Shpongle Heading Back on Shpour to Shpongcouver!

Best. Name. Ever.

Even if i find these guys, at times, a little too "experimental" (its funny how that adjective can apply to anyone from Jack White and his projects to Shpongle's insane blend of african tribal rhythms, double-bass and jazz flute) they are always good for a mind-warping show that demands hallucinogenic substances, sort of like the flaming lips meets that time we did mushrooms and watched Dark Side of Oz. Or something like that.

Anyway, Simon Posford (AKA Hallucinogen - see, toldja) and his flautist partner in crime Raja Ram will return to Canada on their Masquerade tour for a gig in Vancouver (Shpongcouver?) on September 30. Pre-sale tix are on sale now, if your interested. I got to see these guys at Ottawa Bluesfest last summer and it was a real experience, to say the least. Yknow how sometimes people say you have to see something to believe it? Check it out: Shpongle is one of those things. Definitely worth the price of admission. 

Canadian Concert Round-Up

Some exciting additions to the roster of shows in Canada this fall, starting with arguably the biggest - the Boss has announced three more shows in Ottawa October 19, Hamilton October 21 and Vancouver November 26. Bruce Springsteen was briefly in the jam-light a few years after a sit-in with Phish for Mustang Sally, Bobby Jean and Glory Days at Bonnaroo in 2009. He was already scheduled for gigs in Toronto and Moncton, NB on August 24 and 26.

If Thunder Road doesnt get your heart racing, maybe the Golden Road does - Grateful Dead emulators-extraordinaire the Dark Star Orchestra make their first ever foray into Canada to Toronto's Danforth Music Hall on Thursday, November 15. This is incredibly exciting, to say the least. Mark your calendars! I got to see these guys in Amsterdam at Jam in the Dam, and during the artists' signing session i was telling some of the band members how much we'd love to see them in Canada. I was even rappin' about hockey with drummer Rob Koritz, who's from St. Louis. In other words, im gonna take a lot of the credit for making this show happen!

Audio-visual-experience Pretty Lights has added a stop in Vancouver to his fall tour, on September 11. The DJ was part of the Full Flex Express Tour that came through Canada a few weeks ago with Skrillex and other dub steppers, and seems to have taken a shine to Canada - he is also headlining the Shambhala fest in BC on August 11.

As previously discussed, The Who announced dates for their fall Quadrophenia tour, starting in Montreal on November 20, before Ottawa November 31, Toronto November 23,  and Hamilton February 19.

Finally, Good Old War now has a slew of Canadian dates in addition to their opening gig for Dispatch in Toronto on October 8. Over the second half of their tour they will be supporting Xavier Rudd in his triumphant return to Canada, playing Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, London, Kitchener, Hamilton, Guelph, Ottawa, QC and Montreal from November 14-December 7.

Dub Train Rolling back into Canada

In continuing to recognize and build the popularity of the dub-step movement in Canada, superstar artist Bassnectar has announced a series of Canadian stops on his fall/winter tour, announcing gigs in Vancouver on October 27 and what is sure to be an awesome show in Calgary on Halloween night, October 31. This is in addition to the second show of his tour, already scheduled for August 4 in Toronto.

One of the top dub-steppers and pioneers of the electronic dance music (EDM) genre, Bassnectar tours world wide and will be performing at such diverse events as Belgium's Pukkelpop Festival and the Leeds Festival in the UK, before returning to the US (and Canada) for a winter stadium tour.

The San Francisco-born electronic artist, whose real name is Loren Ashton, has played numerous shows in Canada over the past decade and is a regular at the Shambhala Music Festival - Nelson, BC's epic celebration of electronic music and artistry. It's coming up this year from August 8-13 and is a pretty insane adventure, if I do say so myself.   

Dark Day For Bright Light Social Hour

It shames me to write have this post, but hopefully some good will come of it - a band i recently had the pleasure of seeing at Ottawa Bluesfest twice, and rockin out to big-time both times, the Bright Light Social Hour, has had their van burgled and all their gear stolen in the Canadian city of Saskatoon. Now, with all due respect to Saskatoon, you're making us all look bad you jerks!

According to the update on the band's website, they were at a large shopping mall in Saskatoon when two guys pulled up in a van, broke their locks and stole all their gear and luggage, including a custom guitar and bass designed for the members of the band. This is terrible news as those guys are on their first Canadian tour and now we will forever be tainted by some bad Sasktatoon apples. The band also has a very important gig at the upcoming moe.down and, furthermore, will be back in Canada opening for Umphrey's McGee in Toronto on October 24.

