The National

So I went and saw the National last night at Bluesfest. They were very, very good. Well worth the $60 I spent on a ticket. They only played about an hour, and didn't play "Daughters of the Soho Riots" or "All the Wine" but I was generally happy with the show. I could have listened to the lead singer's baritone all night long.

I didn't really stick around for KISS. It was too much of a zoo, and I overheard one woman say upon entering the grounds that "This is like a carnival, but for adults." It was too much of a one for me. I sort of felt like I was back in Toronto with all the crowd of people. I saw KISS take to the stage, and the music immediately felt canned. I felt a little bit ripped off as well, as, if I didn't check the Bluesfest website beforehand, I would have missed that the National got moved back to 7:45 p.m. instead of 8 p.m., to make way for an extra half-hour or so of KISS. I don't know what people see in KISS -- I didn't really recognize the first four or so songs that they played, and it just felt like a mass influx of sheepies being lead to whatever the media feeds them. Is Ottawa this starved for attention whenever a major act comes to town? I wonder.