The Yips entertain festival-goers during light rain on July 17th. (Courtesy of Scott Martin)
On Friday, July 17th, beloved local garage-rockers The Yips opened Bluesfest’s Canadian Stage to steady rainfall and a moderate-sized six o’clock crowd.
Of course, no local music festival is complete without an appearance from the band—they’ve also played in Ottawa Explosion Weekend and Arboretum Festival in the past year. While both of those events unite local DIY and indie bands with like-minded out-of-town acts, Bluesfest is a bigger gig than The Yips are probably used to, but they didn’t look out of place for a moment.
The young five-piece played a short, energetic set packed with songs from their 2014 full-length cut Air Loom, and a few from their self-titled EP. Their music is a charming cross between old-school garage and modern indie, with vocalist Kerri Carisse representing the former part of their sound. And although the band is part of a chummy and somewhat exclusive local music scene, their songs were accessible enough for the growing audience to enjoy.
Bassist Kurt Fafuse (also of the Tropical Drips) and drummer Jon Bennett form a very tight rhythm section, while Zach Lebert and Jon Schofield jam on riffs that would almost be indie-punk with more distortion and a fast tempo.
See The Yips whenever you get the chance. The band doesn’t have any more tour dates for this summer listed online, but I imagine something will pop up before long. Check in with House of Targ, Spectrasonic and Punk Ottawa often for up-to-date listings.
