A little rain must fall

Thursday was one of those days ... woke up feeling exhausted because of the heat, staggered around town looking for a fan, biked off to Bluesfest, broke a bike light, got a flat tire, put in a new innertube, then blew that too. There must be some something sharp I missed when I inspected the tire. About the only thing decent about today - aside from the music - was a gentle dousing of rain that apparently presages relatively cooler temperatures.

Anyway, this is a photographic run through the Ottawa music scene, not a literary run through my neverending complaints, so here's a few Good2Go photos. I had hoped to arrive early and catch more of there set. As it happened I parked my deflated bicycle while they were doing their cover of Fever and only got to hear a couple of tunes.


Good2Go at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 8, 2010

The BushPilots' Rob Bennett was there to kick in some extra guitar.


Good2Go at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 8, 2010

Off to see Great Lake Swimmers, who played a very pleasant set of mostly gentle country rock. Actually they reminded me a bit of Shearwater and Red House Painters, although frontman Tony Dekker's vocals boast a sweeter sound. There was an appropriate shout-out to Riverkeeper between songs.

Tony and violinist Miranda.


Great Lake Swimmers at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 8, 2010

Erik Arnesen on banjo, standup bassist Bret Higgins and drummer Greg Millson.


Great Lake Swimmers at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 8, 2010

When they were done I popped back over to the Subway Stage to snap a few pictures of English prog-rockers Renaissance. They were playing their hit Mother Russia as I zipped by.


Renaissance at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 8, 2010

Then it was back to the Hard Rock Stage for Andrew Bird. It's been quite a while since I've seen the loop-loving violinist, late of the Squirrel Nut Zippers. As he pointed out, the last time he was here was with The New Pornographers at Babylon 10 years ago. He had a giant rotating horn and was sounding good. Not so nice was the cloud of insects that desceneded on the stage as he began his set. Unfortunately I was not feeling good, so I started off home after only 15 minutes.


Andrew Bird at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 8, 2010

I snapped a few photos of ex-Genesis man Steve Hacketton my way to the bike lockup ... actually mostly members of his band ... I though he had a lady bassist, but it turns out to be Nick Beggs of Kajagoogoo in a pinstripe dres and pigtails.


Steve Hackett at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 8, 2010

Guitarist Amanda Lehmann and Beggs.


Steve Hackett at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 8, 2010

After that I went off to change my flat tire. I promptly got another flat and had to walk my bike home. D'oh!

• Show reminder: Mother's Children release their swanky new album at Ritual. Lucid 44 and Bear Witness are at the Avant-Garde; Gerry Griffin and Heather Houston are at Irene's;the Elmdale House hosts Riding Shotgun and The Shanks.

Near and far

Day 2 at Ottawa Bluesfest meant even more brutal heat, but this time I made sure to drink more and keep the hat on until the sun went down. The umbrella I brought in case of rain helped as well. I arived a little bit later than planned. Once again the line to get in was a snap. I caught a flicker of two bands ... the first was Bluestone, who I heard sounding quite rocking as I cycled along the bikepath,. They were wrapping things up by the time I got my camera out.

The Gipsy Kings, who I took a few photos of from the distance. They had a huge crowd for their timeslot. Ming Wu noted over at his blog that they probably should have been booked for 9 p.m. instead.


Gipsy Kings at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 7, 2010

Jonas & The Massive Attraction hail from Montreal. They lack that big swaggering rock'n'roll that was au courant when The Cult were big. It's a tad cheesy but give Jonas credit for knowing his job as a frontman. Corey Diabo is no slouch as a guitarist either. I would like to point out that I officially hate Virgin Radio's stupid ball(s). I swear it has it in for me ...


Jonas & The Massive Attraction at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 7, 2010

I figured I'd got the drift of Jonas and Co. after a half hours, so I went over to see what MonkeyJunk were sounding like. They're definitely a band for the original Bluesfest crowd. They'll be playing Bluesfest again July 16, and The Rainbow on July 10. They're also playing a heap of other Bluesfests this summer.


MonkeyJunk at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 7, 2010

I wandered about a bit, first to take a gander at the Black Sheep Tent (don't count on much reporting from there, they're pretty clear about the no-cameras allowed rule ... Edit, according to Jeremy they're pretty lax about it during non-comedy shows. I will have to inquire further). It's a pity, since the Black Sheep Stage was the nicest one, for my money. Anyway, I also snapped some even more distant photos of Furthur, the project of Bob Weir and Phil Lesh. I didn't stick around since they weren't really my kind of thing.


Furthur at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 7, 2010

Finally I camped out at the Subway Stage for a few minutes. I wanted a good seat for reggae legends Steel Pulse. They've been going at it in one form or another since forming in Birmingham back in 1975. Their set wasn't quite up to the level of Toots and The Maytals last year, but was still mighty groovy. I think the amount of low end might have loosened a tooth or two.

David "Dread" Hinds. I'm not sure where he got his nickname from.


Steel Pulse at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 7, 2010

Hinds rocks the dreads, along with Selwyn "Bumbo" Brown and a vocalist who I think is Juris Prosper.


