The Weekend of the Last Weekend of Bluesfest

Yes, it's a long title... whatcha gonna do about it? Exactly.

[BTW, my stuff got deleted cuz I hit back, so... this might not be as good.]

I had one of the funnest weekends ever! Did an 11-3 shift on Sat at Bluesfest. Totally fun! I was working at main gate checking for tickets (stamping peeps for 'em), stamps and wristbands. Made a coupla new friends along the way. I have a nice tan now. Fam had a BBQ dinner so I couldn't stay longer but would've if I could.

On Sun, I had the same shift. Was the guardian of the stuff at the Alternate's section 'til like one or something. Then I headed over to main gate to do the same stuff as yesterday (checking for stuff). Was, like, totally awesome!! We had a par-tay and ate lots of food back at Alternates at around 3ish. There was egg sandwiches, potato salad, coleslaw, macrononi (or however you spell it) salad, spanich dip with mini pita breads, grapes, and raw veggies w/ salad dressing. Mmm Mmm! Then I headed back to main gate to "guard" some more until, like, 5ish and I went to see an Ottawan act, the Tony D Band w/ Trevor Finaly & Roxanne Potvin. Roxanne is soo AWESOME!!!! I mean, she is really really good.

Then I stuck around to see the main person I wanted to see the whole Bluesfest.... Kathleen Edwards!! Such talent there!! I was only a few (4-5) rows of ppl from the stage so I had a real good view!! Man, you can't get better free seats than that!! Of course, something more amazing was... I was standing beside Kathleen's mom!! *squeals* Isn't that cool???? *grins* I was very happy yesterday. (And it was not just cuz I didn't have to stand my annoying bros all day!! But that was still kewl.)

Oh... and I made my first wallpaper the other day. Forgot to show off here. Hang on...

Title: Plane Chit-Chat and Thanks (A Dark Turn)
Pictures: Alias Media, Two Evil Monks
Texture: None
Brushes: Fuzzball!!!
Font: Courier New
Words: Plane Scene... Need I say more?





Pretty cool huh? I was getting a major "aww..." moment while watching that clip (Jack and Irina's little chat in A Dark Turn) from "Two Evil Monks". Actually it was from the Catacombs, which is really an awesome place to watch clips of Alias. The site is just amazing on it's own. I love the quirky comments they use to explain the eps!! Heh heh... very amusing...

Anyways... I think that's it. No... there's another wp I wanted to show off then the lovely article dedicated to the last day of the Bluesfest. First, the wp...

Title: Almost Tangible
Pictures: Sue's Crew, PAX
Texture: TRE
Brushes: Fuzzball!!!
Fonts: Georgia, Scriptina
Lyrics: "Stupid" by Sarah McLachlan



And the article...

Singing the festival's praises
What better way to celebrate Bluesfest, writes Lynn Saxberg, than to distribute special festival awards.

Lynn Saxberg, With files from Patrick Langston
The Ottawa Citizen

Monday, July 19, 2004

Festival kingpin Mark Monahan deserves an award for his calm reassurance at a news conference last week that the final weekend of Ottawa's Bluesfest would not be affected by the last-minute cancellation of a sister event in Toronto.

We'll call it the poker-face award.

The 42-year-old impresario didn't flinch when he told reporters there would be no changes to the lineup in Ottawa -- unless, he added later, artists decided to hang around an extra day.
Well, as everyone who attended the 11th annual edition of Ottawa's biggest bash was well aware, there were so many schedule changes over the weekend that it was necessary to seek out an updated copy of the lineup immediately upon one's arrival on site each day.

But only one cancellation appeared to be a direct result of the capsized Toronto fest.

That was the Black Keys' show on the Birdman stage Saturday. Because the duo was only scheduled to do the two shows in Canada, when Toronto was cancelled, they bailed on Ottawa. Fans booed when the news was announced from the Birdman stage; it was the second year in a row the Black Keys didn't make it to Bluesfest.
Other disappointments were no-shows by Bernard Allison, Olu Dara, Bob Log II, Tracy Nelson and Angela Strehli, some of whom had problems crossing the border.

But there were also schedule changes that paid off.

Xavier Rudd, for example. Because of the Toronto derailment, the Australian singer-songwriter stuck around until Saturday to do a mainstage performance -- at the invitation of Monahan, who had witnessed his stunning Black Sheep stage show Friday evening.

That Saturday show was THE most talked-about performance of the entire 10-day festival. One gold-circle dweller told me that, in his seven years of Bluesfest, it was right up there among the best-ever shows.
He's right.

A sturdy blond fellow with an infectious smile, Rudd was like Kurt Cobain on Prozac, healthy, happy and bursting with music. Surrounded by didjeridoos, percussion and playing guitar across his lap, he was a one-man band of worldbeat rhythms, sweet melodies and a voice that never gets tiresome.
As he began, a cluster of dancing fans at the side of the crowd suddenly grew, indicating that word on the previous night's show had spread. And as he performed, you could see the groundswell of enthusiasm spreading to the back of the audience.

