Miscellaneous - 11/7/2010...18/7/2010

by Andrew Carver

published: 29 / 7 / 2010

...while in its second week he also sees performances from John Hiatt, Rush, Arcade Fire, the Gories, Blonde Redhead and Jimmy Cliff

Article

July 11 The first Sunday offered a good opportunity for music fans to catch up on local and Canadian music, with sets of meaty garage blues rock from St. Joe’s Mission, eclectic pop rock from Slyde, country rockers the Bushpilots and bluesier offerings from local harmonica kingpin Steve Mariner and classic blues from Garrett Mason (son of the late Dutch Mason, “Prime Minister of the Blues”). There were also more offbeat offerings from Israeli rappers Coolooloosh and John Kilduff, who paints while accompanied by a live band. The first ear-catching set of the day came from Timber Timbre, whose camera-shy frontman Taylor Kirk wore an insect net over his head. Accompanied by violin and lap steel, his deeply resonant voice and solemn, melancholy delivery invited comparisons to Bill “Smog” Callahan and Will Oldham. Over at the main stage area the horribly named but quite proficient Strippers Union was blasting out some poppy Can-rock. The band is fronted by musical veterans Craig Northey of the Odds and Tragically Hip guitarist Rob Baker, but definitely leans toward the former outfit's guitar-driven powerpop. Elsewhere John Hiatt and the Combo could be heard running through his rootsy rock, while on the Subway Stage bouncy brit Charlie Winston was performing an engaging set of jumpy, Tom Waits influenced beatbox blues. The overwhelming draw of the day was Rush, performing a rare outdoor set (at least for them in Canada). The band’s classic prog seems to divide listeners into love and hate, though even detractors would be forced to admit the band’s capable stage-show. The steampunk-style backdrop was also quite nifty. The trio got on stage early, and played two 90-minute sets. After the first all but the hardcore began to drift away, seduced by the Levon Helm Band, which was joined by John Hiatt for a few numbers, including the classic ‘Long Black Veil’. A number of people also staked out a spot at the Hard Rock Cafe stage in the hopes of listening to the Swell Season. Unfortunately the band’s low-key pop-folk was completely overwhelmed by soundbleed from both Rush and the Levon Helm Band. Los Angeles party-rap-rock band Ozomatli fared better inside the Black Sheep Tent, with their hard-hitting energetic set a surprise highlight of the festival. Unfortunately the tent, in addition to having lousy sound, also discourages chance investigation of the bands playing inside - the crowd was not as large as they deserved. July 13 The festival’s second Tuesday leaned toward a younger crowd, starting with an early set from tattooed hard rockers Down n Ashes on the Subway Stage. They competed for part of the crowd with Los Angeles’ Aggrolites, whose street-savvy reggae inspired several breakouts of circle dancing. Back on the Subway Stage, Moneen’s jumping and yelling, combined with frenzied guitarwork, was holding on to most of Down in Ashes’ audience, while attracting those their for a later set by Alexisfire, who offer a similar blend of hard rock and screamo. Those hoping for something rootsier could check out rocking sets from Too Slim and the Taildraggers or Ottawa’s Brother’s Chaffey, while singer-songwriter Sarah Harmer played a melodic but somewhat vanilla set on the Claridge Stage. Steve Dawson’s Mississippi Sheiks Project offered an opportunity to see several musical legends - Jim Byrnes, Del Rey and Alvin Youngblood Hart - play tribute to the famed blues combo. The highlight of the day was once again on the main stage, courtesy of Arcade Fire. Despite boasting a pair of Ottawans, the band rarely makes the two-hour trip from Montreal. Unfortunate, since their set was undoubtedly the best sounding of the festival, putting even the Flaming Lips (just barely) in the shade. The band ranged through tunes from both their back catalogue and their then-soon-to-be-released ‘The Suburbs’. Frontman Win Butler even waded out into the tens-of-thousands strong crowd for one number. After their set, some of the band’s members went outside the festival fence to jam with a trio of pre-teen buskers, the Dube Brothers, who completely failed to recognize their famous musical guests. July 14 The second Wednesday was a record-breaking night for the festival, as veteran Latin-rocker Santana attracted a crowd that almost completely filled the festival’s