It doesn’t feel like I’ve been at Bluesfest for an entire week, but last night was certainly a special day seven, playing host to a few music legends as well as a raucous opening act.
Gogol Bordello
Starting the evening off with a bang was Gogol Bordello—a band who ranked high on my list of things to check out at this year’s festival. Having always heard that they put on a wild live show, I wasn’t let down in the slightest by their energetic gypsy punk music.
A large mosh pit opened up only mere moments after the opening chords, and never seemed to stop all the way through rollicking renditions of “We Rise Again” and “Not a Crime.”
Lead vocalist Eugene Hütz proved a force to be reckoned with on stage, running wildly and strumming his guitar with a vim and vigor so pronounced, you were wondering when the strings would snap right off. His energy knew no bounds, and the poor stage hand couldn’t seem to keep him contained, having to come out every other minute to untangle a microphone cable or pick up a mic stand.
The antics didn’t stop there.
Taking the liberty of bringing his own bottle of wine onstage, Hütz enjoyed only a few swigs before shaking it onto audience members, tossing it up in the air, and beating a marching drum with it in place of a mallet. It safe to say that believing the hype this time around paid off.
Procol Harum
The biggest sea of lawn chairs I’ve seen this year materialized for Procol Harum’s arrival on the Bell Stage. Founded in 1966, the English group is largely recognized for helping spark the interest of symphonic arrangements in rock music.
Vocalist Gary Brooker and the rest of his bandmates were surrounded by Ottawa’s own National Arts Centre Orchestra July 11—an accompanying group sporting a full 50 members and a 24-voice choir. No stranger to such arrangements in the band’s music, Brooker and company were still more than capable in performing staples such as “Conquistador” and “A Whiter Shade of Pale” and lesser-known selections such as “Grand Hotel.”
Conductor David Firman did a masterful job of guiding the orchestra through each moment of grandeur. Seen as one of the more daring performances the festival has put on in recent years, you could certainly chalk this one up as a success.
John Mayall
Another blues music highlight on the Blacksheep stage came in the form of John Mayall, a bluesman with a career spanning over 50 years. Putting out over 60 records since the mid-sixties, he has a history of surrounding himself with talented musicians, with his blues bands having given rise to the likes of Eric Clapton, Mick Taylor, and Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac fame.
The performance doubled as both a blues concert and a blues history lesson, with the 80-year-old Mayall playing a selection of covers from the likes of the legends he played alongside – Albert King, Jimmy Reed, and Otis Rush to name a few.
Though his guitar work seemed a bit shaky at first, it improved as the show went along. But all the while, his harmonica playing, piano playing, and vocals were all something to behold. With a talented band in tow – practically a requirement at this stage in his career—the blues is still very much alive within Mayall.
