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- Matt Mays and I at Zaphods’ after the gig
Anders, Me, and Shawn, 2007
Posts Tagged ‘festivals in Ottawa’
The Two shows I’m Most Looking Forward to At Undercurrents
Article by Wayne Current
Last year, the Undercurrents festival launched at the GCTC and was one of the theatrical highlights of the year. The festival’s aim is to promote independent boundary pushing theatre or “theatre below the main stream.” Last year’s line up was terrific and I saw every show. Undercurrents 2012, opened yesterday and I’m once again looking forward to seeing more independent theatre!
In fact, I’m on record, and have been quoted in marketing material, saying this about last year’s festival:
“I hope this festival becomes a regular feature of the Ottawa theatre scene and that the GCTC will sponsor even more independent theatre productions in the future.”
As a strong supporter of this festival, I thought I would take some time to tell you about two of the shows I am particularly looking forward to this year. I think I would be remiss if I also didn’t tell you about the one show I feel should not have been included this year and why, but I will save that for another blog post.
Here are two recommendations:
At the 2011 Ottawa Fringe Festival, Luna Allison premiered Falling Open in a very original venue(her bedroom.) Unfortunately, I didn’t have a chance to catch this one at Fringe. Her home was a little off the beaten path and, to be completely honest, the play’s subject matter (one family’s experience of sexual abuse) scared me off a little too. That being said, those who saw it raved about this show. I’m told Allison treats the subject matter with appropriate sensitivity and puts in a powerful performance. While I’m sure this one will be challenging,
Falling Open is top of my list to see at Undercurrents 2012.
Highway 63: the Fort Mac Show, looks like an interesting piece of verbatim/documentary theatre, bringing to life the stories of the people who live in Fort Mac, Alberta. I love when communities use theatre to tell their stories. I’m also a fan of the verbatim movement so I’ll definitely be checking this one out.
So if you don’t know what to see, those are the two shows in the festival that I am most excited about.
Get your tickets soon!
CFSW 2010: National Slam Bout #1
Article by Teri Loretto
EXCITEMENT was in the air, a packed house of talking, chatting, and murmuring people. All ages and cultures, sizes and genders moved in chaotic patterns around the rather sober Tabaret Hall on the University of Ottawa Campus last night. It was the first round of the National Slam Bouts that are the highlight of the National Festival of Spoken Word taking place this week in the Canada’s Capital.
Four of eighteen teams competing were represented: Victoria, Winnipeg, Lanark County ( yes you read this right, they have their own team!) and Urban Legends, a local favourite.
‘For folks who state that the spoken word is all, they sure do have a lot of stuff in print’ I thought, as I entered the warm and BUZZING hall passing the merch table on the way in. What to expect? What to expect, I muse. I mean I had seen spoken word before, albeit not in this setting and not with this kind of build-up. What to expect…stand by…GO!
First up, MC and welcome, the crowd gets respectfully rowdy and begins to relax. Jill Christmas
is introduced as the ‘sacrifice poet’- you would call her the warm-up in comedy or the ‘fluffer’
in…well…never mind. But fluff she does, check out her big smile and then… the room as one becomes hussssshhhhed.. She is sexy and smart. Sad, vulnerable and hard all at the same time. SLAM. Hurtfully beautiful. As one entity, the breath of the crowd goes out. MAN! That was good, that was good. Too long? SO WHAT!
Murmur, murmur…
Now we are cooking. Victoria starts with a group event, good, a bit nervous but solid. Self effacingly Canadian-WE DIDN’T COME TO WIN. Sure. OK. Solid though. Next up is a refreshing change. Lanark’s Inez Dekker brings us back to a more innocent time-(or maybe we just didn’t listen in the same way then?) She is cool, and despite the book in hand, seems confident and her perspective is unique here. UNIQUE. In a good way. Oldest participant ever in this fest. But we DO NOT ask a lady her age-wink- she’s on par with most here so it doesn’t matter.
Winnipeg’s Dylan Mowatt, you make me laugh. WIT. The story here is his lack of a story, which makes for a story we can all understand. Why am I thinking of my mum and dad? OOOO. Clever man, clever man. Good story. SLAM!
