Bluesfest: Blues, Rock, and Kanye West

On the final night of the festival we were looking forward to some heavy hitting rock and punk music from Saosin, Attack in Black, Cancer Bats and Alexisonfire. And I assure you we were not disappointed. We found it odd that Saosin was performing in one time slot with two other bands. In other words, there were 3 bands playing one 45 minute set. That means Saosin only played 3 songs before getting rushed off stage, but the rest of the bands each had a full set (45 minutes each for Attack in Black and Cancer Bats, and almost 2 hours for Alexisonfire). The three last bands always tour together, so anyone who has seen Alexisonfire before has likely seen Cancer Bats and Attack in Black. Both opening acts are hard rock/punk bands who really know how to get the crowd pumped and ready for Alexisonfire. In fact, I think that’s Cancer Bats’ main goal in performing; with their heavy punk and screamo hardcore music, they encourage people to start a mosh pit. In most venues this is not a problem because people know to stay on the sidelines in order not to get trampled. However, this is one area in which the Bluesfest organizers could have spent more time planning. With thousands of fans in attendance, Cancer Bats really managed to whip people into a frenzy, and a huge circle pit was created. Once Cancer Bats were finished, festival organizers promptly jumped on stage and started tossing out beads. Of course, everyone rushed forward into the area that used to be a circle pit, filling it with a very tight crowd (made up primarily of teens) eager to catch some beads. As mentioned earlier in this article, there were metal security gates that led to the mixing console, running all along the left of the stage to the back of the crowd. But thanks to the organizers throwing beads, thousands of people were pushing forward and to the sides to get closer to the stage. As soon as Alexisonfire hit the stage, less than 1 minute into the first song, those little metal barriers exploded as a sea of people tumbled out, falling over each other and scrambling to get up while others rushed toward the stage area. The circle pit, which had filled up with people once Cancer Bats got off stage, became a circle pit again as soon as the band hit the first chord. As a result, the thousands of people who rushed into that area just moments before got pushed to the sides, and into the metal gate. The weight and pressure of a thousand people made those gates collapse in no time. As security struggled to regain control over the situation, while watching for crowd surfers at the same time, all photographers were promptly rushed away from the photo pit, which had now become filled with frantic teens scrambling to avoid being trampled by the pulsating crowd. I had noticed earlier that the gates might come crashing down and so moved to an area behind the main speakers, on the side of the stage. We spent the rest of the night stage-side with a perfect view of the band, and Dallas Green just two feet in front of us. It may have been the best concert experience ever, but I assure you it was also the most frightening.

All in all, the 2007 Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest was a resounding success, despite the few relatively minor issues that could be improved upon. The big question is: Do I recommend it? If you are well off and have the money to spare, I highly recommend the full festival pass. You get full access to every show (11 days worth), for about the same price as 5 single day passes. But $190 is a lot of money, so be sure to check out the line-up beforehand. If there are only a couple of acts you like, you may want to opt for the day passes instead. In parting, I’ll add one last word of advice: Scout the location beforehand. The way the stages were set up this year, three of the four stages had very good views from outside the venue. We found the River stage to be particularly good for viewing without paying, as there were a number of people who sat out on the lawn beside the river with a better view than most people who payed. So for those few bands that you’re not too keen on seeing up close and personal, why not sneak in a freebie. It might help make the rest of the festival more affordable.