Ottawa Bluesfest, Day 4: There was some fun. to be had

DAY 4: Everlast, Shakey Graves, Joy Formidable, Hearts and Mines, Wu-Tang Clan, Rocky Lawrence, Tegan and Sarah, Diamond Rings, Eric Burdon, fun.

GRADE: C+

And then - FINALLY - we had some fun. 'Nuff said.


We'd been anticipating it all day, and we were definitely not dissapointed. Those guys (fun.) put on an incredible show, and were incredibly caught up in the moment. Frontman Nate Ruess poured his soul out onstage to the point where the show almost felt like his autobiography, more like a rock opera about an insecure, depression-addled musician spending "most nights" lying awake and wondering if he'll ever become anything more than he is.

Backed by the Brian May-esque high-pitched guitar flourishes and interactive drumming of his bandmates, Ruess was visibly moved almost to tears at several times during the show, proclaiming this the biggest crowd they had ever played for and often just stopping to take it all in. There were times when it looked like he was fighting it all back and was unable to continue for a moment, as though it was almost too much.
 
It was a moving display of a musician appreciating the moment and a poignant reminder of the magic that can happen at any time at a music festival, for both fans and artist alike. But it took a long, slog of a day to get there. Let me start from the beginning.

I had trouble with this day of the Bluesfest right from the get-go. I knew I had to go see fun., but didnt really have much else that piqued my interest. We arrived early in the afternoon for Everlast, despite the bleak and rainy weather, who always puts on a good show. Sure enough, we got to hear his two big songs, Ends and What It's Like, and had a good time.

And then, we began to wander.

Let me be clear - i love music festivals. They're my favourite place to be. Period. And i love wandering around and discovering new bands, listening to things ive never heard before, enjoying the experience of being outside and drinking beer and listening to music of all kinds. It's just that the offerings at yesterday's Bluesfest were so sparse, and so uninteresting to me, that i actually found myself NOT HAVING A GOOD TIME. And i was very disheartened, because that has literally NEVER happened to me before.

From Austin, Texas' one-man-blues-band Shakey Graves (mildly entertaining), over to vanilla gangsta-rapper Watsky, to the Billy Talent-style rock of Afghan war vets and Ottawa locals Hearts and Mines, to the wall of static sound put up by Joy Formidable, we were looking for something to hook us and nothing ever did.

And then, it was time for Wu-Tang.

Believe me - we tried. We listened as long as we could, but after the 642nd "mother fucker" i could take no more. Twenty minutes or so was enough to confirm that this was, in fact, the opposite of the music i like. Ah well, it happens. There will be other great music to listen to, we figured, as an alternative to Wu-Tang. We went to see aging bluesman Rocky Lawrence, and ended up spending the whole show there just because there was nothing else to go to. He was nothing to write home about but definitely has a lifetime of blues stories to share with the crowd.

Im going to fast-forward through the next 2.5 hours because it was really boring. Not being a fan of Tegan and Sarah (I dont like their radio stuff and their live show lacked a hook or some sort of excitement to keep a non-fan interested), we literally spent 2+ checking out watches and spending money on beer in an effort to have a good time.

Fortunately, fun. saved the day. They turned this day from a total write-off into likely one of the most memorable shows of the festival, and maybe in the recent history of Bluesfest, period.

For the record, it was one of the loudest crowds ive ever heard - not just at Bluefest - and an incredible show, featuring a cover the Rolling Stones You Cant Always Get What You Want and the first real encore of the festival (that went till almost 1130pm!!!!), as well as one of the coolest light and visual displays ive seen in my years of Bluesfest attendance.

It was, really, a special thing to be a part of.

(...dont say it...)

It was a lot of fu-