Bluesfest Day 9: Rockers Motley Crue, DJ James Kennedy and a blues harp blow-off add up to a wild Saturday night

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A big crowd showed up at Bluesfest on Saturday for a night that was heavy on rock, with headliners Motley Crue playing up their bad-boy schtick as they delivered a barrage of hits.

But in keeping with the festival’s something-for-everyone mandate, there was also EDM on the River stage and some actual blues at the SiriusXM tent, making for three wildly disparate parties on a muggy summer night.

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Notably, after a string of good-time country shows at this year’s Bluesfest, there was nary a twang on the final Saturday night.

At the top of the program was the Crue, the world’s most notorious band, as their T-shirt stated, a glam-rock outfit formed in California the early 80s by bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee, singer Vince Neil and guitarist Mick Mars, who was unceremoniously ditched by the others two years ago. He suffers from ankylosing spondylitis, a chronic bone disease that makes it difficult to tour. 

The band is touring with a replacement — guitarist John 5 — who’s talented, although not quite so inventive as Mars. Drummer Tommy Lee bashed his kit with reckless abandon while bassist Sixx held down the bottom end. Neil’s voice, on the other hand, sounded rangy and strained. Also on stage was a pair of leggy backup singers who writhed in their bum-revealing outfits. Everything was massively loud on the huge stage. 

For Neil, one saving grace may have been the fact the entire crowd knew the words to the classic songs and could sing along, taking the pressure off his performance. 

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Following a drudging performance by Canadian ’90s rockers the Tea Party, the Crue roared onto the stage. Their set focused on the familiar old songs, including Primal Scream, Too Fast For Love, Dr. Feelgood and Shout at the Devil, but there was also a chunk of time devoted to cover tunes, including the likes of Smokin’ in the Boys Room, Helter Skelter, Anarchy in the U.K. and Fight For Your Right. 

One less inspiring new song, Dogs of War, also made the cut, perhaps an effort to illustrate the band’s expanding perspective, although we’re not sure they realized they were playing it on the plaza of the Canadian War Museum. 

The crowd, ranging in age from fresh-faced youngsters to grizzled rock veterans, was imbibing enthusiastically as they pumped fists and shouted along. By the time Lee called for fans to bare their chests, a stunt in every Crue show, inhibitions were low and a handful of women and men alike raised their shirts. 

While the metalheads dominated the main stage, a youthful crowd of electronic-dance music fans congregated at the River stage for the second Ottawa appearance this year by James Kennedy (following a sold-out Bronson Centre show in the spring). 

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The reality-TV star of Vanderpump Rules is a slick DJ whose mixing doesn’t have much to do with the blues but he exuded an infectious energy and was warmly welcomed by legions of young fans dancing themselves into a puddle of sweat. 

Saturday also brought an important blues showcase to Bluesfest’s SiriusXM stage (in the tent), starting with a rousing set by local guitar hero Tony D and his band. Next up was the Blues Harp Blow-Off, a good-natured competition with a field of contenders that included blues old timer Jerry Portnoy, who’s 80, the female master of the instrument, Annie Raines, and Ottawa’s own former child prodigy of the blues, Steve Marriner, now a husband and father who lives in Toronto. 

“It’s great to be home,” said Marriner, thrilled to be on stage with two pillars of the blues who were an influence on his musical evolution. With the house band chugging along behind them, they finished the show with a grand finale of rocking blues, to the delight of a core audience of blues fans, many of whom have been coming to the festival since its inception in 1994. 

The harp-studded event made an ideal 30th-birthday celebration of the roots of Ottawa Bluesfest. To polish it off, Marriner pulled out a line he uses every time he plays his hometown festival. “Happy Bluesfest,” he said, waving farewell until next time. 

Sunday marks the last day of the festival, with headlining sets by rapper Nas on the main stage and British singer-songwriter Ben Howard on the River stage.

lsaxberg@postmedia.com

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