Ottawa Bluesfest 2013: Day 6

Knock on wood, but it looks like the danger of lightning and rain has passed the Ottawa Bluesfest by for the rest of 2013. We can now safely indulge in the usual heat prostration and sunburn while enjoying music under the sun and stars. I quite enjoyed Wednesday's offerings, even though the only band I went with a serious hankering to see didn't do anything for me.

I breezed in past The Claridge Homes Stage for some brief exposure to Atlas Genius. Brief exposure to the Australian combo was sufficient to satisfy. It wasn't painful, but I didn't find it interesting either.


Atlas Genius at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 10, 2013

Although not strikingly different, Family of the Year proved much more engaging.


Family of the Year at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 10, 2013

Or perhaps I was just entranced by Christina Schroeter's fluorescent yellow hair.


Family of the Year at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 10, 2013

As for Animal Collective, who I really like and greatly enjoyed when they played the Bronson Centre ... nope, not working for me. I listened for a bit, then decided to head off and see what else was going on.


Animal Collective at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 10, 2013

Glad I did, since El-P put on a great show at the River Stage.


El-P at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 10, 2013

It's all about the guest appearances! Killer Mike was the previous act, so needless to say there was some Run the Jewels action going on.


El-P at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 10, 2013

I foolishly did not stay to the very end, instead heading for the Black Sheep Stage to see what The Dunwells were doing, and if they were doing it well. I have to say I found their lyrics a bit cloying. Then again, maybe everybody's lyrics sound cloying after a dose of El-P.


The Dunwells at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 10, 2013

Back to River Stage for a bite to eat and the elegant soul of Solange, only slightly mangled by sound woes (she sounded great regardless).


Solange at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 10, 2013

And finally, over to the main stage for a good set by Weezer. Not as fine as their first one at Bluesfest in 2011 mind you. The only Rivers Cuomo antics this time around were placing a mayfly on a camera lens.


Weezer at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 10, 2013

I suspect I'll confine my Bluesfesting to Jack Pine and Jon Spencer today, then pop over to Pressed.

Weezing to the finish line

Here we are at the end of Bluesfest for 2010. It was not the most satisfying fest I've been to, an I'm still feeling a bit grumbly about the ham-handed change to the SLR policy, but on the plus side the main stage shows featured more music that was up my alley, such as the closing gig from Weezer.

That's Weezer, with a "W."



And the crowd goes wild!



Sweater-vested action!



Rivers works the crowd!



Acoustic action!



Lead guitar action!



And that's it. Now I must contemplate whether I want to do it again next year ...

• Show reminder: Speaking of Bluesfest acts Charlie Winston (featured a while back) returns to the Capital Music Hall on a bill with Bedouin Soundclash; Small Sins and James & Blackburn perform at Zaphod's; Devin Johnstone and Shannon Rose and The Thorns are at the Elmdale House.

Mnem and women

I can deduct one more thing from the list of stuff I haven't done: Seen a tribute band perform. In this case, hotly tipped indie-rock assembly Sheezer attracted a big crowd to Zaphod Beeblebrox for a well-lubricated (with booze) performance that I'm sure Rivers Cuomo would Twitter about with pride if he'd been there. As it happened, they also had a swell opener.

The Mnemonics were formed from the ashes of The Centretown Cripplers, and Dave Banoub, Jon Kiely and Chris Cook from that band have all made the jump. They've been joined by Colin Majid from Garaga (and others) and drummer Brian Foster. They put out less of a squall than the Cripplers, coming closer to such late greats as Colin's old band Stand GT, Superchunk, etc.


The Mnemonics at Zaphod Beeblebrox, Nov. 1, 2010

Sheezer put on a great set of Weezer covers. You may recognize such folks as noted thumb pianist Laura Barrett, Dana Sneel of The Adorables and others and The Phonemes' Magali Meagher. You've also got Robin Hatch of Sports and Alysha Haugen handling the leads. Actually this was a night of three-guitar bands! There was a very good crowd and everyone had a swell time, as far as I could tell. This show must have been part of a Halloween tour, because the band was all decked out in what - as far as I know - looked like Sailor Moon costumes.


Sheezer at Zaphod Beeblebrox, Nov. 1, 2010

They also had some guests from the audience - obviously all big Weezer fans - to sing along and speak the narrative parts to Undone (The Sweater Song).