ANGER. And he’s talking too fast-I can’t catch all the words, but BOY what passion. Marcus Jameel from Urban Legends has just stoked up the fires of this event. Back on track, we are here to explode. And explode he does. Here’s the anger and injustice talk I remember from my last slam event. How old is this man’s anger anyways? Doesn’t matter. SLAM! Applause, applause. Crowd loves this guy.
All the poets and speakers are good. No one fails, even when they falter. We are on the edge of our seats, or sprawl in them content or happy, sad, angry and never, NEVER BORED.
Looking around the room now, huge soaring ceilings and Roman columns surround the speakers: they look like Cicero as they preach, cajole, YELL, sing, chant, whisper and convert. LIGHT BULB. These people ARE our Ciceros, telling it like it is, or is not, or making it seem like THIS is something we WANT TO KNOW. Talking, just talking and making people FEEL and affecting change. Words are a powerful thing.
So many wonderful moments, but they don’t blend or bend into one. These are individuals here. It is the crowd that is one. These are the voices of the individuals who are otherwise unheard, the sounds unvoiced and the thoughts inside. SLAM!
MAKE ME A BELIEVER! SALEM! MR. RIGHT! CHANGE! SALEM! Then… surprisingly (mostly to me), I cry. And the girl behind me cries. And we hold hands. Strangers. And the room falls silent in a space of sadness laced with hope. WOW. This Hifidelik is some good. Honest. Hurts. I can’t put into words how much this touched me-his words conveyed a need for forgiveness that is universal. A poem. Huh. Words. Powerful things.
SLAM! MY pick for the night.
Then, ‘That’s my sister’, yells someone in the crowd, aloud and proud as the last poet of the night takes the stage. It’s all good. I am not disappointed. But strangely this is not something I want to do myself.
(Whereas usually I think ‘I could do that-I wanna do THAT’ when something is truly cool) But tonight I am happy to be fed with the words of others. A true feast. I’m full up folks. But like all good food?
Tomorrow I will want some more.
Check this festival out! WORDS ARE POWERFUL THINGS.
CFSW 2010 Ottawa opens TONIGHT!
The Canadian Festival of Spoken Word (CFSW 2010 Ottawa www.cfsw.ca) kicked off this afternoon to a fiery start with the Last Chance Slam to determine the members of the Wild Card Team to compete alongside 17 other teams at the festival.
The members of the team that will be performing at the festival are Ottawa poets Faye Estrella, Brad Morden, and Sean O’Gorman, as well as Vancouver poet Steve Miller. The team has two alternates: Ottawa’s Jenna Tenn-Yuk and Vancouver’s Tristan de Plume.
CFSW 2010 Ottawa returns to the capital for the first time since its inception in 2004 with the largest slam-focused spoken word event in Canadian history. From October 12 to 16, 2010, Ottawa will be treated to a wide-ranging display of Canadian slam poetry and spoken word featuring over 100 of the best spoken word poets on 18 teams from 15 communities across Canada.
The Canadian Festival of Spoken Word takes place in numerous venues in downtown Ottawa.
For more information, please call the CFSW 2010 Ottawa hotline 613 301 8648, email info@cfsw.ca, or visit www.cfsw.ca.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:
Tuesday, October 12
University of Ottawa Tabaret Hall – 550 Cumberland St.
1 – 3 p.m.
Last Chance Slam (to determine the Wild Card team)
7 – 9 p.m.
Festival Opening Celebration & Francophone Showcase
Hosted by Mehdi Hamdad | Featuring Ivy, Marjolaine Beauchamp,
D-Track & Sophie Jeukens
9 – 10:30 p.m.
Bout 1 – National Slam Championship Preliminary Round
Victoria, Lanark County, Winnipeg, Ottawa Urban Legends
Wednesday, October 13
Cartier Place Suite Hotel – 180 Cooper Street
1 – 2:30 p.m.
Intro to Poetry Writing (for Youth) Workshop
Facilitated by Ian Keteku
2:30 – 4 p.m.
Activism in Spoken Word Workshop
4 – 5:30 p.m.
Youth Showcase Hosted by Dwayne Morgan
Ottawa Little Theatre – 400 King Edward Avenue
7 – 8:30 p.m.
Bout 2 – National Slam Championship Preliminary Round
Calgary, Ottawa Urban Legends, London, Toronto Poetry Slam
9 – 10:30 p.m.
Bout 3 – National Slam Championship Preliminary Round
Vancouver, Guelph, Peterborough, Halifax
University of Ottawa Alumni Auditorium – 85 University Street
7 – 8:30 p.m.
