The Little Festival That Could

Now that the Ottawa folk festival has had a chance to digest in my system, far from passing right through me, it’s been stuck in my stomach like a good comfort food, warming my bones and lulling me into a contented sleepiness.

Set up in a quiet little green space enclosed by towering maples and evergreens, the festival grounds was large enough to accommodate its biggest crowds, but intimate enough to create an atmosphere for even the sparsely attended performances.

The best thing about Folkfest, perhaps, was that it was true to its name – unlike so many other festivals out there (ahem, “Blues” fest, ahem). It was folky from start to finish, and while many of the 1965 Newport Folk Festival crowd would cringe at the electric guitars and amps many of the performers used, the weekend never pretended to be anything other than what it was.

I have to admit, when I first saw the lineup for Folkfest, I thought, “That’s it?” My expectations were low. Headlining performances by Bon Iver, Ben Harper, Dan Mangan, Great Big Sea and Lyndsey Buckingham at first glance left something to be desired. There was even a day when there were more stages set up than bands performing.

Somehow – perhaps, right according to plan – Folkfest organizers pulled off their most successful showing to date. Now brought to you by the same people who run Ottawa Bluesfest, Folkfest’s scope and ambitions have grown. This year had the sense of a prelude of greater things to come, both from the standpoint of the musical talent and from the capitalist, sponsorship and profit-generating potential. You know what I mean.

Back to the music. To reiterate, my expectations were low. Beyond the headliners, I found myself unimpressed with the rest of the bands in the sparsely populated lineup, with some exceptions. Matthew Good, Matt Mays, Hey! Rosetta, Great Lake Swimmers, Kathleen Edwards, LP, Said the Whale and Alberta Cross are all talented bands, don’t get me wrong, but they wont make me spend $100 on a festival pass.

Or so I thought. As it turned out, the only two shows I was disappointed by were two of the three I was anticipating: Hooded Fang and Ben Harper. I wont say too much about the Ben Harper show because everyone, across the board, seemed to love it, but I found it to be self-indulgent and lacking focus. I mean, who opens a show with a five-minute, meandering xylophone solo? And while Ben did appear to be opening up emotionally to the crowd, I found myself uninspired. For example, he played Burn One Down just a few songs in, almost as if to get it out the way, and sounded more whiny and warbly than he usual does. He did NOT play Burn to Shine, which surprised me, but at least I got my favourite, Excuse Me Mr.

Canadian indie darlings Hooded Fang – whose lead singer, Dan Lee, I interviewed before the fest – appeared nervous. Their on-stage banter was forced and unnatural, and they didn’t have enough material to fill their one-hour time slot. I know that because they told the crowd there was a timer at the side of the stage, and then kept telling us exactly how much time was left. And then they said they had no more material, and the crowd started yelling for them to play everyone’s favourite cover, Brown Eyed Girl. Gotta love a folk festival…

Meanwhile, Matt Mays, Hey! Rosetta and Said the Whale all put on good performances, but the standouts of the fest, for me, fell into two categories: Those who I didn’t know anything about and wasn’t expecting much of; and those I thought I wouldn’t like and who, as a result, blew me away. Examples.

Exhibit A: Whitehorse. This spunky Canadian husband-and-wife duo has that blistering blues-rock guitar sound the Black Keys have built a career around. Plus Melissa McLelland is much more attractive than Dan Auerbach. I was quite impressed with the wall of sound they were able to produce as just two people on stage, with Luke Doucet playing guitar while stomping on drum pedals. A very entertaining performance.

Exhibit B: the headliners. I realize this may be a minority opinion, but i was bored by Dan Mangan’s latest album (the blue one with the Queen on it), and I thought Bon Iver was like a male version of Enya. Well, I don’t know if fest organizers told those guys, “Listen – you’re headliners, you gotta, y’know, bring it.” – well, they did.

Bon Iver, playing under a drapery of canvas canopies that looked to me like a pirate ship, played a very entertaining set. His show is filled with climactic highs and somber lows, with long, philosophical harmonies that feel more like soliloquies than musical notes – it was almost as though I was watching a Disney movie turned into a classic opera, combined with the Eagles. Think about that.

As for Dan Mangan, he didn’t bore me. His set was upbeat and rocked enough that I didn’t leave. That’s a victory for him, because I was going to.

Before I get into my real surprise and highlight of the fest, I would be remiss if I did not mention Yukon Blonde. My third anticipated show (and third time seeing them this summer) was the best, simply because they didn’t even bring a setlist on stage – they just came out and did their thing, played their music, and they tore the roof off. I really like these guys. During the show it began to rain softly and, with the wind kicking up a bit, you could see the drops blowing across the stage and toward the crowd. It was a really cool natural lighting effect and a great festival moment.  

But for me, what was worth the price of admission was Patrick Watson. This Canadian indie band – somewhat pretentiously named after the lead singer/pianist for a group with four-plus members – had a really interesting style I haven’t heard since Supertramp created it. Watson, setting himself up behind an actual piano (by that I mean not a keyboard) is a natural and talented performer, and beautifully combines the softness of his piano with his band’s rock and indie elements, as well as some really interesting, Pink Floyd-esque musical forays into classical and operatic territory. Guitarist Simon Angell has a very David-Gilmour style. I did think, at times, they sacrificed their desire to play a heavier rock sound on the altar of soaring harmonies – but hey, it’s a folk fest, after all.

And so, on the strength of free tickets given away to all the first-year frosh students at Ottawa’s universities to pack the crowd, the Ottawa Folk Festival’s most successful year is in the books. We’re left with more rockin’ memories than we would have anticipated, a satisfying warmth in our hearts and a catchy sing-along tune in our heads. Until next year, when Metallica and Snoop Dogg headline.