It was a long ride through the Gauntlet but I must admit, it was a fun ride this year.
For some reason, there weren’t too many bands that I was dying to see, but there were enough that made me want to check them out. A good litmus test would be to say “Who would spend $60 to see?” vs. “Who would be good to see for $20?”.
Logistically, I thought Bluesfest had everything going for them this year. I thoroughly enjoyed the no-wristband policy for the entrance as it allowed me to sell of tickets I would not have used anyhow. The beer wristband policy was a pain some days as the lineups to get a wristband were as long as the beer lineups. I understand completely why they wanted to do this but I am not sure if it sped up matters. In the time it takes to check my ID and take my cash at the beer counter, the person getting the beer has returned from the back. So it’s not like they are wasting TOO much time. Either way, this is a minor, minor issue.
The selection of food is great, the stages are set up nicely, the sound bleed isn’t TOO bad. This year was the year of ‘abide by the by-law and don’t crank music over 90 decibels!’ I thought that some concerts were lacking in their oomph of volume (Sam Roberts) which took away from the otherwise perfect show. I wonder if there is a way to get an exemption to a by-law or how much the fine is?
Once again, the lawn chair war was waged. I can’t say I encountered too many lawn chairs as we had a good system of avoiding them by hanging out near the walking path. The KISS concert incident where Vero got pinched and shoved by lawn chair people made me realize once again, that it wouldn’t be a bad thing if they had a separate section for the lawn chairs. I am not entirely sure why they don’t bother trying that again.
I also enjoyed that Vero had a pass and came out every night with us. It’s nice to share these moments with your girlfriend.
My favourite night would have to be Thursday when Metric and Ben Harper with Relentless7 played. What a night, what a couple of shows! Incredible!
Standout Acts:
Metric
Ben Harper and Relentless 7
Stone Temple Pilots
KISS
Acts that I Knew Nothing About But Turned out to be Amazing:
BEAST
Paolo Nutini
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Acts that I thought I would think were amazing but really just dragged on:
Jeff Beck
Two thumbs up to the organizers of Bluesfest this year. They have outdone themselves with the amount of great acts they managed to bring to our fair city! Cheers!