Blue Rodeo and Naughty by Nature keep RBC Bluesfest crowd singing along all night!

Whether you’re down with O.P.P. or just looking to get Lost Together with thousands of other concert goers Thursday night at RBC Bluesfest was the night for everyone who loved to sing, or rap, at the top of their lungs like it was 1999.

We had an early start to our day at RBC Bluesfest with our interview with Jim Cuddy scheduled for just before 5pm we were looking forward to a full afternoon of music once again. It was another hot day as well with a clear blue sky and almost no wind, luckily the humidity levels were still very low but you could feel the sun burning down on you all day.

Once the gates opened we took advantage of some free time before the music started to indulge in our RBC Bluesfest tradition, namely the Gabriel Pizza Bluesfest Pizza (if you haven’t tried it you must, and the good news is all proceeds go to Blues in the Schools). We sat in the tent at the Claridge Homes Stage while we ate, to stay out of the sun.

While we were enjoying our Bluesfest Pizza a young artist that we had featured a number of years ago, Angelique Francis, took to the stage. It’s been about 4 years since I personally last saw this young lady perform and the best word I can use to sum up the performance I witnessed was WOW. Francis and her band put on an energetic show that transformed the Claridge Homes tent into a scene straight out of New Orleans. The crowded tent, not bad for a 6pm showtime on a weeknight, was up on their feet dancing, clapping and singing along. I’ll be watching for Angelique to be graduating to bigger stages in the next few years!

Following Francis, and our dinner, we took a walk around the rest of the festival stages taking in a little bit of everything before heading to the main bowl for Naughty by Nature. I was fresh out of high school when these boys were in their prime and they turned back the clock 25 years to give us a trip down memory lane. Considering I turn 44 this Saturday it was nice to look back on a time when life was a bit simpler.

From O.P.P., and yes it turns out I’m still down with that, to Jamboree it was a hit parade for young and old. I don’t know if it was the heat or if the crowd that had assembled was shy but it took Treach and Vin Rock some trying to get the crowd singing a long but they managed and once they started they just wouldn’t stop. To say it was fun was an understatement, I had a few other acts that overlapped their set that I had wanted to check out and had a hard time pulling myself away from their show. Nice to see that some old habits die hard!

Once we pulled ourselves away from Naughty we took a walk to the Black Sheep Stage where Eat a Peach was performing. If you’re a fan of the Allman Brothers Band then you have to check out Eat A Peach, this Toronto based tribute will make you think you’re listening to the real thing and the crowd that had gathered at the back half of the venue was loving every minute of it.

We knew that it was getting close to the main event but my festival partner, Keenan, really wanted to take a trip up the ferris wheel in Bluesville before the end of the festival. Seeing as a potential out of town show could mean that Thursday was our last night at the festival we figured we’d take advantage of a ride while listening to the Lynnes in the Claridge Homes tent. It was a perfect night to get a glimpse of Ottawa’s beautiful skyline. Something about a skyline with a major music festival in the forefront is a beautiful thing, I think so anyway. The view went over the City Stage, over the crowds of people gathered for Blue Rodeo and off in the distance you could see our magnificent parliament buildings towering over the Ottawa River like gatekeepers.

After the short scenic tour from above we made our way to the City Stage for Blue Rodeo. I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve seen Blue Rodeo over the last 34 years but it’s safe to say I’ve seen them a lot. I’ve seen amazing shows and I’ve seen shows where clearly something was off, maybe a minor health issue or something else but each time they bounced back in time for their next show. Having just come off of a health scare with Greg Keelor that threatened to end the band’s 34 year run I have to admit I was nervous about the Bluesfest show. Would they be able to pull off a comeback, of sorts, or would this be a sign of the beginning of the end?

It didn’t take long for Jim, Greg, Colin, Glenn and Bob to show that they weren’t near done yet. Jumping right in with 5 Days in May it was a none stop hit parade for the next 90 minutes. The boys wasted no time jamming out on their guitars and on the keyboards it was like Naughty By Nature rolled the clock back to the 90s and we were all young again. I haven’t seen a Blue Rodeo show with this much energy in a very long time, it was fun to watch. One of my favourite parts was when Greg Keelor started body surfing…oh wait that didn’t actually happen but it could’ve. These guys were having so much fun on stage together it was like watching one of their first gigs, although likely not the one where they headlined after a high school battle of the bands competition, which inspired the song “What Am I Doing Here”.

Midway through their set the broke out into a Lee Hazlewood cover with a high energy performance of “The Railroad” followed by another cover, this time John Lennon’s “Instant Karma!”.  The boys wrapped up their regular set with “Hasn’t Hit Me Yet” before returning for their encore with Ottawa’s own Kathleen Edwards in tow. Edwards joined Jim and Greg for “Try” after which Greg invited her to stay for one more song “we’ll even let you sing a verse this time,” he said. The song was “Lost Together” and it wasn’t just Jim, Greg, Colin and Kathleen singing the song…it was every person young and old that knew the lyrics in the audience singing along. It’s one of those moments that no CD will ever let you experience sitting in your living room. It was as close to perfection as you can get.

That’s a wrap for me personally at RBC Bluesfest this year, I’m off to Toronto for the weekend where I’ll be taking in The Eagles at the Scotiabank Arena (formerly Air Canada Centre) on Sunday night! Stay tuned that’ll be a great show.

Still plenty of action yet to come at RBC Bluesfest with Beck headlining on Friday night, Colin James on Saturday and the always amazing, Rise Against closing things out on Sunday night! We’ll have full coverage all weekend so be sure to check back for photos and highlights after each day. For full lineup and schedules visit www.ottawabluesfest.ca

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