Bout 4 – National Slam Championship Preliminary Round
Burlington, Edmonton, Wild Card, Toronto Up From the Roots
9 – 10:30 p.m.
Bout 5 – National Slam Championship Preliminary Round
Lanark County, Ottawa Capital Slam, Montreal, Saskatoon
Hooley’s Pub – 292 Elgin Street
11 p.m.
Poetry & Music Cabaret
Featuring Scruffmouth & Moe Clark
Thursday, October 14
Cartier Place Suite Hotel – 180 Cooper Street
1 – 2:30 p.m.
Sankofa: A Poet’s Contract (Workshop)
Facilitated by Scruffmouth
2:30 – 4 p.m.
Connecting with Arts Organizations Panel Discussion
Facilitated by David Silverberg
4 – 5:30 p.m.
Steve Sauvé Memorial Nerd Showcase
Hosted by Festrell|Featuring Nadine Thornhill & Bart Cormier
Courtyard by Marriott Ottawa – Laurier Room, 350 Dalhousie Street
7 – 8:30 p.m.
Bout 6 – National Slam Championship Preliminary Round
Halifax, Winnipeg, Burlington, Ottawa Capital Slam
9 – 10:30 p.m.
Bout 7 – National Slam Championship Preliminary Round
Toronto Poetry Slam, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Vancouver
The Velvet Room – 62 York Street
7 – 8:30 p.m.
Bout 8 – National Slam Championship Preliminary Round
Montreal, London, Guelph, Wild Card
9 – 10:30 p.m.
Bout 9 – National Slam Championship Preliminary Round
Toronto Up From the Roots, Peterborough, Calgary, Victoria
Friday, October 15
Streets of Downtown Ottawa
3 – 5:30 p.m.
Guerrilla Poetry
Poets take to the streets to perform random acts of poetry
Ottawa Technical High School Auditorium – 440 Albert Street
7 – 8:30 p.m.
National Slam Championship Semi-Final #1
9 – 10:30 p.m.
National Slam Championship Semi-Final #2
Ritual Nightclub – 137 Besserer Street
11 p.m.
Kobo Town and John Carroll & the Epic Proportions
Saturday, October 16
Cartier Place Suite Hotel – 180 Cooper Street
1 – 2:30 p.m.
Poetry Slam in Schools Workshop
Facilitated by Danielle K.L. Grégoire & Lara Bozabalian
2:30 – 4 p.m.
Self-Promotion in the Digital Age (for Artists) Workshop
Facilitated by Kate Leadbeater – bilingual event
4-5:30 p.m.
Poetry and Music Showcase
Featuring Red Slam Collective
Dominion-Chalmers United Church – 355 Cooper Street
7-9 p.m.
Poets of Honour & Closing Festival Showcase
Featuring Anthony Bansfield ‘the nth digri’ & Shauntay Grant
9-11 p.m.
National Slam Championship Finals
O-Town Hoedown 2010: A fresh event birthed from a tired soul
O-Town Hoedown 2010 begins Sept 24
Lefty McRighty, organizer of the O-Town Hoedown, sits across from me in a seedy tavern in the west end. He babbles on incessantly about this and that, scratching his nose from what he swears is seasonal allergies, although if you ask me, it’s an allergy to not having any cocaine. I ask him to shut the hell up and tell me something interesting about the O-Town Hoedown. He sighs wearily, and I can smell shawarma coming from his mustachioed mouth.
“So you want to know about the O-Town Hoedown, do ya? Frig, who doesn’t? It’s all the buzz right now, but what does that get me? All that buzz gives me a giant steaming pile of nothing.”
He takes a deep swallow from his large bottle of Labatt 50, a size format recently re-introduced to Ontario much to the joy of the original hipsters around here.
“You know, I don’t make a friggin’ dime off of this here Hoedown, a lot of people don’t know that. They probably think I sit up in a tower doing lines off a gold-plated weimaraner but no now way no how, I don’t make one stinkin’ cent. You think I don’t want to do lines off a weimaraner? I mean I don’t, but I’d like to have enough money to have the option.”