main stage area, but the side stages were also surprisingly busy. The Blacksheep Tent finally attracted a good-sized crowd for an early act, with Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba, a band dedicated to the ngoni, a Malian lute considered the ancestor of the banjo. The group’s quartet of ngoni players got a lot of extra propulsion from their percussionists, one of whom even managed a drum solo on a seingled handheld drum. The Hard Rock Stage featured a couple of excellent acts; local performers Capital Grass and the No Men started the evening with their keening vocals and banjo-driven roots rock, while highly touted pop combo the Rural Alberta Advantage - the band shrinks the sound of Broken Social Scene down to a three-piece and adds a folksy twist - presented a collection of songs from a upcoming album as well as a solo turn at Survivor’s 'Eyes of The Tiger' by frontman Nils Edenloff. There was also a powerhouse end to the night with a ferocious and bluesy set from Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes. The outfit that was forever in the shadow of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band is, in essence, the world’s best bar band, and ably proved it with a raunchy performance of New Jersey working class rock. At about the same time Montreal trio Plants and Animals was electrifying a younger crowd with a sound that drew on Elliott Smith and Jeff Buckley’s gentle croons and the art-rock flair of Roy Wood and later Roxy Music. July 15 The trash rock diehards were out in force, and early on Thursday for the deities of Detroit garage rock, The Gories, on the Claridge Stage. The band that helped inspire Jack White and hundreds of others worldwide to buy the cheapest guitar brought a couple of hundred people back to 1989. Unfortunately airplane trouble left Mick Collins (of the Dirtbombs, Voltaire Brothers, Screws, etc.) and Danny Kroha of The Demolition Dollrods without the services of drummer Peggy O’Neill. Fortunately Montreal rockabilly nutbar Bloodshot Bill was on hand to provide some primeval thump to the bands paeans to cheap wine and staying up late, plus classics like ‘Mona’ and ‘Boogie Chillun’. The Gories lo-fi but high on fun set was in stark contrast to the performance by Old Crow Medicine Show, the highly adept Nashville old-time string band that draws its inspiration from a time when country music and drums kept their distance, pre-Hank Williams. The audience was thrilled with both their skills on a variety of bluegrass instruments and a vast variety of pre-war double entendres. One of the festival’s unexpected highlights was Nova Scotia’s Matt Anderson, a sizeable chap who sounds like Leslie West (at least vocally) and plays some heavy duty acoustic blues. Toronto electro-rock duo Woodhands was given the thankless task of opening for popular pop-punkers Marianas Trench on the Subway Stage. Fortunately the vast crowd of girls in attendance, awaiting the appearance of their musical heroes was game for the band’s amusing banter and jumpy, keyboard driven sound. The night was brought to a pleasant end by a set from New Zealand pop combo Crowded House. Neil Finn was looking a trifle rumpled in his white suit, but time has not impeded his vocals or his powers as a tunesmith, and the relatively small audience was duly reverential. July 16 Friday began with one of Bluesfest’s more unusual offerings, Chicha Libre on the Subway Stage. The Brooklyn band plays a form of chicha, the Peruvian music inspired by the African percussion, guitars and accordion of cumbia, heavily blended with psychedelica and surf music. It sounded pleasant, but slightly docile. Fans of more local music had converged on the Hard Rock Stage for the Iron Maiden-inspired music of Garaga. Another festival highlight arrived on the Subway Stage courtesy of Blonde Redhead, whose Sonic Youth-inspired noise rock has slowly drifted into a beautiful sheen for the naif vocals of Kazu Makino to rest upon. While there were some complaints that Makino and Amedeo Pace’s singing was buried in the mix, most agreed it was one of the festival’s best performances. The rest of the evening on the side stages was anticlimactic, although blues fans enjoyed the traditional Chicago sounds of Ronnie Baker Brooks and his stogie-chomping bassist and the indie rock aficionados enjoyed a typically melodramatic set from Montreal band Stars. Over on the main stage, tens of thousands turned out first for rapper Drake, then for Newfoundland Celtic party band