EDMONTON -- It took seven years, but Edmonton's summertime ticket to blues paradise finally sold out Saturday.

"It's a beautiful thing,'' smiled Cam Hayden, co-producer of Edmonton's Labatt Blues Festival as he stood taking in the show at stageside in the Heritage Amphitheatre at Hawrelak Park early in the evening. The site was packed to a capacity of 3,000 excited fans (plus several hundred volunteers and guests), as that great Canadian blues institution Downchild Blues Band presided over the setting sun and a sea of bobbing dancers' heads to make their first appearance at the fest.

Hayden admitted he had hoped it would have happened sooner but he wasn't complaining, given the longed-for warm weather, cheering throngs, and hot performers that all combined to make it a lucky seventh year (a limited number of day passes will still be available at the gate today -- probably to sell out again).

If Downchild proved to be the crowd's sentimental favourite, then it was the Mannish Boys who really pulled out the blues by the roots and shook off the earth. The all-star collective of southern-bred, multi-generational blues vets used up their 90-minute set as M.C.-singer-harpmeister Randy Chorkoff gradually brought out each member for his own cameo, leading towards a collaborative finale with the crack backing band.

Guitarist Kid Ramos was the one who strolled out first and stayed out most, tirelessly stretching his strings to amazing lengths or constructing short, sinuous, melodic phrases. Then Mississippi-born Johnny Dyer put in the peak performance for these ears with his splendid bellows on the tune Mannish Boy, hitting against the simple, spare crushing pull of the groove, reminding you of just how primal and thoroughly expressive the blues can be all at once.

Big, bald Arthur Adams was another highlight when he came out to sing

I Want To Roll Tonight, accompanied by his own incendiary staccato guitar picking and strangled strings that almost made you feel sorry for the instrument. Finally, Finis Tasby offered a leaner vocal and lots of soul in his mini-set, bringing out a tasty version of Lonesome Train. With the Mannish Boys, just the sum of the parts was awesome.

If there was an award for working the crowd Saturday, then it should have gone to Downchild's Chuck Jackson. After he and Donnie (Mr. Downchild) Walsh came out to wail away on their harmonicas together at the start, it was Jackson who really managed an expertly paced set that mixed slow-burning ballads in among uptempo shuffles from all over the band's long history. Walsh was no slacker, though, proving again why he's lasted 37 years in the business with a series of protracted, dangerous slide solos at mid-set and some killer harmonica to top it off. And it was no surprise when they pulled out that old gem Flip Flop & Fly for their finale, even getting the crowd to shout out the chorus.

"I think we're moving to Edmonton,'' cracked Jackson, and the crowd's ovation let them know that was a fine idea.

If New Orleans' Mem Shannon had less of a hold on the crowd, the guitarist-singer and his Membership quartet showed earlier on they were still one of the tightest, funkiest bands of the weekend. Shannon alternated between flavourful chord changes and super-slinky funk licks to drill home the pulse, matching Angelo Nocentelli's deep, rubberized bass grooves. It was all hot, but the number that really grabbed my attention was the title track to his latest album, I'm From Phunkville, for the best example of their superb, polyrhythmic chemistry. Bring 'em back soon, eh?

CONCERT REVIEW

Mannish Boys (featuring Finis Tasby, Kid Ramos and Johnny Dyer), Downchild Blues Band, Mem Shannon and the Membership, David Gogo, Mike Kindred Where: Edmonton Labatt Blues Festival

When: Saturday