Bluesfest Day 7: The Offspring caps off night of mosh, mud & madness

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A night intended to toast one of Canada’s favourite sons instead became a thunderous celebration of punk and metal after Neil Young cancelled his Bluesfest show and The Offspring picked up the date. 

Thursday was originally devoted to Young and Crazy Horse, but when someone in Young’s party got sick and they had to cancel tour dates, somehow the scramble behind the scenes led to punk-rockers The Offspring filling in on the main stage at LeBreton Flats Park. 

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With support from Canadian noisemongers Cancer Bats and Silverstein, it was a night of mud, moshing and madness at the main stage. 

After days of heavy rain, paths around the site had become thick mud, despite organizers’ best efforts to make them passable with mulch or temporary rubber floor coverings.  

While the last-minute switcheroo from classic-rock legend to mainstream punks prompted a disdainful reaction from many Neil fans, others simply gathered up their chairs and earplugs and went anyway, it appeared, judging by the number of lost-looking boomers in the crowd. 

Also noteworthy was the presence of father-and-son attendees, with both parent and offspring in The Offspring T-shirts. 

Of course, there were a few other options for musical entertainment on site, too, and in keeping with Bluesfest’s default genre this year, a lot of it was country music. Alberta’s singing rancher, Corb Lund, attracted an over-capacity crowd to the SiriusXM stage, filling the tent and spilling out towards the Crazy Horse Saloon, which was fortunately not as loud as usual on Thursday. Lund and his band did a great job, doling out his wry, observational story songs with good humour. 

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Another country-music double bill took place on the River stage, featuring Canadian country dude Josh Ross and Montreal honky-tonker Merle Marlow, while the Barney Danson Theatre hosted a full house for the delightful debut appearance by Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist extraordinaire, Steph Strings. This 23-year-old phenom is finding her way on a path blazed by fellow Aussies such as John Butler and Xavier Rudd, and has already cultivated a devoted following. 

At the main stage, The Offspring had a blast with everything happening around them, from the mud to the blues to the Neil factor. 

Back at Bluesfest for the first time in five years, abrasive-voiced singer Bryan Holland and lead guitarist Kevin Wasserman were the chief instigators of the pop-punk fun as they led the band through a rollicking set that included plenty of hits, from opener Come Out and Play to finale Self Esteem, firing off Gotta Get Away, Why Don’t You Get a Job and Pretty Fly (For a White Guy), among others, along the way.

For me, the highlight was the silly segment in the middle in which they challenged themselves to play some blues, but came up with Iron Man instead, before unfurling a short but triumphant jam on Young’s Rockin’ in the Free World. “It’s a huge honour to be filling in for Neil,” declared Holland, extending the band’s best wishes for a speedy recovery and their hopes to see Young and his crew back out rocking soon.

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The aging California punks went on to reference In the Hall of the Mountain King before gleefully tackling the Ramones’ Blitzkrieg Bop as a nod to their own influences. Stoked by the tidal wave of a response, they threw out a “world record” attendance figure of more than a million. (In reality, it was probably about 20,000.)

The Offspring’s romp through Free World wasn’t the first Neil song to cut through the humidity and drizzle. Earlier, Ontario’s hardcore heroes Cancer Bats tore into Cinnamon Girl, showing their love for Young by thrashing the song to bits. 

The Bats also waxed nostalgic about the early days of their career, casting back to their frequent appearances in the nation’s capital. “We’ve been playing Ottawa for 20 years,” roared singer Liam Cormier, recalling cramped shows in the basement of the long-closed music store, End Hits, and disorderly Club SAW gigs before the big Arts Court renovation. 

“Sorry about kicking holes in the wall,” Cormier added. “I don’t think we ever fixed them.”

Bluesfest continues until Sunday, with a home stretch of headliners including country-folk singer-songwriter Tyler Childers on Friday, glam rockers Motley Crue on Saturday and rapper Nas on the last day.

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lsaxberg@postmedia.com

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