Recording: Bidiniband

Artist: Bidiniband

Song: Everyday Superstar

Recorded at Christie Pits Park (Bloor Ossington Folk Festival – Day 1), September 17, 2016.

Bidiniband - Everyday Superstar

It was a bad news/good news sort of vibe down at Christie Pits. There was a sense of triumph that the festival — for the previous five years a well-curated, intimate event with an enjoyably-casual vibe — was happening at all, given that it was at the very precipice of the plug being pulled in the face of some expected grant money not coming through. The joy at the fact that the organizers found a way to go ahead with it was tempered by the sadness at the corresponding announcement that this would be the festival's final edition. On Saturday, the fact the event had been downsized — losing its main stage and moving everything under the beer garden tent — turned out to be a blessing in disguise as the day arrived with the (seemingly annual) dose of rain. The park was eerily quiet but it made everything feel extra dry and cozy as the bands played.

Former festival MC Dave Bidini took some time away from prepping for a reunion gig with his other band to return to BOFF, bringing some Big Rock Jams that had room built in for things like guitar solos, banter on controversial topics (like which No Frills store in fact has the fewest frills), and a mid-song pause during "Legal Age Life at Variety Store" to evaluate the "7 out of 10" rainbow that had appeared in the sky as the rain faded and the day's first sunshine finally appeared.