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 Preview

Montreal's Parc Jean-Drapeau is getting prepared for the musical invasion that will unfold this weekend during the 4th annual Osheaga Festival. Although many were disappointed about the Beastie Boys' cancellation due to MCA's health problems (get better soon!), there's a pile of Canadian talent well worth checking out.

Photo: Christian Couture

CARACOL, hailing from Montreal, Canada, presents her first solo release L'arbre aux parfums, a more mature, personal and introspective album. The album is built on raw emotion and is a unique blend of american folk, old jamaican rocksteady, with a singer-songwriter and a vintage 50's feel. Primarily written in french, but also including two english tracks, the lyrics explore the sometimes darker side of human emotions and relationships through anger, love, contempt, arrogance and the search for something more.

Saturday, August 1st on the Mountain Stage from 4 - 4:30pm




K'Naan is up next, supporting his new album Troubadour. On a summer-long tour with Jason Mraz, he's been described as having a sound that fuses Bob Marley, conscious American hip hop, and brilliant protest poetry. Widely celebrated around Canada, he's sure to deliver a stirring set.

Saturday, August 1st on the MEG Stage from 4:45 - 5:30pm



About the same time over on the Tree Stage is Gentleman Reg bringing the folky indie-pop. Likely playing many cuts from his new album, Jet Black, which was recently released on the Arts & Crafts label. They've had a busy summer with Winnipeg Folk Fest, a show at Toronto's Harbourfront Centre and Hillside Festival in Guelph.




Same stage at 6pm is Flash Lightin', a super-rad rock trio from Toronto. They've been touring the past couple weeks across Canada opening for Eagles of Death Metal (who're also playing Saturday) and could be easily compared to them. I saw them at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto about a year ago, and they destroyed the place, sounding like a modern-day ZZ Top - monster riffs, bad-ass attitude and catchy hooks. With one EP, Destello, under their belts, they are preparing to release a full-length in the near future. Get ready for some southern-fried rock, nice and greasy to fill you up real good.

Photo: Liam Maloney

You'll have to get over to the MEG Stage by 6:15pm to catch the start of The Stills set. Another Arts & Crafts band, these guys have exploded over the past couple of years. At the Juno's earlier this year, The Stills were awarded Best New Group of The Year (despite having already released 3 records), and Best Alternative Album of the Year for their 2008 album Oceans Will Rise. They're opening for Metric on tour this October, including two shows at historic Massey Hall in Toronto.

Photo: Joe Fuda

Head back to the Tree Stage at 7pm to check out The Rural Alberta Advantage. This Toronto-based band plays indie-rock songs about hometowns and heartbreak, born out of images from growing up in Central and Northern Alberta. They sing about summers in the Rockies and winters on the farm, ice breakups in the spring time and the oil boom’s charm, the mine workers on compressed, the equally depressed, the city’s slow growth and the country’s wild rose, but mostly the songs just try to embrace the advantage of growing up in Alberta.



You can chill for a bit before the 8pm set on the Tree Stage of Montreal Franco-Rock group Chinatown. I can't say I know much about them except that their frontman, Felix Dyotte, wrote The Stills song "Retour A Vega". Looks like it's definitely worth checking out, as there aren't a ton of French artists at Osheaga. Most will be playing downtown at the Franco Folies de Montreal Festival.



Feel free to skip Coldplay's set, which will certainly be plagued by screaming pre-teens, in order to catch a couple of Canuck bands to close out the night.

First is Winter Gloves at 9pm, followed by Woodhands at 10:15, both on the Tree Stage. I caught Woodhands' set in the rain at Ottawa Bluesfest a couple weeks ago, and it was a damn sweaty dance party. I can't imagine it will be much different this time.



Go home, get some sleep, get ready for Sunday.



Start the day off right with Le Volume Etait Au Maximum, self-described as "Canada's finest french anarcho-vegan-punk-art-pop." I can agree with that. Very hip, very creative artistically, and catchier than a plague. Like some sort of bastard child of The Ramones and Andy Warhol, with a good dose of The Cars. 2pm at the Tree Stage.

Photo: Marianne Larochelle

The first time I heard about Montreal electro-funkers Beast was from Mother Mother drummer Ali Siadat. Gladly taking his advice to check them out, the first track I heard was "Mr. Hurricane", which I'm pretty sure samples a cut from ANTIBALAS, so I immediately loved it. That same track was picked up by iTunes as a free download, so more or less blew up all over the world. Good dancin' music. 3:15pm on the River Stage.



From Hamilton, ON come The Arkells at 5pm on the Tree Stage. Happy rock n' roll with a liberal dose of piano, which isn't found nearly often enough in great rock bands these days.




Rufus Wainright will be playing a solo set on the Mountain Stage at 5:45pm, which is sure to be a gem. Elton John calls him "the greatest songwriter on the planet". His dad is Loudon Wainright III, and his sister is Martha Wainright, so you can be sure that talent runs in their family. He's won a bunch of Juno's and been nominated for a Grammy, in addition to touring and recording with massive performers. You should probably go check him out, even if you're a jaded punk rocker. He's good.



