I don’t know Motley Crue all that much. I’ve watched a concert DVD with Troy, but I’ve never owned an album. But once they hit town, I figured I should see what the hype is all about.
If you love the 80s rock and roll, then they are right up your alley! I’m glad I brought Vero with me because she was loving it!
Big Wreck opened which is a welcome surprise. I had completely forgot that they were on the tour. They are in top shape as they must be winding down their Albatross tour.
Motley Crue took the stage with a giant clock ticking down and this wild electronica music pumping through the arena. I know that Tommy Lee is very much into the electronica…not sure if they other gents are as well or if this is solely his influence. Either way, the eardrums were a-popping and we were loving every moment of it.
They opened up with Saints of Los Angeles and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a show like this! Ladies dancing around poles and in trapezes, massive light show, massive sound…THIS was spectacle!
They put on a great show. It’s entertaining. Everyone is loving it. Can we also point out that the drum solo had Tommy Lee’s drum kit on a roller coaster track which rotated upside down? Classic. They even brought up an audience member. Good thing Mike got back from the washroom quick!
Two thumbs up. By the way, it wasn’t until 10:30 that I realized Motley Crue does NOT play Every Rose has its thorn.
I’m pretty sure we ordered tickets to see Muse about 8 months ago so it was a long wait to see them in Montreal. But the day was upon us and Etienne, Nadine, Nat, Mike and me hopped into the van and hit the road! We also met up with JF, Marie-Claude and Martin for the event.
We ended up missing the opening act of Dead Sarah but managed to waltz down onto the floor and find a nice open spot for us to sip back a few beers and not fret about the crowd bothering us. What can I say? I am an old man nowadays who has rocked his fair share in his life. I am not content to sip on my beer, hang out near the sound booth for some aural pleasure and enjoy the ride.
The concert was fantastic and Muse is definitely on their way to be considered amongst the best of the stadium show Gods. Their stage set up was interesting in that it had a giant LED pyramid structure that would descend from the rafters and move much like the U2360 setup in that it can separate or move up and down.
They started off with playing Supremacy which is a great opening song…putting me into a James Bond movie! I’m not sure how Matt Belamy is able to sing the first song like he does so I have a theory that he must practice singing for about two hours before to get his voice in shape!
The entire night was mesmerizing. They know how to get the people moving and it was a non-stop roller coaster of impressive musical prowess. I was so impressed that I think I will drag Vero to the next show that I can, even though she doesn’t really follow them.
The 2nd Law tour rivals the stage setups of U2 and I would have to say that the year 2013 belongs to Muse.
Random thoughts:
– We missed quite a few songs as there was this killer lineup for beer. It was a slower part of the setlist but was disappointed to have missed a few tunes. I’ll have to check them out on Youtube. All I know is that I came out and there was freaking lazer beams going on! Nat said it was like that for four songs!
– When I was getting a beer, Mike grabbed his and he said he would hang out. I told him he didn’t have to and he should go watch the show. He stuck around until a song came on that he really enjoyed so he left. The guy behind me says “Dude. I can’t believe your friend left you. He failed the friendship test.” I had a good laugh so I yelled over to Mike as he was walking away “I can’t believe you left me!” However, when I was leaving with my beer the guy tells me “You also failed the friendship test. You’re only bringing back three beer to your friends when there is room for four.” I had a good chuckle.
– LEDs on a bass guitar? Sign me up!
– I kind of think Muse are actually aliens from another planet and that their stage will become a UFO at the end of the tour. There’s no way three guys can sound that good on stage.
Here’s a video I found of the first three songs… demonstrates the excellent stage setup. I appreciate stage design and I thought it was great that they angled the video screens upwards to the people up in the nosebleed sections.
Setlist:
The 2nd Law: Isolated System
Supremacy
Map of the Problematique (Who Knows Who outro)
Supermassive Black Hole
Resistance
Panic Station
Knights of Cydonia (Man with Harmonica intro)
(drummer solo)
Explorers
Follow Me
United States of Eurasia
Liquid State (damn it I missed this one)
Madness
Time is Running Out (House of the Rising Sun intro…which was funny because I was singing it in English not realizing that everyone else was singing a French version! Never knew!)