Steel Pulse at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 7, 2010

Guitarist Donovan McKitty gets some spacey sounds out of his Carvin.


Steel Pulse at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 7, 2010

A great set; Selwyn and bassist Amlak Tafari were nice enough to come out and shake hands with the crowd members afterward.

Dream beginning

Ottawa Bluesfest apparently decided to start this year's edition off in a metal mood, with Dream Theatre and Iron Maiden sharing the main stage. I pedalled over around 6 p.m. Unlike previous years, where here was a big lineup to contend with, I got in almost as soon as I had my bicycle squared away. I'm thinking the atrocious heat and humidity may have had something to do with the amount of later arrivals.

The ball entertains the crowd while it waits for Dream Theatre.


Ball at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 6, 2010

I managed to get pretty close to Dream Theater, who started things off on the main stage. Not really my type of metal, but a pretty sharp act for those who enjoy the more technical aspects of the form, and singer James LaBrie's voice was in excellent form. This also marked the first time someone introduced a song - Panic Attack, in this case - saying "You may have played this in Rockband 2."


Dream Theater at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 6,  2010

After that I went to see a pit of Loudlove, since they put on such a great set the last time I saw them at Bluesfest. They sounded good but hadn't quite hit their stride by the time I decided to go and see what was happening on the Subway Stage.


Loudlove at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 6,  2010

Kelp Records was hosting the Subway Stage's evening shows. I got to see the end of Andrew Vincent's set and the beginning of Chris Page's.


Andrew Vincent at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 6, 2010


Chris Page at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 6, 2010

After a few songs from Chris it was time to head back to see Iron Maiden and their colossal lighting rig in action. They also had a backdrop that changed for each song, including their upcoming album, represented by a single track Eldorado. They mostly stuck to the last three albums, but did get around to Iron Maiden, Hallowed Be Thy Name and Number of The Beast. They also dedicated Blood Brothers to the late Ronnie James Dio. The crowd was really into it, screaming along at Bruce Dickinson's request.


Iron Maiden at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 6, 2010


Iron Maiden at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 6, 2010

I confess I didn't stick around for all of Maiden's set, largely because my back was killing me and I had to sit down, but also because I wanted to see what was going on at the Kelp Records showcase. After a battle between the Empiricals and The Flaps, various folks on the Kelp roster came up to sings songs backed by the two combos.


The Empiricals at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 6, 2010

The Flaps plan how to retaliate.


The Flaps at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 6, 2010

Flecton Big Sky sings a tune.


Flecton Big Sky at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 6, 2010

Rolf Klausener sings, gets a little carried away.


Rolf Klausener at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 6, 2010

Nearsighted Mike Dubue finishes things off with a blues jam.


Mike Dubue at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 6, 2010

Then I went home and felt awful because I got a bit broiled by the sun. Today I'm going to keep the hat on, people's view be damned.

Child's play

Mother's Children are getting better by the day. The ace powerpop combo will celebrate the release of their debut album at Ritual this Friday. The offered a sneak peak download a week or so ago and it's sounds great. They even have a swanky new video for What Happens To All The Girls.

Davey Quesnelle contemplates his third set of the night and fourth of the weekend (he also had a Male Nurse gig at Mavericks earlier in the evening).



Ken sings!



Michael kicks in some electric.



Singalong action!



The whole fisheyed lot!



Even more singing along!



The extended view of Michael.



Video action!



Davey is mysterious.



Tim is less mysterious.



Asorted rocking about!



Faceoff action!



Back-to-back action!



After their album release show they have a tour with The Paul Collins Beat, which will come to Nine August 13.

• Show reminder: The Jesse Green plays the Rainbow's post-Bluesfest gig.

Who's on first?

It's great to be able to see all your favourite bands get infamously drunk in one weekend, but one of the other swell things about The Gaga Weekend is getting to see a few acts you've never heard of that turn out to be swell. Toronto's First Base are a bedroom pop trio who, judging by their covers, share interests ranging from Brian Wilson to Motorhead. If you fancy combos like Nobunny, Gentleman Jesse and Nice Face, these guys should be right up your alley.

But first, interview action, as Luca F and ace interviewer Luke Martin get the opinion of the man in the street about these punk rock nightclub shenanigans. Hopefully a documentary like Jason Gilmore's Gaga Weekend 2: The Movie will emerge in the not-too-distant future.



Introduction action!



Some video action ... I'm actually getting the hang of this (though I'm afraid the audio will always be rubbish).



And here they are! Who are they? I dunno.




Although the lead singer does look a bit like one of my coworkers (it isn't).



The rhythm section!



The whole lot!



Spotlit action!



Extra bassist!



That's one fruity backdrop.



A quick swap after some unfortunate string-breakage.



Back in action!



Apologies to anyone's view I blocked while I was wriggling about, trying to get the light just behind the guitarist's head.



And one last drummer shot.



They don't really tear things up on stage, but a very nice sound indeed.

• Show reminder: Pretty Little Death Machine, The Standoff and The Cowards are at Zaphod's; Five Pounds of Pants and The Missing Leech play The Rainbow.