Festival Season: Osheaga - Day 1

We sent our two most attractive writers to Montreal this past weekend to enjoy the riches that this year's Osheaga music festival had to offer. Also one of us had sex with Duffy, guess which one! Each band gets a letter grade for those of you with real lives too busy to read everything.

The Wooden Sky 2:00pm-2:30pm
Grade: A

The Toronto-based five piece shared their rich folk rock blend under the Scene des Arbres' tent with a natural charm and a shining ability to build a song to a climax. We were especially impressed with the Wooden Sky's unique backing vocals which provided a fullness and passion that made this set one of the day's finest.

*Next, we were ready to enjoy one of our favourites of late, Foals. However, the band canceled last minute due to 'scheduling problems'. We call bullshit. However, the disappointment was curbed quickly, as Texas' Sleepercar were playing a surprise performance on the Mountain stage.

Sleepercar 2:45-3:30
Grade: B

We were set to check out a set from Eddy Grant, who neither of us knew or had heard before. I knew only that he was a reggae artist, but some research after the fact makes me wish he had been there. Grant’s a pretty prolific figure, and did “Electric Avenue,” but I digress…In his place were Sleepercar from West Texas, a side-project of Jim Ward (Sparta, At the Drive-In). The band’s alt-country and rockier tunes were well balanced throughout the set, as Ward showed that his bread and butter yell can be toned down to a blue collar croon when appropriate, well suited to his slow-burning songs about West Texas and everyday obstacles. Highlights were “Wednesday Nights” and “A Broken Promise,” stretched out to incorporate lap-steel solos and singalong builds. Fine set, though a tad slow to get the crowd pumped for Pharrell and co.

N.E.R.D 3:30-4:30
Grade: C

This set was eagerly anticipated by BTA writer mca. He has macked hard on Seeing Sounds this summer, and was anxious to hear the new shit live. However, BTA's shortest contributor was disappointed with set that Pharrell Williams and friends shared. The band started 20 minutes late (a festival faux-pas), the set was marred by pour sound production and a desperation to force the crowd's energy level higher. "Anti-Matter" and "Spaz" came off weak and empty. After a decent rendition of "Rock Star", the BTA team left N.E.R.D's set early to be wowed by Plants & Animals.

Plant & Animals 4:00-4:45
Grade: B-

Playing the remote and rearmost Meg Stage, hometown natives and Polaris nominees Plants & Animals played the majority of their stellar album Parc Avenue. Their set was great, however we couldn’t help notice the 3-piece was going for a faster, much less cinematic version of many grandiose songs including “Bye Bye Bye.” Either for their limited personnel and backing instruments or because they wanted to keep people moving, these uptempo versions weren’t better or worse, just different from what we had expected. Still, the timing and cohesion of the three neon-shaded dudes was tight and they never let any one song become prolonged to the point of stagnation, a necessary tactic when other stages are just minutes away. “Good Friend” was probably the best executed song of the set; funny and lighthearted like the general vibe of the rest of the performance.

Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings 5:45-6:45
Grade: A

After eating some soul food provided by Osheaga's popular poutine shack, we were anxious to check out the festival's Queen of Soul, Ms. Sharon Jones and her Dap Kings. The set began with the Dap Kings getting the crowd going, building anticipation for the entrance of the little soul diva. The beautiful, soulful, and very audible Sharon Jones dominated the stage for the entire performance. As she strutted from stage left to stage right in her Tina Turner dress (and high heeled shoes she would later remove), Sharon Jones showed the Osheaga faithful what Motown/soul should look and sound like. Passionate, natural, fun. Definitely a favourite of the day. And it's soul music! soul.

Devotchka 7:00-8:00
Grade: A

Denver, Colorado’s Devotchka were for me, the surprise of the day. Between east-European gypsy stylings to authentic Spanish mariachi numbers and lots of shit you could categorize at any point in between, these guys were righteous and amazing. Frontman Nick Urata definitely captivated those in attendance with a Morrissey-type swagger and croon, and with a little lady hoisting a massive white tuba to his left and a gent with an accordion to his right they could really do no wrong. Urata played the theremin on a couple tunes, the ancient Russian electronic antennae a performer plays with the proximity of his hands, or in Urata’s case, his guitar and entire body…pretty unreal if you’ve never seen it played by a professional. Recent single “Transliterator” was the most boisterous and well-received of the set, and plenty more aggressive than its recorded counterpart. No lows from this bunch, thoroughly impressive.

