### Ottawa Tulip Festival, 2005-05-13

#### 09/06/05 || Global Domination

This review was written by ex-staffer/cocksmoker Derek.

Disclaimer: Yes, I am aware that the title of this event involves the word ‘tulip’. Get over it.

This was a totally impulsive move on my part. I had just arrived home when my brother called; “do you want to go see the Tea Party at the Tulip Festival?” Before I had time to think, I was checking bus times and leaving. I was never really a big fan of the Tea Party; Jeff Martin (vocals) looks like Jim Morrison and their Led Zepplin adoration bothers me some times. But hey, they’d have to suck pretty bad to make $15 seem wasted.

I met up with my brother and his friends, and we made it to the park where the show was taking place. Despite the title of Tulip Festival, there wasn’t much plantlife, other than the usual trees you’d expect to find in a park. I wasn’t too disappointed. The opening band, Projet Orange, wasn’t very good. We purposely waited outside the park, until they finished. Ball-less radio rock wasn’t something I wanted a front-row spot for. After they mercifully exited the stage, it only took about 20 minutes to get The Tea Party setup; then the rocking commenced.

As I said, I wasn’t a big fan of the Tea Party. The rest of that sentence should read; until I saw them live.

As soon as the band jumped into “Overload”, everyone went nuts. Nothing kicks off a good rock show like a massive cloud of pot smoke errupting, obscuring the Canadian parliament buildings not 100 feet away. “Overload” was a good opener, followed by the lead off single from their new album, “Seven Cirlces” — with a breakdown into an amazing version of “All Along The Watchtower”. The band sounds a lot heavier live, and their bass is simply amazing; I was in the middle of the crowd and every bass note felt like a punch in the chest. If every beating were that groovy, I’d mouth off more.

It wasn’t until the third song, “Lullaby” that things got really fucked up. In the middle of the song, Jeff Martin pulls out this thing called a Theramin. (I mentioned the Led Zepplin fixation, didn’t I?) Basically, he was playing an antennae which he could alter the pitch of, by waving his hands. Very trippy.

The band continued through it’s set, consisting of a nice collection from all of their albums. “Fire In The Head” came off very heavy and dark; a lot more than is represented on the album. Each song consisted of a new guitar and / or accompanying instrument for Jeff Martin; including a sitar, acoustic guitar, and an odd rectangular bow. “Save Me” also featured the Tea Party’s homage to Led Zepplin; playing the guitar with a bow. I know, it’s not all that original; it’s also not that easy, especially when you’re doing it better than the original.

“Sister Awake” is a song I never really liked, but their live execution was superb. Tacking their phenomenal cover of “Paint it Black” on the end was genius. If you want a clear-cut case of a cover outclassing the original in every way, here it is. The show ended with a dark and heavy rendition of “Temptation”; showing a glimpse of what this band could do if it were just a little more evil.

All-in-all, this was an excellent show. $15.00 is an amazing price for a two-and-a-half hour set. I’ve completely changed my outlook on this band, and I can’t wait for them to come back to Ottawa, hopefully with a better opener.

- Information
- Festival date: May 13th, 2005
- Place: Major’s Hill Park, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Cost: $ 15 CDN

- Bandlist
- Projet Orange
- The Tea Party