With camping chairs and blankets sprawled everywhere, music lovers crammed into Confederation Park to listen to headliner Feist kick off the Ottawa Jazz Festival on June 23.
Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe opened with remarks thanking the crowd for supporting artists, live music and the Jazz Festival for over 40 years.
“Ottawa is a music city,” Sutcliffe said. “Your support is what makes events like this possible.”
Canadian singer-songwriter Feist began the night by walking into the crowd, planting her feet on the grass and acknowledging the unceded Algonquin Nation Territory on which the festival is located.
“As a guest of this place, I’m just beginning to understand that it is my responsibility to recognize and respect treaty relationships,” she said. “I’d like to sing with gratitude that I get to live my life here while also listening and learning the wisdom of the people who were here long before me.”
Feist then opened her set with “I Took All Of My Rings Off” and “In Lightning”, both from her newest album Multitudes. For those unfamiliar with her latest work, these songs were a gateway into the new looping and layering world of Feist. A hush fell over the audience as she captivated everyone with her guitar playing and gentle, breathy vocals.
The slower, more thought-provoking song “Any Party” from her 2017 album Pleasure provided good fun, with Feist initiating an impromptu call-and-response session with the audience.
“What were you doing in 2011?” Feist asked before launching into “A Commotion” and “The Bad In Each Other” off her Metals album. One child among the age-diverse crowd answered, “I wasn’t even born yet!”, garnering chuckles from those who heard.
“A Commotion” provided energy and liveliness to the crowd, and the pounding chorus enlisted shouts from the audience. Feist’s warm, haunting vocals alongside a pink and orange sunset created a wholesome, reflective atmosphere.
When her mic cut out temporarily during “How Come You Never Go There,” Feist returned to the crowd with a story of a spider landing on her mic, which was later video-broadcasted to the crowd.
Feist’s vocal control shone through with a breathy and strung-out introduction to “Sealion” from her 2007 album Reminders. Fan favourites “My Moon My Man” and “Mushaboom” garnered loud cheers and dancing from the crowd as well.
A quiet crowd to start, Feist got everyone out of their camping chairs for the pop-infused, old-school classic “I Feel It All” from Reminders. With the energy high and the crowd on their feet, many did not want the night to end. Loud chants of “One more song!” eventually pulled Feist back on stage for her encore.
Feist capped off the night with an effortlessly cool deconstructed version of “1234”—the song that started it all back in 2007. She got the crowd to participate in a three-part harmony, with each section holding its own, while she sang the melody.
A seasoned musician and expert vocalist, Feist’s vocal control alongside her talented band exuded coolness, confidence and genuine warmth. With Feist kicking off the first night of the week-long festival, more jazzy, indie talent were to come, with Lord Huron and Laufey taking to the stage.
Featured image by Bianca McKeown/The Charlatan.
