(I got the idea for this series while sifting through the ‘piles’ of digital photos on my laptop. It occurred to me to share some of these great pics from some of my favourite concert sets from time to time. Until I get around to the next one, I invite you to peruse my ever-growing list of concerts page.)
The Decemberists, live at Bluesfest 2016
Artist: The Decemberists When: July 13th, 2016 Where: Claridge stage, Ottawa Bluesfest, Lebreton Flats Park, Ottawa Context: Back in 2005, I convinced my wife to squeeze in a concert by a band I had recently gotten into on our spring trip in to Toronto to visit her mother. That show by The Decemberists at The Phoenix Concert Theatre would end up being one of Victoria’s favourite concerts, despite having only heard a handful of their songs beforehand, and it goes without saying it was high up on my list as well. It would be just over a decade before I got to see them again live (though I did catch a Colin Meloy on a solo set in the interim). The lineup had changed some in the years since and the band had also since jumped to a major label and gained a much wider audience. The quality of their music, however, has never wavered, nor has their live show. In fact, both of the shows in question ended with the very same song, “The mariner’s revenge song”, and included the requisite audience participation, though the latter show involved some props (see last photo). Being on a major comes with bigger budgets, right? Point of reference song: “Make you better”
Nate Query of The Decemberists rocking the bassJohn Moen of The Decemberists (and the various stage props)Colin Meloy of The DecemberistsJenny Conlee of The DecemberistsChris Funk of The DecemberistsJohn Moen and Colin Meloy of The DecemberistsNate Query on the uprightChris Funk of The Decemberists on banjoJenny Conlee on the accordionColin Meloy and his shiny guitarThe Decemberists being swallowed by a giant whale
(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.)
25 years of Bluesfest
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.
Loon ChoirKathleen Cauley of Loon ChoirCraig Barlow and Dan Larmour of Loon ChoirDerek Atkinaon of Loon ChoirBlakDenimKenny Creole, Karl Acelin, and Crystalena Paquette of BlakDenimDexter Holland and Pete Parada of The OffspringGreg K of The OffspringNoodles of The OffspringThe OffspringBusty and The BassRobert Pollard of Guided By VoicesGuided By Voices
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,
(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.)
Bluesville stage lineup
Artists: Brandon “Taz” Nederauer, Shakey Graves When: July 11th, 2019 Where: Lebreton Flats Park, Ottawa Some words: After taking another night off imposed by serious stomach issues (I’ll never know what that was), I was back at the festival last night. A massive wave of violent storm activity passed through the area right around the time the gates were due to open, delaying this for almost two hours and cancelling a whole swath of the early shows. This suited me just fine because I had planned from the beginning to head back home by bus, eat a home-cooked meal, and then drive back in to catch a couple sets.
On deck on the Bluesville stage tonight were some serious guitarists. I arrived with plenty of time to catch the first of them to take the stage for 7:30: teenage blues rock guitarist, Brandon “Taz” Nederauer. It wouldn’t necessarily be music I would listen to all the time but you have to hand it to a kid that picked up a guitar after watching the film “School of rock” and found out he had real talent.
The headliner and real reason I roused myself back down to the muddy festival grounds last night was the return to Bluesfest of Alejandro Rose-Garcia, aka Shakey Graves. I had seen him twice before already, but have recently discovered his latest album and the new direction for the Texas-born guitarist and roused my interest in him all over again. As for his show? Like always, the man was a performer and had the crowd with him the whole way.
Brandon ‘Taz’ Niederauer and his bandMatt Godfrey on guitarKendall Lentz on drumsMatt Fox on bassBrandon NiederauerShakey Graves alone onstageShakey Graves and his bandPatrick O’Connor on guitarJon Shaw on bassShakey Graves with drummer Chris Boosahda in the background
My (life in) music lists 