Day 2 at Bluesfest could certainly be classifed as more of a “pop central” day, but I decided to venture down to the festival to check things out.
Upon my arrival, I noticed that the crowd was much bigger than that of day one, and the vast majority of those in attendance were decked out in a cacophony of neon colours. These festival-goers were here, of course, to see LMFAO, which I will talk about later on. The first act I happened upon was Canadian pop sensation Carly Rae Jepsen. With quite a big crowd in front of her, Jepsen offered up some material from her debut release, as well as some yet to be released fare. But for the majority of the crowd (and myself, admittedly), the highlight of the set was the chart-topping hit “Call Me Maybe,” to which the crowd jumped and sang along to cheerily.
Satisfied with having finally witnessed that song live, I wandered over towards the main stage to catch a bit of Charles Bradley and his Extraordinaires. From the moment I started watching, I had a feeling he was the real deal when it came to classic soul music. Bradley’s story is also as grand as his music: having grown up homeless for the majority of his life, he travelled working as a singer until he was discovered doing James Brown covers in a bar. Despite having paid tribute to a soul music giant, Bradley carved his own niche with his incredible vocal performance, and bringing a real sense of meaning to the music. He stopped every once in a while between songs to thank the crowd for watching and appreciating the music (with a flawless performance from the backing band). Busting out some classic dance moves, and even delivering a little Canadian content in the form of a soulful cover of Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold,” Bradley and his Extraordinaires were a wonderful act to see at this year’s festival.
In a world of rampant debauchery and excess partying, LMFAO reign supreme. The show began at 9 p.m. with band member Red Foo appearing onstage to announce that his shuffling partner, Sky Blu, was unable to make the show.
“He injured his back shufflin’ and when you’ve got such a big package, you’re front-loaded, so he rolled over and was choked by his own penis,” he explained.
I was exceptionally devastated by this news, and was unsure whether the show would be able to go on. Thankfully it did, and Red Foo and his squad of backup dancers were able to deliver some good clean family fun complete with alcohol abuse, overtly sexual lyrics and gestures, and giant inflatable zebras. Only three songs in, I knew I was in for the greatest show of my life. It warmed the cockles of my heart watching the abundance of 8 year-old children atop their parents shoulders, singing along to each and every song Red Foo was able to perform. As the kids and parents alike chanted to “put that ass to work”, and sang along to the timeless classic as “I’m in Miami Bitch”, LMFAO was successful in showing me that they have worked hard to educate and inform today’s families on what makes quality music, and what activities make for a good family environment. If you know me, you’re probably laughing in disbelief right now. The things you just read were actually quite contrary, and I’ll let that sink in for a second. Remember kids: I’m betting your parents found all that neon clothing cool way back in the 80’s too.
After drowning my sorrows on the state of popular music with a nice Tankhouse amber ale, I decided to head down to the River Stage to check out Plants and Animals, an indie rock trio from Montreal. With a sound that can only be described as the unholy marriage of Sam Roberts and the Arkells with a dash of Xavier Rudd, the group’s sound incorporated elements of roots, folk, country, and even progressive rock to create a wonderful musical melange. Very energetic, the group put on a wonderful show for those in attendance, displaying incredible musicianship in a confident and exciting manner. I was very pleased with the way they kept the ‘party’ separate from the ‘rock’: a key for any musical act that is looking to be taken seriously.
Day Three will be a nice change of pace, going heavy on the Canadian content with Arkells, City and Colour, and Carleton connection Kalle Mattson: I can’t wait to check out all these great live acts!
