RBC Ottawa Bluesfest – Day 7 by the numbers

Main Stage Headliner: Snoop Dogg – Hip Hop day!

Party Factor: A sloppy 8. Considering it is Tuesday, 9.

Number of songs performed tonight about smoking weed: at least 5. Between A$AP Rocky and Snoop Dogg exclusively.

Band 1: The first act we saw today has one of our favourite hip hop albums of the year – A$AP Rocky.

808: The instrument that was most audible during A$AP Rocky’s set. HUGE bass made the genius highs of Clams Casino’s production a bit muddy – but a hell of a party to start the night.

People on stage at the end of A$AP Rocky’s set: 50~ish; looked like a Girl Talk show!

Chali 2na’s Height: Not sure – but he’s tall. The Jurassic 5 rapper is definitely a class-act as well. To watch this guy give subtle directions to the sound crew to make this instrument sound louder in that monitor, while still perfectly rhyming something with “Sarah Michelle Gellar”, and doing it with a smile – world class.

Over-under prop bet we made on how late Lauryn Hill would go on: 15 minutes. I picked under.

The result: Over. WAY over. Her DJ and drummer played for 40 minutes before she and the rest of the band came on, preceded by a WTF moment when the drummer and DJ both looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders, and walked off stage. Bizarre.

Amount Lauryn Hill left on stage after arriving: 0. She and her band ripped though passionate rock re-versions of her classic Miseducation… album, as well as some Fugee hits. I was expecting versions closer to the originals – but these were all complete re-works of her songs. Solid – but unexpected.

Then, we had our minds blown by Deltron 3030…

Number of musicians on stage @ Deltron 3030: At least 16 – couldn’t count ’em all! Dan the Automator (in coat and tails!) conducting a full string and brass ensemble, a choir, a 5 person band, Montreal’s Kid Koala on the decks, and Del the Funky Homosapien on the mic.

They had deep conceptual moments, accompanying (barely repeating) visuals, a perfect mix, and an undeniable dedication to their sound. The best hip hop show we’ve ever seen? We’re still thinking it over, but I think it might be the best one…

2 legends I’m glad I caught: Trucks and Tedeschi. Poked my head onto the River stage to see what was up amongst all the amazing hip hop… but I totally forgot about Tedeschi and Trucks.

Susan Tedeschi, who is an incredible, buttery-smooth blues singer, with an 11-piece band (2 drummers on kits!) and her virtuoso husband on guitar.

If you’re like me, and you never saw Stevie Ray Vaughan or Jimi Hendrix Live, you might just walk away thinking that Derek Trucks is the best guitar player on the planet.

Number of hits Snoop can play during a set: 40? It’s amazing how much material Snoop can pull out and demolish during a set. There was a HUGE crowd there to see Snoop, and he delivered.

A world-class, weed-smoke-filled, beautiful night tonight. Looking forward to day 8 tomorrow Big Boi & Bad Religion!