Going out on a high note
I've long believed in the power of endings, whether it be in a novel, film, or well-chosen song for an encore. An ending can almost always smooth over the rough edges. It can quiet complaints and make distant memory the parts you didn't like or would have done differently.
Bluesfest ended yesterday much as it lived over the past 12 days: spirited, if a bit uneven, but rarely disappointing.
Candye Kane was in full swing on the Rogers Stage when I arrived just after 4 pm. Kane, who describes herself as a black drag queen trapped in a white woman's body, was a full-figured femme fatale. Her songs were soulful and original, at once broaching hot flashes and heartbreak. Bathed in white feathers and supported by a solid blues band, Kane made you feel the emotional depth - and humour - of her songs.
Following on her stiletto heels were The Mannish Boys. Fronted by Texas blues legend, Finis Tasby, the Boys played some of the finest blues music I'd heard at the festival. It was perfect for stretching out on the lawn and admiring the blue sky. Continuing on the bluesy, vocal-focused theme were the Detroit Women, a half-dozen vocal powerhouses backed by the Motor City Express.
As dusk fell, the Sam Roberts Band took the stage to play a flat and unremarkable set. The ingredients for a good show were all present: sizable crowd, popular rock band, beer on tap. But something wasn't quite working. Looking around the audience, I felt a pervasive disconnect between how bored we all looked and how hard they appeared to be rocking. It was like a parallel universe where neither side could communicate with the other.
It didn't help that at the half-way point, they chose to play a ponderous, mostly instrumental song few people seemed to recognize. They followed it up with a lively version of their breakthrough hit, "Brother Down". Roberts took the mic like a church preacher and led the audience through the existential crisis of the chorus: "I think my life is passing me by". It was the brightest moment of the set, and thus, a perfect time to move on.
I suppose now would be a good time to confess that when I first read about the Bluesfest line-up two or three months ago, one artist amongst all of the others stood out as the one I wanted to see most.
Sharon Jones came into my life while I was browsing the aisles of a record store on Vancouver's Commercial Drive about a year and a half ago. Her soaring voice was giving Pete Seeger's timeless anthem "This Land Is Your Land" a soulful and funky reinterpretation. I was immediately hooked, and soon ate up her 2005 release, Naturally, on which Jones is backed by the wildly funky Dap-Kings.
I arrived early to secure a spot at the front of the Blacksheep Stage. The Dap-Kings took the stage first to warm up the crowd and lay the foundation for what would be a stellar show. When Jones appeared on-stage about 10 minutes later and flew into her groove, the audience went wild.
Playing heavily from their yet to be released record, 100 Days, 100 Nights, Jones and the Kings were in fine form as they previewed for the audience the makings of a strong follow-up to Naturally. From that record, Jones sang a pair of songs, including "How Do I Let a Good Man Down" and the sultry ballad, "You're Gonna Get It." She also "got loose" with a lucky gentleman from the audience and welcomed several women on-stage for an extended dance party.
For her encore, Jones paid homage to that other soul singer from Augusta, Georgia - the Godfather of Soul, James Brown. Channeling the spirit of the master, she sent the audience into a fever pitch and closed down the show (and the festival) with a verve few others could muster.
In that moment alone, Sharon Jones had softened all of the rough edges, leaving in her wake only the memories of an otherwise outstanding Bluesfest.
---
Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings notwithstanding, I would be re-miss if I didn't save you some reading and re-cap the best shows I saw:
Cat Power
Jetplanes of Abraham
Femi Kuti
Todd Snider
Final Fantasy
Bluesfest ended yesterday much as it lived over the past 12 days: spirited, if a bit uneven, but rarely disappointing.
Candye Kane was in full swing on the Rogers Stage when I arrived just after 4 pm. Kane, who describes herself as a black drag queen trapped in a white woman's body, was a full-figured femme fatale. Her songs were soulful and original, at once broaching hot flashes and heartbreak. Bathed in white feathers and supported by a solid blues band, Kane made you feel the emotional depth - and humour - of her songs.
Following on her stiletto heels were The Mannish Boys. Fronted by Texas blues legend, Finis Tasby, the Boys played some of the finest blues music I'd heard at the festival. It was perfect for stretching out on the lawn and admiring the blue sky. Continuing on the bluesy, vocal-focused theme were the Detroit Women, a half-dozen vocal powerhouses backed by the Motor City Express.
As dusk fell, the Sam Roberts Band took the stage to play a flat and unremarkable set. The ingredients for a good show were all present: sizable crowd, popular rock band, beer on tap. But something wasn't quite working. Looking around the audience, I felt a pervasive disconnect between how bored we all looked and how hard they appeared to be rocking. It was like a parallel universe where neither side could communicate with the other.
It didn't help that at the half-way point, they chose to play a ponderous, mostly instrumental song few people seemed to recognize. They followed it up with a lively version of their breakthrough hit, "Brother Down". Roberts took the mic like a church preacher and led the audience through the existential crisis of the chorus: "I think my life is passing me by". It was the brightest moment of the set, and thus, a perfect time to move on.
I suppose now would be a good time to confess that when I first read about the Bluesfest line-up two or three months ago, one artist amongst all of the others stood out as the one I wanted to see most.
Sharon Jones came into my life while I was browsing the aisles of a record store on Vancouver's Commercial Drive about a year and a half ago. Her soaring voice was giving Pete Seeger's timeless anthem "This Land Is Your Land" a soulful and funky reinterpretation. I was immediately hooked, and soon ate up her 2005 release, Naturally, on which Jones is backed by the wildly funky Dap-Kings.
I arrived early to secure a spot at the front of the Blacksheep Stage. The Dap-Kings took the stage first to warm up the crowd and lay the foundation for what would be a stellar show. When Jones appeared on-stage about 10 minutes later and flew into her groove, the audience went wild.
Playing heavily from their yet to be released record, 100 Days, 100 Nights, Jones and the Kings were in fine form as they previewed for the audience the makings of a strong follow-up to Naturally. From that record, Jones sang a pair of songs, including "How Do I Let a Good Man Down" and the sultry ballad, "You're Gonna Get It." She also "got loose" with a lucky gentleman from the audience and welcomed several women on-stage for an extended dance party.
For her encore, Jones paid homage to that other soul singer from Augusta, Georgia - the Godfather of Soul, James Brown. Channeling the spirit of the master, she sent the audience into a fever pitch and closed down the show (and the festival) with a verve few others could muster.
In that moment alone, Sharon Jones had softened all of the rough edges, leaving in her wake only the memories of an otherwise outstanding Bluesfest.
---
Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings notwithstanding, I would be re-miss if I didn't save you some reading and re-cap the best shows I saw:
Cat Power
Jetplanes of Abraham
Femi Kuti
Todd Snider
Final Fantasy
posted by Capital Letters at 5:04 PM
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