Some people play golf or tennis, some garden, read or enjoy any number of activities they are passionate about. For many golfers, attending the Masters or Canadian Open for a few days fulfils many a dream for them. My passion is listening to good live music so when Ottawa’s Bluesfest came around this year, my desires were fed in mega doses for a week and a half. Thanks to my indulging family and ol’ high school buddy Chuckles letting me crash at his place many nights near the new site at The Canadian War Museum, I was able to walk to and fro and have my musical taste buds teased and satisfied via a wide mix of styles and era’s of musical expression.
Highlights were many but finally seeing Van Morrison live, after all these years and being so near the stage was definitely the topper. After hearing on CBC he’d done mostly new material in Montreal the night before I was prepared for what you get but this show was anything but. He played all the classics you still hear regularly but often in a more jazzy way with a stellar band. A close second was Bob Dylan the next night whose set blew the doors off his Scotiabank Place show from last November. He came out just honkin’ on guitar, something he rarely uses any more and just cooked through several tunes for awhile before moving to keyboard. They added lots of bluesy endings in keeping with the venue atmosphere. All I can say is how Bob and an amazing back up band finessed the huge crowd.
As I reflected later on having seen these two great veterans back to back I couldn’t help but realize just how bizarre and unpredictable musical tastes we hold near and dear are. In spite of both men lacking much of a vocal range, neither interacting with their audiences at all, both being noted for their mumbly portrayals of self styled lyrics, they both share their souls somehow musically that magically transcends many generations, evidence being the wide age range in attendance, dancing and singing along. Each man portrays their own uniqueness to the point we commonly identify each of them in musical discussions via 3 letters each ….”VAN” or “BOB”…. Quite the shows….
Number three in favourite shows was Alejandro Escovedo with his tight band including a cello and violinist and a hot backup guitarist. He creates electric folk blues with classy unique variations from driving edgy tempos to classical string mixes with strong diverse rhythms and lyrics. Most memorable.
Other highlights were the Texas singer / songwriter trio, The Flatlanders (Joe Ely, Butch Hancock, Jimmie Dale Gilmore) whose back up guitar player proved the tastiest of the week for me. Hawksley Workman was impressive. Vocalist Ndidi Onukwulu, who performed with Madagascar Slim showed why she was such a hit at our own Stewart Park Festival a couple of years ago. Robert Cray and Jonny Lang both continue to share their bluesy ways creatively while Buddy Guy was a disappointment this time.
The incredible variety of musical era’s available was wonderful. Given the average age was @ 38.5, there were lots of old farts like myself who were taken back to memorable times thanks to The Steve Miller Band (who I last saw 30 years ago in Ottawa, while passing through) and of course Ten Years After, where I happened to run into CBC’s Saturday Night Blues host Holger Peterson who was also satisfying some historic musical memories. Twenty-seven year old singer, guitarist Joe Gooch ably replaced original Alvin Lee who, with the rest of the original band of 40 years ago transported us all back to our “yeut”, ending with I’m Going Home…. bringing back some sweet memories just like music does. You’ve gotta like crowds for Bluesfest but several of the shows I caught were at one of the two side stages so less crowding and a more relaxed atmosphere. I was musically satisfied every day.
Hope to see you all at this weekend’s 17th Annual Stewart Park Festival. It’s a great line up all three days in the majestic park so dear to us all. Don’t miss the magic that always is created at the Acoustic Stage, where song circles and jams always seem to provide people with those “special moments” never to be caught again. Prepare to be captivated.
Though the festival is FREE, it’s costs continually go up so your support by buying After Hour buttons to enjoy the great music in the pubs at night and purchasing one of this year’s new compilation cd’s comprised with a song from most of the weekend performers will go a long way to helping keep our great festival going. For full line up go to www.stewartparkfestival.ca
Many thanks to Heather Hansgen, Carolyn Sutherland, Dave Balfour, JoAnn Campbell, Joanne Bennell, Joanne Hughes, Jamey Cameron, Barb St. Arnaud and Alfred Von Mirbach, Town Staff and any others I’ve missed for your energy and efforts throughout the year.
Also, many thanks to the over 100 Volunteers whose efforts truly make this the event that puts Perth on the map every year. Many people have said they may not know the artists names as they read about them in the program but guaranteed, by the end they’re taking home some new music that has touched them in some way. I’ll see you there as the magic of live music instills our thoughts and creative souls with nutritious food.
Support Live Music Everywhere