Start to finish

If nothing else, Saturday's Bluesfest promised to bookend the day with a couple of hot sets. At the start of my day - which actually commenced at 3 p.m. - Hollerado played the main stage, while at the end Drive-By Truckers, one of my favourite bands, performed on the Fast Food Chain Stage. What happened in-between was pretty good too.

Hollerado put on a typically energetic set of their smart guitar rock. They remind me at times of Weezer. I suspect if they'd come around 10 years ago they'd be huge; as it stands there was a small (for Bluesfest, I'm talking about a few hundred people) but appreciative audience, including Louise Brown, who is a major fan and fielded a water bottle tossed by lead singer Menno Versteeg.


Hollerado, MBNA Stage, Bluesfest, July 18, 2009

They brought in some of the Uplift Gospel Choir to add vocals to a vocals to a few songs like Fake Drugs and Americanarama.


Uplift Gospel Choir with Hollerado, MBNA Stage, Bluesfest, July 18, 2009

I planned to go to the Black Sheep Stage, but with a few minutes to kill I decided to watch some of Paul Reddick's performance. He was on next at the Telecommunications Giant Stage. I reviewed and enjoyed Paul's Villanelle when it came out a few years back, and his rootsy blues-folk has its appeal.


Paul Reddick, Rogers Stage, Bluesfest, July 18, 2009

That said, I figured a good time was to be had watching Woodhands perform. They didn't have any female vocal accompaniment for this show (unlike a previous gig I caught at Club SAW), but still had the crowd dancing through a rainshower that lasted up until they performed a cover of Eddy Grant's Electric Avenue.


Woodhands, Black Sheep Stage, Bluesfest, July 18, 2009

That done I went over to see Becky Abbot perform on the main stage. She brought a sultry touch to covers of Neko Case's Hold On, Hold On and Lucinda Williams' Changed The Locks. She has a nice voice and as I've observed before looks smashing, but I far prefer the originals.


Becky Abbot, MBNA Stage, Bluesfest, July 18, 2009

I did a circle around the Bluesfest setup to return to the BlackSheep Stage, which included a brief viewing of Louisiana Red on the Fast Food Chain Stage and a brief pause to contemplate the T-shirts (sample motto: "Jesus Never Tapped Out") at the Hard Rock Stage, which was given over to gospel acts. He's playing again today in the Barney Danson Theatre


Louisiana Red, Subway Stage, Bluesfest, July 18, 2009

The Deep Dark Woods are a Saskatoon band sometimes described as "alt-country". Judging from their performance on the Black Sheep Stage, I'd say they've listened a lot to the The Basement Tapes. Their show was quite entertaining, though it too was accompanied by a start-to-finish rain shower.


Deep Dark Woods, Black Sheep Stage, Bluesfest, July 18, 2009

After that there was still a few minutes of Otis Taylor's set at the Telecommunications Giant Stage. He was doing a good job of impressed the youngsters waiting for Ludacris to show with his psychedelic blues.


Otis Taylor, Rogers Stage, Bluesfest, July 18, 2009

I wondered a bit more. I was surprised to see Papa Mali performing on the Fast Food Chain Stage. Turns out he is also part of Rhythm Council. I didn't catch enough of the set to say more.


Rhythm Council, Subway Stage, Bluesfest, July 18, 2009

I went back to the Black Sheep Stage to see what That 1 Guy was all about. First he played a song on his boot. Then he played a song on that piping gizmo he uses. The lyrics struck me as a bit like a nursery rhyme. It was a very rhythmic performance - let's say he's the Les Claypool of pipe and boot. He's also playing again today in the Barney Danson Theatre.


That 1 Guy, Black Sheep Stage, Bluesfest, July 18, 2009

After grabbing something to eat I settled down in front of the Fast Food Chain Stage to watch David Lindley. I'm a big fan of his work with Kaleidoscope, and he's an acknowledged master of a variety of stringed instruments. He covered Blind Willy Johnson's Soul of A Man, Warren Zevon's Seminole Bingo and Bruce Springsteen's Brothers Under The Bridge, separating each with an interesting and sometimes amusing introduction. Although Ludacris' set occasionally bled in, for the most part it was an entrancing demonstration of his colossal skill as a musician and his compelling voice. I think I'm going to catch him again today at the Hard Rock Stage.