Back on the Tree Stage at 7pm are The Ladies of the Canyon. Four Montreal friends who love The Band and The Eagles. Ladies of the Canyon take you from candy sweet folk pop one minute, to heart wrenching country the next. Expect hauntingly beautiful harmonies, devilish beats and ivories, and a cold set of steel strings to strangle your misfortunes with.



Mega-star DJ/producer Tiga comes next at 7:45 on the MEG Stage. He's remixed a shit-pile of people and put out some great stuff of his own, including the Juno winning 2006 release Sexor. A sexy dance party for sure, but I'll probably be checking out the end of The Decemberists set.

Photo: Jule Malet-Veale

No more Can-Con until Hey Rosetta! start up at 9pm on the Tree Stage. Their new album, Into Your Lungs, has been selected for the Polaris Prize shortlist for this year for good reason - it's awesome. Having Hawksley Workman produce it probably didn't hurt too much. They're from the Maritimes, one of the only non Toronto/Montreal Canadian acts at Osheaga. You gotta love a rock band with strings (cello and violin). Since I've seen Yeah Yeah Yeahs already twice this year, I'll be staying until the bitter end of Hey Rosetta!'s set for sure and I think you should too.



Crystal Castles begin their 9:45pm set right when Hey Rosetta! are finished. You already know all about them, so I won't even bother.





Ditch their set early so you can mosey on over to the Tree Stage again by 10:15pm to get up front and dirty with Hollerado. I love this band. Saw them at Ottawa Bluesfest in the afternoon and they kicked so much ass, I downloaded their "Album in a Bag" for free from their website, which I suggest you do as well. Then you can support them in concert and buy some swag when you realize they're your new favorite band! End your weekend of debauchery and destruction by rocking out to great tunes like "Juliette" and "Fake Drugs". Maybe they'll even thrown in a cover of the Beastie Boys "Sabotage" to cap off the festival.

Ottawa Bluesfest - Saturday, July 18th

My Saturday afternoon music dosage started with Hollerado on the main stage. Great rock tunes and swift changes in dynamics and groove kept their songs sounding fresh and interesting the whole way through their set. They oozed energy from the stage and put on a great live show to kick off my afternoon. They have a pile of confidence after finishing a recent cross-Canada tour with Malajube and will be playing Osheaga festival in Montreal during the August long weekend, so I'll hopefully get another chance to check out these small town Ontario boys.



The rest of the day, I found myself over by the Black Sheep Stage on the far side of the War Museum. First up was Woodhands, who wouldn't allow the rain to stop the dance party they put on to an adoring throng of friends. Dan Werb's nerd-rock beats got everyone going and whether people were sweaty from dancing or soaked from the rain didn't matter, because they loved it. A high-energy set was puncuated with a cover of Eddy Grant's "Electric Avenue" and props must also go to drummer Paul Banwatt for sticking in a verse of P. Diddy's "I'll Be Missing You" into a track earlier in their set. Be sure to catch their set this weekend if you're heading out to Hillside Festival in Guelph.



Finding themselves a long way from their home in Saskatoon, The Deep Dark Woods came on as the rain began to die down and delivered a great set of lo-fi alt-country rock gems. Lead singer and guitarist Ryan Boldt was very Dylan-esque in his vocal delivery and their overall sound could be likened to his early electric material. With the addition of a smoking keys player for their set, they jammed their tunes out longer and shaped them into beautiful musical memories. Recently nominated for "Best Roots Duo/Group Recording of the Year" by the Western Canadian Music Awards, they will be heading back out west to play the Calgary Folk Festival this weekend, as well as the Regina Folk Festival on August 8th.




Closing the night out on the Black Sheep Stage was Vancouver's Black Mountain. Drawing almost their entire setlist from 2008's Juno nominated In The Future, they brought the heavy psychedelic rock out in full force, opening with the massive riffage of "Stormy High". This band has every element required for vintage rock authenticity - crunching guitar tones, solid bass lines, spacey keys and synths, and female vocals soaring above all. After playing a couple more tunes from their recent album, they reached back to bust out "Don't Run Our Hearts Around" and "Set Us Free" from their self-titled 2005 release. Next was "Evil Ways", featuring the lovely jagged synth riff of Jeremy Schmidt. Everything Stephen McBean was released in his prolific career has been top-notch, and hopefully we will be treated to another Black Mountain release in the near future. After finishing their 60 minute set, they graced the stage for an extra-jammy rendition of "Druganaut" to close off the night, dedicating the song to Lynyrd Skynyrd, that evening's headliners over on the main stage. McBean's grating tone delivered on his guitar solo and the crowd walked away pleased, passing the main stage just in time to catch the climax of Skynyrd's "Free Bird" to end the night.

Zygiella #43 w/ Jen and Tyler

Jen (who's really famous and just knows these things) and Tyler (who is really impressed) talk to La Casa Muerte and take an audio tour of their recording/performance/party space/office of their record label/home and play some music from La Casa Muerte ("All the Wrong Moves"), Hollerado ("Juliette"), Proof of Ghosts ("I'm Coming Home"), Heartbeat Hotel ("TVPO"), 1977 ("The Otherside"), and then two live performances by La Casa Muerte ("Free Range" and "We Fall to Pieces") on Episode #43 of the Zygiella Podcast - you should listen to it.



(You can also just download it.)