I try to steer McRighty towards the music being showcased in the 2010 edition of the O-Town Hoedown. For the uninitiated, the O-Town Hoedown is a 9-day alt-country concert series held every year in Ottawa. It highlights the best independent alt-country music Ottawa has to offer. McRighty interrupts my train of thought:
“Now hold on a second there pal, you’re thinking the Hoedown is limited to Ottawa bands, aren’t you… [McRighty burps, distantly excuses himself as if he doesn't even realize he's doing it, and continues] – screw that, Ottawa’s great and all, but if I’m gonna start raking in the big bucks, the cocaine bucks, I’ve gotta start bringing in the out-of-town talent. I know that seems, whaddya callit, contra-intuitional [sic, obviously] cuz I have to pay them big bucks for making the trip, but trust me when I say I’ve got a long-term plan for the Hoedown, and step 2, you know what with step 1 being getting suckers like you to write about it on your little web diary things, step 2 is to get out-of-town bands cuz when they go back home they spread the word to whoever lives in their town. Somehow, that will bring the money. I haven’t quite figured out how, but mark my words it’ll bring the money. And the girls. What’s that saying? First you get the power, then you get the keys to the… no wait, then you get the… uh… “
McRighty stares off for a solid minute. I start getting worried that he’s had a brain aneurysm. He jolts himself awake and continues, answering a question I haven’t even asked. It occurs to me that he’s traveled back in time and is actually, in his mind, speaking to a different interviewer.
“Well it’s funny you say that, because I was just telling the wife last night that this Hoedown almost never was. My heart wasn’t in it at first because of all the other stuff going on my life, but dammit I stuck it out because I knew the payoff would be huge. And I mean ‘payoff’ in the… figurational sense? Literative? I can never tell which one’s what. You know, either way there’s a payoff. For the fans, the payoff is kickass music for 9 friggin’ days straight and…”
McRighty stops mid-sentence and stands up abruptly. He storms across the room, spits in another mans eye, kisses him on the forehead, yells out “Bacon Train!” and comes back to his seat.
Lefty McRighty, reading what is apparently a very important message on his phone.
“…they also get to dance and yell and drink some delicious beer, and uh… y’know, dive deep into the, uh, burgeoning culture of the Ottawa music scene. Oh that was flowery, put that in your paper, that’s a good one. Right, so the payoff for the musicians is the chance to meet other guys and gals from different bands and be part of an amazing experience where maybe in the future they’ll run off and do shows together and leave me the hell alone. And we already know what my payoff is: allergy medication. Oh hey, make sure you put quote marks around the word allergy, so they get the joke. Cuz it’s really cocaine.”
I ask McRighty if the stress is getting to him, after organizing four straight Hoedowns all by himself. Surely he must be wearing himself pretty thin. Maybe it’s time to take a break?
“Eff that noise, I’m still young. Sure, my blood pressure’s through the roof and I’ve gained 25lbs, but that never stopped Ozzy and it’s not gonna stop me. Wine is fine but whiskey’s quicker, and all that. Have you heard Ozzy’s new stuff? Pretty weak, I tell ya. But seriously folks, I need a nap, hold on a sec.”
McRighty falls asleep at the table. I tuck 5 dollars under his empty bottle, to cover his next beer, and quietly slip away. As I’m leaving the bar, I hear a string of francophone obscenities come from McRighty’s table, and I assume the bartender is cutting him off. I debate whether I should go back and collect my 5 dollars, and decide against it. I assume it’ll go to good use one way or another.
——————————————————————
The O-Town Hoedown starts Sept 24th and runs through to Oct 2nd. Venues include Irene’s, The Elmdale and The Black Sheep Inn, among others. Ticket prices are between $7 and $10. Ottawa Tonite will be reporting live from all the Hoedown shows, so be sure to check back with us for up-to-date reports. Here’s the quick overview of the listings, visit www.otownhoedown.com for way more info.
The 4th Annual O-Town Hoedown, Sept. 24 – Oct. 2
Sept. 24 – Lefty McRighty & the Shameless Bastards, The Driftwood Singers, Ken Voita
The Rainbow Bistro (76 Murray St.). $8 door, 9:30pm.
Sept. 25-Evil Farm Children, Buzz Deluxe, Andre M. Bluteau
Irene’s Pub (885 Bank St.). $10, 9pm.
Sept. 26 -The Dusty Drifters, Jack Pine
Irene’s Pub (885 Bank St.). FREE!, 9pm.