Undisclosed Desires
Stockholm Syndrome (RATM Freedom outro)
The 2nd Law: Unsustainable
Uprising
Encore:
Starlight
Survival
Too bad I didn’t get to hear my favourite track from The 2nd Law (Animals) but considering the show was spectacular, I can’t complain too much!
Trish somehow managed to schedule a trip to Cuba during the same week as the Bon Jovi concert so Cinthia ended up winning big in getting her ticket from her. I held off on telling Vero and Cinthia how close we were so they were pretty pumped when we moseyed on down to the floor onto Row 16 for a spectacular view of the stage.
This was definitely a better view than I had before when I saw them in Montreal from Level 400 IN BEHIND THE STAGE. Hey, for $25, it still was probably in my Top 5 concerts I have ever seen. Man, they put on a great show there.
The stage setup for this tour (supporting their not yet released album “What About Now”) is fairly sparse but I wonder if that’s common for 360 degree stage setups so the people in the back can see the back of their heads. Let us not even get into the comparison of the U2 360 tour here!
While the girls were swooning over the dreamy figure on stage, I was digging the tunes coming from the machine called Bon Jovi. The band were in fine form the entire night and I just love all their tunes, even if I wasn’t familiar with a few of them (namely the tunes from Lost Highway and What About Now). The setlist had a lot of tunes from the new album and they were pretty good. Not sure if they will be better than The Circle, but we’ll have to find out when the album is released.
Highlights:
– Amen – I’m pretty sure that after singing Hallelujah for many concerts in the past, Richie and Jon decided to write their own version.
– We Weren’t Born to Follow – Always a crowd pleaser!
– Wanted Dead or Alive – Epic, epic tune!
– In These Arms – I don’t think they play this tune all that much and it’s one of my faves from Keep The Faith so I was truly in awe. Great, great tune. Makes up for missing out on Born to Be My Baby.
Cons:
– I’ve said it before…Ottawa crowds are a hit and miss. This night presented the band with a crowd that embarrassed me. Hey, when the band wants you to clap along, the least you can do is clap along. I would think that 25% of the people on the floor clapped along. At least they were standing. I am making it a point to go to Montreal for a show if I have the choice in the future. Montreal crowds are insanely great. Ottawa…hit and miss. I’ve had some great crowds, I’ve had some bad crowds.
A related topic is the fact that not many bands are coming to Ottawa lately. There was this period about 5 years ago where Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto was a good circuit for bands like U2 to travel. I’m not sure how concerts are organized but I would have to think that if a band doesn’t feel that the crowd was into it all that much, they may choose to skip that town. I’m wondering if that’s what trap we are falling into. But I don’t know the inner workings of concert organization. All I know is that other than the awesome Bluesfest every year, I have seen a noticeable drop in concerts coming our way. But I’m sure Mike will be reading this and say something like “That’s because all you listen to is mainstream acts!”
Two big thumbs up for the show put on by Bon Jovi. I doubt the tour will be ending anytime soon with the new album being released so I recommend you go check them out!
1. BAD NAME SLIPPERY WHEN WET
2. LOST HIGHWAY LOST HIGHWAY
3. WHOLE LOT OF LEAVIN’ LOST HIGHWAY
4. BECAUSE WE CAN WHAT ABOUT NOW
5. WATER MADE ME WHAT ABOUT NOW
6. IT’S MY LIFE CRUSH
7. WHEN WE WERE BEAUTIFUL THE CIRCLE
8. WHAT ABOUT NOW WHAT ABOUT NOW
9. WE GOT IT GOING ON LOST HIGHWAY
10. KEEP THE FAITH KEEP THE FAITH
11. MAKE A MEMORY LOST HIGHWAY
12. AMEN WHAT ABOUT NOW
13. I’LL BE THERE FOR YOU NEW JERSEY
14. ARMY OF ONE WHAT ABOUT NOW
15. WE WEREN’T BORN TO FOLLOW THE CIRCLE
16. SUPERMAN TONIGHT THE CIRCLE
17. WANTED CROSSROADS
18. WHO SAYS YOU CAN’T GO HOME HAVE A NICE DAY
19. BAD MEDICINE NEW JERSEY
20. IN THESE ARMS KEEP THE FAITH
21. HAVE A NICE DAY HAVE A NICE DAY
22. RUNAWAY BON JOVI
23. SLEEP WHEN I’M DEAD KEEP THE FAITH
24. PRAYER SLIPPERY WHEN WET
*pictures from various users on Flickr. I couldn’t find a great Ocenia tour shot from Montreal so I used this one instead.
