Miscellaneous - Ottawa, 4/7/2007/10/7/2007

  by Andrew Carver

published: 23 / 7 / 2007

---

Article

Wednesday, July 4 It is 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, and a Van Morrison fan has begun to worry. A huge line of people, a dozen people abreast and a good 200 metres long, sprawls along the sidewalk outside the front lawn of the National War Museum. She has yet to buy a ticket, and seems rather put out that the line just to get in amounts a few thousand – and the show is about to begin. Alas, Ottawa’s ever-expanding Bluesfest has outgrown its former location clustered around City Hall, but even so organizers seem caught off guard by the huge crowd attracted by Van Morrison. Fortunately the line speeds up as volunteers travel up and down the line handing out wristbands to passport ticket holders and a second gate is opened. Inside, the main stage area is already crowded. I did manage to move forward through the crowd but the flat lawn of the War Museum isn’t as conducive to seeing where you’re going as the slight amphitheatre in front of City Hall - there was no way to discern a path through the sea of humanity, let alone push through. While the crowd was a bit of a trial, Van Morrison put on a quality performance. He had a fine band: Two guitarists, a trio of backing singers (one of who doubles on guitar and trumpet as required), a violinist, a drummer dobro/steel player (a rather smashing looking lady in a sequined top), a bassist and an organist who was having the most fun on stage that evening - he ended the show with some Jerry Lee Lewis style moves. You got the hits: ‘Domino’, ‘Have I Told You Lately That I Love You’, ‘Baby Please Don't Go’ - Morrison broke out the harmonica for that one - and a one-two finisher of ‘Brown Eyed Girl’ and a less-than-ferocious ‘Gloria’. Then it was time’s up and Van Morrison swiftly departed. Morrison was a late addition to the Bluesfest lineup, with a day specially added to accommodate his Canadian tour. The only other act that evening was Cuban Hendrix fancier Elmer Ferrer, who began cranking things up just minutes after Morrison’s departure with a thundering version of Led Zeppelin’s ‘Immigrant Song’. The new layout of Bluesfest has a stage at either end of the museum’s lawn. The smaller stage is called the Rogers Stage, the larger the MBNA Stage - named after a telecom giant and a bank, respectively – and in theory one band can directly follow another. It worked quite well on its maiden run. There’s also a pair of side stages. One sits on the other side of the museum at the bottom of a slightly rolling hill. The Black Sheep Stage is curated by the owner of a local club with a fondness for folk, country, world music and offbeat sounds. The other is the appropriately named River Stage. It’s the smallest stage, though its location does allow a larger crowd than the similar Black Sheep Stage. Thursday, July 5 The next evening promised another festival highlight, Bob Dylan. This particular promise was not kept, but there was at least one must-see show for the discriminating rock’n’roll fan: A rare as hen’s teeth performance by Australia’s Radio Birdman. Following a few entertaining numbers from local post-rockers As The Poets Affirm I made my way to the River Stage, where I waited through a tediously sincere set by Toronto acoustic rockers Fairfield. Fortunately, tedium is not an option with Radio Birdman. Even the passage of three decades doesn’t seem to have slowed the band’s ferocious attack, with guitarists Deniz Tek and Chris Masuak turning out storming versions of tunes like ‘Aloha Steve and Danno’, ‘Yeah Hup’, ‘Man With Golden Helmet’, ‘Maelstrom’, ‘Burn My Eye’ and covers of The Who's ‘Circles’ and The Kinks' 'Till The End of the Day’ with able assistance from powerhouse rhythm section John Dickson and You Am I drummer Russell Simmons. Singer Rob Younger was a positively frightening presence, glowering at the audience and howling his way through the band’s hits with unrelenting conviction. Unfortunately for festival goers hoping for the same kind of experience at the Main Stage were largely disappointed. Those who could hear him were largely positive; unfortunately Dylan ordered the cameras away and all big screens but one shut down, leaving most in attendance staring at distant, unrecognizable figures. Unless you were close to the stage the sound was poor. I left after three songs, feeling very glad that he wasn’t the reason I’d bought my ticket. Friday, July 6 This was a good day for Afrobeat fans. It was also a good day for turntablist fans, with Kid Koala making an appearance at the Black Sheep Stage, but I plumped for the River Stage, traipsing past the main stage area (where Gary U.S. Bonds was working through a capable rendition of ‘You Are My Sunshine’) to catch local combo The Souljazz Orchestra. As Afrobeat ensembles go, the Orchestra isn’t a big one – only seven people if you count guest vocalist Marielle Rivard and guest guitarist Gabriel Dorfman – but a regular residency has made their chops razor sharp and their funky groove had the sizeable audience up and moving in the uncharacteristically cool and clammy weather. Femi