The Mohawk Lodge - Wicked Nights (Canadian Girl)

Going into the Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest (which is not a 'Blues Festival' but something more like a more civil Bonnaroo spread out over two weeks in the Canadian Capital on a sprawling grounds known as LeBreton Flats attached to the Canadian War Museum - which houses a number of the festival's performance spaces) I had a very clear sense in my mind of the bands I was hawkish to watch:  Furthur (members of The Grateful Dead), Levon Helm Band, The Hold Steady , Santana, Bear In Heaven, Passion Pit, Rural Alberta Advantage and a handful of very notable wild cards (one of which turned out to be a seperate ticketed event over and above my media accreditation to see a little comedian named Louis C.K. in the same tent in which The Mohawk Lodge are seen here performing).

That is to say going into the Bluesfest my entire applecart was upset one random night in The Dakota Tavern when a band called The Mohawk Lodge had a CD release show for Crimes (released June 22 on White Whale Records).   The song off Crimes that instantly jumps out and smacks it's way into the tapestry of your life is Wicked Nights (Canadian Girl) although over time particularly by way of their devastating live show many others come to the fore.  These then are still photos of The Mohawk Lodge playing in the Black Sheep Stage tent on July 10, 2010 (the audio is the studio version from Crimes, all lyrics Ryder Havdale, all music 'The Mohawk Lodge').  Wicked Nights was performed during their sparsely attended yet undoubtedly monumental appearance.