Etienne and I hit the open road for Montreal late Sunday afternoon to go see the highly anticipated Pumpkins show in support of their new album Oceania.
Faithful readers know that I am a huge Pumpkins fan. I also really love their new Oceania album. It’s their best since Mellon Collie. It’s amazing. I’m really happy that this was the follow-up to Zeitgeist because it reaffirms the fact that they are still the band we know and love.
We pulled into Montreal with some time to kill so we went to this nice Irish pub around the Bell Center (which was an oven inside). I had this weird sense of Déjà vu with Etienne while we were munching on some fish and chips. Ever get that feeling? It was coming in full force that night!
We managed to miss the first act, but no matter, we headed down to the main floor area and settled in around the sound booth area. Luckily for us, the arena was in a half arena set up so the stage was at half ice. There was an enormous orb above the stage which would be used to project 3d image mapping and was designed by the same guy who designed the Roger Waters Wall tour. We even noticed a Dark Side of the Moon vinyl sitting in front of one of the computer stations!
8:30 and it’s go time. I’m pumped. I know this is going to be a great show. This is also Etienne’s first Pumpkins show and I know it won’t disappoint.
The sound was great, the images were amazing, everything was firing on all cylinders. They opened up with Quasar off their new album and played the entire album in one fell swoop. It’s great to hear it in a live setting to see the different nuances they put into it. There are a lot of highlights just from this album…I really enjoyed Violet Rays, My Love is Winter and Oceania. Plus, it was great to see that the Chimaera kicked things off into high gear like it was 1993 all over again. The crowd was loving it.
The rest of the night was spent living a dream of seeing the Pumpkins in full form again. They started off with a really great cover of Space Oddity and then ripped into X.Y.U. I never thought I would ever see this gem again in my life! I really enjoy how the Pumpkins have been reissuing their old albums as they tend to play the hits from the old albums depending on the next one coming out. Incidentally, Mellon Collie is the next one up so there was a ton of Mellon Collie songs being played this night…XYU, Tonight, Tonight, Bullet, Zero…good times were had by all!
The encore punch of Ava Adore, Cherub Rock and Zero blew everyone away and the crowd was clamouring for more! The band mentioned that this was one of the best crowds they had seen…at least in Canada (must have been a snide remark at Toronto the week before!)
The Pumpkins are back! 2.5 hours of their Oceania tour is definitely a ‘must-see’. I haven’t seen a better tour since the Mellon Collie tour, and that was with Kevin up in the nosebleed sections back at the Maple Leaf Gardens – September 14, 1996.
Etienne and I had a great time and we had a good laugh driving back through the sketchy area of Montreal on the way back home. Thank you road construction! We were back on track eventually and drove home in awe of what we just witnessed.
Bruce earned the name Boss after his show in Ottawa on Friday night! He showed us all how it’s done.
The evening started out sampling some fine beers over at Andre and Karilee’s place along with some excellent dinner. Trish showed up after work and we hit the road around 6:30, thinking we would avoid all the traffic.
While it was a little busy on the Queensway, it was nothing compared to the time spent at the exit of the highway to the venue where we spent a solid hour inching 5 kilometers. Horrible traffic! Andre was losing it! Turns out that the show was sold out with 19,000 people so I can understand the delays!
We managed to arrive before the show started and made it to the floor which was more packed than I have ever witnessed. We ended up back near the sound booth which was fine by us. We settled in but ended up in some high traffic areas (especially when they managed to put a barrier up near us which diverted traffic) which resulted in Andre and Karilee headed back and Trish and I heading forward until we found a spot near some Born in the USA-era teenagers…sleeveless jean jackets (from the LCBO!) and red bandanas abound! Amazing!
