30th Anniversay Oxford Stomp Rocked Classic Artists on Friday the 13th

The 30th anniversary of Calgary’s Oxford Stomp took place on lucky Friday the 13th at Shaw Millenium Park – with Barney Bentall, The Chainsmokers, Melissa Etheridge, and John Fogerty! … but you didn’t think a Friday the 13th event would go off without a hitch, did you?!

Barney Bental opened up the music festival with a 60 minute set in near 30 degree heat … Luckily for them, the sun was still high enough that they had a good part of their set in the “shade”, which is where a lot of the early arrivers were hiding as well!

 

 “You Got Something To Live For” towards the end of the set had people dancing and singing along … and coming out from under the shade!

 

 

There were also several people that “complained” he didn’t sing “Do Ya” … but when he was asked backstage he explained that song is a Legendary Hearts song that he plays with THAT band.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Chainsmokers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Melissa Etheridge

The only female artist to perform out of BOTH Round Up Music Festival and Oxford Stomp … only noted being the only female from a media outlet … come on ladies! 

If you’ve seen Melissa Etheridge perform before, you would say this was a classic set, with a few exceptions …

The show started with a drum solo – but no one could really see the drummer.  Turns out it was Melissa who sneaked onto the stage and confiscated the drumsticks to kick things off for her set … and the actual drummer quite flawlessly moved in and took over without missing a beat!  Some of the other media crew weren’t prepared for it and were waiting for her to walk towards the mic with her guitar.

 

 

There were a lot of guitar change outs and amazing solos along with harmonica playing.  She wow’d a lot of the crowd that wasn’t familiar with her stage presence and skill with the guitar.

 

 

I got the scoop on when to expect the infamous Twitter #melfie from Melissa’s wife Linda during the meet & greet but it did catch the fans  off guard as most weren’t ready to video her videoing them! … and she spun all the way around for the full scope of the crowd … there were a lot of people more there for her than John Fogerty, one would assume since there were many that cleared out after her set due to the weather.

 

She had to cut her set short due to a sudden windstorm. Coincidentally, the windstorm hit as she was singing “bring me some water” so Melissa joked that it always happens with that song.  The crew was scrambling throughout and after the song due to the wind.  There was a minor delay but Melissa was informed it was safe so she started up the encore … but when things got a bit worse it was cut short to only 1 song to give the crew better access to the stage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John Fogerty

The windstorm that cut Melissa Etheridge’s set by about 15 minutes was also responsible for John Fogerty being delayed and ultimately cut back over a half hour.  Crews had to scramble to pull down tarps and the big screens and tie things down.  There were 5 crew members holding onto each of the side screens to keep it from swaying in the wind while they cleared room below by moving the speakers. Even the crowd got pushed back about 10 feet and security was holding them at bay with yellow tape just to keep a safe distance in case something came down.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fogerty still plays some songs with the same Rickenbacker guitar he bought in 1969 that not only was used on many CCR recordings, but also played at Woodstock.

 

 

The energy he had on stage was amazing and inspiring for a musician in general – let along at 73.  The other acts that came on before him were not THAT active on stage.            

 

Visually the camera angles and visual effects were stunning and included a video of a song John recorded with Brad Paisley.  When he mentioned it, the crowd erupted in cheers thinking he would come on stage.  Brad is scheduled to perform at the Saddledome for the Calgary Stampede the day after Oxford Stomp so people were putting 2 & 2 together and thinking, “well, if he’s in town …”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The rain came along with the wind, but fortunately it didn’t start until just after the concert wrapped up.