2005-07-04 - 23:50

Talking blues

Tons on the go lately, including a kickass long weekend. Going back two weekends, Laurie and I took the train to Toronto for her brother's wedding. That all went smoothly. The ceremony and the reception were each held at air-conditioned venues, which took the sting out of the heat wave that we've been under.

The long weekend was very busy, even though Laura broke down on the highway and didn't make it. Laurie's sister Alison made it up for several days, a few of Laurie's other friends crashed here for a night, and then my friends Stefan and Sara made a surprise appearance.

After last year's freak hailstorm, having another storm forecast for Canada Day sapped my interest in going downtown, so I just stayed in and had a few people over for lasagna and games. Saturday was the usual barbecue, this time with a crew of eight, complete with more games (Bang! and Rage). Hosting a barbecue is always a good time.

With Stefan and Sara in for the day, I tried to play tour guide, showing them Gatineau Park (the Champlain Lookout trail and Mackenzie King Estate) while Laurie and Alison were downtown doing one of the walking tours. We all met up for supper at Mamma Grazzi's and a walk around the Parliament Buildings, ending up at Zaphod's, where I caught the announcment of which local bands were being added to the Bluesfest line-up. As I hoped, As the Poets Affirm were given the slot behind The Dears, which should make for a great night.

The overall Bluesfest line-up is very solid, so I picked up a full pass with the intention of attending five or six nights. Richard is going to be in town for the first Saturday of Bluesfest, which includes Broken Social Scene, Stars, and The Sadies. It sounds like Laura may make another attempt at visiting, so she'd be around for the festival, too. Out of the eleven days, I'm most excited to be seeing The Dears (my eighth time) and Buck 65 (my tenth).

Speaking of Buck, his new album, Secret House Against the World is absolutely wild. Musically, it's quite a departure from some of his older albums, although it is an extension of some of his recent direction. It's among the best CDs that I've heard this year, for sure, so I have high expectations for his slot at Bluesfest.

For me, the festival really kicks in this Friday, when Neko Case is in town. My goal in the meantime is to finish off my last couple of pending concert reviews. With all that has been going on, I have rough notes from two months ago that I've yet to hammer into a coherent review. I have managed to finally recap Arcade Fire, Bright Eyes, and Spoon recently, though, so the end is near. (I even gave a rare negative review; astute readers could probably guess which of the three bands was the let-down.)

J.