If there was one thing I learned at Bluesfest on July 15, it was that it never hurts to get there early. One benefit of this advice was that I got to catch cult garage-blues act, The Gories on the main stage.

I walked in knowing little about the Detroit band, but left a converted fan. Active from 1986 to 1992, their Bluesfest gig was the beginning of a North American tour following a string of reunion shows last year.

Short their drummer (whose flight was cancelled) the band recruited an impromptu substitute, resulting in a few buzz-killing pauses between songs. Thankfully for ticket-holders, this lull was soon redeemed by their tight, live-wire guitar licks from lead-guitarist/vocalist Mick Collins and rhythm guitarist/vocalist Dan Kroha’s Mick-Jagger-swagger.

Their interaction with the dozens of fans in attendance made the show feel casual and one-of-a-kind, and they went out with a bang on “Nitroglycerine” as fans of Matthew Good began gathering in anticipation of his 8:15 p.m. set.

I’d seen Good play Bluesfest in 2008, and wasn’t terribly impressed. This year’s performance was better, as Good rocked a set comprising mainly of hits and tracks from his 2009 release, Vancouver and “Champions of Nothing” from 2007s Hospital Music as an encore.

Although his lyrics and delivery were often angst-ridden (not uncommon for this Canadian musician), Good and his backing band were in top shape throughout their set. The crowd were whipped into a frenzy with powerfully nostalgic rock numbers like “Load Me Up”. Incorporating lap steel guitar seemed to give his ’90s hit single “Apparitions” a gorgeous, country feel.

A notable flaw was Good’s lack of characteristic stage banter. Throughout his notable career in the industry, Good has established a reputation as an articulate and outspoken musician and I felt his devoted and energetic fans deserved more than a quick quip about the weather and a “thank you, goodbye.”

Good could have learned a thing or two from Crowded House front-man Neil Finn, whose pleasant remarks about the crowd and the city in general were engaging and fun. The soft-rock band, headlining on an MBNA stage littered with lit-up plastic animals, managed to hook a large segment of the audience on material from their late ’80s and early ’90s hayday, leading the crowd sing-along style through “Don’t Dream It’s Over” as well as getting them to bring their lighters and cellphones out on the encore-ending, “Better Be Home Soon”.

Unfortunately the set suffered from bland renditions of newer songs like “Saturday Sun” and “Twice if You’re Lucky”, which, combined with a few threatening drops of rain, sent a noticeable number of audience members away. This meant nothing to the concert’s remaining attendees, however, who erupted in collective cheer at the end of the main set closer “Weather with You”, before filing out contentedly after the encore.