It wasn’t safe to flick a cigarette in the dried grass on the grounds of Ottawa Bluesfest last night. A week-long heat wave, it seemed, had taken its toll not only on the vegetation at Lansdowne Park, but on the festival’s weary patrons.
Of the roughly 300 people gathered to watch Wakefield songstress Lindsay Ferguson, who opened the night in good form doing what she does best, nearly all looked too dehydrated to do anything but re-hydrate.
Similarly, Good2Go’s audience was half what Ferguson’s was when the festival opened on this night and you could count on one hand how many people were dancing. Still, the band was kicking ass, somehow managing to stay cool.
Relief came in the form of a menacing cloud that, at first, spelled disaster for day three of Bluesfest. When the thick black beast blew over the river, where it was dropping sheaths of rain on Quebec, it looked like, between the heat and impending storm, it would be an early night for most.
The gate flooded after it rained, and once reticent bystanders became lively participants. Thousands let loose for The Moody Blues. Midway through the night, they set a precedent for the two acts to follow.
Andrew Bird absolutely killed. Nuff said.
But the B-52s absolutely f—king killed it! To think they’ve been together for over 30 years is crazy. The group rocked something like an unrelenting rollercoaster ride with a psychedelic backdrop.
They ripped through at least a dozen old-school new wave beats and spun a few classics, including a version of “Love Shack” on ecstasy that sent the massive crowd into hysterics. Pure drug pop, at its finest!
RLR
The Moody Blues
The B52′s
Andrew Bird