Preface: I don’t know much Springsteen. I have listened to his first five albums in preparation for the concert but I’m definitely not a connoisseur. While that may bother some people, I am not bothered by hearing some excellent tunes being played by a solid band.
The show started out with the house lights on (I’m always a fave of that move) and it didn’t let up for the rest of the night.
The Promised Land
The Ties That Bind
No Surrender – Andre got his wish and heard his favourite song.
Hungry Heart – So let’s put this in perspective. Bruce Springsteen is the same age as my Dad. He proceeds to go crowd-surfing while singing Hungry Heart. This guy is amazing!
We Take Care Of Our Own
Wrecking Ball
Death To My Hometown
My City Of Ruins
Spirit In The Night
E Street Shuffle
Jack Of All Trades
Prove It All Night (1978 intro)
Candy’s Room
Darlington County
Shackled and Drawn
Waiting on a Sunny Day – I’m not sure if this is a classic move on their part, but they brought up two kids on stage who sang along with the chorus. It was awesome. I also loved how one kid hogged the mic from his little brother! Ha ha. At one point, Bruce whispers into the kids ear and then the kid yells out “Come on E Street Band! Is that all you got?!” (or something to that effect!).
Drive All Night
The Rising
Badlands
Thunder Road
Encore:
Queen of the Supermakert – A request from the crowd from a girl who works at Sobey’s.
We Are Alive
Born To Run
Glory Days
Dancing In The Dark
Tenth Avenue Freeze-out – With a nice homage to Clarence at the end which drew cheers from the crowd forever.
A three hour show ending with these solid four tunes was amazing and the crowd was loving it. The band has some hardcore fans who knew every word to every song and I was loving every moment of it. I can see why he has such an amazing fanbase…they take requests, they interact with the audience a lot, they change up the setlist every night.
A killer show put on by the Boss and the E Street Band. If you want to see a great show, it’s due time you check this talented band out!
After pretty well doing nothing all Saturday afternoon, I dragged myself out of the basement to head downtown to meet up with Maren, Dave, Mikey and Jane to check out Whitney and Christian’s amazing band – Sound of Lions.
I started out with a nice beer at the Chateau Lafayette. While I sat down inside for a bit, I realized that the real action was outside so I sat outside with pint in hand just people watching. I find watching people amongst the hustle and bustle of the Market to be fascinating…it’s incredible when you think that each person has a story to their lives and you wonder where they are from.
The crew showed up shortly after and we retired inside for a few bevvies before heading over to Zaphod’s for the show.
What can I say about Sound of Lions? Well, they were voted Best New Act and Best Album in 2011’s Ottawa Xpress Best of List, so that’s gotta say something. This trip-hop band is quite an amazing act to follow and even if Maren wasn’t asking me to go out, I would probably catch them regardless.
It doesn’t hurt that they are really tight and they have so many different personalities on the stage. Christian with his DJ table and mile an hour vocals, Whitney with her soulful voice and let us not forget the barefoot guitarist! I had a moment of “What the heck!” when I noticed he was navigating his pedal board with his bare feet!
It was great seeing them again on stage. I thought that the crowd was great, and it was fantastic seeing the band play a few new songs. A band playing new songs is like a breath of fresh air…both for the crowd AND for the band. I’m looking forward to seeing what else they have up their sleeve in the future!
Big shout out for the hot dog Maren dragged me over to after the show. It was yummy. Too bad Dave missed out.
*Note: all photos taken from Flickr. Click on them to view other photos taken by the photographers! They take great shots and should be looked at!*
2012 marks the first year that I have ever attended the Ottawa Folk Festival. Four days into the festival, I’m really not sure why I never bothered! It is a great time.
Last year marked the first year that Mark Monahan and company took over the logistics of the Folk Festival. I believe this spearheaded an increase in awesome acts that I was interested in seeing. In fact, I would say that I’m having a better time at Folk Festival than I did at Bluesfest this year. Don’t get wrong, Bluesfest was still great, but I’m enjoying the lineup from Folk Festival a lot more!