David Lindley, Subway Stage, Bluesfest, July 18, 2009

After that I just hunkered down and waited for Drive-By Truckers to take the stage. I have all their albums and both their DVDs, so you could say I'm a fan. I thought they played an awesome set and the rest of the crowd seemed to agree. Best of all, they ran out the clock on their encore, playing for an hour and 45 minutes in all.


Drive-By Truckers, Subway Stage, Bluesfest, July 18, 2009


Drive-By Truckers, Subway Stage, Bluesfest, July 18, 2009

Always good to see a performer live up to your expectations.

Dadrock

Papa Mali was one of two acts who really blue me away, even though I'd never had the good fortune to see them before (Tagaq being the other). I'm unsurprised to hear he's crossed paths with J.J. Grey, another Southern swamp rocker with a soulful edge.



Geno Ronde on bass - I think.



"Drummer extraordinaire" Robb Kidd - who is indeed as extraordinary as billed.



"Now I'd like to play a little something for you."







Papa action!



Back on the Gibson for a little slide.







I tried to hunt down his latest CD without any luck (unfortunately, he didn't bring any copies with him).

• Show reminder: Day 2 of the i(heart)music festival rolls on at the Black Sheep Inn with The Diableros, Woodhands, Spy Machine 16 and Relief Maps. Sleeping Pilot, Boom Creek and Male Nurse kick out the jams for Ladyfest at Mavericks. Brock Zeman releases his new CD with support from Brendan Flynn at Zaphod's.

Finally!

There goes Bluesfest for another year. On the last day I camped out at the Black Sheep Stage. I was slightly tempted to go and see Detroit Women, but elected in the end to stick around. I saw three acts I've heard and enjoyed before, to varying degrees, and enjoyed them all once again. There were also three acts I hadn't seen before - I got a real kick out of of them too.

I was too much of a slowpoke getting down to LeBreton Flats to catch all of Danny Michel's rock set, but did catch a good chunk of it. Jim Bryson was invited to play keyboards on one song and ended up playing the whole set. The weather also took a turn for the better. "Now I can complain it's too hot!" jested Michel.



Next up was Papa Mali, my favourite surprise of the day. The dreadlocked guitarist hails from Louisiana and serves up a great swamp-soul-funk combination with cool reverbed vocals. His singing style and lyrics made me think of Baby Huey. He also played an instrumental cover of Neil Young - After the Goldrush, I think. If I were running Bluesfest, he'd top the list of performers I hadn't heard of before that I'd invite back.



With a name like King Sunshine, I expected a soca or calypso outfit. I wasn't far off - this Canadian nine-piece give a definite Caribbean inflection to their dancefloor friendly sounds.



I saw the Deadstring Brothers last year, and enjoyed their take on the countrified side of The Rolling Stones. They were even better this year - and, as singer Masha noted, "I'm embarrassed to say I'm still wearing the same stuff as last time." Heck, there are now some actual brothers in the band!



I know Steve Forbert mostly by reputation, but have never been fortunate enough to catch him live. Never mind that his first album is approaching its 30th anniversary, he still acts like a man with a hotfoot on stage.



Following Forbert's set, someone waved a magic wand, transforming a graying and sitting crowd into one 30 years younger and without lawn chairs. Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings ended things off with an equally energetic performance. A raised stage with a metal barrier isn't exactly an ideal situation for a Sharon Jones performance, but with some hopping and lugging a few folks from the crowd did make it up to dance on a couple of tunes.



A swell end to good festival. Further photos will appear in the days ahead.

• Show reminder: There's much hardcore at Babylon with Madball, Outbreak, Death Before Dishonor and Unleash Hell. Mink, The Poulsens, Transmission (or is Transformers?) and Sin Silver play for free at Zaphod's.