Folkfest Day 2: Serena Ryder, Lorde & The Noisy Locomotive

Photo: Eric Scharf

On a cold, damp night Serena Ryder, Lorde and The Noisy Locomotive had thousands stomping their feet, dancing and singing along at Hog’s Back Park for Ottawa Folkfest.

Serena Ryder was on fire out of the gate, opening with hit single “Stompa.” Followed by her great song “For You,” which sounds like it belongs in a James Bond movie, and then another of her big radio hits “Fall.”

Ryder looked to be having a blast and was clearly happy to be back in Ottawa. “I used to play here when I started writing songs,” said Ryder. “Le Mouton Noire, The Blacksheep Inn, gave me some of my first shows and I really love this city.” The crowd was equally enthusiastic participating and singing every time the Millbrook, Ontario native requested it. The crowd sang loud and strong on songs like “Weak in the Knees” as well as during new song, “It’s No Mistake,” for which Ryder had just taught the crowd the lyrics. But the best part was when she played her “Favorite song to perform,” called “Circle of the Sun,” off her 2012 album Harmony.  “I know Lorde is tired of throwing her hands up in the air, but I’m going to get you to do it anyways,” said the excited Ryder. She demonstrated some simple hand dance moves that matched the lyrics, and thousands participated. It was quite cute.

In true headliner fashion Ryder kept some gems for her encore. She started it sitting behind the drums with a guitar in hand. Showing off her many talents, she played the song on guitar while also keeping rhythm on the kick drum and cymbals. The band joined her back on stage and they sent us off into the cold night with “A Little Bit of Red” and “What I Wouldn’t Do.” We were cold, damp, a little soggy but all smiling.

Serena Ryder may have been the headliner and the last act of the night, but it was Lorde that brought in the biggest crowd I have ever seen at Folkfest, and unfortunately they did not all stick around for Serena. To be honest I expected the 17-year-old Kiwii to just be another pop-tart riding a one-hit wonder to travel the world. I could not have been more wrong. She has an incredible voice and I was extremely entertained. On Thursday night I saw a glimmer of hope for the future of pop music. Lorde’s non-radio hit songs were this very interesting and captivating form of electro goth-pop. Combine that sound with her somewhat Ian Curtis-like dance moves and messages of angst and desperation, and it almost feels like she is a punk rock spy spreading the word to the mainstream.

The thumping bass and synth teamed up with Lorde’s ghostly vocals on songs like “Glory and Gore,” “Buzzcut Season,” and “400 Lux” had me seeing the “Royals” star in a completely new light. One of admiration. She even teased the crowd with the intro to the Kanye West song “Flashing Lights,” which was rather surprising. As much as Lorde impressed me, she seemed even more impressed by Ottawa. “Ottawa, what you have going on here is fucking cool, it’s like we’re in the middle if nowhere. I love to play festivals at places that are out of the way for me, and I’m from New Zealand, it’s pretty out of the way,” she said. She continued with “Your city is so cool to hang out in by the way, everyone who stopped me was so polite, nice, bright-eyed and cool. Makes me want to come back Ottawa.” Unfortunately she had to appease her fans by playing her radio hits, “Royals” and “Team,” but this did not take away from the hour in which she truly impressed me. There is hope for pop music, and it lies in the hands of a 17-year-old from New Zealand, and frankly she made a new fan last night.

As we crested the hill on the way to the Valley Stage you could hear the sound of masterful banjo picking. This could mean but one thing, that Ottawa’s The Noisy Locomotive were playing. The trio sat around one communal mic and with an instrument each – banjo, mandolin, acoustic guitar – gave the feeling of an old-time kitchen party. The boys play toe-tapping, oak-bar fermented bluegrass, and they do it very well. The Noisy Locomotive are originally from Ottawa, but spent some time living in Montréal and were so happy to be home. “Ottawa will always home, nice to be playing here. Nice to be playing to so many smiling faces,” said Ben Nesrallah. The band played a handful of songs off of their album The Noisy Locomotive, Vol. 1 & 2, as well as traditional country and folk songs. The original song “For Canmore” struck a chord as it was written about the devastating flooding in Alberta last year that affected their friends. They called one of their friends to check in with him and he told them “Don’t worry about us, we have a bottle of whiskey and we’ll make the best of it.” It was pretty cool as the friend that inspired the song was in the audience. As for traditional songs they played an absolutely amazing rendition of Led Belly’s “In The Pines.” (Video above) Many of you will recognize “In the Pines,” as the song Nirvana played on their unplugged album with the lyrics “my girl, my girl, don’t lie to me, tell me where did you sleep last night.” The boys in Noisy Locomotive are a must-see for any and all fans of bluegrass and real country music.