I've come back from the dead and all I want to do is blog about Bluesfest
Uh, hello? Are you still out there? Err, I wish I had a good excuse to explain the four-month lag between posts, but I don't. I wasn't kidnapped by pirates or co-opted by the Conservatives or anything vaguely interesting like that. I won't tell you I've just been too busy to write because then you'd really think I'm a wanker, so why don't we just start again. Ok, here goes...
I have been out and about these past few months, so perhaps sometime I'll take a moment to bring you up to speed on a season's worth of live music shows, Bytowne flicks, restaurant visits, and other Capital-ish adventures (ie - me starting and finishing the Nordion 10 k Classic road race at the end of May).
In the meantime, let's talk about the all-out musical goodness of Bluesfest. Now in its 14th year, Bluesfest has returned to the expansive Lebreton Flats, planting itself in and around the Canadian War Museum. There are five stages spread out over the grounds, including inside the museum's Barney Danson Theatre. I won't wade too far into the line-up here because I'm aiming to blog daily, but I will tell you it began last night with Van Morrison and ends in 10 nights with Sharon Jones and Dap Kings.
I wasn't feeling particularly compelled to see Van Morrison last night because I'm not overly familiar with his stuff, but the audience of 35,000-strong seemed pretty into it. I got to catch "Brown-Eyed Girl" and "Gloria" near the end of his set and got a nice taste of who he is live. Then I biked home.
Tonight was all about Bob Dylan. And what can you say about him? The man is a legend. He's incomparable, if, at times, also a bit incoherent. After launching into "Rainy Day Women #12 and 35" at the start of the set, he spent about a half-hour making his way through some lesser-known material before pulling out "Tangled Up In Blue" and a lively "Highway 61". And with that, it didn't take long for him to warm the crowd up and make sure they were onside and cheering throughout the ragged and lovely "Like a Rolling Stone".
I admit, I'm no Dylan expert. And while I may wish I could name some obtuse B-side as my favourite Dylan song, I really can't. "Like a Rolling Stone" is, for me, everything that's great about Bob Dylan contained in one song, heavily pounded out on organs and keyboards. He nailed it tonight and the audience (at least the same size as last night) loved it. Minutes later, he re-appeared onstage for a two-song encore, closing the night with "All Along the Watchtower".
Starting tomorrow night, all five stages will be open for the duration of the festival. George Thorogood & the Destroyers are headlining, but I'm thinking Afrobreat wunderkind Femi Kuti might be more my style. Will keep you posted.
*** Of course, I would be re-miss if I didn't send a shout out to another Ottawa music festival that just wrapped last Friday - Capital Idea! The festival was primarily designed to showcase Indie rock and visual art. It brought to Ottawa some solid names in the Indie Rock world, including the Walkmen, Sunset Rubdown, XiuXiu and Destroyer. I only made it to two shows, but both were excellent.
The Miracle Forstress/montag/Sunset Rubdown show at Babylon was a solid choice, particularly because montag was able to showcase stuff from his delightful new record, Going Places, and Sunset Rubdown came to life in a way I wouldn't have expected based on my impression of their records (ie - I hated one of them).
Destroyer's Dan Bejar played a solo set at Barrymore's about a week later, and that was a total treat. Some folks in the audience may not have realized Bejar would be bandless, but the set allowed for so much emphasis on his raggedy voice and clever song-writing. He also introduced us to a bunch of new stuff. Rock Plaza Central opened for him, and they were, as always, very entertaining.
Here's hoping Capital Idea! will become an annual thing.
I have been out and about these past few months, so perhaps sometime I'll take a moment to bring you up to speed on a season's worth of live music shows, Bytowne flicks, restaurant visits, and other Capital-ish adventures (ie - me starting and finishing the Nordion 10 k Classic road race at the end of May).
In the meantime, let's talk about the all-out musical goodness of Bluesfest. Now in its 14th year, Bluesfest has returned to the expansive Lebreton Flats, planting itself in and around the Canadian War Museum. There are five stages spread out over the grounds, including inside the museum's Barney Danson Theatre. I won't wade too far into the line-up here because I'm aiming to blog daily, but I will tell you it began last night with Van Morrison and ends in 10 nights with Sharon Jones and Dap Kings.
I wasn't feeling particularly compelled to see Van Morrison last night because I'm not overly familiar with his stuff, but the audience of 35,000-strong seemed pretty into it. I got to catch "Brown-Eyed Girl" and "Gloria" near the end of his set and got a nice taste of who he is live. Then I biked home.
Tonight was all about Bob Dylan. And what can you say about him? The man is a legend. He's incomparable, if, at times, also a bit incoherent. After launching into "Rainy Day Women #12 and 35" at the start of the set, he spent about a half-hour making his way through some lesser-known material before pulling out "Tangled Up In Blue" and a lively "Highway 61". And with that, it didn't take long for him to warm the crowd up and make sure they were onside and cheering throughout the ragged and lovely "Like a Rolling Stone".
I admit, I'm no Dylan expert. And while I may wish I could name some obtuse B-side as my favourite Dylan song, I really can't. "Like a Rolling Stone" is, for me, everything that's great about Bob Dylan contained in one song, heavily pounded out on organs and keyboards. He nailed it tonight and the audience (at least the same size as last night) loved it. Minutes later, he re-appeared onstage for a two-song encore, closing the night with "All Along the Watchtower".
Starting tomorrow night, all five stages will be open for the duration of the festival. George Thorogood & the Destroyers are headlining, but I'm thinking Afrobreat wunderkind Femi Kuti might be more my style. Will keep you posted.
*** Of course, I would be re-miss if I didn't send a shout out to another Ottawa music festival that just wrapped last Friday - Capital Idea! The festival was primarily designed to showcase Indie rock and visual art. It brought to Ottawa some solid names in the Indie Rock world, including the Walkmen, Sunset Rubdown, XiuXiu and Destroyer. I only made it to two shows, but both were excellent.
The Miracle Forstress/montag/Sunset Rubdown show at Babylon was a solid choice, particularly because montag was able to showcase stuff from his delightful new record, Going Places, and Sunset Rubdown came to life in a way I wouldn't have expected based on my impression of their records (ie - I hated one of them).
Destroyer's Dan Bejar played a solo set at Barrymore's about a week later, and that was a total treat. Some folks in the audience may not have realized Bejar would be bandless, but the set allowed for so much emphasis on his raggedy voice and clever song-writing. He also introduced us to a bunch of new stuff. Rock Plaza Central opened for him, and they were, as always, very entertaining.
Here's hoping Capital Idea! will become an annual thing.
posted by Capital Letters at 12:24 AM
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