Sept. 27 – Brandon Agnew, Lindsay Ferguson
Clocktower Brewpub (575 Bank St.). $8, 9pm.
Sept. 28 -Dry River Caravan, Shirt Tearing Boys
Irene’s Pub (885 Bank St.). $7, 9pm.
Sept. 29 – Huntley Slim & the Suburban Cowboys, the f-Holes, Chris Rayburn
Elmdale Tavern (1084 Wellington St.). $8, 9pm.
Sept. 30 – Ninety Pounds of Ugly, Liquorbox
Zaphod Beeblebrox (27 York St.). $7, 8:30pm.
Oct. 1 – Capital Grass & the No Men, the Warped 45s
Black Sheep Inn (753 Riverside Drive, Wakefield, QC). $7 adv (Compact Music), $8 door, 8:30pm. Buy in advance!
Oct. 2 -Ray Harris & the Bastard Sons of Bitches, The Honky Tonk Heartbreakers, Sherwood Lumsden
Elmdale Tavern (1084 Wellington St.). $8, 9pm.
Ottawa Tonite will be LIVE@Ottawa Folk Festival!
Finally, after weeks and months of waiting, local concertgoers will finally be able to truly understand what those vibrant “I GET OFF” posters actually mean.
“OFF” — better known as the Ottawa Folk Festival — touches down at Britannia Park this weekend and Ottawa Tonite will be on the ground, bringing you live-streaming coverage of the three-day festival, from Friday, August 13th to Sunday, August 15th.
Bob LeDrew and Emma Godmere met up at the festival site earlier this week to share the excitement:
OT will be bringing you live interviews with artists, vendors, performers, folk enthusiasts, jammers, and more every day of the festival at 3pm EST. Follow the action at OttawaTonite.com and via twitter.com/ottawatonite — and for more information about the festival, visit ottawafolk.org
Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest: The Brothers Chaffey are pulling up their bootstraps
As the sun warmed the Subway stage area on Wednesday afternoon, it was with great interest that I found a shady spot and chatted with Curtis Chaffey about his experience playing at the Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest this year. Curtis is the lead guitar player working with his brother Matthew Chaffey (vocalist and rhythm guitarist) as part of the roots-rock-country ensemble known as Brothers Chaffey. The successful group has had an opportunity to play for a very enthusiastic audience for 3 years running..and that is exactly the right word to describe what they are doing – finding their ground, and getting up and running!
Curtis spoke to me about how the Brothers Chaffey released an album at the time of the 2009 Bluesfest named Bloodlines. It was their second full length LP. Upon release it received 4 stars in the Ottawa Citizen and 4 stars in the Vancouver Sun. At that time the band felt the level of expectation was very high for them. This ultimately required them to really pull up their bootstraps and work their hardest. The Brothers Chaffey have managed to catch the attention of their audience and are finding success by taking it all very seriously and raising the ‘bar’ for themselves with each new opportunity.
Each year local musicians are invited to perform as part of the Bluesfest lineup. For local performers there is a certain notoriety and distinction that comes from being asked to play in a festival of this magnitude – even when (or perhaps especially when) it is taking place in your own home town. As Curtis Chaffey indicates, this festival is a great opportunity to connect with other performers and observe what’s happening on the local scene as well as internationally. Being a part of it as a performer raises the proverbial ‘bar’ higher in terms of expectations from the audience’s perspective as well as defining the goals of these local acts sharing the stage with some major headliners.
Another aspect of the Bluesfest experience is the free series of “Pop Life” stage shows happening on York Street in the Byward Market. For the past 2 years, audiences have been enjoying the Lebreton Flats concerts and then over-flowing into Ottawa’s Market area for some incredible after-hours shows and celebrations. The benefit to Market area vendors is obvious. The opportunity for local players is also huge, as tourists and music lovers turn out in droves to enjoy an afternoon and evening of music lasting 10pm on most nights. What audiences see when they attend the local players’ shows should be taken seriously, according to Chaffey.
Curtis says, the impact of the Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest is huge on the local scene. It offers exposure and incentive to local musicians and an unforgettable experience in front of a massive audience of music lovers. That’s reason enough to give it your all everytime that you step onto any stage.
Watch for Brothers Chaffey tonight @Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest as part of the MonkeyJunk Power Hour Blues jam happening on the Claridge Home stage, 6:00pm.
