“Summer’s here and the time is right for …”
The Black Keys, Femi Kuti
Thursday July 4, 2013
For over a decade now, Ottawa Bluesfest has been the musical centrepiece of my summer here in the National Capital Region — it’s one of the geography’s positives. Continue reading
Personally, I hate this shade of green.
During a Lucinda Williams show in 2007, she talked to the crowd about her take on the synergy of a concert, how it’s not just about spectators watching a performer but about the two entities engaging, feeding off of each other with reciprocal energy. Well, this Wilco show was a perfect demonstration of The Lucinda Principle put into practice. Both band and audience were in a celebratory mood, primed for having a great time. The crowd brought enthusiasm and affection by the shedload and Wilco responded with the best set I have ever seen them play. I would describe this as a perfect concert. Continue reading
2011’s Ottawa Jazz Festival, sporting its oft un-jazzy high profile headliners, is kicked off under dark skies with Robert Plant to a full house in Confederation Park. (Photo of the wristband passes by VA; the image is from the festival booklet).
“Upon us all a little rain must fall”
… from “The Rain Song” by Led Zeppelin from Houses of the Holy (1973)
VariousArtists, aged 10 in 1973, holding up my newly purchased copy of Led Zeppelin’s then-latest release, Houses of the Holy, in a Halifax hotel room while on an east coast vacation with my family. (Photo by VA Snr.)
After a shaky start, spring sprung around these parts in 2011 with a welcome excess of gorgeous warmth and sunshine. Late May through spring’s conclusion was pure meteorological sweetness. And so it was all the more frustrating when this year’s highly anticipated Ottawa Jazz Festival began amid the temperature suddenly dipping and the skies turning from sunny to dark and grumpy for several days of wet sogginess. Jesus Murphy! Continue reading