The FF is held at Hogs Back Park which is conveniently located next to a parking lot at Vincent Massey Park which was advertised as a paid parking area, but mysteriously has been a free parking lot all weekend long. Plus no one seems to know about this little factoid so it proves to be easy to get in and out of!
The first night had some intense beer lineups and a few logistical issues that affected Mike but other than that, the setup is super well done.
The vibe there is also interesting…there are a lot of families with their kids and they make an event out of it. There are a lot of lawn chairs, there’s babies with ear protectors on, there’s the salt of the earth old guys with beards to their knees. It’s a pretty chill event and I feel like I am just more at ease watching the music unfold compared to Bluesfest where it’s such this grand event that it’s a little intense at times. If you know me, you know how I loathe the lawn chairs at Bluesfest, but this festival just calls for it.
Let’s call a spade a spade here…I am invading this festival. I am an outsider to these other folks who have come here for years and have established that it’s alright to set up a tarp and take up oodles of space for you and your family. But at the same time, I’m looking at them and saying “This is freaking awesome! I can bring my family to a festival? Two thumbs up!”
And now onto a few reviews:
Matt Mays
New album out! The band is back! If you do not know this man who hails from Halifax, what are you waiting for? It was a great rocking set with a few tracks from the new album, sprinkled with some classics. PLUS I got to hear Terminal Romance live again which pulled on my heart strings again. Only complaint was that the lead guitar was NOT mixed at all into the PA from we could tell. Bummer. Anyhow, check them out on their fall tour…on now!
Matthew Good
A stark contrast to Matt Mays’ electrifying set, Matthew Good had nothing but an acoustic guitar. This completely made sense seeing that it was a folk festival. In the end, I have never really been a big fan of Matt Good so to hear his songs acoustic didn’t do much for me and I roamed the area checking out some booths for a bit. Also stumbled into an old student of ours (Jill) who happened to be the student who interviewed Vero for her job along with Benoit! I should have asked about the bone earring!
I’ve seen Ben Harper and the Relentless 7 a few times and they put on a rocking good show. I was excited to see this in action again but then realized that this was Ben Harper solo and he would go forth and blow me away with his acoustic guitar, xylophone and some uke. It was really interesting seeing him in this element. I don’t know much of Ben Harper so for all I know, this is generally how he plays music and his electric stuff is rare. Either way, to hear a cover song of Indifference by Pearl Jam put a smile on my face.
I saw her show for the first time in the spring and was blown away. I was doubly blown away by the tight, tight band they are now after awhile of touring the Voyageur album. There wasn’t much chatter until the end where she opened up about taking some time off touring to get her bearings in life. I really enjoy this gal from Ottawa and I expect bigger and better things from her in the future.
Mike hauled me over to check this banjo player out after Timber Timbre wasn’t proving to be the most exciting thing I have ever seen. I am super happy that Mike brought us over here because it proved to be a great time! From the East Coast, Old Man Luedecke and his friend with mandolin in tow brought forth some great tunes with a Canadian vibe. My favourite part of the show was when he described how he wanted to meet surfers. “I’ve always wanted to meet some surfers. They seem cool…they go surfing for two hours of the day and then relax for the rest. That seems like a lifestyle I can become one with. Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to meet any surfers, so I can’t write a song about them, so I did the closest thing that would relate to people. So this is a song about falling down drunk on a beach.”
Lindsey Buckingham
Fleetwood Mac would never have been without Lindsey Buckingham. So it’s great to show up for a rock legend. With an acoustic guitar in hand which was cranked to the point where I wondered if it could get any louder, he dazzled me with his guitar prowess throughout the next two hours. I definitely am not a connoisseur of his solo work (small machine) or Fleetwood Mac (big machine), but what he provided us was entertaining enough. I was hoping to hear Go Your Own Way and I definitely did! He had some looping stations at his feet that would trigger background rhythm as well as backup vocals. Neat! I should play around with that concept one day. During a wicked guitar solo the PA cut out on him! He left the stage for a bit and came back for a few more once it was fixed. The crowd begged him for the song again so he attempted it again but the PA cut out again! I feel this is too much of a coincidence…I think his backing rhythm track was too much for the system to handle and shut it down both times. Anyhow, it was a great show considering.
