The Saskatoon Jazz festival started this week in Saskatoon. Â Over 10 days there are more than 40 free outdoor concerts and the city has really come alive. Â There is free bike valet at all the venues, bbq and vodka lemonade vendors, and even a bit of pot smoke. Â The Mainstage at the Bessborough hotel has general admission festival seating and has some big acts: Michael Franti, Janelle Monae, and Feist. Â I was lucky enough to see Feist last night before flying to Vancouver.
The opening act was Timber Timbre and I was impressed. Not exactly ‘rocking out’, but very atmospheric and moody. Â I really loved the singer’s voice, I think their songs would make a great soundtrack for film (maybe they can get launched internationally on True Blood?) Â I hadn’t heard them before going to the concert, and I actually like them better live (I could feel the kick drum!)
Feist was fantastic, super high energy and a great mix of songs. Some had a completely new arrangement – ‘Mushaboom’ followed out of ‘How come you never go there’ and ‘My moon my man’ was set to an awesome reggae beat. Â The crowd was singing along and Feist was an all-star with audience participation. The crowd was *mostly* cool, although this being Saskatoon there were a few drunken assholes. Overall a good night and I am glad I got to see Saskatoon at its best.