Bluesfest 2009 Day 4 – Girl Talk, Hubert Sumlin, ThunderHeist, Joe Cocker

After a day of relaxing in the backyard with Vero, Mike and I headed out to Bluesfest that evening.  We were both groggy from Bluesfest/HOPE from the past few days so no beer was drank on the day of rest!  First stop was Girl Talk who was a DJ I had heard about who is amazing when it comes to mashing songs together…something I am fond of.

When we arrived at the Hard Rock Stage, it was insanity.  There were 100 people up on stage dancing and there was the man known as Girl Talk jumping around while managing his laptop of songs.  Mike made a comment in that for all we know, this guy is not mashing the songs up on the fly…I guess we’ll have to do some research into the matter…either way, he had the crowd in a frenzy and everyone was having a great time.

After fifteen minutes, I grew tired of simply hearing someone play some music off a laptop so we headed over to see Hubert Sumlin which sounded like a decent blues band when we had walked by earlier.  They were decent and this Hubert Sumlin guy was older than Father Christmas.  He sat down once in awhile while jamming but when he came out jamming, it was great.  I just read on the Bluesfest site that he was Howlin’ Wolf’s guitarist for twenty-five years!  Awesome!

After a few songs, we decided to mosey on down to the BlackSheep Stage to see a band called ThunderHeist.  Not knowing what to expect, we found a vocalist, drummer and keyboardist and it was interesting.  They were nearing the end of their set and everyone was loving it.  I personally didn’t care for their music which seemed like a fusion of rap-rock and keyboard synths.  I had a good laugh at the end of the set when the singer said “I want to kick the mic stand but we’ll have to pay for it!” and then someone told her that she can do so and then she kicks it and the crowd goes wild.

Mike and I then hunted down some poutine from a little chip wagon in the back of the fairgrounds.  After receiving our poutine and Italian sausage we waited, waited and waited to pay the woman.  She just wasn’t paying attention to us.  So we inched away from the counter, gave her a few chances to call us back and in the end, we walked off with some free poutine and sausage.  Unfortunately, the sausage wasn’t cooked so Mike threw it out and my poutine was quite nasty but hey, I cannot complain about free food.

Joe Cocker was the main event for the night.  A man who I know nothing about, other than he had this rocking version of ‘With a Little Help from my Friends’ back in th day.  Everyone seemed really into him during the night…the band was really top notch.  I love the musical work ethic of older bands…they are not sloppy.  Everything is perfect.  I realized a few things about Joe Cocker during the night:

– He only sings.  I always thought he played guitar!
– He sings a lot of cover songs…he covered Come Together, She Came in Through the Bathroom Window and With a Little Help.  He also sang ‘Long as I can See the Light’ by CCR.  He also sang ‘You Are So Beautiful’ by Billy Preston.  I have since found out that Joe Cocker is famous for his variations on popular songs!  So now I’m wondering if the versions I’ve heard over the years are the originals, or his own creations?  Interesting.  So now I am also wondering if people are cheering because they love his versions of the song, or if they love the song itself?  Strange.  Who makes it THIS big as a cover artist?
– The guy can wail for an older gentleman.

That’s that!  Nothing much else to say.  It was a decent concert…some rocking numbers, some slower ones, but all in all, a decent show.  Have I mentioned how cold it’s starting to get at night at Bluesfest?  I enjoy a cool night but it’s getting a little ridiculous when your beer frosts over!