Bluesfest Day 9: STARS & Björk
Is this my inaugural post on Show Box? For that I have to thank Matias and, my main man, Eric for making me a part of their undertaking. Our posts, written in admiration or confusion (depending on the set), are always in support of artists who work hard to perform their art live, regardless of recognition. So I’ll do my best to keep you all abreast of what was, what is and what will be in the scene that is Ottawa Music.
I stand behind Matias when he says art speaks for itself, res ipsa loquitur, and we just write about it. That being said Half Moon Run was fucking stellar! Highly suggested you go deeper than their singles “Full Circle” and “Call Me in the Afternoon” from their Dark Eyes album. Just the voices in songs like “Drug You” pull you into the sound.
Zac & I, in our infinite wisdom, left the show to attend a dinner with friends and got a little too baked on the sunniest day of the year. We missed Imaginary Cities, Mykki Blanco, Austra, The Knocks & Phosphorescent but returned in a slouching stupor to purchase the most expensive cheeseburger in the Outaouais region. It couldn’t have been Krusty Burger could it? The Death Grips show ripped us from our dazed giggles into serious introspection, but respect to MC Ride for bringing his experimental cacophony to a city that sees little of that on a large scale.
I found my mother in the crowd while Zac had his second dinner and we soaked up Stars. Although co-lead singer & melodica-player Torquil Campbell was getting a little steamed at an almost immobile crowd, he grinned like the Cheshire cat when we screamed. Without warming too much, he successfully melted my heart when he asked the entire crowd to howl at the top of our lungs, “We love you Owen!” And then they played “Your Ex-Lover is Dead” which I’m not ashamed to say brought me to tears.
There’s something about Ottawa’s reaction to bands that they don’t quite understand, and the three last shows on Bell & Claridge Homes stages for day nine stumped a few handfuls. Presented with music that is either overly savage, contemplative or mind-boggling we tend to stare like deer trapped in headlights until it’s absolutely clear we should cheer. No matter–we’re getting much better at being a participative audience at Bluesfest. Plus I hardly saw any bickering between festival-goers and the lawnchair gangs this year!
Björk was phenomenal. I could list a dozen adjectives for with her orange afro, her Icelandic choir and her talented troubadour but instead I will say stick to just two: jaw-dropping & electric. I consider her performance the climax of this year’s festival, and now for the denouement.