Thursday was probably the weakest day in the Bluesfest lineup for anyone who isn’t a fan of country music.
The main headliner was Keith Urban, an artist I have absolutely no leanings towards. Canadian indie-darlings Mother Mother would be taking to the Canadian Stage and modern EDM Godfather Paul Oakenfold would be lighting up the Monster Stage. Between those three headliners (two I suppose—there was zero chance of me going to see Keith Urban), I had a tough time deciding who I would see. In the end, I landed on Paul Oakenfold at the Monster Stage and decided therefore to check out Ilan Bluestone, another English DJ who would be playing Monster Stage before Paul Oakenfold’s set.
Upon arrival I was disappointed to see only a small crowd of people at the show, where blues artist Lurrie Bell had just finished playing. It was also still sunny out, which I find has a negative effect on any sort of dance music show. By the time Ilan Bluestone came on stage, the crowd had grown quite a bit but the sun was still shining and I was wondering just how this would turn out.
Bluestone’s set was, in all honesty, rather boring. The sunny setting, lackluster crowd, and stodgy setlist left me questioning why I was still at the stage. The crowd was barely able to get into the show and there was a major lack of energy about the place, which completely defeats the purpose of an EDM show.
Bluestone’s style was interesting, opting for less drop-heavy music when compared to the most popular DJs in the business, but as a whole his music was repetitive and bland, although for all I know my boredom made me biased. However, I do think that were he to play a more suitable venue—perhaps an hour later in the dark or at a club instead of outdoors—Bluestone’s show would have been perfectly adequate. His spinning has the ability to get people moving, but the timing of the show ruined what could have been.
Around half an hour into the set, when I realized I had checked my phone 43 times in the last minute, I seriously questioned what I was doing there. This show was not designed for someone like me, who was there alone, to have a good time. I decided to leave and check out Hilotrons at the Canadian Stage, a bizarre local band that specializes in the unorthodox.
The first thing I heard when I approached the stage was lead vocalist Michael Dubue saying to the crowd, “This next song is called ‘Messages from your Skin,’ and it’s about fucking! So let’s give it up for fucking, everybody!” Already I questioned the half hour I had spent at Ilan Bluestone—Hilotrons were immediately more interesting. Alas, I only caught the last three songs they played, but damn they were good. This band knows how to play music that pushes boundaries.
After Hilotron’s magnetic set, I ran into a friend who was extremely excited to see Mother Mother and, having grown tired of watching shows alone, decided to stay and see what Mother Mother had to offer, despite not really being a fan of theirs. I was surprised by how big a following they had—the crowd was gigantic and truly excited for Mother Mother to perform.
The band swaggered on stage to thunderous applause and rapturous cheering before playing a set of their upbeat, energetic, and ultimately generic indie-pop tunes. I quite liked their performance of “The Stand,” the 2012 single that thrust them into the Canadian alternative scene. The song is definitely a standout because it takes advantage of the three singers’ abilities to play off one another while crafting an outrageously catchy song. However, after about five songs I couldn’t help but wonder how Paul Oakenfold’s show was turning out, so I decided to head back to the Monster Stage.
Immediately upon arrival I was impressed—the crowd at Ilan Bluestone had expanded greatly and now that the sun was truly down, Oakenfold was set up with the ideal venue for a dance show. Even through my fatigue, I couldn’t help but have a good time to Paul’s music, and nothing quite beats the sight of hundreds of people’s hands in their air when the multi-coloured lights hit the audience.
The setlist wasn’t anything special, but what made the show fun was Oakenfold’s ability to read the audience and play into what they wanted. When he noticed a lull in energy he played a remix of everyone’s favourite Red Hot Chili Peppers song, “Otherside,” which got the entire crowd singing alone in glee before getting them jumping again when the beat kicked in. I was also greatly amused when he played his remix of Darude’s rave classic, “Sandstorm,” turning a song that has become something of a joke into a dance tune that even the young Bluesfest audience could enjoy. As a whole, it was an interesting show but I don’t know how many more EDM shows my body can handle this week.
I learned a valuable lesson today—I need more Hilotrons in my life.