They are asking for donations to help recoup some of the losses and continue performing on their current tour, and i hope everyone who reads this will join me in helping out. On behalf of the entire Canadian jam community, im sorry guys, i really am, and dont let this tar your image of Canada. Most of us are nice people! Best of luck finding your gear.  

Who's Coming to Canada? Thats Right. Who? Yup! And So On...

Breaking News of the concert variety - The Who is coming to Canada! Ill spare you the aforementioned Laurel and Hardy bit. The godfathers of rock will embark on two-leg winter tour across North America, with several Canadian stops - November 20 in Montreal, November 21 in Ottawa and November 23 in Toronto, then a gig in Hamilton February 19 on the second leg. There are no Western dates announced yet, but Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver should keep their fingers crossed, there are several open dates in January and February, when the band will be in the Pacific Northwest states.

According to my sources, this tour will feature a complete rendition of the Who's second rock-opera, Quadrophenia, as well as some other fan favourites. Not like there's a shortage of great material for them. Joining Roger Daltry and Pete Townshend in this current incarnation of the Who will be seasoned drummer Zak Starkey (Ringo's son and one of the modern members of the band), Simon Townshend on guitar and back-up vocals, Pino Palladino (bass), Chris Stainton (keyboards), Loren Gold (keyboards, back-up vocals), and Frank Simes (musical director, keyboards and backing vocals). 

Deconstructing Dub-Step

Two days after Bluesfest and it’s finally catching up with me – two weeks of partying, drinking and inhaling dust has rendered my throat raw and my nose stuffed, but it was definitely worth it. The festival experience always is. 

While it didn’t exactly end on the highest note for me, with Metric, the Trews and Wolfgang Gartner headlining their Sunday stages, Saturday night’s dub-train blew me away. At the risk of alienating many of my friends and fellow jam-heads, I will say this: Skrillex blew my mind. It was an absolutely mind-obliterating, lobotomizing spectacle of light and sound and chaos and cacophony, combined with the technological wonder of that giant lizard-space-ship thing that moves and oscillates and helps focus the sheer soul pounding intensity of that show. 

After seeing many of the DJs and dub-steppers brough tinto this year’s “Electro-fied” Bluesfest, including Deltron 3030, WolfgangGartner, A-Trak and Pretty Lights (part of the Full Flex Express Tour also), it was Skrillex that finally made me understand what that scene is all about. Ive seen isolated shows before,including some of the guys at Bluesfest – Tiesto and MSTRKRFT, Bassnectar and various other DJs at fests – but experiencing the scene night in and night out at the Electro Stage gave me a new appreciation. 

There is something visceral and instinctive about dub-step,in a sense that it communicates on a deeper level than lyrics and chords and verses. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t go so far as to call it “music,” and i should preface these remarks by saying im not a big fan of DJs who just remix other songs and spin verses from them with “squeeka-squeeka” and robot fart noises on top. However, the brilliance of a guy like Skrillex is in the sheer spectacle and raw energy created. I remember being similarly captivated by Too lwhen I saw them at Bonnaroo, that feeling of being totally entranced and unable to look away from it all. 

To me, seeing a band like moe. or Phish and hearing the spontaneous creation, the artistic talent, letting the music wash over me and open my soul to beautiful harmony and organic oneness, is a different experience from what dub-step does – it takes your body and shakes and rattles and vibrates in a way I’ve never experienced before, and I never danced like that before, either. It wasn’t the happiness I feel at jam-band shows, it was a primal expression of animal instinct, like a bird flying above land that is heaving in an earthquake. 

There is something else about this thing called dub-step, though – it seems to be truly different from anything else out thereat the moment. Of course, all music is an evolution and a continuation of trends, but once in a generation there is a great change, a genesis, like the rock-and-roll of the ‘50s that grew out of the big band era but was so different, so completely transformational, that it created a movement. I see the same thing in the techno/dub-step movement of the past few years. This isn’t rap, it isn’t hip-hop, it’s definitely not rock or even “club” or “house” music. It takes elements of Europe’s house and club music scene, elements of the beats and bass and synth sounds from hip-hop, rock and techno, and adds a primal, instinctual, stop-at-nothing-and-never-let-up hard-core edginess.

