Amos bringing new sound to Bluesfest
Jessica Cunha, YourOttawaRegion.ca
Kanata’s Amos The Transparent is set to rock Bluesfest this Saturday, July 16.
Playing on the National Bank stage, the timeslot of Amos’ performance has been moved to 6:30 p.m., from the scheduled 3:30 p.m. As of July 12, Bluesfest organizers had not updated the website with the new time for the band.
The band’s manager confirmed the time change, said Amos guitarist Dan Hay.
“We’re on at 6:30 now.”
Veterans of the major Ottawa music festival the band is excited about adding extra instruments to their set, even with the time change.
Read more on the Your Ottawa Region website: Amos bringing new sound to Bluesfest
Review: Huey, Frampton has boomers grooving
Lynn Saxberg, The Ottawa Citizen
Huey Lewis and the News, Peter Frampton
Main stage, Sunday, July 10, 2011
Between Peter Frampton and Huey Lewis, the main field at Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest was a happy place on Sunday, packed with thousands of people of all ages grooving along to music they’ve known for most of their lives.
Both Frampton and Lewis are veteran artists who haven’t been to Ottawa in a couple of decades, and both delivered crowd-pleasing shows that left the vast audience wanting more.
But if one had to choose, Lewis was probably the favourite, simply because he has more hits that you can sing along to. Dressed casually, in jeans, a dress shirt and shades, the charismatic American cranked up the good times with the spirited party-starter, Heart of Rock ’n’ Roll, from their breakthrough 1984 album, Sports.
In case you haven’t been following the career of the News since then, they released a new album, Soulsville, late last year that pays tribute to the American soul music that first inspired them. From it, Lewis led the band through a knock-out version of Respect Yourself.
Read more on the Ottawa Citizen website: Review: Huey, Frampton has boomers grooving
Bluesfest Gallery – Day 6
Lebreton Flats was just as lively as ever during the weekend at Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest. The lineup included The Tragically Hip, Erykah Badu, Justin Nozuka, Shawn McDonald and some other fun acts.
Here are some pictures from Day 6 of Bluesfest by photographer Ming. To see more of his photos visit: http://photogmusic.com/
Review: On the Side Stages of Bluesfest
Something for everyone
Patrick Langston, The Ottawa Citizen
On the Side Stages
Bluesfest, Sunday, July 10, 2011
Who’s the best companion when you’re going to Bluesfest?
“Someone who’s adaptable,” said audience member Craig Conoley after Diamond Rings’ performance Sunday afternoon on the National Bank stage. His reason: “There’s so many different kinds of music here.”
Diamond Rings (Toronto artist John O) proved Conoley’s point.
Resplendent in mascara and lipstick, a pink tank top, and tight white pants, the solo artist plays everything from guitar rock to spacey stuff. It’s fun and infectiously danceable. In fact, dancing is what he did in an ungainly sort of way after setting his synthesizer on loop. How much of his performance is irony remains up for grabs.
Conoley’s choice of companion for the show, by the way, was solid.
Said his girlfriend Emmy Hillman, “I like all kinds of music.”
Sitting on the grass with a group of friends during Yukon Blonde’s performance at the same stage, Lorena Ruci said her vote went to “Someone who doesn’t get drunk in the first hour.”
Read more on the Ottawa Citizen website: Review: On the Side Stages of Bluesfest
Bluesfest Gallery – Day 3
Lebreton Flats was going strong as the music poured from the Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest. The lineup included Ornaments, Girl Talk, Big Jeezus Truck, Infected Mushroom, The Steve Miller Band and some other lively acts.
Here are some pictures from Day 3 of the Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest by photographer Ming. To see more of his photos visit: http://photogmusic.com/
Bluesfest Gallery – Day 2
The weather held up for another great evening of star-studded acts at the Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest at Lebreton Flats. The lineup included The Roots, Ben Harper, Skrillex, Jose Conde and other greats.
Here are some pictures from Day 2 of the Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest by photographer Ming. To see more of his photos visit: http://photogmusic.com/
Review: Harper pours on the blues, Roots lift them away
Lynn Saxberg, The Ottawa Citizen
REVIEW
Ben Harper, Roots, Bedouin Soundclash
MBNA Stage at Bluefest on Wednesday, July 6.
OTTAWA — In his third Bluesfest appearance over the last 10 years or so, Ben Harper showed that his heart was in the right musical place, despite some technical difficulties at the beginning of his set. The musician who wanders between folk, gospel, rock, reggae and blues chose to pour on the blues with his hard-rocking band, Relentless 7.
Dressed casually in jeans, the California-based musician kicked off the concert by sitting down and playing a bluesy slide guitar that was stretched across his lap. Walk Away and Number With No Name benefited from the gritty slide, although his vocals were muddy.
The problem was solved by the time Harper switched to electric guitar and got to Lay Down and Hate Me, a song that contains the debatable nugget of advice: “Never trust a woman who loves the blues.” Fortunately, the soulful vibe of Diamonds on the Inside, played next, kept any female blues fans from being miffed.
Harper seemed happy to be back at the festival, and praised organizers for supporting the blues. “There’s no better night for music,” he said, gazing at the stars. “Not that I’ve been underneath anyway.”
Bluesfest beats first day congestion
Chris Cobb, The Ottawa Citizen
OTTAWA — Bluesfest executive director Mark Monahan accepted that “some poor decisions” might have been made ahead of Tuesday’s opening night and he pledged Wednesday morning to fix the problems that saw thousands of fans waiting in lineups for an hour or more.
And he delivered. The congestion of opening night was not in evidence Wednesday evening. Eight of the 12 ticket booths assigned to dole out tickets and youth bracelets were open Tuesday. Wednesday evening, all 12 were manned.
“We are making changes,” said the Bluesfest boss Wednesday.
“We aren’t going to have these long lines again.
“Maybe there were some poor decisions made on our part but we’re going to fix them. That’s all we can do.”
The original plan was to have just one entrance — first point of entry — into the park for this year’s festival but that plan quickly fell apart Tuesday.
We’ll do better tonight: Bluesfest boss
Chris Cobb, The Ottawa Citizen
OTTAWA — Bluesfest executive director Mark Monahan is promising concertgoers that there will be no repetition of Tuesday’s long lineups.
Thousands of frustrated ticket buyers waited for more than an hour to pick up tickets or youth bracelets on the festival’s opening night.
Eight of the 12 ticket booths were open. All 12 will be open tonight.
“We are making changes,” he said Wednesday morning. “We aren’t going to have these long lines again. Maybe there were some poor decisions made on our part but we’re going to fix them. That’s all we can do.”
The original plan was to have just one entrance — first point of entry — into the park for this year’s festival but that plan quickly fell apart Tuesday.
As an emergency measure, Monahan and his logistics crew opened another entrance opposite the main entrance to the Canadian War Museum.
Citizen experts’ festival picks to click
The Ottawa Citizen
Lynn Saxberg’s Picks:
Girl Talk
8 p.m. July 7, Claridge Homes Stage
Girl Talk is the stage name of Gregg Gillis, an electronic music artist from Pittsburgh who stitches together samples of other songs to make his own unique mashup. What’s more, he doesn’t just sit there and click his mouse on stage. Girl Talk makes crowds go wild, as we saw at Bluesfest two years ago.
Rise Against
8 p.m. July 8, Claridge Homes Stage
The Chicago rockers have been calling for change for years, delivering their social activism with a mix of aggressive punk rock and melodic vocals. It’s a formula that strikes a chord with the kids, serving to both stir up the mosh pit and get them thinking about the world.
