bouche

look no further than that blog that you one time said you'd help out with. you're fired. http://www.foodeeze.com/

Ottawa Bluesfest Blueslog Stardate 070708 Live Music Review Review By: Velvet Tony D Image courtesy of steve_and_jody on Flickr Back to the workweek grind leaves me arriving late to Bluesfest all week, and tonight I didn’t make it to the gate until after James Taylor had begun his set. They were playing Get A Job by The Silhouettes as I pulled up, a great tune that I’ve never heard anyone tackle before. But with a band like the one Taylor put together one is free to tackle anything they’d like. Steve Gadd, Lou Marini, and Walt Fowler are three standouts in James Taylor’s Band Of Legends, and they put on a much more rockin’ set than I was expecting. Such that they kept me away from checking out Bettye LaVette on the Roots Stage. There was a strong adult-contemporary element of course. The hug and sway singalong that I witnessed (but did not participate in, no matter what they might say) to You’ve Got A Friend was all unicorns and moonbeams, and they even put up a picture of a puppy on the screen so we could all have an “Ohhhhhh!” moment together. Seriously, the guy put a picture of a puppy on the screen. I’ll balance that against the fact that James Taylor was the Beatles’ first signing to Apple Records, so I guess he’s still cool. I felt I had to tear myself away from the main stage for a while at least so I decided to go to the Blacksheep Stage to see what Rachid Taha was all about, but I thought I’d go via the River Stage and just catch a bit of Tony D’s Power Hour, just so I could tell him at work tomorrow that I caught his set. Well, I can tell him more than that ‘cuz I never got to the Blacksheep Stage. When I arrived he had Becky Abbott up on stage with him and she was singing her balls off. She’s on the Rogers Stage Tuesday before Boz Scaggs and might be worth seeing. He handed off the next song to his bassist for the evening Suzie Vinnick, and she brought her usual heart and soul to the table. Tony looked like he was having a great time and the band was so happenin’ I just couldn’t leave. The Texas Horns each had a turn at the mic while Tony’s regular sax player Zeke Gross tore it up whenever he got the nod. Real great blues, right here at the Bluesfest. He’s got a couple more sets coming up I believe, catch one if you can. When Tony D started his last number I wandered back to the main stage to soak up the final hits. I got there just in time for a frenzied brassy R&B showstopper and then the encore, which was medley ridden. I made my way out and the bastard came back on. I kept walking, he kept playing. By the time I finally biked out of earshot he must have been on his third or fourth encore, I dunno. Anyway, I went down just on a lark and was actually impressed enough that I feel in retrospect I should’ve taken his set more seriously. It’ll be a game-time decision on whether or not tomorrow will be a day off from Bluesfest for me. I’m working too late to catch Boz Scaggs and I don’t need to see Franti enough to go out in the rain. Previous Logs: Blues Log 07032008 Blues Log 07042008 Blues Log 07052008 Blues Log 07062008

From canoe Two Ontario police officers have been credited with saving the life of Van Halen singer David Lee Roth - after he suffered a severe allergic reaction. The rocker was pulled over on a stretch of highway in Oakland, Ontario on June 8 for speeding, and when cops approached the vehicle, they realized the star was in anaphylactic shock. Roth has an allergy to nuts and was suffering a severe reaction after coming into contact with a contaminated substance. The officers called an ambulance and kept Roth calm until paramedics arrived on the scene, according to CTV.ca. Constable Chris Thompson admits he didn't realize that he was dealing with a famous rock star when he attended to the crisis. He says, "At the time I wasn't star struck, I was just trying to help him. The guy stuck out like a sore thumb. He was wearing a little silk scarf and flashy clothing - it's not something you see in Oakland too often."

sweet. hopefully it's not blocked by CRTC like all of the other content from NBC and other US networks.

there's only one thing that could be photoshopped there.

Bwah ha ha.

"good champagne, a silver bucket and ice" where do you get a silver bucket? WHy do you need a silver bucket? Wouldn't any cooler do?

Happy BIRTHDAY LYNN!!!

$75 to see a guy play an acoustic guitar and sing?