Kuti, son of the famous Fela, made his Bluesfest premiere to elevate the experience even further with a trio of dancers and a 10-piece band dubbed Positive Force. The temperature continued to dip, but few in the dancing crowd seemed inclined to notice or care. Saturday, July 7 The first full day of Bluesfest brought a predictably eclectic range of acts. There was a lot of running from stage to stage to catch bits and pieces of different acts. I had hoped to see Burnside Style, formed by various offspring of R.L. Burnside to continue their father’s tarpaper shack blues tradition, but on this occasion they also hewed to the family tradition of failing to make a scheduled Bluesfest appearance, allegedly due to border trouble. In their stead David Maxwell’s group offered some Chicago-style piano blues, abetted on some hearty harmonica by the appropriately named Chicago Bob Nelson. It was a throwback to the early days of Bluesfest when the event lasted a weekend and catered solely to the blues crowd. These days almost every type of music makes an appearance, but a few blues acts do make an appearance. Janiva Magness performed some straight-ahead R&B backed by a dark-suited quartet. A large-lunged lady, Magness jokingly acknowledged her own considerable endowments by donning a washboard equipped with a pair of breast shields better suited to Wagnerian opera. On the River Stage Matt Schofield played a funky take on the Stevie Ray Vaughan school of electric guitar rock. Ryan Shaw upped the funk even further on the main stage with a James Brown influenced set. Fans of the more expansive side of Bluesfest were also well served: Ottawa indie rockers the Soiree played a fine set of rootsy pop on the Black Sheep Stage, followed by a high-energy performance by revival tent rockers Jon-Rae and the River. The seven-member outfit was a festival highlight, crossing Neil Young with the fervor of a Pentecostal preacher. The crowd filled out considerably for local favourites Jetplanes of Abraham. Ever since Broken Social Scene vaulted into public knowledge Canadian bands seem to be sprouting extra members. Jetplanes of Abraham gets by with a mere seven and a lot of instrument switching, shouting and mass chording. Another young indie band making an appearance at Bluesfest was Mute Math. The band hails from New Orleans but pays no heed to that city’s musical traditions. Instead they boil down Radiohead, prog rock, emo and punk into an intelligent take on alt rock. Singer Paul Meany’s voice also begs for a comparison to Sting’s. The band is also quite energetic on stage; with Meany using his electric piano as a tumbling horse, leaping on and off with keytar in hand, then flipping over it backwards. The young audience was suitably impressed. On the Black Sheep Stage Maori performer Mihirangi was performing an interesting update on the music of her ancestors, blending in R&B – she’s blessed with a particularly sultry voice – and a looped guitar. Near the end of the set she also performed a pi dance using beribboned balls on a lead. She made an excellent impression, one not even dimmed by what was to follow. Toumani Diabate and his Symmetric Orchestra collect players from across the territory once covered by the Mande Empire. They play both traditional instruments and a few modern ones with extraordinary skill. Diabate’s kora and the instruments played by his collaborators spun a fabulous web of sound that eclipsed every other performance at the festival. By turns somber and lively, majestically garbed in the traditional dress of their respective homelands, the group made an indelible impression. Among the evening’s many highlights were friendly musical duels between Diabate and his cousin Lassana on ballophone, Boubacar Diabate on djembe and Fanta Mady Kouyate on electric guitar. Sunday, July 8 There was little doubt about who would be the big news on Sunday night: The White Stripes were scheduled to make their first-ever appearance in Ottawa. There was plenty to savour before then: Toronto band Spiral Beach made an appearance. An energetic young quartet with a singularly bouncy sound, the band can switch between playful and menacing at a stroke, providing the ideal soundtrack for a party where things go horribly wrong. There seemed to be a lot of dance oriented indie rock on this day, with local groups F!ghtF!ghtF!ght and Ukrainia motivating the crowds to restless twitching and improvised Cossack dancing respectively at the River Stage. Edmonton discopunks Shout Out Out Out Out prompted even more audience jumping and bouncing. The two-drummer, four-bassist band provides a relentless rhythm equally suited for an exercise tape. On other stages Celtic family band Leahy tested one’s tolerance for fiddle music while Brantford, Ont., ensemble Ohbijou played folksy harmony pop with a few rootsy touches. As for Jack and Meg, they surprised the crowd with a bevy of blues covers early in their set, then encored with Meg singing ‘Cold Cold Night’ (and playing a bit of organ), ‘Hotel Yorba’, ‘Seven Nation Army’ and ‘Bollweevil Blues’. The sound on the main stage had also improved since Bob Dylan’s performance.

Picture Gallery:-