Tuesday at Bluesfest was another day I was greatly looking forward to. New Swears would be playing the Canadian Stage, and I was very excited to see them perform after interviewing them last month. This band of four is probably one of the funniest groups of people I’ve ever had the privilege of meeting. Their lighthearted, good-time loving antics translate beautifully onto the stage.
Not to mention they were all born and raised within the Ottawa borders (it’s very important to support the local talent at an event as big as Bluesfest). When I got to the Canadian Stage I bore witness to the small, but extremely devoted fan base New Swears had—although to my delight as it got close to 6 p.m., more and more curious attendees showed up for the show. It wasn’t until around 6:10 that the band finally walked walked on stage, beer in hand (or, in the case of Scru Bar, back pocket), which must have partially been due to Sammy J. Scorpion’s left leg being in a cast.
Before they started, Scru Bar announced to the audience that their “resident chef” would be preparing food throughout the show, which explained the microwave sitting on top of one of their amps.
The show itself was a blast—they played their signature brand of laid-back rock tunes with passion, throwing in tasty guitar solos and taking turns pressing down frets on their guitars while the downed beer after beer amidst the chaos of the forming mosh-pit in the centre of the crowd. What really strikes me about their performance is how in-tune the group is with one another—rather than having a lead singer, all four members sing in harmony for every song, trading lines back and forth and otherwise having a blast on stage.
As for the aforementioned chef, in reality it was just a member of their posse wearing an apron inscribed with “THA CHEF” and an afro wig, popping popcorn in the microwave, dumping it on the band while they performed, and throwing slices of bread into the audience. New Swears are rightfully renowned for their messy, crazy live show.
Once New Swears had finished their set, I made my way to the Bell Stage to catch Future Islands, a Baltimore-based sythpop band hot off the success of their latest record, Singles. Again, I was very excited for this show after seeing their now-famous Late Show with David Letterman performance of their hit single “Seasons (Waiting on You),” which showcased Samuel Herring’s intense stage presence. Anyone who makes the claim that the Letterman performance was a one-off would be completely wrong.
The second the band walked on stage, they absolutely owned the audience. From the first note that came out of Herring’s magisterial throat I was absolutely flabbergasted—not only does he have an incredible voice, but also an incredible amount of passion as well. For every single song he sang, you could see him feeling each line and using the emotion behind it to drive his performance, all the while manipulating his voice in order to take advantage of the live venue. Future Islands’ music is great on record—it’s absolutely incredible live. The expertly crafted melodies combined with Herring’s amazing voice and his crazy onstage antics resulted in a truly unforgettable experience.
Even towards the end of the show when it started to rain and the band was in the process of being shooed off stage, Herring merely pointed towards the ecstatic audience, all of whom I’m sure were just as blown away as I was, and they were allowed to play a few more songs. Obviously much of the crowd was most looking forward to seeing “Seasons,” performed, and by God when they played that my life changed forever—the song is written with such honesty and wisdom on its own, so seeing it performed with such feeling by the band while being sang back by hundreds of people in the crowd was an absolutely incredible experience.
Future Islands are a band that writes songs imbued with decades of wisdom and emotion and their performances truly show it. If you ever get the opportunity to see them live, even if you’ve never heard a single song by them, I don’t doubt they will change your life for the better. Their lyrics provide warmth, comfort, and release for every emotion you’ve ever felt, their sythpop melodies make you dance and Samuel Herring’s passionate performance will make you lose yourself in bliss. I’ll remember this show for the rest of my life.
