Ottawa Bluesfest Weekend Finale Blowout

Written by: Jay McConnery
Photos by: Mike Bouchard

Perry Ferrel and Dave Navarro of Jane's Addiction at Ottawa Bluesfest 7-16-2011The final weekend of Bluesfest 2011 delivered a cavalcade of dynamic headlining appearances; Jane's Addiction who left the crowd of late 30-something Lollapaloozers gasping for air as Perry and the fellas smoked through a near-perfect set of their peak era's timelessly bookmarked hits, Blue Rodeo who skillfully delivered true Canadiana more succintly than a syringe of maple syrup injected directly into the sphincters of the stumbly yet appreciative crowd, and the surprise headliner late Sunday afternoon- this crazy bitch known as Mother (Fucking) Nature, who arrived without a moment's notice and left a crowd of 12-day festival 'veterans' soaked, frightened with disbelief and many thankful they were still alive. Surely, anyone reading this has seen the footage, or heard about the freak storm that ended Bluesfest about 4 hours early on Sunday night, but if not, allow me: A few songs into Cheap Trick's mainstage set, at about 7:10pm Sunday, right after a most engaging and rocking rendition of 'I Want you to Want me', some very dark clouds began to blow in from the Quebecoisie North, at a worrying speed. Concert goers (including myself) were busy taking pictures as it rolled in, as it was truly unusually dark and bared down with a hilariously accurate baring. Temperatures had been stifflingly hot all day, and I think we all expected to enjoy a bit of a cool shower together and further the mood of celebration already in place with the amazing lineup of music the night held for us. Standing in the festival plaza, watching Cheap Trick work through the next song, the wind suddenly picked up to an intensity like I have never before witnessed in this city; signs anchored with huge cement blocks began to blow over, the banners along each side of the stage were flapping like loose unmanned sails, dust came up in a huge blinding cloud and all at once the front of house speakers went down. The band had just put their instruments down and began to leave the stage, as it was obviously no longer safe, when I turned to my wife and said- 'We should get into the beer tent, this might be a pretty crazy downpour..' and as we turned that way, the intensity notched up again and the collective confusion and panic of the crowd became tangiable.

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Ottawa Bluesfest Mainstage Collapses

After attending most evenings of the Ottawa Bluesfest, taking photos of most of the main stage and side stage acts, I decided to sit the final night out and recuperate.  While bbq'ing some salmon at home in Gatineau, just across the river from the Ottawa Bluesfest, I noticed an intense storm swiftly taking over the sky and twisting the trees, picking up debris and blowing open doors and windows unlike any storm I've witnessed in the area.

Not long afterwards, I had checked up on the status of the Ottawa Bluesfest to find that the Main Stage collapsed under the duress of an intense down-draft which have been known to take down planes attempting to land.

After reading much of the news this morning (this event has been picked up world-wide), I was very happy to read that the bluesfest organizers and staff handled the severe weather with great care as AJ Sauvé and Mark Monahan knew it was time to evacuate the stage.  According to this morning's press conference, there were only a few injuries and everyone who was admitted to the hospital have been released.

I have to hand it to the Bluesfest organizers for not only another great year of programming, but their quick thinking and ability to handle a major weather event and providing safety and security to the performers, staff and patrons.

Read the Ottawa Citizen coverage here.

Ottawa Bluesfest Review - 7-14-2011

Written by: Jay McConnery

LA-33 at Ottawa Bluesfest - Photo by: Andrew CarverLineup wise, Thursday night at Bluesfest rolled in like a parched tumbleweed after the glorious rock show wetness of the night before had all but dried up, giving many regulars a good excuse to take a night off. Scanning the program earlier in the day, I was admittedly close to bailing as well, but knowing these dark horse days at Bluesfest can often be the talk of the festival, with an unknown act delivering a break-out performance that people discuss for eternity, we gobbled some hastily rolled burritos and hit the Parkway on our bikes with no express expectations, except for the expectation that I would eventually be right that it was a good idea to head down. Well, I wouldn't say it was the dark horse night, but on that confusing scale it was at the very least a well-tanned donkey. Maybe with some sunburnt pale spots.

