Bluesfest: Day 1

Got to Bluesfest last night in time to see some opening bands on the main stage. They were pretty good - Barb wanted to buy a CD but they were really expensive $20+ for an independent musician? Not a good promotional strategy. We were mostly front and centre for Corb Lund. He did a fantastic set, he really is an awesome musician (even if he is an Oilers fan). The crowd loved him and it was great he was able to be on the main stage - a good portion of the crowd was there waiting for Great Big Sea, but still seemed to enjoy the set. A while later Barb and I grabbed a couple of CDs and spoke to Lund. He said he's playing the Coca-Cola Stage at the Stampede, so Calgarians should go check him out.

We stuck around for a few songs from Great Big Sea. They were good, but I expected more crowd interaction. I think they're a great band, but certainly don't think they're the greatest thing to happen to music like the rabid fans that were huddled near the front.

We headed over to meet Jo and Genevieve at Broken Social Scene, and I would not recommend anyone doing this. Trying to move mid-set is an easy way to piss off the thousand people you have to squish through. BSS was pretty good. I'm still not sold on that genre, which is pretty much the only thing Jo and my boss listen to, and I think the musical "collective" idea is a little pretencious. That being said I did enjoy the show and the band seemed to be having a good time.


Today we'll probably hit the MBNA stage and see Elvis Perkins, Matt Costa, Jason Collett, and Feist. Costa is recommended by Barb's friend Kelly and Collett and Feist are more Arts & Crafts fare. All the headliners tonight are great. It sucks that I'll have to miss Bonnie Raitt, Bell Orchestre, and Cuban Dance Party. Especially odd that Feist and Bell Orchestre are playing at the same time.

If you actually care about any of this Bluesfest stuff check out Simon's blog.