Corb Lund
Mike dragged me out to catch Corb Lund, a Canadian country singer. When I say dragged, it was because the entire day was full of monsoon type weather. I grabbed a rain jacket and my rubber boots and hit the ground running. It wasn’t too bad once we got there but there were times where the rain just pelted us. Luckily, Mike is (and always will be) the man and spied a nice little tent off to the side of the stage where we could get some shelter! With beer in hand, we enjoyed Corb Lund and his songs about drinking rye, meeting goth chicks and generally, some fun tunes. I’m sure one day I will become one with the country music scene…where everyone knows the words and are having an amazing time coming from the Pontiac to see an idol. I will definitely check out a few of his tunes in the future.
Paul Langlois
Famously known across Canada for his membership within The Tragically Hip, Paul Langlois brought along Robbie Baker for his third ever solo show where he played tunes from his album. Mike and I stayed for a few tunes until I went to get something to eat (the schwarma was tasty!). They were interesting enough tunes but nothing to write home about. I did have a good laugh when between songs he would try and be cordial with the crowd but at one point said “I’m not usually the front man so I’m not sure what I’m supposed to talk about here.”
Great Lake Swimmers
Mike’s old roommate Dave introduced me to this Canadian gem of folk music. I describe it as music to listen to while you’re on a dock somewhere…very low-key stuff but amazing musicianship amongst the entire band with melodies you will be humming until you enter the grave. They are touring their new album New Wild Everywhere which is amongst their best. They even ended the night with a song by Gram Parsons. We ended up forgetting about seeing Great Big Sea and headed home to get out of the cold, cold weather.
Patrick Watson
Listen, I’m going to say it right here, I think Patrick Watson stole the show. The two hours were mesmerizing. I know Patrick Watson from his Polaris Prize winning album Closer to Paradise and have fallen off the radar with his newer stuff. But I’m back in baby! The sights and sounds from the stage were ethereal in nature and you can’t help yourself but get lost within the music coming from the stage. This is not your typical band…they play all sorts of instruments and effects and have a great repertoire with the audience. The only thing that was disappointing was the sound bleed from the other stage but we moved a little to the left and it balanced it all out. I’m awarding Best Show of Folk Festival to these guys.
Setlist
Words in the Fire
Into Giants
To Build a Home [The Cinematic Orchestra]
Where the Wild Things Are
Dan Mangan
A Canadian superstar in the making, Dan Mangan brings a charm to the stage that I feel is reserved for the great songwriters across Canada (like Lightfoot!). Backed by an incredible band, the crowd was sparse, the night was cold, but he gave us a great show which involved a slew of people dressed as robots hitting the stage at one point, and a sing-along on the final song which was premiered the last time he was in Ottawa in the spring. I have to be honest in saying that for a band that has been on the road since the spring, I thought it would have been a much tighter set (musically) but there were a few things missing. I’m not sure if it was due to the it being FREAKING COLD OUT or if it was just that Dan Mangan is much better listened to within a hall instead of a festival. Either way, I didn’t walk away disappointed and the crowd enjoyed him.
Setlist
About as Helpful as You Can Be Without Being Any Help at All
Oh Fortune
Sold
Leaves, Trees, Forest
If I Am Dead
Post-War Blues
Basket
Starts With Them, Ends With Us
Robots
Rows of Houses
Regarding Death and Dying
Jeopardy
So Much for Everyone
Hey Rosetta!
A last minute addition to the lineup when the Lumineers bowed out, we arrived to see Hey Rosetta KILLING it on stage to a crowd of 12,000 people…the largest crowd of the festival. I had read somewhere that University students got discounted (or free?) tickets that night and they showed up in droves. The place was packed and they were loving the band and the band was loving them. Tim Baker made some comments about how much energy was being thrown out there for a Monday night. I am glad that they fed off that energy and put on an amazing show…MUCH better than when I saw them at Bluesfest earlier in the summer. Perhaps it was a combination of a great crowd, a night-time show and a band who were on a tour break and got called back in…but it all added up to one of the Top 3 shows of the festival in my opinion.
