Last year, when we ran a piece about Ottawa Bluesfest it was to prove that although Ottawa Ontario may not exactly be the musical mecca of the world, it was still an alright city as far as bringing in acts for its annual summer music festival. Well, a lot can change in a year, and this year’s line-up has proved just that.

With headliners consisting of clichéd Canadian musicians, aging rock stars no one cares about anymore, as well as leftovers from last year’s Osheaga and Warped Tour, Bluesfest was obviously seriously taking a step down in terms of content and progress. End the tour with trying to kill Cheap Trick with a collapsing stage and cancelling the second most anticipated performance of the two week event, and you’ve got a full on disaster for a festival. The lay-out of the venue was completely useless and more of a chore to get through than facilitate the audience, the set-times were poorly scheduled and made for a difficult time in terms of catching more than one of the somewhat decent opening acts, this year’s line-up catered to 18 year old “hipsters” or 50-something year old baby-boomers in terms of musicians, and the only decent food on site were pulled pork sandwiches. This was probably one of the saddest excuses for a festival I have ever attended, and luckily, I was able to attend the full thing.

Day One

Photo by Ming Wu

Day one should have set the festival’s bar high as to what to expect for the rest of the duration. Did it actually follow through with doing this, though? Not in the slightest. The first band I caught of the night was Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, returning after their performance at Bluesfest last year. This band is undeniably talented, but being in a crowd of teenagers, who were constantly screaming about wanting to hear the song “Home,” really put a damper on the atmosphere. The band delivered; jumping into the audience to sing and interact and then finishing their short set with their smash-hit from last summer, the crowd was definitely pleased before they moved on to see the next band of the night.

The theme of this evening was seemingly “how to be a hipster,” with the next band being last year’s Bluesfest Headliners The Flaming Lips. I’m not sure why the people who put this festival on thought that bringing the same band back for a second year in a row, and then taking them from a headlining slot and placing them in an opening slot would be a good idea for anybody; whether it be the festival’s credibility in terms of bringing in this band again, let alone any band who works with their PR agency, the audience’s enjoyment in seeing a band who has just been degraded or the band’s want to ever come back.

To back this point up more realistically, The Flaming Lips were very obviously displeased with the situation. They played the same set as last year, with the same theatrics, with less enthusiasm and were quite boring. The only thing that made this set stand out as something other than depressing was their cover of “Children of the Revolution,” originally done by T.Rex. Unfortunately, the crowd was made up of members of an age-group too young to appreciate this tribute, and the crowd dispersed early as people moved on to catch either Tegan and Sara or Soundgarden who were playing at the exact same time on different stages, due to the great planning of the staff at the festival.

Day 2

Day two of Bluesfest was much more promising in terms of musicians than day one. Bedouin Soundclash was one of the earlier bands to play during the evening and, as usual, put on a great show. This band is definitely one of the more underappreciated Canadian acts out there, and in the past few years have really progressed in terms of talent and success. Staying true to their reggae roots, Bedouin Soundclash played a healthy mix of old songs and new as well, and were a pleasure to hear and see.

Next up were The Roots, who are probably the coolest group of musicians Ottawa has seen in the past 3 years. With enough people to crowd the main stage, the band filled more than just where they were playing, as their huge sound filled the air around the area. The Roots are probably the best example of a funk-revival group and proved that they are capable of doing more than just playing on the Jimmy Fallon show and really impressed many audience members with their diverse sound, playing both mainstream and recognized songs with their more underground and unknown tracks.
Another fault of this year’s Bluesfest was the starting date, a lot of the festival took place during the week and therefore started too late in the evening for many audience members to catch more than just three acts. Due to this, Skrillex was the last act I saw of the evening.

