Second sun

Elliott Brood was the second sweatiest act I witnessed at Bluesfest. First place goes to Loel Campbell of Wintersleep and Holy Fuck, but he had some serious competition from Mark Sasso. The MBNA Stage really was well situated to bake its inhabitants. Despite the heat, Elliott Brood put on their usual high quality show. I've seen them a bunch of times and they've always been excellent.

As you can see from the glare off his guitar, Sasso was getting the sun full on.



Casey Laforet, not so much.



No good pictures of Stephen Pitkin - and he didn't even have his suitcase with him! - but here he is singing backup.



Brooding action!





Ukulele rabble-rousing!





They rounded things off with a cover of Neil Young's Powderfinger ... not the last rendition I'd hear of that tune, either.

The Wolves of August

Wolf Parade are that other widely praised Montreal indie rock outfit. I quite enjoyed their Apologies to the Queen Mary myself, so I snapped up a ticket to the band's Barrymore's show several weeks ago. I was also keen to see Frog Eyes (who put on a good show opening for Destroyer at Babylon way back in 2004) , and since Holy Fuck were also on the bill, so much the better.

Holy Fuck's Barrymore's set was even better than the one at Bluesfest. No doubt playing in an air-conditioned club was a tad easier as well. They also had Glenn Milchem on drums this time.



Frog Eyes - I liked them at Babylon; this time they were killer.



Wolf Parade were also very good, a tight set despite some technical difficulties.



And the crowd went wild!

She's got legs

Alanna Stuart came to Ottawa from Toronto, made her mark as a local soul singer opening for Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings with Maya Ethier among other gigs. She's heading back to Toronto to make her fortune in the music business either in the near future or the immediate past. She's also collaborated with Peter Elkas. She was wearing a striking yellow outfit (and striking matching afro) for her Bluesfest appearance. No doubt it inspired the Main Stage's female presenter to remark that she had the best legs at the festival ("I guess they are pretty nice," Alanna responded, somewhat demurely).

Alanna - at right is Ben Mullin, who I last saw in Vanity Press - his current musical project is called Alarmist.



Several members of Alanna's band also feature in the Souljazz Orchestra; that's Steve Patterson and Phil Lafreniere from the orchestra behind Alanna. (Unfortunately I couldn't manouevre into a suitable spot to get a shot of bassist Dave Shroeder or drummer Russell Crawford)



Orchestra Rhodes scholar Pierre Chretien.



Heather Piche and Nantali Indongo sing backup.



Watch out, Toronto!



She started work on an EP in May, so it can't be long until we hear more from her.

• Show reminder: Wolf Parade, Frog Eyes, Holy Fuck play at Barrymore's Music Hall; The Love Machine, Smaller on You and The Good Ideas play Mavericks; Fuck The Facts and Intronaut perform at End Hits.

Great and grande

Having seen Dan Bern, I figured a nice way to cap the evening would be to watch some laid back southern rock courtesy of Allman Brothers founder Dickey Betts and Great Southern. With a newly minted three-guitar lineup I expected some pyrotechnics. The crowd was certainly in a hopeful mood. Several members were in a state of rapture even before the band was on stage. Unfortunately, like the Allmans and its various offshoots, Betts and Co. have taken a turn for the jammy and I quickly grew bored. Can these guys play? Oh my yes. But they couldn't keep me interested.

The man himself.



Hand percussionist and vocalist Twinkle Schascle - also a very fine vocalist.



Andy Aledort.



Bass player Pedro Arevalo and Andy (with Twinkle at back).



Duane Betts, son of Dickey.



Southern action!









After about a half hour I was feeling twitchy, so I went over to the Black Sheep Stage to see the Grande Mothers. I'm not a big fan of Frank Zappa, but I do have some of his albums and figured there might be a bit more of the rock I was hankering for - and indeed there was. Actually, the Grande Mothers rank as one of the most pleasant surprises of the festival. The bright side of no expectations, I suppose. Scratch that; even with high expectations they would have exceeded them.

Sax man Napoleon Murphy Brock is a great vocalist, and not afraid to show off some fancy moves, including a karate kick.



Don Preston, with Zappa from 1966 to 1974.



Roy Estrada started with The Soul Giants, which turned into the Mothers, then moved on to found Little Feat with Lowell George. He was also Orejon in Captain Beefheart's Magic Band and played on The Spotlight Kid and Clear Spot albums.



Ken Rosser was drafted in from the Quarteto Nuevo - as was drummer Christopher Garcia (of whom I have no decent photo).



Maternal action!







A couple of ladies were so moved by the music they vaulted on stage to cavort briefly before security hoofed them off.



Saved the day, they did - I was humming snippets from What's The Ugliest Part of Your Body? for several days afterward.

• Show reminder: The Marble Index and Donkeypunch play Zaphod's.

Write and sing

Dan Bern: Good set, good melodies, seems like a nice guy, but his music still leaves me underwhelmed. For a guy who has been blighted with the title of the next Dylan his lyrics seem a little short of poetry. Then again, Bern doesn't seem to take the comparison too seriously - according to Bern's website bio "He's frequently been compared to Bob Dylan, because like the young Dylan, he's funny and smart and has a regally Semitic nose," which seems like an appropriate response - so perhaps I expect too much. He takes a good picture, though.













The rhythm section, afraid I don't know any names.







Still not my cup of tea, but good applause from the crowd, many of whom I'm sure will go to see him when he plays Barrymore's Sept. 9. He'll have a new CD, Breathe, out around then as well.

• Show reminder: The Blow, Oni The Haitian Sensation and Ennuie perform at End Hits. Manpower performs at the Aloha.
  

The sound abounds

The Birdman Sound 15th anniversary party drew a big crowd for a Tuesday, and a lot of them stayed late. It was closing in on 2 a.m. when The Double Pumpers brought their set to a close, and I have to reckon a good time was had by all, thanks to excellent sets by The Solid Senders and surprise guests The Fiftymen.







More on the festivities later, when I'm not half asleep.

Hot club of Centretown

Off to the MBNA Grassroots Stage for one of the few acts I saw there that could be described as "grassroots" - to wit, the folk, country and chanson-embracing Centretown Wilderness Club. Everyone was looking pretty sharp and sounded good until the PA began acting up for their final number. They were playing a slower number when I arrived, and Aalya Ahmad and Dietrich Sider were taking a turn on stage.



Casey, ready for the sun.



Didn't I say I'd have a better Mike Sheridan picture?



Lots of singing going on.









Dieter looking classy as usual, not to mention far cooler (temperature wise, that is) than anyone had a right to be.



More singing from M.J. Houle!







Their debut CD, Taking Routes is forthcoming, and they promise a CD release party date in the near future.

• Show reminder: Birdman Sound celebrates its 15th anniversary at Babylon with the Solid Senders and Double Pumpers.