In just half an hour The Heavy turned a reserved crowd into a howling wolf pack, and the whole park was on its feet by the time the jazz-rockers closed their set.
The UK band took the stage at Confederation Park as part of the Ottawa Jazz Festival’s opening night.
The band opened with an energy they carried throughout the show. Frontman Kelvin Swaby told the crowd to make sure their voices were in check and loud before the band broke into the dark, thick groove of “Can’t Play Dead.”
Despite Swaby’s encouragements, much of the crowd sat still in their lawn chairs as the show pushed on.
By the third song, the crowd was starting to show the slightest signs of energy, though the standing room beside the stage was already jumping and dancing.
Meanwhile Swaby chided, “You won’t testify to being devils, but I know there are devils in Ottawa.”
The band then broke out into “Sixteen,” a song that sounded akin to an apocalyptic carnival. The saxophones bopped and an organ jumped while the lyrics came in darkly, “I saw her dancin’ with the devil/and he was wearing my shoes.”
The song was capped off by guitarist Dan Taylor tearing a gritty solo out of his aquamarine Fender Jaguar.
When the band got halfway through their set, they brought out “Big Bad Wolf,” and Swaby had the crowd screaming “What’d you say?” and howling like wolves at the song’s chorus.
From there, Swaby declared he would have the crowd sing with him on every song for the rest of the set, beginning with the bluesy call and response of “What Makes A Good Man.”
The band oozed stage presence throughout the show, with saxophones blaring out like war horns, and Swaby’s continual swear-filled banter. He did, however, apologize for his rough language at times.
“I’m trying to watch my expletives,” admitted Swaby, “but fuck it’s difficult.”
The band knew just how to play a crowd. When the excitement seemed to be reaching a breaking point, they brought it down to a lull with the swing-ballad inspired “Blood Dirt Love Stop.”
Next, they pitted half of the audience against the other the other in a cheering contest, pushing the energy over the edge just in time to break out their closer, fan favourite “How You Like Me Now?”
For the entire song, the audience was on its feet, dancing, shouting and simply loving the music.
And so The Heavy, who walked on the stage to a round of half-hearted applause, walked off to a standing ovation.
