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John-Angus leaping for the sake of rock, in The Trews. There was one question to answer on the final night of the Ottawa Bluesfest. "What stage?". While the programming this year covered a wide net of demo, there were clearly certain stages that stood out over the 12 days at Lebreton Flats. They weren't the main stages. If one spent time at the Black Sheep Stage, the River Stage and yes, even the ELECTRO stage, there was some serious musician shit happening. Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Fishbone, Charles Bradley, Plants and Animals, The Trews, Current Swell, The Hold Steady, Sheepdogs, and this doesn't include any of the main stage(s) performances like Iron Maiden, Alice Cooper, Norah Jones, Snoop Dogg, Sam Roberts, or EVERYTHING ELSE. It was a busy festival. There was an obvious drive to present Grammy and Juno award winners on the 2 main stages but the real experience was off along the outskirts, along the Ottawa River and there were some award winners there too. The final night was laid out with just the right ingredients of anyone to decide how they wanted to finish off the festival. Metric on the Main stage for some indie life, Monkey Junk on the Black Sheep stage for some real kick-ass blues and soul, Wolfgang Gartner for people that like watching people play them songs on a Macbook Pro, and The Trews for those that felt like rocking their way out of Bluesfest. The entire festival span was likely the hottest consecutive days in Canadian celcius recorded which can not only make you wonder how everyone can dance and be so engaged in the bands, but also how the artists can be on the stage putting out that much energy. Current Swell Dave Lang of the Current Swell on the Black Sheep Stage mentioned how they don't have weather like this in their hometown of Vancouver where it's much cooler right now. Perhaps if the Current Swell were to play in Ottawa on a February, he might have to say something similar. Thanks for reminding us how great the weather is in Vancouver They had a great crowd out, some sitting and bouncing their legs while others were dancing like it was the last night of bluesfest, which it was. A band that can rock out with mostly acoustic guitars, including a lap guitar, and get a crowd so happy to be dancing in the heat should be invited back to town. Earlier, Wintersleep had played on the River Stage. They were booked for the Ottawa Folk Festival, however a change of plans included them on the last night of the festival. They pulled out an impressive sized crowd for the 7:30 PM showing. This Canadian band from Nova Scotia has had some international success considering they've been on the , and their timeslot was well selected as the band knew what they were doing, offering a big part of the start of an energetic evening. It's always great to see a band play live. That's where true talent lies. That's who they are. The Trews presented themselves onstage to a very engaged crowd on a great final night of Bluefest. Their bassist couldn't make it yet they found a nearby musician, Shane Murphy, that came out, learned their songs in the band trailer and helped them pull off this gig. He could be seen reading the Sean Dalton's beats, and John-Angus early on, but after only 4 songs, he had their backs. Colin MacDonald - The Trews This band proved to rock so hard only 2 weeks ago with a great rock jump off of the drum riser that When guitarist/singer John-Angus was ready to jump again at Bluefest, there had to be a few people waiting for something to fall. His brother, Colin directed rock all evening over the crowd. Within 3 beats, he had the crowd clapping along at his own command. It takes solid balls to pull that off. According to an unnamed source, John Cougar Mellencamp failed at a "Jack and Diane" crowd sing-along merely two nights earlier. DJ's, take notes, these are Rock and Roll moves.

Review: Jay McConnery Photos: Mike Bouchard (more photos) Craig Finn - The Hold Steady Thursday night continued this year's trend of idealistic weather for the Ottawa Bluesfest, and except for the smokey brushfire scent colouring the air with a splash of uncertain danger, most revelers were looking pretty sunny and laid back for this evening's line up. As it tends to do, real life took priority- leaving me a little late off the mark this evening, but I cycled down in time for the first portions of Sam Roberts Band and the Hold Steady. The Hold Steady has always been a bit of a mystery to me, but I think I may be finally figuring it out. A lot of music fans that I respect hold them in a very dear place, and when watching the performance tonight, it's definitely clear to me that they are a fantastic rock band and that front man Craig Finn is surely one of the more animated and entertaining vocalists on the festival circuit. Clearly his influences are vast, but the working man's spoken delivery always seems to remind me of Springsteen, which is fitting as the lyrical aspect of the band is what has always stood out to me with Finn's words painting very familiar pictures of parties and situations of young adult life with his exaggerated delivery and slam-style riffing on certain phrases, really driving home the imagery and context of his tales. Some of these lyrics originally whispered or co-spoken into my ear by an enthusiastic fan are now familiar. However, I think that his vocal style may be the very element that gets to me in the live setting, where it kind of feels like Finn is pleading to get his story across. I