Dan Mangan
Singer-songwriter Dan Mangan closed the 2012 Ottawa Folk Festival’s fourth day with a rousing, emotional set before a massive crowd.
Mangan, backed by a six-piece band that included trumpet, violin and saxophone players, mainly stuck to songs from last year’s Oh Fortune. He also sprinkled in choice cuts from 2009’s Nice, Nice, Very Nice.
The band generally brought their A-game to the newer songs. On “Leaves, Trees, Forest,” a rolling rhythm section backed a skipping, high-pitched lead guitar line. “Post-War Blues,” one of the livelier songs on Oh Fortune, gave the set an added push after a few slower songs.
On the other hand, set openers “As Helpful as You Can Get Without Being Any Help At All” and “Oh Fortune” featured the band at its busiest. This meant that Mangan’s vocals sometimes got lost in the shuffle. It was mainly on slow songs that the nuances in Mangan’s voice got the chance to shine. The acoustic accompaniment to “Basket” highlighted his bare delivery and reflective lyrics.
Mangan’s interactions with the crowd were also a highlight. As he crowd surfed during “Robots,” he invited a few fans who had made cardboard robot heads up on stage. To close his set, he led the audience in a chant-along version of “So Much for Everyone” off his first album Postcards and Daydreaming.
Patrick Watson
Mangan wasn’t the only charming act, though. An hour earlier, Patrick Watson led a large audience through a thrilling rendition of “Big Bird in a Small Cage.” Both the song and the set excelled due to his theatrical flair and technical skill.
Watson and his band took the stage blanketed with fog and heavily lit. The lights proved essential to the set, creating a hazy backdrop to spirited freak-outs like “Luscious Life.” They also added a sense of intimacy to sparser moments like “The Quiet Crowd,” lighting Watson and company from below instead of using a spotlight.
The performances were even better. Watson’s voice is thin and ethereal. He’s very good at singing softer parts, but he can also project very well. His band was tight and eclectic. Set-closer “Where the Wild Things Are” featured each member improvising a little while never falling out of step with the group. “Into Giants,” meanwhile, had Watson, two guitarists and two backing vocalists gathered cozily around a single microphone.
John K. Samson
John K. Samson, frontman of Winnipeg indie-rock darlings the Weakerthans, proved even cozier. Samson played a late afternoon solo set accompanied by Snailhouse (Michael Feuerstack) on electric guitar.
Despite heavy sound bleed from another set, Samson knew how to keep his crowd attentive and happy. Weakerthans hits like “One Great City” and “Tournament of Hearts” got warm responses. Given Samson’s poetic, heartfelt delivery, it’s easy to see why.
Songs off his solo record Provincial also proved to be highlights. Feuerstack’s slight, subtle slide guitar made Samson’s plaintive delivery on “Letter in Icelandic from the Ninette San” and “The Last And” achingly poignant. Overall, it set a high standard that the rest of the acts more than lived up to for the rest of the night.
