Bluesfest review: Country harmony, and a classic shade of Procol Harum

The Band Perry, Procol Harum with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Gogol Bordello
RBC Royal Bank Bluesfest
Reviewed Thursday evening

The fresh-faced sibling trio from Tennessee known as The Band Perry may have released their debut album a scant four years ago, but they’ve already carved out a big spot in contemporary country music.

That’s thanks in large part to lead vocalist Kimberly Perry, who treats performance like a high-impact exercise class and is the high-energy group’s centrepiece. Pumping and bouncing through tunes like the big opener Done and Night Gone Wasted, she’s accompanied by brothers Neil and Reid on guitars and backup vocals and a tight backing band.

Only a curmudgeon would gainsay the Perrys’ talents, including their harmonizing on songs like You Lie, an aggressive attack on a cheating man.

“Tonight, country music is going to make us one family, Canada!” promised Kimberly at one point. That may have been over the top, but as deadline loomed and the band was wrapping up the poppish Forever Mine Nevermind, it did all feel pretty cozy.

Space on the same stage was at a premium when Procol Harum performed earlier. The vintage rock band was accompanied by not just Lee Hayes’ 24-voice Ottawa choir but also the National Arts Centre Orchestra under conductor David Firman. Including the band and its lead singer and founder Gary Brooker, some 80 bodies packed the stage.

Procol Harum has always favoured grandeur in its music, and the addition of the orchestra and choir — which sometimes sounded muddy -suggested that this was more than just rock ‘n’ roll. At heart, of course, it is rock ‘n’ roll as the 69-year-old Brooker called it when he opened with Homburg.

Never anything to write home about, Brooker’s soulful voice hasn’t stood up well. That was clear in Salty Dog, but Brooker — and his audience — seemed unfazed that.

“I can’t believe I’m still singing (this),” he said as he introduced A Whiter Shade of Pale, the band’s 1967 breakthrough song, late in the show. An almost physical wave of nostalgia swept the crowd as Brooker sang the first, mysterious line, “We skipped the light fandango.”

With its languorous melody lifted from a Bach composition, the song remains one of rock ‘n’ roll’s great moments.

Opening earlier on the Claridge Homes stage with the one-two punch of Rise Again and Not a Crime, Gogol Bordello with its Gypsy punk concoctions proved yet again to be a party band nonpareil.

Eugene Hütz, the whirling dervish of a lead singer, hopped from stage to raised platforms, spun on one foot while playing his guitar, and generally burned more calories than Usain Bolt at full stride — exactly what any good party needs.

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