Bon Iver
Bon Iver isn’t for everyone. His falsetto voice and his “I’m sitting in my cottage recording this in the middle of the winter so don’t expect it to be anything but somber” music styles took me awhile to get into, but once I did, I was hooked. We had to go move our vehicles at the beginning of the set but I could hear from a distance that the band was fantastic. Coupled with a SLEW of bandmates on stage, he faithfully recreates his original songs and adds some live flair to them as well. Live flair is defined (by me) as giving the audience a little something more to the song. A song doesn’t have to be a carbon copy of what is heard on the album…it can be breathe a little more outside and become a new thing altogether. I really enjoyed the lighting and sounds coming from the stage. Definitely not disappointed from what I assumed would be a guy with a guitar, keys, and a bunch of backing tracks from a laptop!
Other Highlights
– What other festival can you arrive on Day 1 with shorts and a t-shirt and leave on Day 5 wearing a winter coat and a toque? No joke, I was getting colder every day and it wasn’t until the final day where I bit the bullet and brought out full parka gear that I enjoyed myself a little more. Miserable weather for the most part.
– Urinal Corn – Someone found a half eaten bag of kettle corn in the porta-potty. It was tied off at the top, didn’t look suspect. There were many dares going around to eat it or not with me taking the plunge with a handful. People are so paranoid over little things like that when in reality, it was probably just some drunk guy who accidentally left his awesome kettle corn in the washroom. The best part was when we pawned it off to some guy who, when asked by his girlfriend where he got it from he said “It doesn’t matter baby. Just eat it.” Classic.
– Layout/Organization – I really didn’t mind the festival at all. I thought the layout was great, there were enough beer tents, and our parking over at Vincent Massey Park was incredible. It wasn’t too far to walk to the grounds every day either.
I have to say it, Ottawa Folk Festival was probably my favourite festival of the year. While I do love Bluesfest, I enjoyed the lineup more at this festival and the smaller, laid-back affair which this was. Krista warned me that Bluesfest used to be this way and it’s only a matter of time…well, I say bring it on. It’s much deserved!
Special thanks to my friends who made the trip out…Mike and Rachel who was with me each night…Trish, Jill, Krista and Ben for Night #1, and the rest of the festival with Amanda, Becky and Wes.
*All setlists generated from setlist.fm, an excellent resource!!*
This year’s Bluesfest was different than years past in that I did not bother going every day (aka The Gauntlet).Vero and I decided to purchase a pass between us and then purchase an extra ticket for the days that we wanted to go together.
This proved to be a prudent move on our part considering we managed to find a cheap ticket for every day that we wanted to go out together.We also managed to sell our own pass for the nights we were not interested in going at all.This year it was harder to do so considering it was a wristband that you had to sell and not a stack of paper tickets that we could easily sell on Kijiji.Nonetheless, we managed to find a lot of friends who wanted our tickets for the nights we were not going and I believe there were only two nights we didn’t bother going and didn’t manage to sell off the ticket.
General Comments:
–I believe we may hit upon the golden era of festival layout.More beer tents, less lineups, great main stage layout in the back corner which somehow gets you closer to the stage and easier to get out…loved it!
–Too bad there wasn’t much rain in the area for the past while…Bluesfest became Dirtfest.Krista’s feet were horrid after a night out in that dustbowl!
–Friday’s is the place to eat.Good burgers, good poutine..great condiments!
–All in all, I wasn’t too bad off in terms of energy considering most of the time I would have a day in between shows.This doesn’t meant that there weren’t late nights, but it made the festival more bearable!
–Shout out to my Bluesfest friends this year!– Vero, Trish, Andre, Karilee, Mike, Melissa, Mike and Etienne!Let’s not forget about Krista’s one night appearance which resulted in a hangover that she is still feeling the effects from…weeks later!
Specifics:
Alice Cooper – Vero went with her sister and they said it was fantastic.I saw some videos and their stage show is quite theatrical…giant Frankenstein monster, guillotine…awesome!I am regretting not going to this one.