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Ottawa Bluesfest Review - My Morning Jacket - 7-13-2011

Written by: Jay McConnery
Photos by: Mike Bouchard 

My Morning Jacket - Ottawa Bluesfest 7-13-2011It's difficult to sit down and reflect so quickly on something that is still ringing through my ears and bones like this. I feel like my concert pants are bursting at the seams and my belt leather is groaning against my heaving belly as if I have just devoured the perfect medium rare Sirloin Tip steak with a nice creamy garlic mash, a tasty salad and a frosty stein of the good stuff.. and I don't really want to talk about it. Or maybe it was a Tofu steak, it doesn't matter! I just want to keep this feeling for as long as I can. Should I go back and think about how delicious it was, and how much fun it was to chew and swallow? In a minute, maybe, but not yet. For now, I'm definitely able to return to the beginning and re-evaluate how one of the more sublime weeknights of Bluesfest kicked off. For me, and many others who actually arrived on time for the logistically difficult 6:15pm start time, Trampled by Turtles were the perfect way to start the proceedings with fast, interesting and precise modern bluegrass. They have been making a name for themselves on the American Bluesgrass circuit for some time showing up at prestigious festivals by way of their old school chops and forward thinking song writing and arrangements. They can fiddle with the best of them, but can also bring the house down with perfect songs, like their closing number 'Wait So Long', that could easily slip into the repretoire of a hugely popular band like the Avett Brothers. I cursed myself (Damn you, McConnery!) for missing the first half of the set and definitely hope to catch them again sometime soon. 

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Review - Ottawa Bluesfest 07-12-2011

Written By: Jay McConnery
Photos By: Dave Barrett

John Fogarty - Ottawa Bluesfest 7-12-2011Booking a festival like Bluesfest must be a lot like loading a shot-gun, taking a hundred paces back, pulling the trigger and trudging forward nervously with fluttering heart as excitement builds to see what has hit the target. Invites and offers must blast off from the Bluesfest offices on Catherine Street like endless roman candles destined for the hottest touring acts, with the highest of hopes. It's almost impossible to imagine it... over 250 acts. On average, as we all know with shotguns, most of the pellets aren't going to hit the bulls-eye, but thankfully some will- and it's hard to imagine any more of a bulls-eye booking for organizers than John Fogerty and his band, who rocked an enthusiastic Ottawa crowd on this Tuesday night like it was New Year's Eve in Las Vegas. Delivering the gamut of CCR classics and Fogerty solo hits, the easy going crowd this evening was very much focused in one place and it was easy to see why, when you are literally bombarded with hit, after hit, after hit of timeless rock'n'roll magic. Some might say the same could be achieved by spinning a Greatest Hits disc with some headphones, but the real difference is; that the Fogerty Band was relentlessly rocking. No two second pauses, man! Fogerty really took the reigns on lead guitar while engaging the audience continually through his obvious appreciation of our excitement and love of his songs and music. I literally tried to leave three times, but was stopped in my tracks by songs like 'Fortunate Son' and 'Bad Moon Rising'. Backed by a great band of musicians, most notably Joe Satriani clone Kenny Aronoff on the drums- the show had a very rocking vibe accentuated by Kenny's double kick fills and harder rock tendencies. The show was also visually fun to watch, sounded great and felt like a true main-stage performance. The only drawback of this set was I could only manage to catch three tracks from Baloji's set on the National Bank Stage, that featured musicians from Konono no.1, who kept a deep pocket rhythm of African Grooves for Baloji's French language rhymes. There were only a handful of people there and from what I heard, it may have been the best set no one saw.

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Review - Ottawa Bluesfest Weekend July 8-10

Written By: Jay McConnery
Photos By: Mike Bouchard 

The Black Keys - Ottawa Bluesfest 7-8-2011

The week-end days bring out the best in the Bluesfest experience, as you can feel the machine firing on all cylinders and revellers can fully submit without thoughts of the next morning. Instead of wrestling with transportation logistics, keeping an eye on the dreaded clock, or mulling details of an early morning meeting, there is only the here and now on which to focus all your leisure attention, which really makes all the difference in live music. Friday night blew in a huge crowd and proportionally out of control beer lines; legions of younger fans checked out 'Rise Against' and fans of the heavy blues duo 'The Black Keys' anticipated their headlining set keeping the festival plaza rippling with electricity. I looked forward to a peak at Wanda Jackson, but I felt 'Hey Rosetta!' was the place to be as the group's samples were among the most intriguing I'd heard, and I felt they were poised to deliver something amazing. Unfortunately, Friday also blew in a freak storm with a very high winds and sideways rain, that had all stages shut down for a good portion of the night. Thankfully there was no shortage of cover in the War Museum, or in some of the various tents onsite, and folks were able to safely wait out the weather. It was a lengthy break though, and volunteers became the festival's front-line as the wet throngs inquired if there was any word as to whether the night had been called off, or if hope remained. As the clock approached the final hour of the evening there was still no information to share, however they had been instructed to stop scanning tickets, which led them to assume the night was over. By this point, half the crowd had left anyway, so I admittedly hopped on my bike towards home- and it was just about the half way mark where I heard enthusiastic cheering, and the raunchy blues riffs of the Black Keys emerging. It would've been a great opportunity for them to come out and own the night, and from all reports the duo stepped up and delivered a great, but short set. Oh well, can't win em all I suppose. 

