Bluesfest: Day 6 Calum Marsh

Bluesfest's sixth day was a weird one. I wasn't expecting to go at all because, once again, I was schedueled to work straight through the night. Strangely - though, I suppose, fortunately - circumstances instigated an argument with my boss which resulted in, well, me walking out. It's not every day I get to sponteniously quit my job. This was cause for celebration. I strolled over to Bluesfest (a mere block away from where I work - er, worked) and found Jon selling Mobile t-shirts at the Main Stage merch tent. Apparently I missed their absolutely incredible set (is it indeed difficult to pick up written sarcasm?), but I was lucky enough to make it in time for some unknown named Nelly Furtado. Hot. Nelly Furtado I once again took advantage of my little press pass, wandering beyond the lowly peons to that cozy nook between the crowd and the stage. My smug sense of superiority was quickly shot down, though: turns out Nelly specifically requested that no press be allowed in their usual special spot - the spot I was making myself comfortable in that very moment - and so I was cast back into the real world, forced to quite literally stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the "normals". Sigh. I was kind of impressed with that set. I'm not really a fan of Nelly's music, mind you, but she's a solid performer. I couldn't really tell if the crowd was overly into it, but it's tough to tell with these things: for the majority of the people there, this was probably the only concert they would see all year - which is fine and all, but it makes me a little uncomfortable. I'm used to indie rock shows, where every kid present has a very specific sense of how he or she is supposed to act while there - it's kind of refreshing, then, to be at a concert free of empty bullshit facades. We music snobs could learn a thing or two about show etiquette from the soccer moms balancing atop their too-old lawn chairs. Jon finished work when Nelly finished her set. We grabbed a bite and then promptly headed for what has quickly become our favourite area, the Black Sheep Stage. It was there that we were fortunate enough to see: The Grande Mothers Now this was unexpected. It hadn't occurred to me, when I first read the fesitval guide, that this wasn't just some band playing Frank Zappa songs: this was fucking Frank Zappa's band. Thank God I quit my job. Though it wasn't the best show I've seen this week, it was easily the most pleasently surprising. There can be no replacement for a Frank Zappa show, but this came pretty damn close. The boys (who have all played with Zappa at various stages in his career) emboddied the very essence of the word "charasimatic" - and the crowd was eating it up. Five or six people would yell out various song titles between songs, hoping to hear their favourites - the band's response? "Requests cost ten Finnish marks - not dollars, not euros, not yen - just Finnish marks". Fair enough. Download: Frank Zappa - Orange Colored Sky Nelly Furtado - Promiscous Buy: Bluesfest Tickets