In his Republic, Plato says that “the introduction of a new kind of music must be shunned as imperilling the whole state; since styles of music are never disturbed without affecting the most important political institutions.” I have always liked idea this because I see the truth in it – in the ‘60s, music was the catalyst for the entire protest movement and I see the same sort of change and reaction in dub-step. It seems new and unprecedented. This is certainly a greater evolution than my or the previous generation has seen, for example with punk or grunge, or the poppy alternative drivel ofthe late ‘90s and early 2000s. This young, emerging generation is embracing dub-step, with or without the party drugs and all-nighters than seem bound up with it, as well. 

So, I take back all the bad things I said about Skrillex, at the very least. Im not totally converted. Im not rushing out to clubs and DJ shows. Im certainly not listening to any of that stuff on my iPod or car radio. But in that festival environment, it works for me. I suppose I learned to keep mymusical mind even more open than it already is. And that I can, in fact, do the robot.    

BREAKING NEWS - Umphrey's McGee announces Toronto date!

Yes, a major jam band is finally returning to Canada - Umphrey's McGee, currently in the midst of a tour with supporting help from G.Love (a very cool duo that has been getting great reviews), will return to Toronto on Wednesday, October 24 for a show at the Danforth Music Hall. Tix go on sale tomorrow at 9am EST, and are really quite cheap - certainly less than id be willing to pay for a chance to see Umph! They are one of the few bands in the jam scene that make consistent sojourns to Canada, with their last show north of the border, also in Toronto but at a smaller venue than the Danforth, coming just last November. Nevertheless, im very excited by this news. See you all there, and stay tuned for updates!

Lukas Nelson fulfills his promise

With a quiet intensity and a nod to the sparse crowd gathered before the smallest stage at OttawaBluesfest, Lukas Nelson didn’t waste any time waiting for more people to show up – he simply blew the hats off those people who had gathered in the sunshine to watch the son of a legend perform some very un-Willy-Nelson-like material.

Where Willie’s melancholy warble was the focus of his music, Lukas lets his guitar do the heavy lifting, and heavy it is. Hard driving, frantic and loud, Nelson sounds like more like the latest incarnation of southern rock, a Lynyrd Skynyrd/Allman Brothers/Black Crowes thunderclap, as opposed to the lilting surf-rock he was raised around in Hawaii and California.

With the hot July sun shining right in his eyes and the sweat beading on his forehead, Lukas didn’t sugarcoat anything. However, he did manage to showcase some diversity in his short set, and gave his bandmates some room to breathe as well, especially Promise of the Real’s very talented bassist, Corey McCormick. His anchor baselines often took centre stage as Nelson went on wild, raucus jaunts on stage and along the neck of his guitar, jumping off amps and risers and losing more buttons on his shirt as the show went on.

Coming out rocking with a long, technical jam off the new album, Wasted, Don’t Take Me Back got the small crowd warmed up before Nelson busted out a couple older tunes off the band’s self-titled 2010 debut, POTR. Four Letter Word and Aint No Answer cranked it up a notch before Nelson, learning his way as a stage musician, turned down the intensity and showcased his soft-spoken, folkier side. A calm and collected take on No Place to Fly, which he recorded with his dad, led into a heartfelt Fathers and Mothers that is clearly a very important and meaningful song to Lukas.

Closing out this set’s bridge, so to speak, he electrified the crowd with a stirring rendition of Amazing Grace a la Jimmy Hendrix’s Star Spangled Banner at Woodstock. As if teasing Pink Floyd’s Time in an instrumental wasn’t enough, Lukas and POTR busted into the Stones’ instantly recognizable Sympathy for the Devil and closed the show on that point, leaving me hanging and hoping for a rendition of Wasted that was not to come. In another ode to Jimmy, he played a significant guitar solo with his teeth and had the crowd roaring with appreciation for his considerable skills and showmanship.

Without an encore due to time restrictions, Lukas and his band mates did come back on stage to tear down their gear and chat briefly with the few die-hards who remained front and centre. Lukas himself jumped down into the gap between the stage and spoke with four or five of us, handing out his guitar picks and signing a setlist for me. One guy told him he looked just like his dad but with shorter hair, to which he replied, “I know man, it used to be longer.” I was able to thank Lukas for coming to Ottawa, which is a rare tour stop for most in the jam-band scene, and shake his hand, and it’s those experiences that always stand out years later.

I would expect nothing less than for Willie’s son to be a man-of-the-people, and I’m definitely looking forward to his upcoming Canadian tour opening for John Fogerty. See you in September, Lukas!

Invasion of the DJs at Ottawa Bluesfest

Whew.

