Bluesfest: Blitzen Trapper

On to another one of Bluesfest's finest shows, at least as far as my classic-rock loving ears are concerned: Blitzen Trapper. I enjoyed Wild Mountain Nation when it came out five years ago, but my attention wandered away until catching them on the Electro Stage, where their tunes got a serious jolt of rock'n'roll in the live setting.

Keyboard action! With Eric Earley, bassist Michael Van Pelt and Marty Marquis at right.



The whole lot! With axeman Erik Menteer and drummer Brian Koch.



Guitar action!



Marty goes acoustic.



Brian hits!



Eric sings!



Extra Van Pelt!



Guitar action!



And so on!



Pick-sliding action!



The sun was going down ... plus headbanging action!



Right now they're just chilling over the holidays.

Bluesfest: Youth Lagoon

While Airborne Toxic Event was rocking the main stage, I popped over to the River Stage to see what was up with Fat Possum recording artist Youth Lagoon. His music is something of a departure for the label, which is better known for its blues output. Young Lagoon's muse steers more in the direction of minimalist bedroom pop. From what I saw, a big concert stage is not his ideal venue.

Main brain Treor Powers rocks the keyboards.



Who his live guitarist is, I know not.



The whole lot!



More keyboard!



I didn't stick around.

Bluesfest: Airborne Toxic Event

I should have seen Californian indie rockers The Airborne Toxic Event a lot sooner than I did. They had a gig lined up at Zaphod's, but either due to tangled plans or a sudden rise in their fame quotient they had to bail. They made it to Bluesfest, though, and put on a fine show.

Mainman Mikel Jollet!



Anna Bulbrook on violin!



Steven Chen and the disembodied head of Daren Taylor!



Bassist Noah Harmon is rarely still.



Noah sings!



Faceoff action!



Airborne action!



Monitors, still mostly for standing on!



Toxic action!



Keyboard action!



Then I popped off for a bit of Youth Lagoon. Soon enough I decided I needed more toxicity in my life. I admire Daren's tastes in pop icons.



The whole lot!



Steven takes a stand.



Singalong action!



Lots of running about from these folks!



Meet the drummer!



Percussive action!



Anna gets amped up.



Tambourine action!



Mikel chats up the crowd!



Black and white action!



They've just emerged from hibernation to announce a new album for spring of 2013, with some accompanying West Coast touring (with no doubt more to follow).

Bluesfest: Grimes

Do you know who was hot this year? Grimes! And I don't just mean she picked up a lot of critical raves, though her Visions won plaudits for both its sound and its cover. She also got the dubious pleasure of rocking on the main stage area during one of Bluesfest's hotter and sunnier days. 

It waa not the best day to be wearing a lot of black.



On the other hand, it didn't seem to bother Blood Diamonds any.



Grimes adjusts her dial.



And puts on a hat.



Grimes sings!



Time to cool things down!



Black and white action!



Interpretive dance action!



Back to colour!



Hair-flinging action!



The whole lot!



More dancing!



The end!



A swell performance. I'm glad she didn't pass out from the heat. Right now she's on the Coachella Cruise. In March 2013 she's off to do some Asian touring.

Bluesfest: Deltron 3030

My last show of Tuesday at Bluesfest didn't exactly overwhelm me either, though many raves were heard and the crowd was most enthusiastic. Deltron 3030 certainly boast an all-star cast, with Dan The Automator playing conductor, Kid Koala on the wheels of steels and Del The Funkee Homosapien on the microphone.

Kid Koala spins!



They had a string section and assorted other diverse players om hand to help round out the sounds.



Dan and Del!



It wa sa well-lit event.



Well, you get the idea.



Kid announced their sophomore album would be out in November, but unspecified shenanigans have pushed it back to 2013.