Out of all the days of Bluesfest, yesterday’s was the one I was most looking forward to, and I’ll be honest, I was a little bit disappointed. It’s not that the artists didn’t deliver on their promise, but I think all, save one, could have used a little extra somethin’ somethin’ to make their show better. Below are my thoughts and feelings on last night’s performances of Grimes, Big Boi and Rich Aucoin.
Photo courtesy of Blurasis.
I got to Lebreton Flats early because I wanted to check out Grimes, the Montreal via Vancouverite whose declared her style of music post-internet. I loved her last album Visions as well as Dark Bloom. Grimes arrived on stage as a strange beauty, long bleached blond hair and flowy Anarchy t-shirt. She was joined by Blood Diamond on the keyboards.
On the first note, all I could hear was bass and so I took a few steps back to get a fuller sound. Grimes seemed a bit nervous on stage but loosened up after taking out a half empty bottle of white. A few songs in, a seemingly random person joined her on stage. At first, I thought it was fan and imaged security coming to get him…and then I noticed the Bluesfest sticker on his pants. He was a dancer! There to entertain the crowds. Perhaps Grimes needed someone weirder with her on stage to take the attention away? A majority of the songs she played came from Visions, and she added some sonic textures to them that made them just different enough from the album.
All in all, it was a solid show and I think this girl is worth the hype, although she needs to work on her stage antics a bit. If I can quip for a moment, I think that placing her on the second large stage this early in the night was a mistake by organizers. She would have been perfect for a late night show at the Electro stage. I look forward to her coming back and playing a club show. She’d be perfect at Babylon or Ritual.
Photo courtesy of Blurasis.
Big Boi was next on my list. I’ve been an OutKast fan since Aquemini so seeing one half of the Atlanta band was pretty exciting. These guys have won 6 Grammy awards and have sold over 25 million albums, so they’re a big deal. Big Boi came out bursting with energy accompanied by his hype man, a DJ and drummer. Again, the bass here was much too loud. Don’t get me wrong, I like loud bass but when it drowns out the rest of the beat, what’s the point? OutKast and Big Boi songs are pretty distinctive and every time, I needed to wait for the lyrics to start to really recognize the songs, otherwise they almost always sounded only like thumping bass, even as I went to the end of the stage.
Big Boi and co. livened up the crowd as much as they could – I felt crowd participation could have been better. They played several OutKast and Big Boi hits from Ms. Jackson to B.O.B. to General Patton, but I was a bit turned off by Big Boi’s sidekick responding to what sounded like some heckling from the front of the stage. Rule #1: Never respond to trolls. This was a show I really wanted to like, but I ended up leaving before the end because I just wasn’t feeling the vibe. Maybe next time come with Andre 3000?
Photo courtesy of Blurasis.
Close to 9, I trekked out to the Electro Stage for Halifax’s Rich Aucoin. If this show was anything like his last show I saw a couple of years ago at Cafe Dekcuf, I knew I was in for a treat. Even before the first note, Aucoin had the audience wrapped around his little finger. He had them repeating lyrics from his songs and had the crowd pumped with this amazing inspirational video.
Aucoin was joined onstage by his brother Paul on guitar as well as drummer Taylor Knox. The 3-piece band obviously doesn’t give as much texture as an album recorded with over 500 musicians (that would be Aucoin’s We’re All Dying To Live) but it brought a richer sound that just a man with his keyboard and a drum kit.
As usual, Aucoin had all his props – youtube clips, lights, confetti gun, and of course the parachute, one of the most fun experiences at a show. He doesn’t use these as a crutch but to solidify his connection to the crowd, who he came to visit several times during the show. Aucoin’s energy is contagious, he had everyone dancing from start to finish. This was the only show I’ve seen so far at Bluesfest that had an encore performance.
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