Ottawa Bluesfest coverage continues with Patrick Watson, Luna Li, and Kat Pereira
[Melody Maloney took the pictures and Zach Resnick wrote the review. – AC]
Saturday, July 11th was another beautiful day for live music at the Ottawa Bluesfest, and I chose to stake out the Hard Rock stage this time.
Coming out into the mid-afternoon sun to tune up her keyboard and light turquoise guitar was Kat Pereria, the multi-instrumentalist Montreal singer-songwriter. Pereria has long been a huge part of Montreal’s independent music scene, being part of various projects including Alfa Rococo, Eli Rose, Alex Nevsky, Laura Niquay, and Noé Lira.
Opening with ‘Vert de Lichen,’ bodies grooved along to Pereria’s infectious brand of experimental synthwave.
The slow, dreamy ‘Goémon sur la Lune’ was another perfect introduction to the sweet sounds we’d be experiencing, and ‘Cartography of the Rhizome’ which followed had a bit of funk to it.
‘Camomile’ was again dreamy, a little sultry, and really fit the weather. The instrumental bridge was rife with synths and distortion, resulting in waves of sound washing over the audience.
Another highlight was ‘Toutes les Fins du Monde ont les Mêmes Atomes,’ which was accompanied by visuals of tiny undersea creatures to illustrate how life is everywhere and how all things are connected.
The penultimate number ‘Monk Matcha’ may have been my favorite: funky and smooth, yet with unexpected notes peppered in.
Pereria’s final song of the set was the solemn ‘Je Ne Crois Plus en Karma’ – an ode to togetherness and a hopeful plea to end the genocide in Palestine. After her set, Pereria walked around in front of the stage and interacted with her fans, which I have to say, was a super cool thing to see. A class act, if you asked me.
A little later, all three members of Luna Li’s backup band took stage, all dressed in white, to set up for their set. Moments later Li – real name Hannah Bussiere Kim – emerged and started things off with the breathy bedroom pop hit ‘Cherry Pit.’
She then launched directly into the brand new ‘Multiplied’ which delighted the crowd. All of the instrumentation was excellent. This band is tight.
‘Afterglow’ was a sweet yet sad little number. Next, we were treated to a jazzy flute solo, as Li had mastered the instrument since her last Ottawa appearance, and this led into ‘Fantasy.’
‘I Would Let You’ was another tug at the heartstrings: sad, lonely, yearning. It was followed by an instrumental medley which was smooth as silk, and included some masterful violin by Li herself.
This in turn was followed by ‘Silver into Rain’ with its crunchy guitar, big bass, and flashing yellow and white lights.
We got a sneak preview of an as-of-yet unreleased song, a slow yet harmonic little number, and then we were treated to ‘Imagine,’ which was a little more upbeat and poppy.
Things got dance-y with ‘Minnie Says (Would You Be My)’ and then Li closed out her stunning set with ‘You Didn’t Have to Go,’ which got the audience jumping along.
As the night grew dark, the stage screens showed visuals of pounding raindrops and driving snow as Patrick Watson and co. took the stage amidst bone-shaking bass.
Gentle piano chords calmed the crowd as ‘Gordon in the Willows’ began. Then, the electronics kicked in and we were all enraptured. Few can match Watson’s unique brand of cabaret-pop in terms of the sheer interest and emotion it demands, and when this group is on, they’re on.
Things calmed a bit again for the beautiful, transcendental ‘The Wandering.’
Next up was ‘House on Fire,’ co-written with the legendary Martha Wainwright, though lessened in no way by her on-stage absence.
The instrumental ‘Ode to Vivian’ led into ‘Little Moments,’ a duo of songs dedicated to artist Vivian Maier, whose work was discovered and recognized after her death.
‘To Build a Home’ was another number with a quiet start, just Watson at the piano, lit by a single spotlight.
A trio of sonic delights were up next: ‘Melody Noir,’ ‘Silencio,’ and ‘Lost with You’ all evoked different feelings in the massive crowd.
Other highlights of the set were ‘Peter and the Wolf,’ ‘Man Like You,’ and a sombre cover of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye.’
The set closed out with ‘We Fly for the Ones We Love,’ a heartbreakingly gorgeous song Watson wrote for his brother.
Canada was well represented at the Hard Rock stage on Saturday. Any one of these acts would make you feel patriotic, but getting to see all three in one evening? That’s the magic of Bluesfest.
