Osheaga Festival: Day 2

Photo: M. Thibault

I made it to Osheaga on Sunday just as Le Volume Etait Au Maximum took to the Tree Stage to start things off under the tent – out of the rain. The great things about a pop/punk band like them is that you get at least 15 songs in a 30 minute set, and you never get restless. Barreling from one song to the next with about 0.05 seconds in between songs, they have a decidedly Ramones influence to their sound, but with a touch of The Cars via Friedrich Van Volsen’s synth playing, instead of a bass player. The three-piece was full of energy, but apparently the powers that be decided that people weren’t allowed to dance for this set, with security telling those who DARED to stand in front to get out of the way. Instead, everyone sat on the wooden stage and simply nodded their heads, although the Montrealers in attendance would have surprised me had they danced, as I’ve not seen too much of that – even at the funkiest, danciest sets of the summer.

As their set ended, the skies really opened up and let loose with a torrential downpour. Since we were already soaked anyways, we decided to go check out what art there was around at the “Osheaga Festival of Music and Arts”. Not much it turns out. These three paintings on wood cut-outs were tucked into the trees between the MEG and Tree Stages.

And over by the main stage, hidden behind the “Art and Design” tent (which had a couple of Kia cars inside – not what I’d call art), there were these installation pieces.

Pretty cool little sculptures made of foam, but not exactly in plain view for the average festival-goer to wander by. There were also these painted tarps fixed upon a stairway off to the side of the grassy knoll towards the back of the main stage.

Hey Osheaga: that’s not enough to call yourself a music and “arts” festival. Try to actually prominently feature some art in a conspicuous location or have more than a very few works on display.

The rain eased up enough for a crowd to congregate at the front of the stage for Beast’s set, which was damn fine. They have some great tunes, a fabulous singer, superb musicians and look like they’re having a blast up on stage. The bassist has the most unique instrument I’ve seen in a while, with a Korg synth mounted onto the body of a Fender Precision bass, making a real Frankenstein of a rig that he used to create some wicked grooves and layer effects over top of. They had an enthusiastic crowd dancing along to every song in spite of the continuing rainfall.

Hey Rosetta! kicked off their set with the soft intro of “There’s An Arc”, before the song shifted into high gear and got the crowd rocking along to the stellar harmonies of guitarist Tim Baker and bassist Josh Ward. They also played “We Made a Pact” from their newest Hawksley Workman produced, Polaris Prize nominated album, Into Your Lungs (and around in your heart and on through your blood. With the cello and violin added, these rock songs take on a broader, more interesting dimension that really engages the listener. Although lead guitarist Adam Hogan mostly hid towards the back of the stage in the shadows, he provided great licks and textures to the songs as well. As the least known act nominated for the Polaris Prize, I would say they’re the most deserving, and hope to see them walk away with the $20,000.

Photo: M. Thibault

Ending the festival on the Tree Stage was Hollerado, competing with Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Crystal Castles on the two other stages. Unfortunately, that meant the crowd was sparse for the start of their set, but soon filled in quite nicely after they opened with “Brick Wall”. After a couple of tunes from their most recent release Record In A Bag (packaged in a ziploc bag with photocopied track listing), some asshole started throwing cups and water bottles at guitarist/vocalist Menno Versteeg. Since security didn’t seem to give a shit, Versteeg opened one of the still-full bottles and doused the guy. That didn’t stop the asshole from throwing more stuff, which got drummed Jake Boyd right pissed off. He charged out from behind the drums and began spitting and cursing at the guy, giving him the finger and telling him, “If you fuck with him, you fuck with me first buddy!” and the crowd backed him up by pushing his ass out of the crowd. Resuming the show, they brought out the Uplift Gospel Choir for “Americanarama”, meaning there was an extra nine voices to thicken up their sound. “Got To Lose” was next, the choir providing huge harmonies to lift the chorus sky-high while Nixon Boyd threw in the hooky-as-hell riff with a very Weezer-esque guitar tone. A couple more numbers sans-choir later, they brought out one of the female choir members to rap on their cover of the Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage”, a fitting tribute to the group who had to cancel their festival-closing set due to Adam Yauch’s (MCA) health issues. Ending the set with “Do The Doot Da Doot Doo”, they crammed most of the audience up on stage, lending a real house-party vibe to close things out. After things were done, Versteeg bolted off stage and returned with what must have been at least 100 copies of Record In A Bag, which he handed out for free to those who stayed to listen. Watch for the official release of the album in October, which will hopefully get them the national attention they deserve. Great songs, great stage presence, great guys, great times!