Dubstep is something that I believe should be dead. I was quickly made to believe otherwise, during Skrillex’s set, though; apparently Dubstep makes sense when it’s played outside. Without being cramped and overwhelmed in a club trying to deal with unbelievably loud and nauseating beats, Skrillex proved that a genre of music I normally can’t stand could be almost enjoyable at times. Watching the audience stare at the screen which featured visuals of different patterns of bright lights flashing to the beats of his music, dancing like fools and taking their clothes off to stay cool, I still may not understand the hype behind this music entirely, but I will not deny that the ex-member of From First To Last made for an entertaining evening.

Day 3

The first act I made it to see during day three of Bluesfest was Girl Talk. Now, I have seen Girl Talk upwards of 4 times, including twice just last year, and there is only one thing that needs to be said about him. Girl Talk needs to go on a personal hiatus. His shtick of exploiting female audience members has gone from kitschy to disgusting, and how he still manages to draw a crowd is beyond me. With “Show Your Tits” typically flashing on screen, and him ushering underage girls on stage to dance with him, his set made me nauseous. I was grateful for it to end.

Stephen Marley was the other act I got to check out tonight, and similar to the way I felt when Girl Talk was finally finished, I was very grateful to have gotten to see this act. This act is probably the best example of impressive names that Bluesfest used to bring in regularly, especially in terms of reggae artists; last year they brought in Jimmy Cliff. Seeing a Marley is something to be proud of, as far as I’m concerned, and seeing this legend was probably one of the highlights of the entire festival for me.

Day 4

Throughout the festival, one word constantly crossed my mind as I watched some of the artists perform: “Honestly?” And it crossed my mind many times throughout this evening.

Cage the Elephant was the first band I caught and although their Urban Outfitters angsty indie sounds may not exactly be my favourite music genre, but Cage the Elephant were the only band of the night worth seeing. Sounding like a mix of the White Stripes and a Black Keys knock-off band, the guys delivered their mediocre sound in an entertaining fashion and put on an amusing show.

Protest the Hero came on next. This is where the “honestly?” comes into play. Bluesfest was filled with a bunch of mediocre hardcore bands who didn’t make it on Warped tour this year. When bands like Protest the Hero played during the festival, it would ruin the entire night for everyone else. Instead of having an audience full of polite, mature concert goers, the festival would fill up and be overpopulated by a bunch of 15 year old angry kids punching at the air and pushing each other around. Protest the Hero hasn’t done anything for over a year, but still drew a huge crowd of kids as their audience during their set which consisted of a bunch of screaming, loud guitars and angry drums.

Black Keys were the headliners of the evening, and by the time they were supposed to go on, there was a little bit of rainfall happening across Ottawa. Now, if you read any other review about Black Keys playing this night it explains that “due to extreme weather, the band was delayed”; in comparison to other storms Ottawa’s had in the past few months, this rain was not at all extreme, it didn’t even rock the stage and there were no severe weather warnings. Regardless, Black Keys were still about an hour late, and when they did come on, they were hardly apologetic. They played mostly new songs and their more mainstream tracks for half an hour. As much as this band is great, they were nothing short of a disappointment during Bluesfest.

Day 5

Day 5 of Ottawa Bluesfest was seemingly dedicated to the more mature crowd of concert goers. Erykah Badu took the stage early on in the evening, and swarms of mid-30-to-late-40-year-old women flocked to attend her performance. Acting like a mix of Naomi Campbell and Lauryn Hill when she was crazy, this performance was difficult to watch; Erykah Badu is the least deserving example of a diva I have ever seen. Her music was dull; mixing reggae and soul she sounded like a less-talented and less-entertaining version of Macy Gray. The end of her set could not come soon enough.

Next to play this evening was the Tragically Hip; a Canadian Band who are the pride and joy of most of this nation’s population. I had never seen this band prior to this year’s festival, and wish I could still say that I’ve never seen them. Gordon Downie, the lead singer of the Hip, chose to use theatrics to support his performance instead of musical talent tonight. Waving a bandana around, the band played hit after hit letting little content into the performance, and just pleasing the audience. It almost seemed as though Downie was high out of mind engaging in conversation with and paying more attention to the aforementioned bandana than the audience itself. Day 5 was another let-down regarding the festival as a whole; again, Bluesfest 2011 was a failure.

