Bluesfest 2009, Day 11
Date: July 18, 2009 Stormy High The second Saturday of Bluesfest went down as the longest that I spent at the festival and one of the most entertaining. A musically varied but consistently interesting series of artists on the Blacksheep Stage was more than enough to overcome the day's intermittent rainfall. I had hoped that my mid-afternoon arrival would bring me to the festival grounds after the precipitation stopped but the drizzle that greeted the early portion of Woodhands' set would open up to real rainfall before the duo was done. Surprisingly, the rain seemed to energize the set, as the young crowd dancing in front of the Blacksheep Stage refused to give in to the weather, leading the energetic Dan Werb to praise the audience's enthusiasm. Of course, that encouragement only got the crowd more excited, setting off a feedback loop of positive vibes. The sky admitted defeat, breaking open in full sunshine when the band hit their cover of "Electric Avenue" and staying clear as they moved to the full-on charge of "The Dancer." Woodhands' set felt a bit short, as there was still plenty of lead-in time for the next act when they wrapped up. It also seemed, by the reaction of the sizable crowd shaking their butts throughout the performance, that the band really could have been slotted higher on the bill. However, with Werb's unrestrained screaming and partner Paul Banwatt's precision drumming, there was no fault to be found in the time that they were on stage. The Deep Dark Woods followed Woodhands with a set that was far less dance-inducing but equally effective. I wasn't familiar with the Saskatoon alt-country outfit before their set but they easily won me over with a great performance. Singer Ryan Boldt was particularly effective, with a voice perfectly suited for the weariness and menace found in the group's songs. The five-piece seemed as comfortable with laid-back, slow-burn numbers as with more hard-hitting fare. Oddly, the weather followed the same pattern as it had earlier, with a raincloud rolling through as the band hit its stride and the sun returning for their finish. Rain or shine, their set only got better as it went on; and by the time that they were done, I was already eager for my next look at the group. Next up was one of the most unusual acts to come to Bluesfest, That 1 Guy, the stage name of Mike Silverman's one-man band. The most immediately notable aspect of this show was the choice of instrument, a custom-made melding of flexible metal pipes and strings dubbed the Magic Pipe. Even after seeing Silverman demonstrate the use of this contraption, it remained a mystery to me; but it was clear that he knew how to coax a surprisingly wide array of sounds from the beast. Despite the puzzling instrument, That 1 Guy's set was all about simple fun. Songs like "Buttmachine" and "Bananas" proved to be a hit with the children in the crowd, in particular, although everyone in attendance seemed entertained with Silverman's infectious showcase. Without the Magic Pipe display, Papa Mali would have won the award for most unusual instrument of the day, as the slide guitarist was backed by a drummer and a sousaphone player. The backing pair certainly held their own, even with the drummer having a tom fall off its bass drum mount on the first song. The star of the show, though, was undoubtedly Malcolm "Papa Mali" Welbourne himself. With his swampy guitar style and lyrics touching on most of life's great vices, Mali's contribution to a diverse day of music was the one that lived up to the festival's name. As with the rest of the undercard, Mali kept his set short and sweet, wrapping up a no-filler performance in forty minutes. If brevity was the word of the day, headliners Black Mountain were sure to be the exception. When I saw them play in April, they spent several minutes on a droning synth intro that was a sign of the sprawling concert to follow. The group seemed more streamlined on this festival appearance, cutting to the chase with an opener of "Stormy High" and moving quickly to "Angels" and "Wucan." However, they brought the tempo down on a wonderfully brooding take of "Queens Will Play" and teased the excellent "Don't Run Our Hearts Around" with a drawn-on introductory riff. The band shuffled the setlist from what I saw them play in the spring, but "Set Us Free" was the only offering that wasn't present in that earlier concert. Black Mountain couldn't go wrong with any choice from their two stellar albums, so the percussion-led "Set Us Free" was a welcome inclusion. Of course, I had no complaints with the repeated songs, either. Even though their Bluesfest time slot put them up against some appealing competition, I couldn't resist the chance to hear the band's spacey jams and Sabbath-infused riffs under the stars; and with "Evil Ways" and "Shelter" leading to the crescendo of "Tyrants," that decision was fully rewarded. The band closed the night in suitably epic fashion, capping the main set with an insistent rendition of "Bright Lights" that stretched past the fifteen-minute mark and outdoing themselves with a fantastic encore of "Druganaut." Day eleven of Bluesfest was one in which simply parking at one stage offered a wide range of musical styles but a consistently high level of performance. The five acts that I saw, bookended by two returning favourites, made this one of the best outings of this year's Bluesfest. Black Mountain setlist 
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