Iggy & The Stooges 8:00-9:00
A-

Little did we know, but this would be the last time Iggy and the boys played their instruments (those specific instruments, to make it clearer, their truck got stolen Monday morning). Iggy made it quite clear during the high-energy set that he didn’t give a shit what anybody thought, which is what we all wanted to see. “Be Your Dog,” “No Fun,” and “Real Cool Time” from their eponymous debut sounded spastic and on the brink of collapse. At the point Iggy invited all his fellow freaks up on stage and kids were pouring over the barrier and up the stage wall, with the only thing coming between them and their idol was his purple-shirted bodyguard who boxed them out like Charles Barkley in his prime. A sight to see. Less of a sight to see was Iggy losing his belt and having his jeans ready to fall at any second, but they remained, keeping Iggy on the edge of the law for long enough to play “Search and Destroy” and some other gems. At 61 it’s not easy to explain how he keeps going, but the leatherbacked wonder keeps entertaining the punks and punks at heart as best he can.

Booka Shade 8:30-9:30
Grade: B-

Osheaga met its euro dance party quotient with this German twosome. Armed with a digital drum kit, headset microphones and an odd projection set up, Booka Shade provided a decently-sized audience with an enjoyable and sexually ambiguous 45 minute set. The tracks were solid, but nothing to write home about (sorry mom, one less telegram this week).

Sebastien Tellier 10:00-11:00
Grade: C+

Monsieur Tellier brought his chain-smoking, hobo-haired self and portions of his brilliant Sexuality to Osheaga to close the night as an alternative to those plugs in The Killers. What could have been a very promising, groovy set, especially given the darkness of the Meg Stage and the potential for a dance party dynamic, Tellier and crew played only “Divine” and “Kilometer” to get people moving, disregarding other cuts like “Sexual Sportswear” that would’ve done well with the crowd. One too many slow-burning piano numbers killed the momentum, and solace could only be taken at these moments by observing how incredibly awesome this Parisian is at smoking cigarettes. Like I don’t smoke or anything, but if anybody would get me started into deep, committed chain smoking, this would be the guy to idolize.

At the end of Day 1, we were excited for the talent-filled Day 2, and the prospect that our hostel beds weren't already filled by some gruff, oversized Peruvians.

- mca and BA

Festival Season: Pemberton Wrap-Up

As I sat on a bus in the traffic in between Whistler and Pemberton, in what major media outlets would later call ‘ a logistical nightmare’, and behind a pickup truck full of shirtless ‘bro’s’, heckling those that took their chances walking, I wondered if this town would still be standing in three days. As I cursed the woman at the media check-in who assured me that the festival grounds were a ten minute walk, I began to realize just how much of a nightmare this could potentially be. Staff and concert goers alike were equally lost in the confusion. So we took it upon ourselves to track down a campsite and settled in a fairly open area at the back of the campgrounds, away from the dust bowls and refugee style tent city area. Well, we had already missed most of the acts of the first day, so drinking seemed like the best way to get down to work. The gracious liquor companies, who saved us from the overpriced beer tents, were more than accommodating to the media. Although I’m not sure I’d say the same for Joe-concert goer. Lines to get into the 19+ areas spanned two or three hours, resulting in some spectacular fence scaling and dashing techniques. I wondered if that’s what the U.S and Mexican border looked like. As I stepped into one of the closed off areas, I found myself surrounded by the seemingly musically challenged and would be Hunter S. Thompson’s. They ranged from fashion magazines to those breakfast radio hosts who make you want to shoot yourself in the face rather than have a cheery start to your morning. All of them going apes shit over seeing the Tragically Hip and Sam Roberts…again! When I mentioned that I was looking forward to covering the likes of Chromeo and MSTRKRFT, I was met more often than not with blank stares. Don’t get me wrong, there were journalists around that border lined hipster-dome, and I don’t expect everyone to be a huge fan of this new indie-electrio dance wave that has been taking the blog world by storm. Hey, I myself am pretty down with Sam Roberts. But is it too much to ask that these people have a general awareness of the new Canadian talent coming up around them? Well maybe not you, hot fashion zine girl, but the music people! Apparently, the answer is yes. That’s cool man, go and sing along to ‘My music at work’. I watched the guy in front of me tip our server with our other national currency, giving me a smile and saying, “It’s gonzo baby”. Better make that two rum and cokes.

I can’t say too much about Chromeo that hasn’t been said about every other performance we’ve seen of them. The sea of people demonstrating their fancy footwork can testify that the boys blew the roof off the tent that night with their own special blend of synth-dance pop that they do so well. Though I will say that it wasn’t as intimate as other shows they have played as they were set up behind what was seemingly an unmovable DJ booth, and separated a few more feet by a security fence. It didn’t seem to phase the dancing though.

