OTTAWA - Limp Bizkit performs during Bluesfest at LeBreton Flats on Friday, July 10, 2026. Photo by Spencer Colby/Postmedia Photo by Spencer Colby /Postmedia

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The chaotic energy of Limp Bizkit was building to a peak on Friday when the rap-rock legends surprised the crowd by inviting an old friend to join them on the RBC Main stage at Ottawa Bluesfest.

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The lanky figure in overalls and a scruffy beard was none other than Ottawa’s own Tom Green, the zany Canadian comedian who first made his mark in comedy with a homegrown cable-TV show.

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Green is back in Eastern Ontario these days, and producing a new show that he was compelled to plug to the vast audience packed onto the plaza of LeBreton Flats Park. Calling out folks from Renfrew to Vanier, Green slipped into a backwoods Valley boy persona.

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“We get ‘er done in the Ottawa Valley, eh?” he quipped, after spitting out a line from his teenage rap trio, Organized Rhyme, a reference that fans immediately recognized.

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Limp Bizkit performs during Bluesfest at LeBreton Flats on Friday. Photo by Spencer Colby /Postmedia

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Green was on stage for just one song (Rollin’), but he took the time to pay tribute to Bizkit singer Fred Durst and his bandmates.

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“I just want to say I love you guys,” he told them, noting the significance of the band supporting his MTV show in the 1990s. “My little show that started here in Ottawa … and these guys were the biggest thing in the world.”

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Limp Bizkit performs during Bluesfest at LeBreton Flats on Friday. Photo by Spencer Colby /Postmedia

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Those days are long gone but the impact has been lasting, with Green considered a comedic influence, and Limp Bizkit proving they still have the ability to attract fans and deliver a full night of entertainment.

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In fact, both Bizkit and hip-hop openers Cypress Hill gave terrific, well-paced performances at Bluesfest, a formidable double bill that was ignited by the spirit of Ottawa rockers F!TH in the opening slot. (More about them in a moment)

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Still, as someone who witnessed Limp Bizkit basically trigger the destruction of Woodstock in 1999, I had concerns about the absolute mayhem that Durst’s songs inspire.

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While tunes like Break Stuff and Nookie will never not inspire mayhem, the band demonstrated an effective strategy to counter the situation: A pause to tone things down, and perhaps a snippet of a cheesy hit (Tainted Love, for example) played over the speakers, created enough of a distraction to diffuse the mosh pit and make everyone smile.

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B-Real of Cypress Hill performs during Bluesfest at LeBreton Flats on Friday. Photo by Spencer Colby /Postmedia

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Another act reviving their career after success in the 90s is Cypress Hill, the California hip-hop group best known for their stoner hits, and long history advocating for cannabis use, both recreational and medicinal.

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They landed on the Bluesfest main stage Friday in the spot before Limp Bizkit, and proceeded to electrify the festivities with a string of party-starters, including Shoot Em Up, When the Shit Goes Down, Hand on the Pump and more.

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“This is for the stoners out there,” declared frontman B-Real, summoning the attention of the huge crowd. “Are you ready to get high?”