I almost forgot to write about this show that my buddy Nazz and I went to. It was the final night of the Edmonton Blues Festival. Sunday night's headliner was Matt Andersen. This would be my second time seeing Matt in concert. Matt is a Canadian blues singer-songwriter and guitarist from New Brunswick.
First thing I noticed about the crowd on Sunday evening was that it was a younger crowd then Friday night. That, I would contribute to the booking of Matt Andersen. Nice to see Cam Hayden who books this festival taking a chance on someone like Matt.
Matt Andersen and his band The Big Bottle Of Joy were great, mixing his setlist with songs that covered his career thus far. Band was tight and Matt's voice sounded great and played well.
Sorry about the short review but this show was a few weeks ago now. Having to work on Monday I kept things pretty mellow but still had a really good time. Weather was beautiful, good crowd, good vibes, good friends. Good times!!!
Last weekend my buddy Nazz and I went to the Friday night edition of the Edmonton Blues Festival at Klondike Park to catch the legendary Booker T Jones in concert. Thanks to Alley Kat Brewing for the free passes for the weekend!
This was the first time the festival had been held at Klondike Park and first time I have been to the venue as well. It's actually a pretty cool venue had it been set up properly. The biggest issue with the set up here was the tents set up around the bowl of the seating area. I presume they were VIP tents, the tents were about 15 feet high and obstructed the view for everyone that wasn't in the bowl. Which meant about half the crowd couldn't see the stage, ridiculous! And there was no open area in front of the stage where people could dance and be up close to the bands. With Hawrelak Park under construction, which is where the festival has been held for the previous 23 years, the festival has had to hold the festival at two different venues now. Last years festival was held at Re/Max Field. But apparently that didn't work for them. So this year it was Klondike Park. If they hold it there again there is certainly some kinks to work out, the biggest one being lose the tents and a dance area near the stage. Other then that I think this would be a great venue for the festival.
A shot of the tent, which went around the whole seating area.
We got to the venue in time to catch Vanessa Collier. An artist I had never heard of before, as most of the weekend line-up were bands I had never heard before. One of the reasons that I never bought tickets.
Vanessa Collier is an artist from Dallas, Texas who plays saxophone, guitar and is a singer and songwriter. Her music is a mix of soul, funk and of course the blues. Her hour long set was quite good.
Headlining the first night of the festival was the legendary Booker T. Jones (he of Booker T. & The M.G.'s). Booker T. has collaborated with everyone that is someone, with the likes of Neil Young, Willie Nelson, Otis Redding, Sheryl Crow, Levon Helm,Sam & Dave, John Lee Hooker, Elton John, Albert King and the list goes on. And at 79 years old he sounds and looks great and doesn't look to be slowing down at all. This show was billed as Booker T Presents: A Stax Revue and Journey Thru Soul, Blues and R&B. And he hit the nose on all fronts. It was super cool to hear him do such songs as "Green Onions", "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay", "Melting Pot", "The Thrill Is Gone" and so much more. His hour and a half long set was just one classic song after another. His back up band of course was stellar too. A great way to end the first night. Good times!!!
Day three of the Edmonton Blues Festival was going to be a good one, the weather was awesome, I recognized all the bands on the bill, and I had a clear head.
The first band up for the day was the local rockin' blues band Jimmy & The Sleepers with special guests Big Dave McLean out of Winnipeg and local harp player Rusty Reed. I was excited about seeing this performance having heard good things about Jimmy & The Sleepers and of course Big Dave McLean is a legend in his own and it had been a few years since I last Saw Rusty Reed play. I
I have been a fan of Rusty since my teens having seen him play many many times. He is in my eyes and ears the best harmonica player I have ever seen, and the man can sing too. He only sang a couple of songs on this day but backed up the band on the harp through out the whole set. I was very impressed with the set by Jimmy and guests performance. A great way to start Sundays events.
Next up was The Rockin' Highliners another Edmonton band who just got back together after a ten year hiatus. Their style of jumpin' rockin' blues had the dance floor packed during their set. This was the second time seeing them having last seen them in 1999 opening for George Thorogood.
The third band of the day was Henry Gray backed by the West Coast All-Stars. Henry Gray is a boogie piano player/singer from Louisiana, and at the age of 90 years old sounded incredible. Henry Gray has played with many legends in his time including the Stones, Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf just to name a few. The man is a legend himself and I am very happy that I got to see him play in person. A great show by Henry Gray.
Second last band of the festival was Janiva Magness from Detroit, Michigan. This was the second time I have seen this blues/soul singer in concert, and again she was excellent.
The headliner for Sunday was Canned Heat. I was hesitant about being excited to see the band, at first I was wondering if there was even an original member in the band anymore. But after doing some research I learned that two of the members, Larry Taylor on bass and Adolfo de la Parra on drums were in the band when they played Woodstock back in 1969. And of course originals Bob Hite, Alan Wilson and Henry Vestine have all since passed. Stepping in there place now-a-days and doing a damn good job of it are John Paulus on guitar and Dale Spalding on vocals and harmonica.
This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of Canned Heat being a band, ya the band has been a revolving door of band members, this band playing today was top notch. Their psychedelic blues boogie rock was top notch. I remember the first time I heard of the Canned Heat was watching the Woodstock movie many years ago. I thought they were excellent then, as I did on this day forty-six years later.
Some of the songs performed on this evening were Going Up The Country, Let's Work Together, Have A Good Time, On The Road Again and Rollin' And Tumblin'. The crowd ate up their tunes right from the start, a very strong set and very entertaining. Highlight of the weekend for me for sure. Good times!!!
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