Iron Maiden – Didn’t hear too much from Vero about Iron Maiden but I’m assuming they put on a great show as always.
I Mother Earth – They are back baby!Great setlist chosen by these guys…Earth, Sky and C was played!Hells yes!I’m glad IME is back in action.The crowd was digging it and I believe the band was also.
Setlist:
Summertime in the Void
One More Astronaut
Juicy
Used to be Alright
Like the Sun
All Awake
We Got the Love
Earth, Sky and C
Levitate
Rain Will Fall
Shinedown – I don’t know much Shinedown, but I know what I like.They brought an EXCELLENT show which was all the staples of a rock show…lights, sounds, and some crazy ramps that went up to an upper deck on the stage!Really enjoyed this show.Must check this band out.
Who doesn’t want to see Bryan Adams on a Friday night in Ottawa?!
Trish, Vero and I headed out to the Hintonburger for a bite to eat until Trish said that Four Friends in Stittsville had a worthy burger and fries. She was right!
We ended up in the 200L close to the stage and I have to say that this is a sweet spot to view a concert. I always thought the floor was great, but it’s exciting to see a great view from up high. I will definitely look into sitting in these sections in the future.
What can I say about Bryan Adams? A Canadian institution…I don’t even own an album but clearly I need to pick some up after an AMAZING night of rock and roll. He still has it…the voice, the guitars…everything you love about a rock show, they still got it. They are touring this year to promote the 20th anniversary of the Waking Up the Neighbours album.
They had some great moments in the show…they brought up a woman who sang on ‘When You’re Gone’ with him which was great. They also had a great acoustic set with some plastic barrels used as drums.
Fascinating to see that the show ended with Bryan singing solo acoustic. It is definitely different than how most rock shows end, but I thought it was neat.
Two thumbs up for this amazing night. I wish I could have brought my parents. They would enjoyed it.
OH! I can’t forget to send some thanks to the rocking people behind us. They were on their feet most of the night which made me comfortable to stand up and dance as well.
OLP for $20?! Sign me up! That’s how much it cost for a ticket to see them at the Bronson Center on Friday night…part of the Junofest activities in town that night. Fantastic! Special thanks to Benoit who lent me a Junofest wristband which allowed Krista and I to get access to the floor level which is WAY better than the balcony level!
Krista and I started out the night at Mill Street Brewpub which finally gave me a sub-par dining experience…the burget was a little too slippery with grease than I care for…but this is a minor point…Mill Street is my #1 spot for food and drink now. It blows the competition out of the water.
We arrived fairly early (and found a new area of Ottawa…who would have thought there is an easy way to cut from Mill Street Brewpub to Bronson Street?) to secure some good seats and settled in for a band called The Pack A.D. (which I wondered it they were a Mom/Daughter combo?). They were entertaining and I think they are at Bluesfest this year.
OLP took the stage and the crowd was up for anything! I was excited to hear some new tunes from their Curve album as well as the classics. The band did not disappoint. They opened up with a few new tunes which I thought were fantastic. This was stuff that was getting me really excited for the new album.
I personally feel as a band playing new tunes to an audience, the anticipation must be high for them. Here they are, throwing out some songs that no one knows and we all know that a crowd enjoys tunes that they know and love and have formed memories around. Here is a song you’re personally excited about, but what if it flops? However, at the same time, this same song can be something that will be a hit with the crowd in the future after they’ve had the opportunity to fall in love with it.
Luckily, the crowd ended up falling in love from the first time of hearing it. It doesn’t hurt that the band was in top shape and Raine Maida is definitely the most interesting frontman I have come across.
Highlights:
Heavyweight…Love, LOVE this new tune and the band was really killing it.
Third song in, the band stops everything and invites people out in front of the stage as well as down from the balcony. You could tell the security people were freaking out but the band reassured them that nothing bad would happen. AWESOME!
Julia acoustic!
One Man Army!
Two thumbs up for the night with Krista. I’m excited to see them again at Bluesfest. By the way, their new album may be their best since Spiritual Machines. Just saying.