Ottawa Bluesfest Blueslog Stardate 070608 Live Music Review Review By: Velvet Les Claypool of Primus Photo by: Scott McGuigan Another cloudless scorcher in the capital today had me sweating up a storm by the time I checked my bike into the lockup. The most cursory check of my bag failed to uncover the four cans of beer I’ve smuggled in so I headed straight to the Roots Stage to catch what I could of That 1 Guy. To be fair, it’s actually That 1 Guy and a sequencer or two and a virtual junkyard of hardware. The man culled the most outrageous sounds from a myriad of tools including saws, metal tubes; all the bells and whistles to be sure. He wowed us with a bucksaw version of Over The Rainbow and closed with a Black Sabbath influenced metal tirade that morphed into a campy jazz vamp. Novelty, sure, but damn entertaining novelty. After a brief respite in a patch of shade I went to check out Lest Breastfeeders. I didn’t get closer than 200 metres when I realized these guys weren’t for me so I headed over to the River Stage for today’s performance by Harper. More political Aussie rock on another sweltering day. For a little changeup I decided to give Infected Mushrooms a listen. I wasn’t expecting much given the utter unimaginative moniker they came up with for themselves, but my mind was open. They started with wailing Malmsteenesque technical prowess but they soon degenerated to a steady aggressive BPM that would keep the crowd moving. The wash of sound underlain with a steady wumpwumpwump wasn’t enough to hold my attention so I begged off for my favourite mainstay, the Blacksheep Stage, where Chuck Prophet is keeping it lively with his take on straight-up rock & roll. Finally it was time for Snoop. Taking the stage to the music of Mozart’s Requiem Huggie Bear motherfucked his way from one crowd pleaser to another, all the while asking us incriminating questions about our collective drug habits. Either he makes it look easy or he’s not doing much of anything, I’m not sure, but I was damn entertained. Good band behind him as he led a constant R-rated version of Simon Says; sometime we were to swing our arms this way, sometimes we were to swing our arms that way, but swing them we did, and before you know it Captain Bling was off to his ho’s and his dressing room, likely to smoke some more weeeeed. Found a good spot for Primus and watched as they presented what was for me the set of the fest so far. They are just an incredibly exciting and unique trio, serving up their own brand of Hallowe’en rock, led by just the best damn bass player we’ll see in a while. It’s amazing how well studied Les Claypool obviously is on the bass, and yet he betrays no influence whatsoever. It’s like he is emanating nobody, while channeling everyone. A spectacular set that had the crowd surfers out in full force. My name is mud. For the closer this evening I faced my biggest decision so far. I decided on an in-and-out mission and dropped by the River Stage for my first Johnny Winter experience. I gave him a couple of songs and though he was good the only surprise was that he was sitting down. I decided to try out the Roots Stage for The Wailers. I suspect the rest of the fest will go by without having another crowd like that at the relatively tiny Roots Stage. There must have been 6,000 people there, no kidding. It was all I could do to get within sporadic viewing range before I decided to bail and hear what Widespread Panic had to offer. I had never seen them before and I have been thus unconvertible as a fan, but I and about 1,200 other people were treated to a jammin’ good show. Jimmy Herring was on fire as is his standard, and he brought the energy level of the band to several peaks that approached the ephemeral. He is such a fine musician he can’t help but add some fire to whatever outfit he joins, and Widespread seemed no exception. The audience showed the Bluesfest’s first blatant error – these guys shoulda been on the Roots Stage with The Wailers on the main stage, but frankly I didn’t see it coming out this way either. In the end it was a killer opening weekend, and only a steady stream of Molson kept me going. I got staggeringly drunk both nights, all in the name of journalism, and had a great time. After the stamina challenge of the weekend, the week should be a breeze. We’ll see.

they had videotapes there? what is this? 1992?

so if you want to bring in some chrome, enter at the black sheep stage.

I love the asian fungus. Packs of dried black fungus rehydrated makes a great addition to hot and sour soups and other dishes.

sounds like some fun meating. next time you come to ottawa, bring one of those bad boys over (new place of course) and we can whip up a meal for the girls

never mind. found him. he was beside my keys.

if anyone has access to guigsy, can you get him to call me or message me please?

someone please yell out BABA BOOEY! BABA BOOEY! BABA BOOEY!

happy birthday mcscotty.

http://www.stateofmindmusic.com/?entry=296 click on the photo gallery right navigation arrow 6 times. Then click on the 2nd photo from the right. ha ha. actually, I think I see guigsy in the very last photo coming out of Le National.

did they at least get a manicure?