Rudd felt the appreciation, remarking on "so many good people giving out so many good vibes.
"I feel lucky to be able to connect with peaceful people on a sunny day in a sunny environment," he said.
"Thank you for your energy. It feels beautiful."

By the end of the festival, Rudd was the year's bestselling artist. According to Compact Music co-owner Ian Boyd, more than 900 Rudd CDs were sold in his merchandise tents.

Rudd also gets our award for the discovery of the year.

And speaking of awards, without further ado, here are more people and performances that stood out as worthy candidates for recognition from the 2004 Bluesfest.

Best performance: The weather. "I woke up to a bad weather forecast every day," said artistic director Monahan. "But it was like the clouds parted at 5 or 6 o'clock. It was unbelievable."

Best dancer: The kid in the yellow shirt boogeying in the mainstage crowd was Alex Koens, 12, who's been with his family at every Bluesfest since he was a baby.

He says he grew up in a rockin' house and learned to dance in the kitchen.

The baby-don't-tolerate award: Lyle Lovett asking a "hippie" to butt out his joint. "I don't smoke marijuana and I don't want your second-hand smoke in my face," he said. "Eat it or shoot it but don't smoke it."

The you've-gotta-be-kidding award: The Bluesfest swat team actually descended on the toker to make sure he complied.

The Bluesfest peace prize: To the woman who offered a blanket to the group of twentysomethings who stood in front of a group of lawnchair-sitters. The youngsters obediently sat down on it to watch the show.

Top money-maker: Robert Cray's reasonable fee and a huge crowd on Saturday gave the festival its most successful show.

Best ambience: The Black Sheep stage for such a great selection of acts, the groovy backdrops on stage and the freedom to dance barefoot on the grass.

Mr. Nice Guy award: It's a tough call between Colin James and Jim Cuddy but we're giving it to James because of his crowd-pleasing show on Tuesday.

Canada's No. 1 Panty Guy: We'll give this one to Blue Rodeo's Jim Cuddy because that's how Kathleen Edwards described him when he made a surprise appearance during her mainstage set yesterday to sing harmonies on Hockey Skates. It had something to do with her throwing underwear at him during a show.

Best hair: Chris Isaak over Lyle Lovett. No contest.

Best display of childlike enthusiasm: Texas Horns' Mark "Kaz" Kazanoff gets this award for being so thrilled at playing with the ageless dynamo Betty Levette yesterday. "This is like seeing Otis Redding," he gushed backstage. "Wow."

Hardest working musicians: Mark Kazanoff, John Mills and Gary Slechta are the Austin-based Texas horns. They're invited to Bluesfest every year to back up any act that wants the extra whallop of a top-notch horn section. After a full shift on site Saturday, they had to keep up with the amazing twentysomething singer-guitarist Roxanne Potvin at the Rainbow Bistro. The gig went on until the wee hours.

Rising Star: This award goes to the aforementioned Roxanne Potvin, a local girl who, as Kaz says, gets better and better and better every year. A great singer and guitarist with an impressive knowledge of blues and R & B, she got a standing ovation after her mainstage debut yesterday when she played a couple of songs with Tony D. Let's hope we see more of her next year.

Last thing you'd expect at Bluesfest: To be dancing in a light rain to the Tuvan throat singers Huun Huur Tu at the Black Sheep stage, who kind of sounded like a chorus of frogs and birds.

Best shows for dancing: Late Sunday with the grooveboys in Jaga Jazzist, late Thursday with Soel, who were the jazziest thing at the festival this year, and Saturday night with a mellow Thomas Mapfumo and his lively dancers and musicians.

Closest to a religious experience: This would be a toss-up between the Bellrays' soul-stirring rock 'n' roll on the Birdman stage last Sunday, and the soul-stirring gospel of Pastor Richard Brown and Tehillah on the Black Sheep stage yesterday afternoon.

Best rediscovery: Eric Bibb, lanky blues guitarist and singer who can pack a galaxy of sorrow or bliss into a semi-tone.

Biggest disconnect: Kentucky-born former cowpunk band leader and trip-hop dabbler Sid Griffin, who now lives in Britain, presenting a Roots stage lecture on the life and times of country-rock icon Gram Parsons at a blues festival in Ottawa.

Worst place to cut costs: The big screen beside the stage that made it easier for people at the back to see the show wasn't big enough. And there should have been another one farther back, like last year.

Second worst place to cut costs: Feeding the volunteers. They got hotdogs this year, which they had to pay $2 for.

Still the biggest source of frustration: The music stops at 11 p.m.

Ottawa Bluesfest

© The Ottawa Citizen 2004

I hate that second last paragraph about the volunteer. I mean... without us... there'll be no Bluesfest whatsoever!! Geesh... even more than half the security are volunteers... no respect... *grumble* *grumble*

Note: It is now about 7:42pm... man.... takes me soo long, eh?