FROM THE ACORN TO ZAPHOD’S
Ottawa musical high notes for 2016
A The Acorn, the internationally renowned alt-folk band featuring singer-songwriter Rolf Klausener, artistic director of the Arboretum festival and champion of all things Ottawa, resumed performing, energized by a new lineup and the lead-up to next year’s 10th anniversary of their landmark album, Glory Hope Mountain.
B Babely Shades, a collective of young artists, stirred things up this year, first by protesting a show by the U.S. punk band the Queers and then continuing to make a case for the importance of safe spaces for everyone, regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation.
C Can comedy save the music industry? Major labels and promoters are adding comedy divisions, and the biggest arena show of the fall season was to feature one person: Amy Schumer. She got sick, but more than 10,000 fans are expected to catch her rescheduled date on Feb. 18 at Canadian Tire Centre. No joke.
D Gord Downie, the Tragically Hip frontman with incurable brain cancer, followed up the band’s summer tour with Secret Path, a multimedia project about an aboriginal boy who ran away from a residential school 50 years ago. The Oct. 18 concert at the NAC was heart-wrenching but beautiful, combining music and art to tell a difficult story.
E EPs are becoming more popular for artists releasing music. Shorter than a full album, the extended play compact disc usually features four to six songs, enough for fans to get a sense of the music and for bands to have something to sell at shows.
F Free shows. Some of the best concerts didn’t require a ticket, including SoulJazz Orchestra at Westfest, July Talk at the Dragon Boat festival, and the annual Rock for Public Service bash that featured Randy Bachman jamming with the Sadies and Terra Lightfoot, plus Whitehorse and Ottawa Valley singer-songwriter Kelly Prescott.
G Garth Brooks and his wife, Trisha Yearwood, performed four sold-out shows in three days at Canadian Tire Centre in April, setting a record for concertticket
sales in the city. It wasn’t just boomers who attended. The shows also drew the same plaidshirted rowdies who love to party with Eric Church and Florida Georgia Line.
H Halluci Nation stems from the idea that racial superiority is a lie fabricated by white colonists. Coined by the late poet John Trudell, it inspired a powerful concept album by the Ottawabased DJ trio, A Tribe Called Red. CBC Music calls it “the most urgent political statement in music this year.”
I In Heat, the outrageous Ottawa band fronted by bartender/rocker/drag queen Joady Macintosh was hand-picked by Headstones’ Hugh Dillon to open a string of Ontario shows, including a Nov. 25 gig at Barrymore’s. Sleazy garage rock at its tattooed, fishnetted finest.
J Sharon Jones, the Queen of Funk, showed little sign of illness when she played the Ottawa Jazz Festival on June 26. Five months later, she died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 60, joining Prince, David Bowie, Leonard Cohen and Ottawa’s Fraser Holmes at the great gig in the sky. May they rest in peace.
K Kool Thing, the 1990 single by alt-rockers Sonic Youth, is a nice surprise on Ottawa’s newest radio station, Rebel 101.7. The former DAWG-FM changed formats from blues to rock, hoping to attract more listeners. Happily, it ain’t all Nickelback.
L Lansdowne Park became increasingly popular for nightlifeseekers. At the TD Place arena, a steady stream of acts, from Disturbed to Culture Club, filled the fall season’s otherwise empty arena-rock calendar.
M Megaphono, the secondannual music industry conference and showcase founded by Kelp Records’ Jon Bartlett, expanded in terms of delegates attending and artists performing, and also got people talking about issues. The conversation will continue with the 2017 edition, which runs Feb. 1-3.
N The NAC Presents series has grown to more than 60 shows, despite extensive renovations to the building. Also announced was a new artistic director, former Haligonian Heather Gibson, who’s such a tough cookie she may not need a hard hat in the construction zone.
O Ottawa Beat popped up this year, defying the odds stacked against print in the digital era. Launched by Capital Rehearsal Studios’ owner Luke Martin with editor Adella Khan, it covers Ottawa’s music scene and the burgeoning industry behind it, and it hopes to go weekly.
P Peak festival? Have we reached the saturation point for the number of festivals in one city in the summer? Maybe. Some big North American festivals had a tough year selling tickets. So did Ottawa’s CityFolk, although that may have been more about wet weather than festival fatigue.
Q Quitters, the Stittsville coffee shop, was a refuge from the music industry for co-owner Kathleen Edwards. But then the singer-songwriter performed her first public hometown show in a couple of years, an NAC gig, and included one new song, naturally leading to hopeful speculation that she’s contemplating a return to the biz.
R Red Hot Chili Peppers set an attendance record at this year’s RBC Bluesfest, drawing close to 40,000 people to their July 15 concert at LeBreton Flats. That’s more than Kiss, Lady Gaga, Kanye West or any other blockbuster Bluesfest shows of recent years.
S Spectrasonic, Shawn Scallen’s concert promotion business, brought many bands to town, booking them anywhere from Bronson Centre to Brass Monkey, often with local acts opening. Steve Earle, Billy Bragg and Joe Henry, Wintersleep, Half Moon Run and veteran English punks Stiff Little Fingers were some of the many highlights.
T Twisted Sister was not happy having to squeeze a lifetime of tunes into a 45-minute set at Amnesia Rockfest, the annual event that turns West Quebec village of Montebello into a mega-moshpit. Is it better to see hundreds of bands rip through their sets or let fewer bands play full sets? The debate continues.
U Uncertain weather forced many summer festivals to cancel, postpone or rejig their lineups at the last minute. But sometimes the conditions inspired acts to rock out like never before. Take, for example, the Lumineers at Bluesfest, Basia Bulat at CityFolk and MonkeyJunk at the Calabogie Blues and Ribfest.
V Venues come and go every
year. In 2016, we said goodbye to Gabba Hey, Raw Sugar and Ritual, but welcomed funky Bar Robo. Congrats to stalwarts that survived another year: the Rainbow Bistro, Mercury Lounge, Irene’s Pub, House of Targ, Atomic Rooster, Live on Elgin, Babylon, Mavericks and Pressed.
W Westfest, the beloved festival produced by the irrepressible Elaina Martin, moved to Laroche Park, where it featured a weekend roster of all- Ottawa talent. The turnout was great until poor weather forced the cancellation of the festival’s final day.
X Xavier Forget, the National Arts Centre’s authority on French-language music, ensured that intriguing acts like vibraphonist Joëlle Saint-Pierre, indie-rock jazz cats Misc and folk outfit Avec pas d’casque have a place in the NAC Presents series.
Y Young MC, now not-so-young, opened the I Love The ’90s show at TD Place in October. With Vanilla Ice headlining, no promoter in town wanted to risk booking it. But TD Place staff took a chance and were tickled when more than 5,000 nostalgic people bought tickets and relived the radio hits of their youth.
Z Zaphod Beeblebrox, the ByWard Market nightclub, entered a new chapter of its 20-plus-year history this year as longtime owner Eugene Haslam sold his business to employee Ryan King (aka DJ Lowpass), who’s kept the club running pretty much as usual. The secret? Maintaining the balance between live music and DJs. Long live the Electric Ballroom.