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Review - Ottawa Bluesfest 7-7-2011

Written by: Jay McConnery

David Clayton Thomas - Ottawa Bluesfest - Photo by Peter WaiserSmelling like the odour of RibFest, impregnated Tim's mini-donut shack, and gave birth to something delicious with stale draught beer oozing from its pores, big fat Bluesfest, bloated with everyone we know, greeted us for a third night in a row. After zig-zaging through the infuriating mousetrap that awaits ticket holders at the Main Gate, were able to walk around, catch our breathe and get down to some music-loving! A little late off the mark, we arrived in time to catch the beginning of Girl Talk- a very popular mash-up DJ, who had a bouncing gang of very enthusiastic kids onstage encouraging him as he swayed shirtless between his two laptops. There were some flashing screens, as well as some well timed confetti cannons erupting dramatically in time with samples from songs of yesteryear that can't help but get you moving, or at least tug your soul strings a bit. The cynic in me is quick to think that he is simply talented at beat matching, using lots of great music very effectively- and although that is a big part of why it works- there is also a well designed show and obvious passion behind the performance. I just hope one day all wedding DJs are this good and these songs can be enjoyed with the whole family, in a poorly decorated gym, while creepy old Uncle Mookie watches from the shadows, motionless.

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More Bluesfest Love

Ottawa Bluesfest has once again asked Todd Snelgrove to provide them with daily reviews.  Here's the latest posted at the official Ottawa Bluesfest site.

For many in attendance at the Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest Wednesday night the evening belonged to soulful rock troubadour and slide guitar master Ben Harper. That The Roots were preceding him in festival plaza meant I and thousands of others were going to have to be content with saving the other stages for another time.

Fair enough; it's a big festival and there will be plenty of time to explore.

On tour from their permanent gig as house band on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, The Roots had the crowd in constant motion with a bombastic set beneath a clear blue sky.

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Ottawa Bluesfest Review 07-06-2011

Written By Jay McConnery
Photos By Mike Bouchard

More photos here:

Black Thought - The Roots - Ottawa Bluesfest 7-6-2011After some heavy storms throughout the day, we were treated to the second night in a row of perfect concert weather at Bluesfest. Opinions on the new layout still skipped through overheard conversations like some weird omnipresent bearded gypsy in a baby blue sarong, but by night 2- who really cares anyway.. those stages ain't moving, and really, most things are working just fine (minus the lack of a West end entrance and fast ticket sales!). We arrived and jaunted past Bedouin Soundclash, entertaining a surprisingly large crowd, to catch the last few minutes of Ottawa's Blues heros- Monkeyjunk, on the National Bank Stage.  Steve Marriner blazed through a couple amazing harmonica solos with wonderfully contrasting clean and nasty tones, while Tony D gave us a tasty little bluesman solo as well. I prefer watching these guys from the rafters of the Rainbow, but they really sound like they deserve all the success they have been accumulating, I hope it continues for them.

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Ottawa Bluesfest Review 07-05-2011

Written by Jay McConnery
Photos by Mike Bouchard

Wayne Coyne - The Flaming Lips - Ottawa Bluesfest 7-5-2011

Bluesfest opened its reconfigured doors to a colossal crowd this evening, and people were out in droves to check out the music and enjoy some amazing July weather. Much like the first day of school, the first day of Bluesfest allows one to quickly get reacquainted with friends you've missed, check out some new faces, smells and tastes, and digest some of the changes that will be effecting your experience this year.. and there have been some very noteworthy adjustments to the festival's layout; This year, the two mainstages are essentially side by each, on the Parkway side of the property. This reconfiguration allows a much roomier MBNA mainstage experience, but also creates a bit of a bleedy sound factor for those that prefer the smaller stages tucked far away by the river, although some baffling has been erected by the Hard Rock stage- and it looks a little bit like a 2 levelled porta-pottie condo, but in actual fact, it is this year's Leamy Lake Casino experience area. 

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