on a long and jammy set. They performed this set as a septet, featuring all of Megafaun and also all of Greg Davis (because he is just one guy, you know), but no Ryan.



They encored with some shirtless boy band pop.

At the bijou

Ever since Broken Social Scene broke big, it seems that multi-membered bands have been popping up left and right. I guess that's due to either a growing acceptance of deviation from the standard singer/drummer/guitarist/bassist band lineup, or an increasing willingness for seven musicians to be stuffed in a van for a cross-country tour. One of those bands is Ohbijou. They're one of those bands that cruises through town a couple of times a year, usually performing in the company of The Acorn. Once again Bluesfest provided an opportunity to connect the dots.

Casey Mecija rocks the Tele.



Ryan Carley on keys.



Every band these days has a melodica. When not tooting, James Bunton handles the drums.



Andrew Kinoshita on mandolin.



Anissa Hart chills on cello.



Heather Kirby also handles the bass.



Casey's sister Jennifer.



Ohbijou action!



Those indie bands - so serious.



And not so serious.



They were pleasant, but not particularly gripping. I'd like to see them again in more intimate surroundings.

Red, white and the blues

Off to another day of Bluesfest. My first stop: The River Stage for a few minutes of F!ghtF!ghtF!ght. While I was there they played a number from their soon-to-drop sophomore CD. The official release show is August 10.



I stayed for about 20 minutes, but the act I really wanted to check out was over on The Black Sheep Stage. Spiral Beach wowed me when they played Mavericks a while back, and they were also excellent this time around. They too have a new CD coming out, called Bomb. It looks like they've been hitting the bottle (of peroxide, that is) pretty hard since that earlier show.



I met a coworker there and we decided to traipse back to the River Stage to see Ukrainia! perform. Lots of high-kicking and dancing from the enthused crowd at this gig.





We returned to the Black Sheep Stage to see Ohbijou. I thought they were okay, but my companion found them a bit dull.



Thus we went over to see Joel Plaskett and Co. Despite his sterling live reputation I thought he was a bit ho-hum. I love his albums, so perhaps he just wasn't hitting his stride yet.



My coworker didn't care much for him either, and the sun was right in the audience's eyes so we decided to go off to the River Stage, which had the benefit of both Shout Out Out Out Out and tree cover. More high kicking, microphone swinging and stack climbing to add to the fun.



That done, there was a bit of a hole in the schedule to fill. Leahy was really the only option. Unfortunately, Celtic music is one of the few varieties that is largely lost on me. The crowd liked them, though.



The big news for Sunday's Bluesfest was The White Stripes performance. I did see a chunk of it, but I confess I crept away after a half-dozen tunes to check the turnout for Hawksley Workman (jammed) then scuttled over to the River Stage to see the end of The Flatlanders' performance. They sounded great and ended with a cover of Terry Allen's Gimme a Ride to Heaven, Boy.



Then I went back to catch The White Stripes last two songs and a lengthy encore, which included Meg singing Cold Cold Night (and playing a bit of organ), Hotel Yorba, Seven Nation Army and Bollweevil Blues. I enjoyed the show much more from way in the back than in the midst of the crowd. The sound was also good, though the delay between it and what you see on the screens is quite noticeable.



As you can see from the above picture (taken early on), I couldn't get too close. You can also tell the Stripes' stage designer is big on the colour red.

• Show reminder: Farewell To Freeway, Set Fire To Wicker Park and Dead Winter play End Hits. Fire Heats Water, Crowded Skies and the Old Youth perform at Zaphod's.