Joe's Garage....yeah!

i wish someone told us to bring a backpack full of creemore. that was the most laxy daxy security check ever.

The bike valet thing was incredible. They even had flashing lights for $5. Worth the valet and the lights. We zoomed home all safe and stuff. I forgot my bike lock key, so it worked out even better than you would have planned.

Ottawa Bluesfest Blueslog Stardate 070508 Live Music Review Review By: Velvet Zappa Plays Zappa Try as I might I just couldn’t get to the fest in time for Dave Bidini’s book reading, and I’m sure I’m a lesser man for it. I stealthed in some beers this time around and avoided any and all bag searches for my efforts. I found some friends and some shade while Justin Rutledge finished up his set. As I sit here typing and drinking Harper has started their set just over the knoll on the Roots Stage. I’m gonna enjoy it from here until the next act starts up on Blacksheep. The shade is just too valuable on a day like this. This is my first time hearing Harper, and my initial reaction is to compare them to Blues Traveler, except with didgeridoo. Oh waitaminnit, there’s some harmonica. Yep, comparison still valid. These guys are rockin’ it Aussie style. Excellent music for a scorching afternoon. I guess Harper is this years’ replacement for Xavier Rudd, and a refreshing change it is. Eventually NQ Arbuckle started his set and I was getting him in one ear and Harper in the other. I enjoyed the aural dichotomy for a bit but was eventually drawn to the wit emanating from Arbuckle at the Blacksheep. Twangy and soulful and reminiscent of Fred Eaglesmith, he’s another example of the insightful programming endemic to Paul Symes’ Blacksheep Stage. Though loosely labeled as “Newgrass,” the Krueger Brothers keep it as trad as they can, being from that non-heartland of twang, Switzerland. These guys are the real deal though, top-notch guitar and banjo playing over songs that harken to Bela Fleck-style bluegrass while retaining that all-American style they’ve manage to cop so well under the sweltering sun at the Roots Stage. Ultimately I forsook the eurograss for Bluesfest regular Luke Doucet. Not surprisingly, his well-attended set consisted of one clever song after another, each a mini-anthem of honest-sounding Canadiana. He brought out his daughter again this year, this time for Dolly Parton’s Jolene, the crowd ate it up and it was beautiful. Over at the River Stage Adrian Belew let his Parker fly with what can be best described as trigonometry-rock. He and his two band-mates played a bunch of hexagons and rhombus and I can’t believe I managed to tear myself away from it for Lucinda Williams. But I did. I got turned on to this woman years ago. She has a singular quality about her; she sounds a bit like she looks – stunningly beautiful, but with lots of hard miles. The beauty is the part that shines through though, and as I sit her listening to Right In Time from her album Car Wheels On A Gravel Road, it’s shaping up to be the perfect set to watch the sunset to. What am I gonna do next though, as Zappa Plays Zappa dukes it out against Steely Dan? Well, as it turns out, if I leave Lucinda a bit early I can catch the beginning of the Zappa thing. We’ll see how long they can keep me from Steely Dan. Not long, it turns out. Sure they were as good as I expected, and sure if it was a Zappa Plays Zappa show I woulda been happy to stick around and get my mind blown, but it’s Bluesfest, the Festival Of Sacrifice. Got a beer and a spot and reveled in the slick brilliance that is Steely Dan. After they got warmed up they started playing the “Oh yeah, that tune!” game with us and reminded the standing crowd just how many times they’ve cracked the top ten. By the time the encore rolled around they had managed to thoroughly entertain while steadfastly avoiding their biggest hits. No one could walk away disappointed, unless perhaps they’ve waited their whole life to hear the opening riff to Reelin’ In The Years on a gorgeous day at an outdoor venue and perhaps they’d seen Steely Dan before at Molson Amphitheatre and had been shut out from Reelin’ that time too. But I’m sure it’s pretty hard to find someone like that. But if you did, they might have been wiping away a little tear as they tried to stand up straight enough to dupe the bike valets into thinking they were sober enough to handle a bike before they raced home at breakneck speeds and averted enough death to cry another day. For the record, the bike valet thing is excellent. You don't need a lock, and I recommend getting a pink ticket. That line moves faster.

holy christ! that was a great show! My favourite of the day....