Day 6

Day 6 of Bluesfest had potential to be something worth seeing, but in the end was another disappointment. Washed up Celtic-punks the Dropkick Murphys were the first act I caught in the afternoon and not only did they suck, but they played for way too long. This band brought a mixed crowd, consisting of 15 year olds who recently Wikipedia’d “how to be punk” moshing and getting hurt in the middle of the crowd and 50-something year old punks who still play in bands and refuse to act their age. When Dropkick Murphys covered “TNT” by ACDC, I had had enough and left to go to another stage.

It was at this stage where I managed to catch Neon Indian and Yukon Blonde; I also then gave the stage the nickname “Urban Outfitters’ University Hipster Wannabe Stage.” Funnily enough, Diamond Rings had played just shortly before I had arrived which adds to the credibility of this nickname; the stage basically played host to bands you would hear while walking into any Urban Outfitters located near a major University’s campus.

Neon Indian is a horrible new-wave revival band. Although they are entertaining, their poppy guitars and keyboards have been done previously many years before these guys could even walk, let alone comprehend what music is. Sounding like a Depeche Mode cover band mixed with the Dead Weather or Holy Fuck, this band was easier to deal with than the Dropkick Murphys but were very underwhelming and horribly dull.

Yukon Blonde was not any better, playing a more folky version of what Neon Indian was doing, and made for a sleep-inducing afternoon.

A Perfect Circle was the big headliner of the night, and were very odd to watch. Drawing a crowd of mostly 50-year old couples, their set made me very uncomfortable. Metal should never be done in the way A Perfect Circle have done it for the past too-many years and the fact that they’re still around, and still headlining is just as disappointing as this festival was in its entirety.

Day 7

The only act I managed to catch on of Bluesfest was Buck 65, and I’m glad I did. Buck 65 is a one-man act from Canada who takes hip-hop and mixes it with folk and other more country-like roots and was one of the best acts of the entire festival. He has been doing something completely unlike most Canadian bands and musicians for years. He has been underappreciated and underrated for years, but continues to produce new material that continues to impress, while it simultaneously progresses and becomes more modern and unique. Playing some of my favourite classics like “Wicked and Weird” as well as a Gordon Lightfoot cover, he introduced his new album, 20 Odd Years, and through his set he explained the obvious reasons why it should be taken seriously and be picked up by the people in attendance.

Day 8

Metric was the first act I caught on Day 8. You know the saying “always a bridesmaid, never a bride”? Well, Metric should coin the saying “always second up, never a headliner.” This band has been playing shows in Ottawa and across Canada for almost 10 years, now and they have still never headlined. This is probably due to the fact that instead of taking their extreme success off of their first (and best) album Old World Underground, and using their new recognition and appreciation to improve their sound and explore their talent, they just put out similar music that decreased in quality and talent. Emily Haines is getting older and more emaciated, and the charm of singing songs with lyrics that include “who would you rather be, a Beatle or a Rolling Stone?” are not working in her favour anymore. Baring a strong resemblance to Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth, she proves that looks and style are not the only things that make you a successful noteworthy musician. This set was depressing to watch, Emily Haines either needs to quit Metric and join Broken Social Scene again, or just give up music altogether. Metric is one of the most boring Canadian bands to watch despite the fact that they have a lot of hype surrounding them – overhype, that is.

My Morning Jacket were the headliners of the night and thank god. This was one of the most highly anticipated shows of the entire festival and they did not disappoint. Creating a sense of nostalgia as they played each of their most popular songs, they also created a really good spirit within the crowd. They played a really high energy set and were definitely a pleasure to sit and watch. Bands like this give hope to horrible summer festival failures, and here’s hoping that Bluesfest staff catch on to this, as there could be much better results and reception to the festival as a whole if there were more shows like this day’s more often than the bands that made up the rest of the line-up.