think I just need to spend more time getting to know the lyrics. The positive message is certainly present and I'll catch them anytime they are in town- because they deliver in a live setting. Sam Roberts - The Sam Roberts Band I strolled the grounds and through the museum to catch Sam Roberts Band who was playing to an enormous crowd on the Claridge stage. Sam and his band are a little too good looking for me to get excited about, but I have to admit that over the last decade or so they have become a hell of a live band, and probably one of Canada's best and most endearing straight up rock outfits. I caught a few newer tunes that I wasn't familiar with, but the energy that erupted with their hits like 'Where have all the good people gone' is undeniable. It's fantastic to see them making forays into the US but I can't help but wonder if they'll be destined to follow in the footsteps of the Tragically Hip with a very comfortable domestic career, or perhaps if their wider appeal (looks) will allow them some more action South of the Border. I got up close for John Mellencamp, and he and his band emerged with a fantastic stage set featuring barn style Christmas lights, and some stark southern kitchen imagery as a back drop. The band dressed in formal black southern minstrel style attire and performed in a soulfully slowed down manner, even offering a stripped down version of the band to begin the show. It was pretty vibey watching the drummer play on a stand-up kit, locked in with the upright bass player- resulting in some very fat low end frequencies that were kind of making me feel dizzy. The use of accordian and fiddle in his last few records has always been a flavour I've dug, and it works so well over all his material. John left the Mellencamp and went back to his Cougar days for solo renditions of 'Jack and Diane' and 'Small Town' on his beat up old Martin. He is one entertainer that has totally retained his raspy, rough and soulful voice over his many years of service- and it seems to be because he has found a pattern that works for him: smoke>heart attack (repeat). The crowd was very laid back and comfortable for this evenings set, much more reminecint of a typical Bluesfest crowd. In fact it was exactly like a normal Bluesfest crowd. Doobies were being past around with disregard, and cougars were spilling beers and smoking cheap cigarettes, people were smiling. I caught the vibe bug and headed over to Sheepdogs to wind down the night. Ewan Currie - The Sheepdogs Sheepdogs look like they are from 1972! They also sound like they would've fit in perfectly to that ideal timeframe of rock and roll magic- and judging from their bursting at the seams River Stage crowd, the rock n roll lovers of Ottawa agree. The band played their songs with great confidence (compared to their last Bluesfest gig especially)- rocking out a little harder than I would've expected and even doing some jamming (!). I don't know that their songs could be as good if it was actually 1972, and they didn't have all that historical rock to draw upon in their writing, but I will tip my hat to them for doing the right thing at the wrong time. Perhaps if they were born in another time, they would've been the Guess Who. Or maybe they would be to the Guess Who, what the Monkees where to the Beatles. If they don't already, think they should all live on a grassy commune and make some really good records before becoming a cult and imploding. Checked out some Blues on the Black Sheep stage with Sugar Ray and his band- soloist Michael 'Mudcat' Ward drew me in with his tasy soloing, but frightened my off with his quivery vocals. I ended the night by checking in on the Electro stage where a good sized crowd raged to DJ Arty. They were employing some speaker stacks towards the museum giving a great surround sound. The music seemed like bubblegum house to me, although it looked like everyone there was having a really great time. Check it out. I hope you have a better understanding.

Review: Jay McConnery Photos: Mike Bouchard (see more Bluesfest on Flickr) Carlin Nicholson with Zeus - Ottawa Bluesfest The Ottawa Bluesfest is fantastic for illustrating cliches of everyday folly through it's microcosmic experience. Murphy's Law will drop it's hammer on you at some point, you can be sure. Last beer of the night? You will spill it. The truth won't be told by those in the know, monkey see- monkey do, and either there is nothing going on anywhere or everything is happening all at once. It sort of felt like everything was happening all at once tonight. This Bluesfest's Tuesday line-up was, imo, the only unmissable day of the entire festival, which predictably resulted in a dilemma of where and how to split time, and in what sized portions. One piece of the proverbial pie that was not getting split up, or even shared with my invisible friend, was the 6:00-7:00pm slot where Toronto's mighty Zeus held dinner hour court at the sun-shiney Electro stage. Making the best of their confusing stage and time slot (ahead of two hip hop groups), Zeus delivered a strong set which ebbed and flowed between some of their big riff tunes and their equally awesome moody lilting songs- showing the range of their catalogue, and that they can make it all work magically in a live setting. Looking quite comfortable on an already busy stage crammed with gear, the mustached Zeus gentlemen exchanged instruments and vocal duties as casually as handing off the wheel to a trusted road buddy halfway between Erie and Pittsburgh. The three vocalists each provide their own