Stringin' the blues

A strange brew of sounds Saturday as Bluesfest wailed into its final weekend. Conch Shell and Painted Stick were flatly unimpressed with the usually engaging Danny Michel.

DJ Champion & His G-Strings win the award for Kindergarten Teacher's Worst Nightmare. They had ADD-fuelled energy to burn and actually sounded pretty good if you closed your eyes. (It's impossible to actually hear them with your eyes open because just trying to watch them bounce, jump and flail around takes all of your faculties.)



The Deadstring Brothers filled the high, dry Barney Danson theatre with a rockin' good vibe, kinda like Wilco channelling the Stones with a touch of the Band's Garth Hudson thrown in. Classic Hammond organ and steel guitar make these folks a must-see for anyone visiting their hometown of Detroit. Only problem is their name: they are neither dead, nor stringy. And they have a purty gal sharing vocal duties, so they ain't all brothers. Coyote and I were impressed.

One had to feel sorry for Da'truth, servicing a small crowd of musical faithful on the Black Sheep Stage. His rap-rant about cable companies that hawk porn had enough fire and brimstone but could've used some good beats to juice it up. Amen. Enough said.

On the big stage, meanwhile, Kanye West preached to a much bigger posse, but his enthusiasm couldn't hold off the rain.

Looks like Bluesfest is in for a soggy conclusion. But it could be worse. In days gone by, in the pre-wine tent era, the combination of Bluesfest, LeBreton Flats and rain meant one thing: mud.

Words: The Independent Observer. Photos: coyote. All the blurriness is an effect, people, honest! Not shakiness from increasing exhaustion... or all that Ritalin we took in a futile attempt to keep up with the G-Strings...
Photos, top to bottom: Some of the G-Strings; Vocalist Masha Marjieh of Deadstring Bros; (do you sense a theme?); and Da'truth, rappin' righteously.