The ninth day of Ottawa Bluesfest was certainly not one for the faint of musical heart, with one of the more eclectic daily lineups taking to the Bell Stage.
Björk (one of the festival’s biggest names and Iceland’s Queen/chief export) was in town to headline the Saturday night festivities, while also bringing a few eclectic opening acts along with her.
American rapper Mykki Blanco was first up, bringing his lyrically aware, cross-dressing persona to life on the hot afternoon. Dressed in a pair of silk boxer shorts and pink seashell-shaped pasties, Blanco leapt around the stage to the delight of the surprisingly tiny crowd.
While it wasn’t the most striking rap act of the festival I had seen, it was still enjoyable to watch nonetheless.
Next up was popular Sacramento hip-hop act Death Grips. A late addition to the festival lineup, they were always a group I had been pining to see since I became aware of their existence.
Ready to deliver their unique brand of visceral, grinding rap, only two of the three members were present. Drummer Zach Hill opted to stay in California to continue work on the band’s next album.
Hearing the power of Death Grips’ music on a recording is one thing, but having their sound pumped at you through a festival’s main stage sound system is a whole new animal. Any sort of notion of aggressiveness was taken to new heights, as producer Flatlander (aka Andy Morin) handled that end of things from the left side of the stage.
He maintained an intense glare throughout the entire show, flipping knobs and pressing buttons on both a keyboard and laptop in a robotic fashion.
The focal point of any Death Grips performance is perhaps the energy exuded by frontman MC Ride (aka Stefan Burnett). With his disheveled beard and a body covered in tattoos, he prowled and paced around the stage menacingly, delivering his lyrics forcefully.
Mosh pits were started near the stage front as fans chose the violent style of dance to sit equally alongside the aggressive sonics. It was safe to say those in attendance knew a little bit more about the band once they had finished their set.
An older gentleman near me who ended up enjoying the set put it nicely, saying it was a “non-stop display of energy.”
With Björk on later that evening, he couldn’t have been more correct.
