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EDMONTON - Nelly Furtado's diminutive frame carried the weight of exhibition expectations Thursday night at Capital Ex's inaugural Ed Fest concert.
It's hard to review the Victoria, B.C., native's performance without also scrutinizing the would-be concert jewel in Northlands Park's reimagined summer exhibition. Aside from the name change, Capital Ex isn't any different than Klondike Days, really. It's a fact that will comfort people who love the city's venerable fair and reassure the people that don't that they aren't, in fact, missing anything.
While Northlands is no doubt still working out the bugs, last night's show seemed to go smoothly enough. With more concerts still in store (Our Lady Peace is tonight and you can visit www.capitalex.ca for complete lineup information), the big question is whether Ed Fest is worth checking out.
Yes.
How about Thursday's show? Was that any good?
Yes and no.
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Programming for the concert could have been better. Citytv is an Ed Fest sponsor, with Breakfast Television's music guru Bill Welychka acting as the master of ceremonies throughout the concert series' run. Corporate synergies probably demand that on-air personalities and DJs Kwame and Kwake from 91.7 FM the Bounce, a CHUM Ltd. radio station, also perform. They kicked off the evening and, while they were energetically game, their act rang a little hollow.
Kwake basically replicated a set of hits he'd play on the Bounce, while Kwame, as MC, ceaselessly tried pumping up the crowd. Frankly, it was sort of annoying, although I do empathize with him - translating their act (Kwake can also be heard Friday nights at the Standard nightclub) into a concert setting is no small undertaking - especially when you're just hollering, not rapping.
I appreciate the necessity of getting the crowd excited, but I would have much rather heard someone like Edmonton's own up-and-coming R&B star Kreesha Turner, assuming she was available. If I want a radio show, I'll turn on the radio.
Toronto's Saukrates, winner of the 2005 Canadian Urban Music Award for producer of the year, was a better fit. The man's got skills, even backing up Furtado when she finally hit the stage.
Furtado's new album, Loose, is a winner, thanks in large part to the work of Timbaland, who provided its production. Timbaland really brought his A-game to the album and it's the kind of work that will put him in greater demand by other pop stars looking for hits like Furtado's Promiscuous.
Because Timbaland's beats are so solid, I sort of expected Furtado to simply croon over canned backing tracks. Her full-band setup was surprising, which was complete with a pretty kick-butt drummer and guitar player. Modern R&B is very much a digital studio product, so it was nice to see Furtado instilling a live element into the proceedings.
Furtado's performance was decent, albeit short at just over an hour. She pranced about the stage and was well met by the crowd, even bounding into the audience on a couple of occasions. Unless you were really close when she ran down as far as the sound booth, you probably didn't see her - she really is petite.
When she took a request, that everyone would cry out to hear her breakthrough hit I'm Like a Bird (from her debut album, 2000's Whoa, Nelly!) was a foregone conclusion. Keeping with her current repertoire of tunes, the song took on a dance-like groove.
Three albums deep into her career, Furtado's next album will be the one to watch. Loose is good, but not unique - it's pretty derivative of stuff by the likes of Gwen Stefani and Missy Elliott. But it's a winning formula, a selling formula, and you could hardly fault Furtado for sticking with it.
Thursday's show was OK, but a little thin on atmosphere, partly because the 8,000-person venue was less than half full - it was a rock concert at one end and a licensed vacant lot at the other. (Northlands couldn't reveal exact concert attendance figures, saying it was lumped in with overall gate admission - sneaky buggers) Still, at capacity, Ed Fest could be one hell of a party.