Last night we hit up Bluesfest for Hole, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and Louis C.K. I wasn't entirely sure how we were going to see Joan and Louis simultaneously, but we figured we'd give it a try. At the information tent, a nice man informed us that we would need to get a stamp in order to leave the main festival area, cut through the War Museum, and pop into the comedy tent. No problem.

After Hole's set, featuring a delightfully spacey Courtney Love demanding cigarettes and set changes to reflect her bluesy birthday mood, we zipped around trying to figure out where we could get these magical stamps. Turns out what you actually need to do is get your ticket scanned as you leave and then again when you re-enter.* As we prepared to enter the comedy stage, my best friend's ticket scanned easily, while mine caused a giant red STOP to appear on the screen. Some sort of manager took me aside to explain that Louis C.K. is "a $45 dollar ticket, and they're sold out." Reasons why this is bullshit:

• When purchasing our tickets, we told the girl at the kiosk in the Rideau Centre that we want to go see Louis C.K. At no point did she mention that that requires some sort of additional fee.
• We bought out tickets at the same place, at the same time, and paid the same price. So why does one get in and one get left out?

In the end we caught all of Joan Jett and the Blackhearts' amazing set, so there's no real harm done, except for the part where it's bootsauce not to tell people that they are going to have to pay more. That's it! That's all you have to do! Just tell them. So, if you are planning to go see Lewis Black on July 17, that's going to be an additional $45. And the tickets are probably sold out.

The final night of Ottawa's Bluesfest finished with all the thunder and excitement a grand finale deserves. Jack White's new super-group, The Dead Weather (featuring members of Queens of the Stone Age, The Kills and The Raconteurs, along with White) took the stage at eight to deliver an incredibly rocking set that was enthusiastically embraced by the crowd.

The highlight of the show, for this listener anyway, was the final song of the encore: an fierce rendition of Bob Dylan's "New Pony" from the 1978 album Street-Legal. (The cover also appears on Horehound, the Dead Weather's recently released debut album.)

The song, I suppose, shouldn't have come as a surprise, given that the White Stripes have previously covered Dylan's "One More Cup of Coffee", as well as his arrangement of the traditional "Blackjack Davie"...  All the same, it was a delightful and surprising finish to a fantastic festival.

I don't know about you, but I know what my favourite KISS moment of all time is: Bill and Ted return from the future, bearded and finally ready to become the legends Rufus always told them they would be.  The Princesses, the Stations, the Good Robot Usses, and Death all join in as Wyld Stallyns rock out to KISS's "God Gave Rock n Roll to You II".  Incredible stuff.

BANK OF AMERICA STAGE
7 p.m.: Beast
9:30 p.m.: KISS

BANK OF AMERICA STAGE
7 p.m.: Ice Cube
9:30 p.m.: Our Lady Peace

ROGERS STAGE
6 p.m.: Mishka
8 p.m.: Xavier Rudd

SUBWAY STAGE
6:30 p.m.: Spencer Davis
7:45 p.m.: The Yardbirds
9 p.m.: The Zombies

On Thursday my friends and I stopped by the Metric show on our way over to see Iron & Wine. Metric wasn't known to me at the time, but they put on a good show. That Emily knows how to rock.

As we danced and maintained what we thought was a respectful distance between our group and the people in front of us, a pair of Titans and their Amazonian girlfriends decided that to fill that space. At 8:30. For an 8 o'clock show. Yes, four people who were 5'10" at their shortest decided the very best place they could stand when they showed up half an hour late was directly in front of three women who are 5'4" at their tallest. 

Shouting things like, "EXCUSE ME!" "WHAT THE FUCK?" and "COULD THEY BE ANY TALLER?!" produced no results (let it never be said that Metric plays too quietly), so that's when you stepped in, White T-Shirt. You had been there the entire time, moving gracefully on your own at a respectful distance. You knew injustice when you saw it. 

The first live rock concert I ever attended was the Stone Temple Pilots at the congress centre, back in the eary 90's.  Hard to believe that was over 15 years ago...  Good to see the boys back together and rocking Ottawa once again.

 BANK OF AMERICA STAGE

BANK OF AMERICA STAGE

2 p.m.: Treasa Levasseur

BANK OF AMERICA STAGE

1 p.m.: Drew Nelson Band

3 p.m.: Sweetfire

So, um, the Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest started a few days ago... It is sort of a big deal in Ottawa. We probably should have mentioned it earlier than this, eh? (Who is the music editor of this here magazine anyway?? Oh wait, forget it...)

Below you will find tonight's Bluesfest line-up. (Don't forget to check out our interview with Jesse Cook, before he performs tomorrow night on the Hard Rock Cafe stage!)

Friday, July 10: