Miscellaneous - Ottawa, 8/7/2013...14/7/2013

  by Andrew Carver

published: 31 / 7 / 2013

intro

and in its second week the Waterboys, the Specials, Rush, Alice in Chains, Los Lobos and BB King

Five or six years ago, Monday’s Bluesfest entertainment was confined to the main stage and usually featured a big act aimed at a younger crowd. With Bluesfest now attracting younger crowds it seems there’s been a role reversal, with Canadian prog titans Rush taking over the main stage for three hours (accompanied by a string section, no less). Two of the days main draws were on the Claridge Homes Stage: Grace Potter and the Nocturnals’s 2012 performance was widely acclaimed, and it was no surprise to see them back again with with their southern soul-blues melange attracting a large crowd. Potter was looking particularly striking in a sequined robe slit far up the leg and far down the front. The Specials also made an appearance and had an enthusiastic crowd skanking along, though singer Terry Hall seemed in a bit of a mood, chucking his microphone stage left after some apparent technical difficulties. After a day of rest on Tuesday (another sign of the festival’s slimmed schedule), things reconvened on Wednesday with some well-harmonized pop music. While well-known Australian group Atlas Genius held forth on the Claridge Stage, Californians Family of the Year were providing a somewhat higher grade of product tucked away behind the museum on the Black Sheep Stage to a small but enthused crowd. Over on the River Stage underground hip hop artist El-P put on a great set, aided and abetted by his Run the Jewels partner Killer Mike on several numbers, while singer Solange demonstrated that Beyonce isn’t the only talented member of the Knowles clan. Weezer put on a very memorable appearance at their first Bluesfest gig in 2011, and frontman Rivers Cuomo had a great time running back and forth and even into the crowd. He didn’t seem to be having as much fun this time around, apart from putting one of the swarming mayflies on a camera lens so its giant image loomed out of the Jumbotron for several seconds. The band’s performance was capable though, and ended up with everyone gathered around the drum kit, bashing whatever came to hand. Thursday provided some smaller pleasures, unless you were a fan of main stage headliner the Tragically Hip. Local act Jack Pine and the Fire offered some extremely adept bluegrass and folk styling, while rockers Les Mosquitos brought a bit of reggae flair to songs about drugs, drugs, girlfriends and drugs. One of the day’s more lively acts was the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, who huddled together on the main stage to put out some trashed out blues rock with their customary fervour. Friday got off to a solid start with some earnest alt-rock courtesy of Ilvekyo. Those in search of last year’s DJs could make their way to the Black Sheep Stage, where they effectively ran the day. Long-serving Canadian rocker Matthew Good played a hot set on the main stage in the early evening, but the real highlight of the night could be found on the Claridge Homes Stage, where rhe Waterboys put on a delightful set as the sun went down. Hits such as ‘Fisherman's Blues’ and ‘The Whole of the Moon’ generated the expected cheers from the crowd, but they also introduced a couple of new tracks, ‘I'm Still A Freak’ and ‘I Can See Elvis’, to good effect. They threw in ‘The Raggle Taggle Gypsy’, and a bizarre reading of W.B. Yeats' ‘The Second Coming (Slouching Toward Bethlehem)’ drawn from Scott’s stage work, complete with crow masks. The audience clamoured for an encore and got an off-the-cuff version of the classic ‘Will The Circle Be Unbroken’. Most of the crowd at Bluesfest that day were on hand to see Great Big Sea, an East Coast Celtic rock band who enjoy immense popularity in Canada, particularly in Ottawa. Those with little taste for foot-stomping kitchen party music played for 20,000 - however amusing the between-song quips from frontman Allan Doyle - could check out Balkan Beat Box’s blend of Gypsy sounds, hip hop and dancehall rhythms. Saturday kicked off early with a loud set from local Sonic Youth aficionados Roberta Bondar. The quartet have been playing out a lot this year, and it showed in their tight performance. Their short set and the festival's reduced stage count made for a 20-minute wait at the Black Sheep Stage for another local act, Wicked Mercy, to punch out some radio-friendly blues-rock. A more intriguing act could be found on the Claridge Homes Stage with Australian Richard Perso. Back in 2005, one-man