By Darren Eke
The awards have been handed out, the champagne bottles have long been dry and the music industry executives have flown back to Toronto.
Ottawa should be proud of hosting the Juno Awards, but more people should recognize the strength of the city’s live music scene outside the buzz generated during the success of Avril-the month and the singer.
Ottawa is continuing to excel by showcasing diverse artists that separate themselves from the mainstream, or appeal to niche markets.
Many of these artists rarely get their faces and videos shown on MuchMusic, and will not likely penetrate into the Britney-level of the mainstream marketplace.
The success stories lay in the hands of smaller independent bands that have included Ottawa to their schedule early in their touring careers.
Ottawa has become a breeding ground for emerging bands like Drums & Tuba, a New York City trio who played their first Ottawa show in 2001. Aside from using a tuba as their core instrument, the band is also known for uniquely fusing together live sound samples onstage.
Within one year of their Ottawa debut, their audience has increased by at least 100 people after playing their fifth show in the city.
Their continuing success isn’t the result of a heavy advertising campaign promoting their shows, rather through word of mouth from local music fans.
Persistence has also paid off for Toronto breakbeat-progressive house trio the New Deal; an even better example of how a band has drawn a huge Ottawa following by repeatedly playing shows in the city.
The recent Juno nominees played their first Ottawa show alongside soul singer Ivana Santilli in January 2000, drawing less than 100 people to the now-defunct Zaphod Beeblebrox II. After playing a handful of shows, including a well-received turnout during a rainy performance at last year’s Tulip Festival, they have developed a cult-like following. Nearly 500 energetic and sweaty people filled Barrymore’s and danced to the live house music last March.
So what’s there to complain about?
Fans enjoying larger arena shows may feel Ottawa is slightly disadvantaged compared to other Canadian cities.
Granted, the fact the Corel Centre, the city’s largest venue, is stuck in suburban Kanata doesn’t help much.
But since Ottawa is only hours away from Toronto and Montreal, fans are close enough to nearby cities that routinely host larger shows.
Mentioning these two groups hardly scratches the surface to show the live musical diversity that continually occurs in Ottawa.
As summer nears, Ottawa will host a variety of outdoor musical festivals that will once again nourish the appetites of a wide range of listeners.
And these festival`s aren`t getting any smaller. The upcoming blues festival lineup has expanded its bill to include even more diverse performances.
As the upcoming months look promising for Ottawa’s live music scene, the buzz surrounding Ottawa hosting the Juno Awards will merely slip into the back of our minds and become part of the social subconscious.