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The 2007 edition of the Ottawa Bluesfest started out with a fabulous surprise*, likely to everyone involved. Though the festival’s absolutely stellar summer lineup had long been announced, at what seems in retrospect to be at the last minute the legendary Van Morrison was added to the list. And speaking of “added”; Van’s appearance would be opening the festival, as his surprise inclusion added a whole extra day on to the front end of an already lengthy eleven-day fest (this was before the Bluesfest started taking Mondays off), forcing the gates open on July 4th, rather than the 5th.
Obviously Morrison’s booking took the Bluesfest bigwigs by surprise too; not only did Van Morrison get his very own day at the fest (I’m pretty sure the only other act on opening night was Elmer Ferrer, a Canadian-Cuban artist who followed Morrison’s set with a set of his own on the opposite facing stage), but he got his very own admission price too. As his late addition came after festival passes were already on sale organizers had to make the opening night a separate ticketed event, upping the cost and creating a bit of a logistical nightmare at the entry gates on what proved to be the busiest night in Bluesfest history up to that point.
Fortunately none of that mattered at all to me…this was back when I was getting a free media lanyard (paid for with words) that came with privileges including private entry. What mattered to me was Van Morrison, a man I had only seen once before this, at an overheated concert a decade or more earlier in the ancient Maple Leaf Gardens where Van’s daughter commanded the mic for a significant chunk of the show and in the end I walked out of the venue profusely sweating and significantly disappointed. Fortunately this time was much, much different.
The weather was perfect, the outdoor setting was great (save for the growing number of frustrated and frustrating lawnchair sitters which I managed to zen myself through long enough to enjoy the concert), and Van was awesome. Easily redeeming his high spot in my esteem, his set flowed from one golden nugget to another with the wonderful Moondance coming early, brilliant sways through epic compositions like Into the Mystic and Have I Told You Lately, and rocking romps through classic monsters like Domino, Wild Night, and Baby, Please Don’t Go. Each hit was a slice of musical history.
The consummate professional, Van Morrison seems like he can do everything with no effort at all, singing so perfectly in that gloriously singular voice of his and adding harmonica and sax work to the mix too. Hearing Brown-Eyed Girl from the stage felt like hearing a concert of the original Happy Birthday, it’s a song so deeply seeped into pop music that it seems like it’s always been there. He even had the sense to follow the ubiquitous hit with what is probably his most classic rocker, Gloria, which was glorious.
And sixty seconds after Van’s final “Thank you Ottawa…” the aforementioned Elmer Ferrer started up his show on the opposite stage. The sliver of people who weren’t bee-lining towards the exits merely turned on their heels to face a rejuvenating set of upbeat music to close out the night. This was the first no-setbreak changeover in Bluesfest history, a practise that is still employed for all their mainstage acts. I liked it.
All in all, it was a killer opening to what would be a killer edition of the Bluesfest, which for once had an appropriate slogan/tagline for the season: Attack of the Killer Bluesfest. Indeed.
*Perhaps you thought I was referring to the festival’s triumphant return to LeBreton Flats, which this was, and where the festival site has remained ever since. Well, the Bluesfest had been saying for years that moving to the grounds surrounding city hall was only temporary, and that as soon as construction on the War Museum was finished they would go back to LeBreton Flats, so no, it wasn’t a surprise. And frankly, you would know this if you knew off-the-top-of-your-head that 2007 was the year that Bluesfest returned to the ‘Flats. So really, you’re just trying to cause trouble, aren’t you?
Lay off. I don’t have to write these things you know.
Todd Man Out 