band Xavier Rudd was a breakout star at Bluesfest, and no doubt the fest’s management thought they were on to another winner with Perso, who also likes his foot percussion, didjeridoo and guitar. They were not wrong: Perso’s guitar playing tends more toward the psychedelic blues than Rudd’s worldbeat style, but his amiable onstage banter is just as charming as Rudd’s. Half Moon Run, a rising band with an Ottawa connection in singer Devon Portielje, also made a good impression, though their easygoing sounds would no doubt make a better impression in a more intimate environment. The quirky, extroverted rock of Mehdi Cayenne Club suited the River Stage far better, with ebullient singer Mehdi Hamdad’s chatter adding to the appeal of the band’s oddball rhythms and punk energy. Capital Grass and the No-Men, another Ottawa outfit, performed an adept blend of bluegrass, old-style country, but the stand out performance of the day fell to Imaginary Cities, whose dual male-and-female vocals and sharp pop hooks wowed a large crowd. For those who hadn’t gotten their full Newfoundland fix from Great Big Sea the previous night, the Dardanelles provided a traditional dose of jigs and sea shanties from the Rock. The lawn chair crowd was out in force at the Black Sheep Stage by this point, and heard much-travelled local group Firebelly kick out some Chicago style harmonica blues. Gender-bending rapper and performance artist Mykki Blanco strutted onto to the stage in a yellow dress, quickly shod to reveal pink butterfly pasties and blue boxing shorts. His confrontational style seemed to go over well with the crowd - not to surprising considering that he was followed on the stage by the even more hard-edged Death Grips. For maximum cognitive dissonance, Toronto’s Austra filled the space in between with chilly electronic chansons while decked out in gigantic sunglasses and overall shorts decorated with Betty Boop. Those looking for something more reliant on the guitar could check out Alabama-to-Brooklyn singer Phosphorescent, who brought his midnight country tunes to the bright sunlight of the River Stage. New Orleans piano man Jon Cleary proved to be another festival highlight, bringing some serious boogie woogie to the Black Sheep Stage. His funky stylings left one abiding mystery in its wake: How did so many audience members manage to remain seated in their lawn chairs? The evening wrapped up with a sensational set from Bjork, making her first appearance in Ottawa. She was quite a striking figure in a sequined blue dress with off-shoulder cape and a huge red shoulder-width frizzy wig. The eclectic songstress was backed by an all-female choir. Still touring behind her ‘Biophilia’ album, her stage show even busted out the Tesla coil used as an instrument for that album’s ‘Thunderbolt’ and ‘Possibly Maybe’. She ended things with some pyro in true rock-star fashion. A heatwave rolled through town on the festival’s last day, sending the crowds scurrying for shade wherever it could be found, but there was no relief for performers. Glasgow’s King King got the worst of it on the River Stage, but still put on a very energetic set (showgoers also raved about their set the previous day at the Black Sheep Stage). The kilted combo put on a dynamite performance of heavy blues rock in the grand Scottish tradition of Nazareth. Although somewhat perplexed at being slotted between Ottawa blues rocker JW Jones and folk popster Serena Ryder, reconstituted grunge titans Alice In Chains also put on a first-rate set, leaving no doubt in the crowd that they could continue on after the demise of frontman Layne Staley. One man not bothered by the heat was Austin’s Alejandro Escovedo (who doubtless has experienced worse). He brought a hard-rocking back-up band to tear through songs old and new (no cellist and violinist this time, as on previous Bluesfest outings). A mournful version of Neil Young’s ‘Like a Hurricane’ was a set highlight. One of the festival’s biggest draws was living legend B.B. King. His audience rapport was excellent, his band as expert as you’d expect. Although he is well past his prime, his run through the classics was a crowd-pleaser. After King’s set, the rest of the evening seemed like an afterthought, unless one was a fan of dubstep, in which case the true capper was Dog Blood, the latest project from dupstep supremo Skrillex. Otherwise, Los Lobos played an able set at the River Stage, and Detroit rocker Mitch Ryder had the last word, bringing the curtain down with ‘Devil with a Blues Dress On’.

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