I’m a big fan of the music festivals in Ottawa. The way they work is there is one main venue outside for the main attractions, plus three are smaller indoor venues for lesser known bands. If you want to go to a smaller venue you can purchase a ticket just to that show for a reasonable price, but if you want to see one of the headliners you have to buy a day pass that lets you see everything that day for a much higher price. There are full festival passes, but you pretty much have to go to multiple shows every day over the whole course of the festival to get your money’s worth out of those.

Usually there are only one or two headliners that I want to see so I buy day passes for just those days with maybe a small venue ticket or two. Sometimes the bands that are also playing on a day I want to see the headliner are disappointing, but last night was NOT one of those days.

I wanted to see Broken Social Scene and by God they did not disappoint. They’re even better live than on the radio. Sometimes you just crave that wall of sound, right? They were the 8:30 show so I wanted to see if any of the warmup bands would be worth making a day of it or if I should just come for the show I wanted. YouTube is invaluable for checking out musicians before you go.

The first band was Can Davidson 9. They’re a nine piece jazz band that plays their own original compositions so it wasn’t same old same old. The band was really tight and interesting so we decided to make a day of it. They are well worth seeing.

The second performer was Iskwe and she was incredible. Her voice was somehow ethereal and powerful at the same time. Her lyrics really resonated with me too. Think early Tori Amos. I would go see her again anytime.

So to whoever arranged last night’s lineup at JazzFest I send a giant chef’s kiss. Well done!