distinct flair to their songs, but somehow they all sound exactly like Zeus songs- and not to be forgotten, the drummer Robbie Drake keeps the tempo big and deliberate, occasionally flaring when the opportunity arises in more open sections. I think he may be one of my favourite current touring drummers. Closing the show with their new single, the catchy and perfectly-written 'Are you Gonna Waste My Time', Zeus left the stage to giddy cheers (from me), surely to return to a much larger crowd. Then, nothing happened, except A$AP Rocky on the mainstage. This was confusingly bad. As I popped on my phone to see what was polluting the airwaves, I checked out the bio on the Bluesfest site, and learned that he not only has recently moved to New Jersey- but also got his GED! Good for him, I guess. We took in a few tracks from Chali 2na and concluded that he definitley has one of those voices that works perfectly for hip hop or public announcing. After a bit of a wait, we went over to wait for Lauryn Hill. Then we waited some more... Nathan Williams and the Zydeco Cha Chas - Ottawa Bluesfest We relaxed, cautiously, and as my insides begged me to move on to another stage, I calmed myself with thoughts of how great Lauryn was in Sister Act. Man, she surprised everyone with that voice, even that old stogey Mother Superior, Remember!? Remember the Fugees? They were good too. Then we waited some more and her colleague "DJ Distracto" as he might be called, came out to keep us busy for a while, occupying time while Lauryn cried and smashed furniture, or snorted heroin off of a midget's forehead, or performed mime routines for school children, or whatever happens backstage. I'm sure on paper, it's a pretty high profile gig for him. Essentially, he is Lauryn Hill's Hype man, but after about 30 minutes of pre-show, he seemed to me like the most unlucky man in show business. As the time ticked away, and DJ appeared increasingly apologetic, and as the crowd began to turn, the drummer reluctantly joined him on stage, giving the impression that a show was actually going to be taking place at some point, but after a few drawn out drum breaks and probably the 14th 'Ah-Taa-Whaa!!! Make some nooooize!' - it was clear the crowd was finally sick of the diva bullshit and started to move into position for Snoop who was scheduled to begin on the mainstage 35 minutes later, and that was when she finally emerged. How dramatic! Looking a little jumpy and confused, and singing rather disjointedly, it only took a dissapointing rendition of 'Everything is Everything' (I think that's what it was) to make me wish I'd caught more of Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas... A fucking Zydeco band! (Of which I should admit, I only caught 30 seconds of as I fled the mainstage area, but I'm sure they are great, in fact, they sounded as good or better than any zydeco band, ever.) Derek Trucks - Ottawa Bluesfest Then it was pie splitting time. Tedeschi Trucks Band kicked things off at 9pm on the River stage with some great modern Southern Rock Soul, double drummer wide fat-ness, featuring the best parts of the Allman Brothers band- Derek Trucks and Oteil Burbridge. Susan Tedeschi's is throaty with incredible range, as in she manages to Kim Carnes it without getting all Bette Davis. In short, a superb voice to lead this spectacular band through much of their new release 'Revelator' all the way through to an energetic rendition of Sly and the Family Stone's 'Higher' to close things out; as well as provide Derek Trucks a vehicle to blow minds with his unreal abilities on the slide/lead guitar. Trucks is no longer just a wonderkid, he is a super tasty, mature soloist elegantly leading the group through the instrumental passages of the show spinning melodies out of thin air. It was hard to leave this fantastic scene at the River Stage, but I had to check out two more stages. Oliver Mtukudzi and his band was a favourite at several of the earlier downtown editions of Bluesfest- often getting the crowd out of their shoes and dancing to his Zimbabwean World beat jazz at the green grassy confines of the origianl Black Sheep Stage. It felt a little bit thin compared to those carefree days, perhaps he had some new musicians with him that didn't fill out the music as well as his previous group, perhaps he was as tired as he looked. Regardless, as charming and impressive as he was on his guitar, he didn't manage to hold my attention more than a couple of happy upbeat head-bobbers. Susan Tedeschi - Ottawa Bluesfest I did return to catch more of Tedeschi Trucks, but admittedly, I spent the majority of my time checking out Deltron 3030- Dan the Automator, Del tha Funky Homosapian and Kid Koala, joined by a full band, a youth orchestra and choir on the Electro Stage which felt to be some of the most musically interesting hip hop I've ever seen- with some great projected imagery giving the performance a truly moody and futuristic vibe. I am a fan of Kid Koala's early records as well as Lovage and some other collaborations featuring some of these artists- but I am not familiar with Deltron 3030, so I checked this show out reccommendation, and I am now looking forward to also checking the releases out. The musical arrangements were phenomenal, big and undeniable. Kid Koala is still cool as hell to watch after all these years, and a great overhead camera afforded us the luxury to really see his hands fly. Also really enjoyed the vocal delivery, and actually feel interested enough to check out some hip hop for the first time in a long time.