Day 9

Day 9 brought excitement as this festival of failure started to come to its end. Cancer Bats played first during the evening and pretty much sounded exactly like Protest the Hero. They screamed their lyrics, and played their instruments aggressively suggesting that the crowd start a “circle pit,” even though the 15 year olds had already accomplished the formation of this barbaric sort of dancing. Being local veterans of the hardcore scene, seeing this band made me feel 16 years old again as I ran into many other old acquaintances and friends who attended these sort of shows in their youth, including one who was wounded pretty shortly after the band started their set. I honestly don’t understand how this music can draw a following of any age, despite the fact that I may be included in the example I made of the crowd’s young-age-group when it was accurate to my age at the time. The music is so complex in its layers; it’s hard to translate it into any sort of melody that is comprehensible to anyone, let alone to the crowd of 16 year olds who filled the venue to see this band.

With ears bleeding from Cancer Bats, the next band to play was Reverend Heyton and his Big Damn Band, a rockabilly number who proved that although bands of this genre may be few and far between these days, the genre is far from being dead. Featuring a series of kitschy musicians, including a washboard playing woman who would not stick out in a depression-era festival, this band was a delight to see; featuring theatrics, pyrotechnics and positive energy, this band was far from boring or disappointing, and were a beacon in this dismal festival.

Billy Talent were the headliners of the night, and just added on to the disappointment of the festival in total. This sad excuse for a Canadian alternative band has not done anything worth noting in the past 5 years. The band has had hits such as “Try Honesty” and “River Below” that were big deals in the early 2000s, but this band would also fall within the washed up description of musicians who played this festival, again ending the night on a disappointing note.

Due to being sick, I missed day 10 of Bluesfest and was only able to attend the last two days of the festival.

Day 11

Day 11 was the day I had been looking forward to the most, as it would be the first time in over 5 years Death From Above 1979 had graced my city with their presence.

The duo played on one of the main stages which was difficult to appreciate as they are only two people, on such a large stage. There has been much hype around this band reuniting in the past year, and the footage of previous shows DFA played would have led one to believe that their sets were nothing less than amazing after this reuniting; unfortunately this was not the case for the set played at Bluesfest. Sebastian Grainger kept mentioning how high he was throughout the set, and his partner Jesse Keeler took many cigarette breaks. Playing both known and unknown songs from their previous (and possibly upcoming) album, the band seemed exhausted and the set had many voids that needed filling, and was less than stimulating and the night ended on yet another disappointing note.

Day 12

Day 12, the final night of Bluesfest seemed difficult to ruin with Cheap Trick and Death Cab for Cutie being the main names of the evening. That was the case until Ottawa Bluesfest basically tried to kill Cheap Trick.

There had been a severe weather warning across Ottawa for the evening, but the festival decided to still go on regardless. Winds picked up at around 8pm, which was when Cheap Trick took the main stage. Within 10 minutes into their set, the stage began to rock and sway like the flimsiest of laundry on a clothesline outside on a breezy day, and the band decided to evacuate the scene due to unsafe conditions and apologized profusely to fans. About 2 minutes after the stage had been cleared, of musicians, it collapsed. Looking like the top of a convertible, the back of the stage, folded into itself taking the whole set-up with it.

Despite the shock the crowd was faced with, they all herded themselves towards the nearest sturdy shelter on site, which was the Canadian War Museum in the most civil and orderly fashion possible demonstrating that even the audience members of Ottawa Bluesfest are boring, just like the festival they attended.

Death Cab for Cutie obviously cancelled their performance that was to take place later on in the evening, and the festival ended on the sourest note to date.

In previous years, Bluesfest had been something that patrons of Ottawa and those from around the area looked forward to for months; there used to be good musicians, good food, good atmosphere and good weather. This year, Bluesfest was the most disappointing festival taking place in the city and due to the unfortunate conclusion of the two-week event, here’s hoping next year’s event is much better in comparison to compensate, or completely non-existent.