Ryan J. Allen

This year I did something that I’ve wanted to do for a few years now: I purchased “festival passes” to the Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest and went every day*. I had the pleasure of Will’s company for the majority of the festival, too–it’s not the sort of thing you want to do alone. The purpose of going every day was to enjoy music we might not otherwise hear, and to expose ourselves to artists we weren’t aware of. In both respects I would call the two weeks a success.

For my own benefit I will share some notes from the shows. We saw some of Coheed & Cambria. There were lineup issues getting through security on this first day so we mostly heard them from a distance. I was okay with this. I later learned that a member of Coheed would hold up a pharmacy and subsequently be arrested. Saw Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros the same day; they tried too hard. The Flaming Lips put on quite a stage show, and Soundgarden was incredible. I definitely got the impression that Chris Cornell was enjoying the experience of performing for a large group of people again–probably more than he ever had before.

The next day Will and I went a little earlier and had chairs. We heard Alberta Cross, which were good enough to convince us to get some of their music, then Monkeyjunk, who will be playing at Kingston’s bluesfest. The Roots were popular, for reasons unknown to us, and Ben Harper was pretty darn good. Will told me that he’s not a big fan of slide guitar, but Harper did it well.

On Thursday I forgot our tickets so we arrived a bit later, but caught enough of Big Jeezus Truck that we weren’t sad to have missed what we did. We walked past Infected Mushroom and decided that was more than enough for us. The Sheepdogs were pretty good–certainly more Will’s style than mine. Steve Miller Band was a band that we couldn’t name a song that they performed, but knew almost every one that they did. It was a great show.

Friday was epic storm number one day, but before that we heard Cage the Elephant. They were quite good, and included a nice super-long crowd surf from the lead singer. Rise Against was…well, we were happy others enjoyed it. After Rise Against a big wind and rain storm came down on the park delaying the Black Keys for an hour. They finally went on around 10:30 and played almost an hour, blowing through the 11:00 pm cut-off. This was welcomed by everyone at the park, and the Black Keys saved it somehow.

Did you notice that asterisk up there in my first paragraph? Will and I decided to skip Saturday. The Tragically Hip were playing and we thought the best Hip concert would be the one we didn’t go to. A collective high-five right there.

We wrapped up the first week with guitar-talking Peter Frampton, who was awesome. Huey Lewis & the News treated us to a music sensation that unfathomably did not include their hit Hip to be Square. It actually left Will and I in a bit of shock, but we were still able to pack up our chairs and move over to the A Perfect Circle show at the next stage. APC’s music was alright, but it totally sucked that they didn’t want to be there. If you were there you know what I’m talking about.

The fun re-started on Tuesday with Three Days Grace (thumbs down), and John Fogerty (thumbs way up). Fogerty just might have been the highlight of the festival. This was another artist where I couldn’t have named the songs he sings, but I knew every one that he played. Really, really great.

On Wednesday we showed up in time for Metric. Meh. We took in Buddy Guy, who was great and who also brought an incredible 12-year-old blues playing kid with him. This kid could play guitar like a veteran. It was really amazing.

Thursday saw Will return to Kingston, but I kept going. A short stint to see Al Wood and the Woodsmen was ended when Brian directed me to John Primer’s stage. A good choice–definitely better than Cancer Bats. I went to see Arkells next and was pleasantly surprised. I will check out their new album when it is released this fall. I finished the night at the Tea Party show. I admit that I did wander over to Billy Talent and stumbled upon their singing Try Honestly. I didn’t care for the lead’s voice and was happy to return to the Tea Party.

On Friday Adam and Kyla joined and we heard Hannah Georgas, Big Sam’s Funky Nation, a little bit of Classified, and then Blue Rodeo. Blue Rodeo was quite good. I didn’t recognize most of the songs, but I appreciated that they were Canadian classics and enjoyed them.

The second Saturday was my day. I was very, very excited for Death From Above 1979 and Jane’s Addiction. I arrived early enough to see what all of the fuss was about Braids, but quickly moved to hear Amos the Transparent instead. When Amos finished I moved into position for DFA and was blown away with how good their show was. I never thought I would see these guys perform again, so it was a real treat. The mosh pit was crazy, but I kept clear. I didn’t notice any major injuries. Jane’s Addiction followed and I got an even better spot for them. They basically played their greatest hits, I got confetti cannoned, and I enjoyed the show in relative comfort guarded by a nearby, protective father and show security. Perry Farrell obviously loved the fans and seemed happy to be performing. A completely awesome day.

The second and final Sunday was set to be quite good. Adam and I arrived early and heard a little bit of Derek Miller (small crowd, it was sad), Tristen (a bit weird), and then Lupe Fiasco. Lupe was surprisingly entertaining, though I don’t think I would listen to the music at home. We caught the first 20 minutes of Cheap Trick and were just on our way to see Ra Ra Riot when pandemonium struck and the whole thing was cancelled. We were hoping to later see John Butler Trio and probably would have peered in on Death Cab for Cutie for the last half-hour or so but that was all ruined by a little storm and collapsed stage. Oh well.

All in all, an amazing couple of weeks with some great music. It was exhausting, though. I have lots to catch up on, and a 30 page paper due soon. Tomorrow I think I’ll return to running and/or the gym, just in time for 35+ degree weather.