Bluesfest shuffles lineup to put Angine de Poitrine on main stage

Angine de Poitrine, the experimental rock duo from Saguenay, Québec, performing in their signature oversized papier-mâché masks and polka-dot costumes. The anonymous brothers Klek and Khn de Poitrine always perform in disguise and have kept their real identities secret since the band's formation. Photo by ANGINE POITRINE /FACEBOOK

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The wildly popular Quebec duo, Angine de Poitrine, will move up to the RBC Main stage at Bluesfest on July 17, joining a bill already fuelled by the mega star power of country queen Ella Langley and the enduring appeal of classic rocker Sheryl Crow.

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Ticket sales are brisk, and it is expected to be one of the biggest nights of the festival, which runs over two extended weekends between July 9 and 19 at LeBreton Flats Park on the grounds of the Canadian War Museum.

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Bluesfest director Mark Monahan said the meteoric rise of Angine de Poitrine compelled him to shift the band to the biggest stage, which also provides the most room for spectators.

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“Obviously the problem is that when people buy tickets to one day, we don’t know exactly who they’re coming to see,” Monahan said in an interview. “But the popularity of Angine de Poitrine is phenomenal, and we are trying to avoid a situation where people buy a ticket and can’t see them because the stage is too small.”

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Angine was originally scheduled to perform on the side stage newly dubbed the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Ottawa Stage. They had been shoehorned into the middle slot, preceding another formidable Can-rock duo, Death From Above 1979.

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But in the few months between the booking and the date itself, the oddball Quebec musicians went viral with a performance video that spotlighted their polka-dot costumes and prog-rock swagger. Then they sold out a string of Quebec club dates, including a stop at Gatineau’s Bar Minotaur.

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Quebec rock sensations Angine de Poitrine played a sold-out show at Bar Minotaure in Gatineau on April 26. Photo by PHOTO BY Gordon Timbury, used with permission. /Postmedia

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The fever shows no signs of letting up. Angine’s free June 27 performance at the Montreal Jazz Festival attracted so many people that organizers closed the site more than an hour before showtime, declaring it full. It was reported to be the festival’s biggest crowd since Stevie Wonder in 2009.

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Back in the nation’s capital, July 17 is not the only night selling scads of tickets at Ottawa Bluesfest. Monahan said sales are going strong for Cody Johnson on opening night, Limp Bizkit on July 10 and the Lumineers on July 12.

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Several shows are on track to sell out in advance, he added, ballparking the numbers at 30,000 to 35,000 each night.

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In anticipation of the big crowds, the site has been reconfigured, with the food vendors shifted to the overflow area on the street, Kichi Zībī Mīkan. They’re still on site, but no longer occupying prime real estate in the main concert bowl. 

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“We want to maximize the experience for everybody,” Monahan said, “and it didn’t really make sense to have them in the prominent spot they were, right when you come in the gates.”

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lsaxberg@postmedia

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