Osheaga Festival: Day 1

Arriving at the Mountain Stage I found Caracol just about to start her set. The first Montrealais band of the day, she bantered with the crowd in French and started off the set playing ukelele. They debuted a brand new song, “Deux Cent Fois”, that began with Caracol and guitar player David Lafleche combining for some magnificent vocal harmonies, before taking the song somewhere that reminded me of “Spiderwebs”-era No Doubt. After a cool latin-sounding song about spies in the French Army, they slowed things down for “Tes Larmes”, with a neat stabby piano part from Vincent Rehell. She then traded up for an electric guitar and ribbon microphone to give her voice that old gritty sound on a superb tune that was very 50’s doo-wop, with stellar harmonies and feel to it. Unfortunately, their set was plagued by sound problems the whole time, feedback, cracking mic’s and a sounguy who ran up and yelled in her ear (as she was mid-lyric no less) to move over and steal backup vocalist Audrey-Michele Simard’s mic. Simard wasn’t sure what to do, since nobody bothered to get here another mic, but stayed positive with her percussion playing, which was peppered throughout their set and always rhythmically perfect and interesting. Caracol had no problem shifting genres or styles from song to song, as they ended off with her back on uke for a skankin’ song that could have easily been a hit by the Specials. You don’t need to understand French to love this band – highly recommended. They’re touring the shit out of Quebec for the next couple months, so check them out if you get the chance.

Time for some real hip-hop with ol’ dusty foot himself – K’Naan. With the radio waves plagued by unimaginative groups like Black Eyed Peas, we should be thankful to have a talent like K’Naan here in Canada to prove that we’re not a joke in the hip-hop world. I got there in time for “Take a Minute”, with his band solidly backing him up. He brought things down with a great a capella version of "Somalia", and then got things cooking again with “Fatima” and “T.I.A.”. He put his incredible guitarist in the spotlight as he ripped a burning guitar solo on “If Rap Gets Jealous” that the audience ate right up. Ending the set with the inspirational message of “Wavin' Flag”, he got everyone singing along and sent them away smiling from ear to ear.

You’ve gotta have balance, so after hip-hop comes ball-busting rock n’ roll courtesy of Flash Lightnin’. These guys don’t have any hesitation in rocking-the-fuck-out, with great stage presence, monster riffs, thundering drums, pummeling bass lines and soaring vocals. Darcy Yates could almost pass for one of the Gibbons brothers from ZZ Top, with his thick beard and long hair behind his Hofner bass. Chris Henry showed his skill on the skins during one song with some pounding fills between guitar breaks. And the son of Jimmy Page (not really), Darren Glover on lead vocals and guitar lit up his fret board with some very Page-esque riffs and rambled all over the stage while doing it. I can’t wait for their full-length album to drop soon and to see them again in support of it on tour.

The Rural Alberta Advantage followed on the same stage, opening their set with Amy Cole (keys) and Paul Banwatt (drums) both banging on a floor tom while Nils Edenloff held it down on the acoustic guitar. They have a really great sound going, with what are basically folk songs transformed into something much bigger due to the ferocious drum beats provided by Banwatt. With his electro/disco beat added, they become an energetic dance band almost, but with acoustic focused harmony. “The Ballad of the RAA” was also a highlight for me, and they had a great song, "Frank, AB",about the landslide back in 1903 that buried the town. The song ended quite dramatically, with Edenloff banging on the top of his acoustic guitar to ring out the chords instead of strumming them, a very powerful and intense effect.

While Coldplay was on the mainstage and you were looking for the real party, you needed to get over to the Tree Stage for Woodhands’ electrifying set to close out the night. With an insane amount of energy for just two guys, they packed the area around the stage and got the place jumpin’. Drummer Paul Banwatt (yes, he's also in The RAA) threw down a slick verse of Puff Daddy’s “I’ll Be Missing You” into the middle of one song to great appreciation before they got a few surprise guests up to join them. First was Cadence Weapon, who provided some key rhymes and is allegedly now living in Montreal even after just being named the new Poet Laureate of his native Edmonton. Then Gentleman Reg came up for another tune and they closed out the night, leaving everyone dirty and sweaty after another fiery set of spazzy dance rock.

REVIEWED: Priestess @ Foufounes Electriques

Osheaga Festival begins "for real" this Saturday in Montreal's Parc Jean-Drapeau, but last night's show was a taste of what's to come with their "Osheaga In The City" shows leading up to this weekend.





As Priestess took to the stage, you could sense the anticipation for their new material, which has been festering for some time now due to the delay of their new album because of label issues. They certainly did not disappoint, kicking off their set with a 10 minute opus-of-a-song that reached a new level of rock-godliness, helped out by the psychedelic projections on the back on the stage. Another new number followed, lead guitarist Mikey Heppner playing a beauty Gibson doubleneck guitar, and shredding it to pieces. Guitarist Dan Watchorn then stepped up to deliver lead vocals on "Two Kids", after which they played another new song where Watchorn unleashed a fantastic guitar solo.



The crowd lost their shit when they busted out "Lay Down", one of the hit singles from their debut 2005 album, Hello Master. The sticky dance floor got even stickier due to the moshers spilling their beer everywhere, but no one seemed mind since they were too busy pumping their fists into the air. Nuno took over the vocal duties for another new track before they brought in the thunder with "I Am The Night, Color Me Black", and extended the middle section into a more subdued psychedelic jam-out, culminating in a massive drum solo. Heppner gave the title of the next new song, "Lady Killer" which he revealed would be on their new album, tentatively titled Prior To The Fire, due to be released October 20th. They finished the set with another oldie, "Everything That You Are", but came back for an encore with a couple more songs, including the hugely popular "Talk To Her" and a final new song to end the night.

Judging by the reception given to their new material, Priestess is going to explode after the release of Prior To The Fire this fall. Expect another round of incessant world-touring simliar to their slot opening for Megadeth in 2007.