Make It Loud

Last night I went to Ottawa Bluesfest. Slash was the early performer on the main stage. In my humble opinion Slash is the best rock and roll guitar player to walk the face of the earth. He is unique. Within about four notes you know it's him, even if you don't know the song. He loves what he does and it shows. It looks like he is genuinely having fun when he is up on stage playing guitar. He doesn't do backing vocals. He just plays and it's loud.

The headline act of the night was the Barenaked Ladies. They have been around since I was in elementary school. I wouldn't buy a ticket to go see them but they are a part of the Canadian consciousness and I was looking forward to seeing them.

As happy as I was to see Slash, I was equally disappointed with the Barenaked Ladies. I was most disappointed that it wasn't loud enough.

I don't expect it to be Motorhead loud but live music must be loud.

At Ottawa Bluesfest, there are concurrent shows going on. One of the smaller stages, known as the River Stage, is located behind the main stage. There were several instances that the Barenaked Ladies were being overpowered by the act on the River Stage. I was having a conversation with a friend, at normal conversation levels. 

At one point I even thought to myself, I wish everyone would stop talking so I can hear the music better.

Yes, you read that correctly. I was at a music event and and I was having trouble hearing the music.

One of the things I really like about live music is it takes over your life. It is in your face and becomes a singular existence. You lose yourself in the moment because you have to. All your problems are suspended because you can only focus on the music.

The Barenaked Ladies didn't give me that experience and I felt cheated.

We did walk over to the River Stage and catch the end of July Talk. They were loud and impressive. If you get a chance, look them up, they are on iTunes and I'm downloading their album as I write this post.

I like my music loud and I want it to be an all enthralling experience. I mean no respect to the Barenaked Ladies but they did not give me what I was looking for, but wow, I loved Slash and that made my night great.