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Edmonton Labatt Blues Festival, 2005
Hawreluk Park, Edmonton Alberta
The Edmonton Blues Festival lived up to its
strong reputation again this year.
By Bob Crook
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The seventh edition of the Edmonton Labatt Blues Festival was held this past August 19-21 in the lush, green surroundings of Hawreluk Park , and its huge Heritage Amphitheatre tent which covers the stage, a dance floor for 500, and seating for 1200. On the slope above this bowl, there's sun drenched grass for the lawn chair crowd, while the bowl's rim contains the food vendors and the beer garden -the perfect venue for three days of blues.
This year's line-up was superb with Friday's show opened by "Mr. Rock and Soul," Orillia , Ontario pianist, Curley Bridges , whose trio was augmented by Chris Whiteley on guitar and trumpet. Bridges' set included blues standards like " Caledonia ," "Rock Me Baby," and my favourite, Freddie King 's "Tore Down." Each song got Bridges' unique treatment - he likes to "tear �em apart and put �em back together" his way, with soulful vocals and the piano out front. The set's highlight was a rendition of "Blueberry Hill," complete with some Louis Armstrong -style vocals.
All-star band The Mannish Boys,
with vocalist Johnny Dyer, helped
sell out the festival.W.C. Clark took the stage second and immediately filled the dance floor, a certain gauge of the crowd's appreciation. His rock-solid band was augmented by the Mannish Boys pianist Leon Blue who added tasty fills behind Clark 's guitar. Clark, who played in Stevie Ray Vaughn 's band Triple Threat , has a magnificent tenor voice. His set included the SRV hit "Cold Shot," which he co-wrote.
At twilight, the crowd was ready for star time � Koko Taylor and her Blues Machine . Taylor, who has been ill recently, came on stage after the warm-up, to an enthusiastic and adoring crowd. It took Taylor 's voice a few tunes to get in gear, but she put every ounce of energy she had into her performance.
On Saturday, 3000 fans packed the site, the first time that the Edmonton Blues Festival has ever had a sell out. Texas pianist Mike Kindred and drummer Dexter Walker opened the show. Kindred has a powerful left hand boogie, a lightening-fast right hand and a gravely voice perfectly suited to the blues.
Legend Koko Taylor headlined opening nightDavid Gogo took the stage next, and his brand of rockin' blues immediately had the dance floor jumping. Tunes from his albums Skeleton Key and Vibe , as well as blues standards like "Dust My Broom" and "Hootchie Cootchie Man" filled his set which included lots of Gogo's searing guitar leads.
Mem Shannon and the Membership were up next with their super funky New Orleans sound. Shannon is a tremendous singer, guitarist and songwriter who plays about 85% original material. The crowd certainly felt his groove and filled the dance floor again.
With the sun beginning to fade, the Downchild Blues Band, took the stage with a burnin' harp duet featuring "Mr. Downchild," Donny Walsh, and singer Chuck Jackson. From there, the band didn't let up for a minute. Their energetic set included songs from their latest CD as well as crowd favourites "Madison Blues" and "Flip, Flop, Fly."
One of my main reasons for attending this festival was to see the southern California super group The Mannish Boys, featuring vocalists Finis Tasby, and Johnny Dyer, and guitarist Kid Ramos. Randy Chortkoff, founder of their Delta Groove record label, MC'd the set, sang, played harmonica, and brought out each of the stars for their turn in the spotlight. Kid Ramos kept the guitar enthusiasts enthralled with stunning solos as Johnny Dyer and Finis Tasby displayed their Mississippi and Texas roots with songs from their album, That Represent Man. The crowd went home wondering how Sunday's show could possibly get better.
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