Astronomy domine

You may recall Kepler played their final show a few months ago at Mavericks. That turned out so well I guess it seemed like a good idea to do it again! They sounded really good for this set. I thought the energy level at this show was quite a bit higher. They were - dare I say it - rockin'.

Samir Khan on bass - and you can see Snailhouse and Wooden Star chap Mike Feuerstack at left and a bit of Mike Dubue at right.



Jon Georgekish-Watt.



Jeremy Gara; he switched over to guitar for the encore. Jeremy has of course been recruited by the high-profile Arcade Fire, leading a remarkable number of local acts to claim a connection with the famed underground outfit.



Astronomical action!







And the encore; for their finale song they had a bunch of folks up on stage to sing along.



You can just make out their old drummer Mike Sheridan in the above photo. Here's a truly wretched picture of Mike taken with popup flash. I swear my pictures of him with the Centretown Wilderness Club will be better ...



I didn't take too many photos because I very stupidly left my spare flash batteries at home. Of course, this means Kepler will have to have a third final show so I can take better pictures. Good thing there were a few other folks on hand to capture the moment!

Duchess of Coolsville

Okay, I was a bit shocked to see Rickie Lee Jones when she stepped on stage. I had her fixed in my mind as some gamin cavorting in the snow from one of her videos. Then again, I'm not as skinny as I was 20 years ago either. Onward! You've already heard all the Joni Mitchell comparisons. There was an incantatory feel to Jones' singing which made me think of Patti Smith.







Her sidemen kept out of the spotlight, so you're going to have to be satisfied with a couple of grainy photos of Peter and Jose.





I did manage to take one picture that wasn't under or overexposed.



Although the weather was fairly kind to Bluesfest, you know that any show in July in Ottawa is going to get some rain, and after 45 minutes or so the skies could no longer be denied. Rain, then thunder, forced an early end - there was just enough time to squeeze out Chuck E's In Love. Then everybody took Rickie Lee's advice and went home.

Howling good times

Next up at the last Kepler show was Clark the Band. John Tielli has moved to Toronto and gathered a new supporting cast to back him up, but for this Ottawa gig he performed with Matt Gagnon and Robin Buckley, just like the good-not-so-ol' days.



Matt employs the ever-popular beer bottle slide.





James guests on singing and tambourine.



James says go thataway!



Lookit that masking tape! And lookit Michael Dubue, this time on organ!



Oops, got to go sing some backing vocals!



Made it just in time!



And so on ...







Always lively, those lads.

Ladies got the blues

One of the pleasures of Bluesfest is the diversity of music on display, with just about every continent represented on one stage or another. It's just as interesting to see how two artists work on the same thread of music. Roxanne Potvin and Mia Dyson are both playing the blues, but you couldn't confuse the two.

First, Roxanne Potvin, whose blues tend toward the sophisticated.





Rah, rah!



Hey, is that Tyler Kealey again?!?



So it is!



The Texas Horns were also in the house.



Next up, Mia Dyson (who actually played two nights, this was her first). Her blues rock style got a major boost from her lived-in voice.





She also played some steel.



Someone in the audience said something complimentary, "I agree with him!"



My taste leans more toward Dyson, but it was easy to see why Potvin has won plaudits from all corners for her latest album.

• Show reminder: Sunset Rubdown and As The Poets Affirm perform at Zaphod's; The Lawrence Arms, A Wilhelm Scream, Contrabandit and Bill Furious play an all ages show at Babylon.

Perfect match

I've only seen Sarah Hallman perform once before, and that was as a duet partner for Michael Dubue at a Hi Lo Trons show at Barrymore's (she also sings on the band's Bella Simone CD). This time she was the opening act at Babylon for Kepler's last show. The music clips on her website from her latest recording session with Dave Draves make her sound a bit like a female Joe Pernice; live her music was a bit more fragile and she reminded me of Cat Power (the early years, anyway).



She started off with Adam Fogo playing bass, then brought on her band to "rock out".



Mike Dubue helped get the bill together, and he performed with all three bands - on drums for Sarah.



Dave Gaudet scrunches up for some backup vocals.





That was most pleasant. Apart from her impressive music, Hallman has also produced some very fine artwork, painting, glass, textile and graphic design - I'm sorely tempted to buy a throw-cushion ....

Lundi a Ottawa

Amadou et Mariam received wide acclaim for their latest album, Dimanche A Bamako. It soared up the charts in France on the strength of its music (and possibly the duo's charming history). It helps that they had a great, and lively, band: Yvo Abadi on drums, Boubacar Dembele on percussion, Laurent Griffon on 12-string guitar and bass and Igor Nikitinski on keyboards.

Amadou bends the strings.



Mariam exhorts the crowd.



They're a cute couple.





Igor gets the requisite cruddy back-of-the stage photo.



Boubacar adds more cowbell.



Lots of joking around on stage, particularly between Boubacar and Laurent.









Singalong action!



Boubacar wanders.



Okay everybody, do the wave!







The grand finale!



A genuinely warm-hearted show.