The next morning consisted of trying to find some food we could afford, and a line that we could tolerate. We found neither, so we hitchhiked to Pemberton. Someone had spray painted ‘DIRT’ in massive letters right across the four stalls near our campsite. I decided that was a good indication to wait until we got into town. The day consisted of avoiding dust clouds, rum, and the occasional game of hacky sack with neighbors in the camp ground while waiting for the music to begin. Organizers had however begun to pick up the slack from yesterday. Security was tighter, things were getting cleaned, and things seemed a bit more controlled. Mates of State showed they could hit those harmonies and fill the place with sound by means of just the two of them and the occasional help of some strings. The Flaming Lips should play a show where they don’t have massive bubbles floating around and crazy shit blowing up on stage. Where absolutely nothing happens. That would be really unexpected, and would probably mess with the drug-riddled kids even worse. MSTRKRFT took control of the dance party that night, which had been completely charged up by a day of some quality DJ sets. JFK and Al-P kept their usual company of crown royale and cigarettes as they threw down their set. Was that a shout out sample from Ghostface on the intro?



The campgrounds were not as hectic in the early morning hours as I had anticipated, but they were not without character. As one burly dude stumbled around and slumped down on the ground next to me, he mentioned how he didn’t want to see ACDC because they were “fucking head bangers”. It was an appropriate thing to say, as they were not playing at the festival, or anywhere at the time for that matter. He then went on about slitting throats and hobbits or something and proceeded to pass out on top of one of our tents. It was easier to move the tent rather than the guy, and let the medics take care of it.




The final day saw plenty of tired faces as well as those still ready to take in some of the biggest acts of the festival. Vampire Weekend started off the afternoon right, and I really enjoyed the first live performance I’ve seen of them. The airy upbeat sound of ‘Oxford Comma’, and ‘Walcott’ really got fans and new listeners alike bouncing around and set a great mood for the day. I attributed the non-existent encore to the fact that they had played their entire album. The crowd grew restless as N.E.R.D was delayed due to the continuing traffic chaos. When they finally did arrive, they came Chad-less. The guys blamed traffic but this is their second Canadian appearance where he hasn’t shown up. Hmmm I don’t know, but even Jay-Z was telling the crowd that our border security needs to mellow out a bit. Pharell made the best of it by getting as many women on stage as possible, and performing as long as they would allow. I think it was evident to everybody which girl was going to get the backstage tour. And Speaking of Hova, he got the crowd throwing them diamonds up into the night sky. If you’ve seen any footage of Glastonbury, it was pretty much, well, exactly that performance, minus that great rendition of ‘Wonder wall’. I almost forgot, Coldplay was there too.



All in all, it was a pretty good few days up in the mountains. Logistically, yes, there were a number of issues, but that’s to be expected in a festivals inaugural year. Losing MGMT and Brazillian Girls definitely hurt though. With them on the lineup it would’ve been a fairly good balance between the lesser-known acts and the superstars to appease the varying tastes. Pemberton festival has a future, and it is almost definite that it will happen again in 2009. My hope is that it continues to support up and coming artists and gives Canadians the chance to hear something that wasn’t on the top 40 that week. Only time will tell if Pemberton will fall amongst the ranks of the elite festivals, or winds up being a predictable affair with acts you may remember from the 1990’s.

…There was also Guitar Hero and a giant robot spider thing which surely only has one reason to exist. And that is to destroy the human race.

- Matty B.


Surkin ft. Chromeo - Chrome Knight

Festival Season: Contest - Osheaga, Aug 3 & 4 - Montreal

Yesterday, Osheaga announced their final lineup additions for their fall festival, happening August 3 & 4th at Parc Jean Drapeau in Montreal. The new heavy hitters are clearly Metric and N.E.R.D., but the new supporting cast is pretty solid in its own right. Sebastien Grainger (of DFA1979 fame) and the Mountains have been added to the lineup, as well as my personal Toronto alt-folk favourites The Wooden Sky.

BTA will be on the grounds covering the entire festival, and we've also got a pair to give away, all courtesy of Gillett. If you'd like to spend your August long weekend in Montreal checking out a slew of fantastic local, Canadian, and International talent, just send us an email with the subject line "Osheaga, son!". Contest closes Sunday, July 20th at Noon.

N.E.R.D. - My Drive Thru (ft Santogold and Julian Casablancas)
The Wooden Sky - Darker Streets Than Mine
Sebastien Grainger and the Mountains - American Names

- bbbykmbrly.