Great Big Sea. July 17 The second Saturday offered another eclectic start with sets from Mongolian throatsingers Yat-Kha in the Black Sheep tent, Roxanne Goodman’s gospel group at the hard rock stage, local spy-surf combo the Reverb Syndicate on the Claridge Stage and garage rockers the White Wires on the Subway Stage - the latter put on a vigorous performance, largely for the benefit of local fans. Back at the Black Sheep tent, singer-songwriter Ryan Montbleu and his band played some New Orleans-style music to a small crowd. Far more entrancing was acoustic guitarist Bjorn Berge, whose main stage performance of Norwegian folk and blues benefited tremendously both from his deep resonant voice and sophisticated fingerpicking. Veteran West Coast musician and recent local transplant John Roberts and his band, J.D. and the Details, played a moderately entertaining set that stirred memories of 1980s bands like Huey Lewis and the News and Eddie Money. Locals the Sound Technicians offered a somewhat more modern take on radio-friendly rock with echoes of Fountains of Wayne and Weezer, with bits of surf rock and ska for flavour. British bluesman Matt Schofield made a return visit to Bluesfest on the Subway Stage. His last trip here was quite popular and the return visit was a resounding success as well, with his early Fleetwood Mac sound getting raves from the festivals more traditional crowd. Following Schofield’s set the Subway Stage took a turn toward college radio with two excellent sets from tourmates the Whigs and the Hold Steady. The Whigs’ energetic set blended Kings of Leon and CCR, while frontman Parker Gispert bounded about on one leg. The crowd went wild for the Hold Steady, who repaid their enthusiasm in kind with a hard-rocking set as the sun went down. As darkness fell, cowboy hats emerged for the evening’s headliner Keith Urban and to a lesser extent actor and country-rocker Kevin Costner, who played an unexpectedly capable set. July 18 Unlike some previous years where Bluesfest seemed to peter away on the weekend, Sunday offered a strong finish. A collection of local veterans of the 1960s rock scene got together as the Yohawks to play some British Invasion style R&B, Ty Hall and The EZ3 played some roots reggae at the Hard Rock Stage and Bjorn Berge offered a reprise of his Sunday set in the War Museum’s theatre. The hardest rocking set of the afternoon came courtesy of local act Amos the Transparent. Over the years the band has transformed from a Broken Social Scene style collective to a band focussed on the artistic vision of frontman Jonathan Chandler, whose taste seems to run toward a rootsier Radiohead. The band#s rocky style has become even more ferocious with the addition of local guitar wunderkind Daniel Hay. Later one could take in the sounds of Chicago combo the Occidental Brothers Dance Band International, whose affinity for the musical sounds of high life has led them to link up with Congolese singer Samba Mapalanga, who turned a move from Kinshasha to East Africa into a musical success story. Unfortunately, they were yet another band to fall prey to the Black Sheep Tent’s mediocre crowd draw. Another east-meets-west combo was performing on the Hard rock stage, the crosslegged trio of slide guitarist Doug Cox, satvik veena player Salil Bhatt and tabla player Cassius Khan create music together under the Slide To Freedom moniker, combining ragas and blues, ghazal singing and a more western croon. Back at the main stage ace pop rock combo Hollerado, widely regarded as one of Canada’s liveliest live acts were proving even they could have an off night - perhaps the shortage of new material is beginning to tell. On the other hand, their off nights are still a lot better than most bands' good ones, and the crowd was happy to shout the choruses of such tunes as ‘Fake Drugs’. The band also had junior buskers the Dube Brothers to sing one of their favourite covers, ‘Let’s Twist’. The highlight of the evening was a performance by a spritely Jimmy Cliff, who had the audience swaying along from number one, through a raft of socially and environmentally conscious numbers including faves like ‘Wild World’ and his classic ‘Many Rivers To Cross.’ Weezer closed the evening with a heavy sounding set that featured a lot of running around from sweater-vest clad frontman Rivers Cuomo, who took a quick jog down the centre lane which carried cables to the sound stage, high-fiving the surrounding crowd as he went, pit security gamely lumbering after him.