Live music galleries: Ottawa Bluesfest 2019, day eight – Loon Choir, BlakDenim, The Offspring, Busty and the Bass, Guided by Voices

(Since I’ll be too busy attending Ottawa Bluesfest over the next week or so to continue with this blog’s regularly scheduled programming, I thought I would do a special ‘live galleries’ series this week to share some pics from some of the sets I am enjoying.)

Artists: Loon Choir, BlakDenim, The Offspring, Busty and the Bass, Guided by Voices
When: July 12th, 2019
Where: Lebreton Flats Park, Ottawa
Some words: So… last night was my final night at Bluesfest for the year (there are two more days but the music there doesn’t really appeal) and it just happened to coincide with a Friday… so there might have been some beers involved.*

To start things off, I headed back into the Barney Danson theatre to catch local indie, chamber rockers, Loon Choir. Last night marked my third time seeing this cool collective, each time at Bluesfest, but the last time I had seen them was six years ago so I was eager to hear how their sound had evolved. There was certainly a bit more maturity and professionalism but the idealism, especially on the part of the lead vocalist, was alive and well and the eight-piece put forth a wondrous sound.

Just before they finished, I ducked out to the Videotron stage to catch a snippet of another local band about whom I’d heard good things. BlakDenim is a funk/soul/rap outfit that had the small outdoor stage jumping. There were horns, great energy, and a little bit of breakdancing. I was sold. And if it weren’t for the fact that I wanted to get a good spot for the next main stage act, I would have lingered longer.

The Offspring were a band that I knew but never loved back in the heyday of 90s alt-rock and lord knows, I never thought I might ever see them live. However, given they were on the lineup and that I had planned on attending last night, there wasn’t a chance I would miss them. And man, I’m glad I didn’t. They were a hell of a lot of fun, playing pretty much all their hits and throwing in some new bits that weren’t at all out of place. Of course, the beer I had thus far drunk and the energy in the crowd might’ve helped, but I’ve got to admit, they were a highlight of the festival for me.

I then caught a smidgen of the high energy set by Busty and the Bass back on the Videotron stage on the recommendation of a work colleague and would do so again, even given the small sample size. Finally, though, my night ended at the Bluesville stage, where I witnessed a living legend in Robert Pollard and his group Guided by Voices. To be honest, I didn’t stay to the end but given that all their songs were about a minute or two, I still felt that I caught about a million of their songs. And even at that, I felt that the diehards around would’ve loved hours more.

Once again, Bluesfest has offered me hours of great music, even with the cancellations and the nights I missed. The pass purchase has always been worth my while. Thanks again, organizers, for a job well done.

*My excuse for the lack of quality photos out of the way,