The Ottawa Folk Festival rolled into Hog’s Back Park last night with equal parts indie rock and old-time alt-country.
Montreal-based We Are Monroe, folk artist M. Ward, rollicking jammers Blues Traveler, and Los Angeles-based indie-pop trio Foster the People, Folk Fest drew a diverse crowd; denim-vests in lawn chairs and white hair, and denim-vests in Herschel backpacks and cut-offs. The lawn-chair crowd stuck to the Ravenlaw Stage, while the cut-offs crowd dipped over to Foster.
As soon as they were introduced We Are Monroe drummer Ben Dupuis tore into a frantic beat. He was quickly joined by bassist Pete Juteau, guitarist Jason L, and finally frontman Pat Gomes. The foursome ripped through a bouncy instrumental.
Opening with an instrumental is a gutsy move and We Are Monroe pulled it off without being either contrived or high-brow. The sans-vox opener set the tone for a pressure-driver set.
Clamouring with jangly guitar work, furious drum work, and tight bass lines, the group dipped listeners into a pool of garage and post-punk, alt-rock goodness. They twisted the sounds of bands like The Strokes, Tokyo Police Club, and The Vaccines into an agreeable dose of poppy, dance-beat alternative.
Gomes’ vocals were truly engaging. I could make some half-assed comparison to Young the Giant’s Sameer Gadhia, but that discounts the tone and spread of Gomes’ bass-heavy wailing. The instrumentals as exemplified in the first minutes were top-notch and the sound mix was perfect.
Blues Traveler took the Ravenlaw Stage at 8 p.m., as rain showered the thousands already crowded around the stage.
The New Jersey five-piece was pure talent and their musicianship had a clinical proficiency. Contrary to the pop appeal of We Are Monroe, Blues Traveler’s long-running, jam-style tunes tended to the older listeners.
With covers like “Devil Went Down to Georgia” and Sublime’s essential “What I Got,” the crew wove an unmatched power-blues set. John Popper’s frantic harmonica solos wowed even a few uninterested audience members.
The night ran the risk of losing attention in the waits between bands. While M. Ward and Blues Traveler played tunes to impress and dazzle a demographic with more nostalgic interests, We Are Monroe and headliners Foster the People were decidedly youthful outfits. Bored-looking crowds of young guns trudged aimlessly toward the beer tent while John Popper gave it his all onstage, thoroughly disengaged from the harmonica impresario’s feats.
The three-hour genre-gap left a little too much room for many. Curating a more thoughtful lineup might be in the cards for next year.
