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: 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.

Friday Grab Bag - Summer In the City

There's a whole ton going on in Toronto right now on the topic of great live music. I've personally been out to shows every night for what seems like a decade (more like a week), and there's absolutely no signs of slowing down in the near future, thanks to the work of the Over the Top Festival (OTTF) and others.

A quick rundown of what's been seen and heard by yours truly in the not-too-distant past.

Will Currie & The Country French (CD Release) @ Sneaky Dee's, April 29th - This group of young music students demonstrated through finely crafted orchestral piano pop exactly what all the fuss is about. Will Currie writes some infectious pop melodies, like a teenaged Ben Folds, and murderecords should feel very lucky to have them on board.

the Constantines w/ Attack in Black @ Starlight (Waterloo), April 30th - The Cons can rock a small room like no other band I'm aware of. As such, I consciously opted out of the Toronto show at the much-larger Phoenix concert hall in favour of the Starlight show the night before. And I'm certainly glad I did. Attack in Black held it down quite respectably as the openers, as well.

the Teenagers @ Lee's Palace, May 1st - The potty-mouthed boys (and now girl?) brought their Franco-swagger to town for the second time in not too long, much to the approval of the slow-on-the-trigger hipsters who missed them the first time around at the sold out show at the Great Hall. Much of the same as the first time, and further reinforced their luke-warm live reputation.

Woodhands @ Sneaky Dee's, May 1st (OTTF) - a review, in haiku:

dance dance dance dance dance
dance dance dance dance dance dance dance
dance mother effer.

Where I'll be for the next few:

the Wooden Sky @ St Stephen's-in-the-field Church, May 2nd (OTTF)
Foals w/ Sebastien Grainger @ Lee's Palace, May 2nd
Ruby Coast w/ others@ Whippersnapper Gallery, May 3rd (OTTF - Pop Montreal! showcase)
Kevin Barnes (of Of Montreal) @ Mod Club, May 4th (OTTF)

Will Currie & The Country French - Centrefold
the Constantines - Trans Canada
the Teenagers - Love No
Woodhands - I Wasn't Made For Fighting
the Wooden Sky - When Lost at Sea
Foals - Cassius
Ruby Coast - Brittle Bones
Kevin Barnes - Harvest Moon (Neil Young Cover)

- bbbykmbrly.

before it's too late: best of 2007 vol III.

When it comes to year-end, it seems like everyone has to weigh in on what their favourite music of the past twelve months. In bloggerland, this is especially true. At BTA, we're no different except that there are multiple opinions that get expressed.

This is the third full mix posted by us, both MFBlaz and a.m.p.m. have beaten me to the punch (which isnt hard to do considering we're nearly a full week into 2008). But not to be outdone, here is a mix of what I consider to be the finest music of this past year.

Since I'm notoriously poor in the technical department, the mix isn't mixed per say, but that doesn't mean that thought wasn't put into the order of the songs.

Download the entire mix right here, or click below for individual tracks.

Gruff Rhys - This is Just the Beginning
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Rockers to Swallow
Les Savy Fav - The Year Before the Year 2000
LCD Soundsystem - Watch the Tapes
Bombay Bicycle Club - How are You
M.I.A. - Paper Planes
Kanye West - Barry Bonds (ft. Lil Wayne)
Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Cloud Cult - Chemicals Collide
Broken Social Scene ft Kevin Drew - TBTF
Tegan & Sara - Like Oh, Like H
The Wooden Sky - When Lost at Sea
Of Montreal - The Past is a Grotesque Animal
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! - Satan Said Dance
Vampire Weekend - Bryn
Spoon - You Got Yr Cherrybomb
Kings of Leon - Camaro
Black Lips - Veni Vidi Vici
The National - Fake Empire
Bright Eyes - Clairaudients (Kill or Be Killed)

A lot of the above have wound up on many people's best of's (at least the artist/album, if not the song). But if i could personally recommend one of the lesser-knowns, I'd like to point you, the BTA faithful, toward Toronto indie folk/country wonders the Wooden Sky. Their 07 release When Lost at Sea is definitely a contender for my favourite Canadian album of the year. I've been meaning to post fully on these guys, which I still intend to do - so keep your eyes (and ears) out.

For nostalgia purposes, my 2003 mix is available here.

- bbbykmbrly.