I’ve lived in Ottawa for over 3 years now, and I still hate this city. One of my largest grievances is the lack of good shows, particularly ska shows, which is a shame considering the city’s longstanding relationship with the musical genre with such songs as “Drunk Ninjah” by Friends of Stu. Ottawa just doesn’t register on most bands’ radar, and I can’t count the times that a decent band has skipped town on its way from Montreal to Toronto. My old stomping grounds in St. Catharines get a better variety of shows, and they’ve got 1/5th the population.
I was apalled while attending the few ska shows that Ottawa did get during my first year here. It seemed that the only way anyone knew how to dance was by moshing, leaving me to fight off rambunctious 14-year olds in impomptu pits. During the first Ska Is Dead tour myself and about 10 like-minded individuals had to start our own small circle at the back of the club, and it seemed that even then they had trouble in fighting the urge to punch people.
In the intervening years I’ve seen the kids in this city get more and more hep to where it’s at. I can now attend a show without having to bruise my knuckles on some little kid’s face, and, slowly but surely, a few of those kids are becoming more appreciative of older, more sedate versions of ska then the “punk with horns” that first attracted them to the genre.
I bring all this up because the First Annual Ottawa Ska Fest is taking place tonight, and despite the fact that it will mostly consist of bands that are outside this old man’s usual taste in ska music, it’s still a step in the right direction. I encourage anyone in Ottawa to drop by and get down. I’ll be the one dancing in the blue suit, Peter Parker-style.
I remember when we saw the kingpins at Lees Palace in Toronto when they were like a 10 piece still. That show was crazy good.