Video by James R. Skinner on YouTube with permission from the artists
Interview footage shot using Flip Video ™ Camcorder
Silver Creek – a Retrospective
Anniversaries are a time for looking back, taking stock of what you’ve been through, and using it as a reference for the road ahead. My band, Silver Creek, just played our fifth show at Bluesfest in as many years. This is special since our very first show as Silver Creek was actually at Bluesfest in 2006, so it marks the beginning of the fifth year of gigs for the band. So I figured I’d put together a bit of a look back at the years to see the evolution of the band.
Blacksheep Stage, July 2006
Shawn and I on the Blacksheep stage, 2006
I met Shawn Tavenier in February of 2006. He was playing with a local cover band, The Bourbon Brothers. I was between bands at the time and looking to start something new. The moment I met Shawn I knew that he was the guy I wanted to work with. So I pestered him endlessly for weeks to start a band with me. He said he had some songs written and knew a few people who could get involved. A few months went by, and in the spring of 2006 we had our first official Silver Creek jam session. It took place in Carleton Place, on a farm that belonged to the family of Tony Raybould, who would be our first drummer. The band was comprised of Shawn Tavenier, Anders Drerup, Tony Raybould, Tyler Keeley and myself. By some stroke of luck, we got offered a last minute spot at Bluesfest on a Monday on the Blacksheep stage and it definitely was one of the major motivators that moved this young band along. This was the last year that the festival was held at the city hall grounds and we were playing on the same day as two great Canadian acts who were both major influences of ours, Matt Mays and El Torpedo and Sam Roberts. We had the opportunity to meet both bands and hang out with them backstage.
My first year playing Bluesfest was a gig I will never forget. I used to be big into the dangerous sport of downhill mountain biking, and went biking every Sunday with a couple of friends, rain or shine. We’d drive out to Calabogie and take the chairlift up the hill then ride down at break-neck speeds. The Sunday before we played Bluesfest was no exception. For some reason I attempted a stunt that was far beyond my level of skills, and bailed hard. I destroyed my left arm and shoulder, not only ripping the skin off them and suffering deep flesh wounds but doing severe damage to my bones and muscles. Being a right handed bass player means that I need to strap my bass (which weighs quite a bit) on my left shoulder and use my left hand to fret all the notes. As soon as I collected myself and got back to the bottom of the hill, I knew I was in trouble. I could barely lift my left arm and was in a lot of pain. My friends wanted to take me to the hospital, but I was afraid that I would be put into a cast or a sling and not be able to play the show the next day. So when I got home, my roommate (who’s intentions were much better than his knowledge of first aid) went out and bought me a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and some gauze. I poured the peroxide onto my skinless arm in an attempt to clean the wound, only to find that the peroxide ate off more skin and burned like crazy. After a couple hours of cleaning rocks and sand out of my arm, I covered it in the gauze. The next morning I was in even more pain, barely able to move my left arm at all and still bleeding. I played the show like this, and it was easily the most painful experience of my life to this point. My shoulder still isn’t quite what it used to be, and playing bass for an extended period of time is quite uncomfortable.
Blacksheep Stage, July 2007
Jeff Rogers, Gordie Johnson, Me, Kiko Garcia
This year was the first year that the festival had been moved back to Lebreton Flats. The band was pretty different at this point. We were now a six piece with Shane Mcewan on drums, Kiko Garcia on guitar, Anders on lap steel and banjo and Tyler Keeley on keys. We got a full page feature in the Ottawa Citizen, as well as some other media. Some of the other acts at the festival that day were Joel Plaskett, The White Stripes, Hawksley Workman. We were backstage watching Joel Plaskett play when we got the chance to meet another Canadian hero of ours, Gordie Johnson from Big Sugar and Grady fame.
Rogers Stage, July 2008
Rogers Stage - 2008
In 2008 we had officially outgrown the Blacksheep stage and were promoted to the Rogers stage. We had an afternoon spot, and played to a decent sized crowd. This year was memorable because it was our first year playing with Jeff Rogers in the band on the organ and sax and the lineup was the same as it is today, but with the addition of Tyler Keeley on piano and John Steele on pedal steel guitar. It was also the first year that we had a CD for sale and we sold a ton of copies of it.