Almost halfway thru Bluesfest, and now im going to stop and catch my breath. Despite the fact that this is no Bonnaroo or moe.down, and isnt even as intense as a weekend of Phish at SPAC (thank you, Jam On, for that live cast), Ottawa Bluesfest is a 12-day long musical exposition that defies categorization (the name "Bluesfest" notwithstanding) and has always catered to the 9-to-5, hi-tech/government crowd that tends to inhabit Ottawa.

Not this year. Although it remains to be seen how high the receipts will be, it appears as though the baton has been firmly passed to a younger generation of festival goers, namely the young people and students that inhabit Ottawa's many colleges and universities, and the increasingly young population living across the border in Gatineau (what used to be Hull, where we went to drink when we were underage).

Like this kid.

Exhibit A: The theme for this year's fest is "Electro-fied," and the Electro Stage has been consistently occupied with DJs and packed with pill-popping revelers. Just from walking around this year, i have smelled much less smoke and seen much more wild-fist-pound-dancing, so the scene has certainly shifted.

For the jam fans like your truly, i had only a few shows circled on my schedule and, truth be told, had i not gotten a volunteer gig i would have been hard pressed to commit the $250 to a festival pass. As it is, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals on night 1 were phenomenal, with new-goddess-of-rock Grace exuding sexual energy all over the stage and whipping the mostly male crowd into a frenzy with her antics and energy - plus i managed to snag the setlist to add to my collection, which i love. Their cover of White Rabbit was great, Keep on Rocking at the end was even better, and Grace's interactions with the crowd definitely spoke to a familiarity with Ottawa - telling stories about buying records at local shops here, waving a Canada flag on stage - helped to build her a new audience north of the border.

Exhibit B: Invasion of the DJs. Tiesto on night one, LMFAO (not technically DJs but with a similar style of a-melodic party "music"), Tommy Lee pretending to DJ while his partner did all the work, Canadian duo MSTRKRFT, Paul Oakenfold and Chromeo have all drawn huge, exuberant crowds so far. Still on tap are outfits like Wolfgang Gartner and Felix Cartel. However, i use the term "on tap" loosely because, according to the rumblings im hearing from long-time volunteers and festival goers, the beer tents have not been nearly as busy this year as in summers past. Thus, the experiment with catering to a younger generation at the expense of the baby boomers will be interesting to watch unfold, from a bottom line standpoint.

Back to the music ive seen - I would be remiss if i didnt mention a great performance by a Canadian band called the Arkells, from beautiful Hamilton, Ontario, who have a simple, hard rocking formula that they execute very well and rarely disappoint once they get on stage. ive seen them several times and knew what to expect, but i heard many people talking about how awesome they were on the River Stage Friday night.

Another Canadian mainstay, City and Colour, had the opposite impression - in a word, BORING. Before all the Dallas Green fans jump down my throat, ill just state for the record that he is a very talented songwriter and musician, but hey, how about a little energy in your show? The same melody of folk song for an hour and a half gets a little old, and with the great cover of Neil Young's Like A Hurricane they pulled out to close the show, it was obvious that their incredibly boring set could have been so much better.

The biggest surprise of the fest me, so far, has been the Bright Light Social Hour. Not knowing anything about them, i wandered into the crowd last night and was instantly sucked in by their hard driving, Zeppelin-style guitar licks and really heavy, yet evocative bass. Also, i was taking mental bets on whether/when the keyboardist would smash his instrument, pass out or fall off the stage, he was jumping around so much. The Texas quartet has a whole Canadian tour that has just begun, so check out the link above and catch them if you can.

 He went with Devil, and played with his teeth.

After coming over from Lukas Nelson and his band, Promise of the Real, who performed a really tight and crash-tastic (is that a word?) set on the small Electro stage (there were maybe 100 people there too, i was a little embarrassed for Willy Nelson's son to have such a lackluster crowd), Bright Light's energy was just what i wanted to keep my heart pounding. Back to Nelson - one of my most anticipated shows of the fest didnt disappoint, as Lukas showcased some incredible guitar skills, including Jimmy-Hendrix-style teeth jamming during a killer version of Sympathy for the Devil. The band also teased Pink Floyd and Lukas solo-ed a heartfelt electric version of Amazing Grace.

While they did not play Wasted (the song i really wanted to hear and title track of their latest album), Lukas did jump down into the gap after the show, chatting with the sparse crowd that stayed and thanking them for their support. Plus, he gave me a guitar pick and signed the setlist for me - did i mention i love setlists? - and was a real man-of-the-people, so thanks again Lukas. He'll be back in Canada in the fall for a tour with John Fogerty and ill be there, for sure.

