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JazzFest 2 - rocking in the Heart of the City

Rain-drenched early crowd
Second day of JazzFest complete with full waterproofs and wellies. A few hardly souls, myself included, headed to Confederation Park to see, in theory, the Laila Biali Trio. Another new one for me, but the JazzFest profile promised pop-oriented jazz from the pianist-songwriter plus George Koller and Larnell Lewis on bass and drums respectively. Sadly, Biali was held up at Ottawa Airport by the adverse weather, so the impromptu Koller-Lewis duo performed a set for the bedraggled attendees - at this point there was not so much a crowd as people in a field! The show also included a demonstration on dismantling Koller's new bass, which was very interesting!

By the time Elvis Costello & The Imposters took to the stage the downpour had abated and more people had arrived. As a taster of things to come, the set started with Pump It Up and went on to include gems such as Watching The Detectives, Red Shoes and Alison, as detailed below (from Elvis Costello Wiki):

Elvis Costello
01. Pump It Up
02. Heart Of The City
03. Mystery Dance
04. Everyday I Write The Book
05. Strict Time
06. Clown Strike
07. Almost Blue
08. New Lace Sleeves
09. Beyond Belief
10. Clubland
11. Stations Of The Cross
12. This Wheel's On Fire / The River In Reverse / On Your Way Down / I'll Take Care Of You

Encore 1
13. A Slow Drag With Josephine - EC solo
14. Jimmie Standing In The Rain - EC solo
15. (I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea
16. Watching The Detectives
17. Alison

Encore 2
18. Honey, Are You Straight Or Are You Blind?
19. (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes
20. I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down
21. High Fidelity
22. Out Of Time
23. (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding? - including The Kids Are Alright
Maybe it was to spite the weather, the impressive set varying from mellow back to a great rendition of 'Out of Time' replete with singalong, but the combined show was amazing with the crowd on fire and dancing around. One to remember, and for those who chose to stay at home, to regret missing!

Similarly, within the confines of the OLG stage the late night audience were whooping and dancing to manically popular three-piece Elliott Brood. A mix of indie-roots-folk-rock with (for me) hints of Hey Rosetta! and Rural Alberta Advantage. Another band with whom I should become more familiar... Certainly most of those inside the OLG tent were familiar with the Elliott Brood oeuvre and were singing heartily, dancing and hitting tin lids with spoons (props provided by the band). The band have a new album in the autumn and based on this show, future shows look promising! One to watch....
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