Capt. Mondo's World o' Mondo-ness

Day Four of the Beaches Jazz Festival - Shakura S'Aida Playing at Kew Gardens

This morning the sky opened up yet again, for a fourth (or is that fifth?) straight day of rain. By the early afternoon it had let up, and before heading downtown to see a movie I wanted to watch (Sam Rockwell in Moon) I decided to go see who (if anybody) was playing at the Kew Garden gazebo.

I was in luck: Shakura S'Aida was playing with her band. I managed to get close and take a lot of nice shots of the show. Here's a selection.

Labels: Beaches Jazz Festival, Kew Beach Park, Shakura S'Aida

Day Three of the Beaches Jazz Festival - Streetfest

Another day of rain, which let up within an hour or so of the start of Streetfest, just like it has done for the previous two days.

Spent a couple of hours wandering around, staying to enjoy the acts rather than just dashing from act to act. Stuck around for the full sets of old favorites like Dr. Draw and David Rotundo, so I only made it as far as Queen and Lee before deciding to turn back.

Dr. Draw. Significantly larger crowds this evening, so he spent most of the time on an elevated stage so the audience could see him.

Another shot of Dr. Draw in action

Dylan Wickens of Dylan Wickens & The 9s. I had never run into this group before, and Dylan Wickens put on an impassioned performance of energetic blues-fueled rock.

Another shot of Dylan Wickens, arguably my favourite picture of the day.

A shot of the crowds gathered by Queen and Kenilworth

David Rotundo striking a pose

On my way back I caught part of a second set of this band, which was still pumping out load and fast bluesy tunes with gusto. I caved and bought their latest CD, though I usually find that they never seem to capture the verve of a live performance (will see).

There was a point when another photographer who was at the very front was kneeling down taking shots. At one point David Rotundo struck a pose with his fists in the air and then held it for about 20 seconds or so, concluding by saying "I can't hold my hands up like this all day -- hurry up and take the shot!" followed by a big grin for the audience, which got a round of laughs.

Rhythm guitarist for David Rotundo. Nasty gash on his arm.

Puente del Diablo. A crummy shot, but a solid, entertaining band playing fast, Latin-flavoured music.

Crowds watching Puente del Diablo

The guitarist for the Downtown Dixieland Band. At this point I was using full external flash with a diffuser, but it was a loosing battle against the failing light, and I pretty much gave up taking pics of bands after this.

No flash needed (or was necessary) for this shot of one of the many street vendors who selling light sticks and the like.

Labels: Beaches Jazz Festival, David Rotundo, Downtown Dixieland Band, Dr. Draw, Puente del Diablo, Streetfest

Day Two of the Beaches Jazz Festival - Streetfest

More rain today, but again it all let up just before Streetfest was to begin. There was even more sun today, so I made a point of running the length of the Streetfest for once. Usually with the girls in tow I don't make it much past Lee or Wineva, but with just me and my camera I had the chance to sample of the bands playing that night stretching all the way to Beech at the western-most end of Streetfest.

Here's a selection of pics.

David Rotundo and the Rhythm Guitarist

David Rotundo's Bassist and Lead Guitarist

Yiannis Kapoulas

Mississauga Big Band Ensemble

Downtown Dixieland Band

Trombonist for the Downtown Dixieland Band

Lead singer of Fathead

Mae Cromwell and the crowd that gathered around her and her band. I love the expression of the little girl to the left of the shot.

Mae Cromwell close-up #1

Mae Cromwell close-up #2

Lead singer of Dubmatix

Not Affiliated Big Band

The drummer for Footwork. I like the t-shirt. ;-)

One of the pan flutists from the Imbayakunas, anchoring the eastern end of Streetfest at Beech Avenue.

Labels: Beaches Jazz Festival, David Rotundo, Downtown Dixieland Band, Dubmatix, Fathead, Footwork, Imbayakunas, Mae Cromwell, Streetfest, Yiannis Kapoulas

Day One of the Beaches Jazz Festival - Streetfest

It had rained earlier in the day and it was still threatening when I headed out for Streetfest just a few blocks from where we live. The sun was clouded over most of the time, but occasionally it peeked out enough to take some decent shots.

Sultans of String

Blackboard Blues Band

The always-animated Dr. Draw

Dr. Draw and other band members. This year they picked up a new musician who plays electric cello. Love the expressions of the female band members (bassist, keyboardist) in the background.

Labels: Beaches Jazz Festival, Blackboard Blues Band, Dr. Draw, Streetfest, Sultans of String

Beaches Jazz Festival: Day Two (with Videos)
This time I went and deliberately shot videos of songs from each of the bands that we lingered at. I was thinking about the problem of uploading images to my Web site, when I remembered that there's YouTube available now. So now you can watch videos of some of the performances we saw earlier this evening.

After watching the close of a set by the Blackboard Blues band in front of the old Beaches Fire Hall, we went across the street to see Dr. Draw, a band comprised of relatively young performers fronted by an electric (and electrifying) violin player. They were playing by Queen Street East near Woodbine (apparently hosted by my local dentist. ;-) Just wish the old guy with the straw hat in front wasn't there, but the music was stunning. And by the way, at the end of the performance he's playing a piece by Vivaldi.

We then wondered further down the street and just in front of one of the local watering holes on the south side of the street was Riot and his Rhythm Devils, playing a rockin' mix of rockabilly and heavy blues music. (Every now and then in the movie you'll see Erika's head pop into frame, where she was dancing with the girls).

After that we headed across and down the street to see part of a set by David Rotundo & The Blue Canadiens. A great R&B act.

After that the light got too low to record any more movies, but we made it only as far east as Key Beach Park, and got to see the Tokyo Giants play a set before the girls got too tired and we headed back home through the thronging masses of people who turned out to see this event.

Labels: Beaches Jazz Festival, David Rotundo, Dr. Draw, rockabilly, Vivaldi, YouTube