So that's the update from Bluesfest, six days in. Quick shout out to the Sierra Leone Refugee All-Stars, some of the best reggae ive heard in a while (Ziggy Marley, eat your heart out). Tonight will be a nostalgic moment for me as I Mother Earth takes the stage, cuz IME was one of the first bands i ever saw live back when i was 15 or so, shows both before and after Edwin left the band. And, if beer sales were in fact flagging, tonight's headliners, Nickelback, will probably bring in the type of crowd who will do something about that. Enjoy the show!

Cosmic Reminder

Just so nobody misses out on a once-in-a-summer opportunity, this is your official reminder that Galactic, those jazz-rockin, funky dudes will be performing a rare Canadian gig on Monday, June 9 in Quebec City. Yes, one of the biggest jam bands of the day is going to play in a gig in a place where only about a quarter of people speak english and they are likely to get booed. Paul McCartney did. And did i mention this show is free? Anyway, ill be stoked to see how they do north of the border and hopefully, Quebecers will show them a good enough time that they want to come back. Soon. Enjoy the show!

Bluesfest Update!

It's officially here music lovers - Ottawa's biggest festival, Bluesfest, and it's kicked off with a bang this year. Grace Potter and the Nocturnals are my highlight so far, but Plants & Animals performed last night alongside LMFAO and Tiesto on opening night, which were gigantic parties and really passed the Bluefest torch to a younger generation of Ottawa festival goers. Tonight's headliners are Connor Oberst and City & Colour, while David Gray, the Arkells, Sleigh Bells and !!! (how the hell do you say that name? Terrible marketing if you ask me) also take the (smaller) stages. Ive been incredibly busy with volunteering - come see me in the Mill Street Pub tent! - and my day job (yes, i do have one), so tomorrow i will consolidate my thoughts and put them in always-accessible blog form, with fewer parentheses (i promise). Till then, follow my witty and worldly observations on Twitter: @CogitoErgoB. Enjoy the show!

Night of the Nocturnals

In honour of Grace Potter and her killer band the Nocturnals, who will be performing tonight at Ottawa Bluesfest, check out this awesome cover of White Rabbit. It's Grace at her Slick-est. Seriously, GPN is one of my most anticipated shows of Bluesfest and it's on the very first night - i hope it's the highlight of the fest for me, but if it is itll be a long two more weeks of music...but hey, there's still Lukas Nelson and the Dirty Heads coming up.

Go see Grace Potter tonight! Go to it! She's awesome  live. Trust me.

Who-What-Where is Jamming Canada This Week?

Today is Monday, so here's a quick rundown on some of the jam-gicians who will be taking their live shows to Canada this week:

•  Ottawa Bluesfest kicks off Wednesday, July 4, and Grace Potter & The Nocturnals help kick things off on opening night.
  
• Lukas Nelson takes the stage at Ottawa Bluesfest on Sunday, July 8. Before that he will be appearing at the Cavendish Beach Music Festival in Cornwall, Ontario July 6-7, and Calgary next week, Monday, July 9.  
   
• Derek Trucks and his lovely wife Susan Tedeschi kick off their band's Canadian tour by headlining the Winnipeg Folk Festival July 6, before making the long drive to Thunder Bay July 7 (they'll probably fly...) This Winnipeg fest actually has a pretty strong jam contingent for such an out-of-the-way fest, also featuring California funkers Ozomatli on July 5 (their only Canadian stop in...ever...?) and on July 8, the Barr Brothers, who i recently wrote about at length after a show at Ottawa's Jazz Fest that made me a believer. Yes, im thirstily drinking the Barr Bros kool-aid.
   
•  Ben Harper takes the stage at Vancouver's PNE Amphitheatre on June 4. His website was causing me trouble before so id suggest Songkick for all Harper related inquiries.  

• Tenacious D rolls into Toronto, or maybe flies - Wonderboy can fly, right? - on July 5 for a gig at Echo Beach. 

And thats all ive been able to dig up for this week for jamming in Canada, but dont worry because for the next mounth and a half or so, with a bit of a break in August and then picking up again in Sept-Oct, the jam scene in the great white north is alive and well. And keep in mind this isnt even close to all the shows going on - just the bands ive designated "jam." Canadian stalwarts the Tragically Hip and Blue Rodeo are also on tour, as well as electro-hot shots LMFAO. So whatever your scene, Canada's partying this summer. Enjoy!