Sheezer and Weezer fans at Zaphod Beeblebrox, Nov. 1, 2010

After that I briefly popped over to The Rainbow in time to miss a solo set from Harvey Cartel's Chris Landry and see some of Face of Jam, who opened with Behind Blue Eyes. At least I think it was Face of Jam. Has there been a lineup change or something? (Edit - turns out it was actually Forest ... I thought they looked a little less hairy ...)


Forest at the Rainbow, Nov. 1, 2010

I'd have stuck around to see Ornaments, but unfortunately I'm suffering from computer difficulties and have to haul it into the shop today. If the blog doesn't update in the next few days, that's why.

It's all over, baby blue

Another year, another Bluesfest. In every year there's good and bad (or perhaps that should "mildly annoying"). This year the good consists of a bunch of awesome main-stage shows that actually interested me enough to plunk myself down in a crowd of thousands, something I'm normally loathe to do. The Flaming Lips put on a show I'll remember for a good long while, as did Arcade Fire. Iron Maiden were quite good, and I even found Rush enjoyable for an hour or so.
There were as usual some excellent side-stage concerts, with Blonde Redhead, Timber Timbre, The Rural Alberta Advantage, Bassekou Kouyate and Plants and Animals being particular standouts in my memory. As in previous years there were also the pleasant discoveries, like solo acoustic guitarists Matt Andersen and Bjorn Berge. The weather largely cooperated as well.
Less enjoyable was the SLR ban (rumour has it that it was triggered by the aforementioned Rush show). And despite a couple of good shows in The Black Sheep tent, I've got to say that unless they can do something about the acoustics they should either reserve it for comedy acts or revert to an outdoor stage. Good or bad, depending on your point of view, is that at no time did I find myself having to make an agonizing choice between acts (I still get a painful twinge from last year's Drive-By Truckers/Black Mountain decision). I suppose that's another way of saying this year's lineup wasn't as strong, but since I only rarely found a shortage of things to see or do I can't rightly complain, except to say  I did feel the world music lineup wasn't as strong as it had been in previous years. On to last night's entertainment, starting with locals Amos The Transparent.

Last time I saw Amos The Transparent was also at Bluesfest - back in 2007 - and since then there's been a few lineup changes. They really sounded like a rock band yesterday, as opposed to a music collective in the vein of Broken Social Scene. Here we have Dan Hay doing his best Jimmy Page impression.


Amos The Transparent at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 18, 2010

With one of those rare downtimes on my schedule I went to the main stage to see what this Trevor Hall chap was up to. He's a reggae guy from L.A., and is on tour with Jimmy Cliff. I thought he was okay, but didn't stick around.


Trevor Hall at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 18, 2010

I breezed past the Subway Stage where Paul Rishell and Annie Raines were just starting to cook on resonator and harmonica. I listened for a while then went over to the Black Sheep tent.


Paul Rishell and Annie Raines at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 18, 2010

There I found Occidental Brothers Dance Band International warming up. The Chicago band is dedicated to replicating the musical sounds of Ghanaian high-life. They've teamed up with Congolese singer Samba Mapangala for their latest project.


Occidental Brothers Dance Band International at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 18, 2010

They were fun enough, but I'd also heard good things about Slide To Freedom. They're a trio that blends eastern and western slide music, though to my unlettered ears it sounded more Indian than anything else.


Slide To Freedom at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 18, 2010

Hollerado was my next step, putting on a typically energetic set on the main stage, complete with confetti explosions (I'm going to guess they also caught the Flaming Lips' show) and a special guest appearance from mega-buskers The Dube Brothers for some twistin' tune.


Hollerado at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 18, 2010


Hollerado with The Dube Brothers at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 18, 2010

Jimmy Cliff proceeded to put on an electrifying set on the Claridge Stage. He definitely had the audience in the palm of his hand, swaying and singing along for every number.


Jimmy Cliff at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 18, 2010

Weezer finished the night off. Like Cliff, frontman Rivers Cuomo appeared to be having a lot of fun, at one point running off the stage onto the speaker stacks stage left, then taking off down the divider that runs from the stage to the sound tent, high-fiving people and singing all the way.


Weezer at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 18, 2010

Unfortunately it seems likely the SLR ban will stay for next year ... they might even start enforcing it. I'll either have to finagle a photopass or buy a superzoom; if I don't I'm going to go nuts thinking about all the photos I'm unable to take.