MBNA Stage, July 2009
Backstage with Greg Keelor
2009 marked our debut on the mainstage. We had been given the opening spot for Canadian legends Blue Rodeo on a Friday night at 7pm. We prepared for months and put on the show of our lives. At this point the band had been trimmed down to just the five current members, and we had another recording under our belt as well as a cross Canada tour. 2009 was the 40th anniversary of Woodstock, so we played a cover of Joe Cocker’s version of “A Little Help From My Friends” to mark that. We got a chance to meet Greg Keelor and have a chat with him, as well as rub shoulders with some other Canadian music industry big-wigs. We also got to play two great shows at The Rainbow this year as part of the new “Bluesfest Byward” program that was introduced in 2009. We had the pleasure of sharing the stage with Alberta Cross and Little Ed and the Blues Imperials.
MBNA Stage, July 2010
Pic courtesy of Live 'n Loud Magazine
Just last week we played our fifth show at Bluesfest. Opening for legends like Phil Lesh and Bob Weir was a great way to mark your fifth anniversary while keeping it all in perspective. These guys have been around for decades, and have seen many members come and go. It was great to see them playing at the top of their game, with smiles on their faces and a huge crowd of appreciative fans. This year’s show will be remembered for how hot it was. We arrived around 3 pm to set up and sound check and spent about an hour on the stage toying around and getting things just right. The thermometer peaked at around 45 degrees that day and the huge black stage was even hotter. The MBNA stage faces the setting sun straight on from the afternoon until sunset, making it a well lit stage for audiences but a long set of looking straight into the sun for performers. We sweated it out on stage for 45 minutes then retired to our air-conditioned trailer to catch our breath. Playing music for 45 minutes is far more of a workout than many people give enough credit for! The heat caused a few technical issues with amps overheating and what not, but for the most part we survived it.
It’s been really fun to be a part of this festival for 5 years now. We’ve watched it go from the festival at City Hall with just a couple stages to what it is now. It’s been great to watch the new things that get introduced every year and see if they work out or not. Last year’s Byward Market concerts seemed to be a hit, and hopefully that will become a regular. This year marks the first year of the Blacksheep comedy and music tent, which couldn’t have come at a better time given how hot it’s been. The free wireless at the festival this year also seems to be a great addition. All in all I have to give props to the staff of Bluesfest for finding new ways to out do themselves every year. I also have to give thanks on behalf of the band for allowing us and many other great local acts to be a part of this festival. A spot at a festival of this size does not come easy, but Bluesfest makes sure to take care of all the local acts slugging it out from year to year. Our band may have never gotten off the ground had it not been for that first spot on the Blacksheep stage.
by Mark Laforest
Follow me on Twitter – @schmarkty
Laurent Bourque Talks About What We Talk About
Let me tell you my favourite Laurent Bourque story.
Earlier this year, the formerly Ottawa, now Montreal-based pop-rocker messages me on Facebook to ask if I can suggest some local media outlets he can contact to promote an upcoming show at The Black Sheep Inn in Wakefield.
“Sure,” I say…”who do you have so far?”
“Well,” he responds, “I’m pretty sure I have coverage in the Ottawa Citizen, The Ottawa Sun, Xpress, CBC, CKCU, and CHUO.”
“Um, gee Laurent, I think you’ve pretty well already got the ground covered…”
In other words, Laurent Bourque is a keener. Not in an aggressive, obnoxious way, but he really, really wants you to hear his music. Fortunately, so do I.
As we discuss in the accompanying video interview, recorded just prior to his Ottawa Tulip Festival concert at Major’s Hill Park last Thursday, Bourque’s debut solo album “What We Talk About” delivers “mainstream pop” music intended to be heard and enjoyed by a broad audience, but not as a calculated, pre-fab, or artificial entity. Rather, we’re talking warm, authentic, organic sounds with good production values, layers of instrumentation (mostly played by Bourque), and inviting vocals that draw on ‘60s via ‘90s influences.
It’s a recording with the potential to make Laurent Bourque the talk of the town…be that Montreal or Ottawa.
(Roch Parisien is an Ottawa-based music consultant, journalist and broadcaster via his company Rocon Communications. He also programs the FolkRoots Channel for The Galaxie Network.)
Video: Kevin Burton
Laurent Bourque will be performing with his band at Ottawa Bluesfest, Thursday July 8 at 6pm on the Hard Rock stage, along with Andrew Bird and The Great Lake Swimmers.
