The final day of Bluesfest arrived after an afternoon of rain that cleared up just in time for the performances.
USS
USS (Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker) was up first on the River Stage. Primarily recognized as an electronic act, they are known for blending derivatives such as dubstep, drum and bass, and two-step with rock and pop musics.
The Toronto duo of guitarist/vocalist Ash Buchholz and turntablist/hype man Jason “Human Kebab” Parsons have strong ties to the Ottawa area, with local FM station Live 88.5 having given them consistent radio play for the past six years.
The term “hype man” is perhaps an understatement for Parsons, with his infectious energy and party hard attitude working well to keep the audience entertained and engaged.
Parsons might have heard of Action Bronson’s antics the day before, with his own performance including cartwheeling and flipping around the stage, pulling a stage dive only three songs into the set, and scratching a record while doing a headstand.
Splitting time between older tracks and a handful of new ones from their February record Advanced Basics, USS finished strong with a cover of Outkast’s “Hey Ya.” Perhaps it was more of a nod to a group music fans wished the festival snapped up for this year.
Sam Roberts
Sam Roberts and his band can be considered festival veterans at this point, having played Bluesfest six times. Apparently their dedication isn’t quite enough to get a spot on the Bell Stage over a band like AWOLNATION, but the Montréal native made his material shine in what was a quality performance.
With the majority coming from his latest effort, Lo Fantasy, he made sure to pull out old favourites from the back catalogue such as “Bridge to Nowhere,” “Brother Down,” and “Where Have All the Good People Gone,” to the delight of all those in attendance.
Collective Soul
As the full moon rose high into the sky, a band as old as the festival took to the stage to celebrate a big anniversary as well. Atlanta alt-rock vets Collective Soul were on hand to close out the evening. Opening with two newer songs was a tactic that had the audience confused – so much so that one woman came up to me and asked who was onstage.
“We got them out of the way so you didn’t have to take a beer break in the middle of the set,” singer Ed Roland joked. “Now you’re going to hear some stuff that you’ve heard way too many times before.”
The hit parade began from there, launching into classics like “Heavy”, “December”, and “Where the River Flows.” Of course, their biggest hit “Shine” was saved for an encore that had everyone on their feet.
The band is currently working on their ninth studio release.
Feeling old yet? Another moment that triggered such a feeling was when Roland told the crowd that Moist, who had played hours earlier, was the first band they ever toured Canada with in the early nineties (though for the record, David Usher looks like he hasn’t aged one bit.)
I bet that anecdote took a few audience members down memory lane.
