Photos and a review from Ottawa Bluesfest 2025, day three (part 2): Pixies! Turnstile! Kurt Vile!

[An on-the-ground report from Ross MacDonald, Karen Coughtrey, and Melody Maloney. – AC]

After a night of country and one of pop-rock, it was time for Ottawa to really rock Saturday night at Bluesfest. The RBC mainstage was the place to be for those who like it loud, thanks to some of America’s best, Kurt Vile and The Violators, The Pixies, and Turnstile.

Good thing the crowds were there to rock and not talk because all three bands wasted no time on chat and offered instead packed set lists.

Kurt Vile’s otherworldly lo-fi psychedelic rock music was the first to permeate the sound waves in the festival’s main bowl.

He kicked things off with ‘Back To Moon Beach’ followed by ‘Hey Like A Child’, and ‘Bassackwards.’

He continued to bounce around his discography, playing some of his oldest work, ‘Girl Called Alex’ and ‘KV Crimes’ and of course some of his newest ‘Like Exploding Stones.’

In one of his few interactions with the crowd he expressed that Ottawa had invited him to their backyard so he was going to take them to his (he’s from the Philadelphia area) as a way of introduction to ‘Mount Airy Hill (Way Gone).’

Adam Langelloti wowed with a bass solo on ‘Pretty Pimpin’ and Kurt would show off his own guitar talents on the final song of the set ‘Wakin’ On A Pretty Day.’

Job done, the band had energized the growing crowd and took them on a ride and it would end with a silent wave and cursory thank you so much.

Drawing by far the largest crowd of the night, leading to many questioning why they were not the headliners, were 1990s alt-rockers, the Pixies. With lots said on social media recently in certain circles questioning why concerts always have to start so late in the day, perhaps the band’s oldest fans appreciated being able to see a favourite band and the ability to return home well before midnight and allowed more of them to come out.

The Pixies said exactly zero words to the huge audience, instead packing their time on stage with 23 back-to-back bangers much to the pleasure of the large adoring crowd.

The Pixies are mixing up their setlist on this tour. Here in Ottawa they opened with ‘Gauge Away’ and the set list featured mostly their older songs including ‘Nimrod’s Son,’ ‘Debaser,’ ‘Caribou,’ ‘Monkey Gone To Heaven’ and ‘Wave of Mutilation.’

The set list, like their music, followed a loud-soft-loud pattern with songs that with a hard rock sound with fast and furious guitars were intermixed with those that were more approachable for all and some drew from other genres, one groovy (‘Here Comes Your Man’), one feeling like old-country. ‘Vamos’ had boots stompin’ and Joey Santiago playing the guitar with the brim of his hat.

And speaking of Joey Santiago, if you haven’t seen the Pixies perform live, you are missing out on one of the seven wonders of the rock music world. As if it weren’t already hot enough outside (over 30 degrees C), all night long Joey was turning up the heat on-stage. He was bending notes effortlessly, sometimes using his Bigsby vibrato bar, but most often just using his fingers on the fretboard. He was also pounding the front of his guitar and toggling between pickups on his Les Paul.

One of the softer notes of the set was of course Emma Richardson taking over lead vocals with her beautiful clear voice on the Peter Ivers and David Lynch cover, ‘In Heaven (Lady In The Radiator Song.)’ They also played a couple of other covers, Neil Young’s ‘Winterlong’ and The Jesus and Mary Chain’s ‘Head On.’

On the fast parts, Emma was picking her bass strings just as fast as David was pounding his drums. They ended their epic medley with ‘Motorway to Rosswell’ before taking the habitual band photo and exiting the stage.

Although lesser known than their openers, the large crowd who stayed for Headliners Turnstile would not be disappointed. Their brand of hard-core punk was a loud, energetic, and fun way to end a Saturday night.

The Pixies are known for surf rock but it was Turnstile who would open their set with black and blue visuals of beach side surf reflecting the chill yet intense vibes of their music. They opened with ‘Never Enough’ followed by ‘T.L.C. (Turnstile Love Connection.)’

Moments between songs were punctuated with retro lo-fi sound effects reminiscent of a dial up modem, birds tweeting, bubbles or helicopters whirring.

Lead singer, Brendan Yates, expressed what an honour it was to be headlining Bluesfest:

“What an honour to be asked to come play Ottawa Bluesfest, with all of you, all of the amazing bands playing in the next week, some peers, some friends, some people we grew up listening to, it’s just really an honour to be included in this beautiful gathering together and celebration of music. Thank you so much for letting us be a part of it.

It was also notable that he continually checked in on the crowd. The audience was taking advantage of the extra space due to a smaller crowd in the main bowl to dance their hearts out (A circle pit also formed) and with Ottawa under an extreme heat warning there was perhaps cause for concern.

What were they dancing to? The setlist included ‘Holiday,’ ‘Don’t Play,’ ‘Fly Again,’ ‘Keep It Moving’ and ‘Seein’ Stars.’ They ended the night with ‘Look Out For Me.’ The stage screens returned to the blue and black beach surf scene and the crowds dispersed into the warm Ottawa night.

Kurt Vile and The Violators
Kurt Vile – vocals, guitar
Jesse Trbovich – guitar, saxophone
Kyle Spence – drums
Adam Langellotti – bass, keyboards

Pixies
Black Francis (Charles Thompson) – lead vocals, guitar
David Lovering – drums, backing vocals
Joey Santiago – guitar, backing vocals
Emma Richardson – bass, vocals

Turnstile
Brendan Yates – vocals
Franz Lyons – bass, vocals
Pat McCory – guitar
Daniel Fang – drums