Remember last year when I was telling you that Rock was still present, but you just needed to dig a little to find it? Well it looks like this year they decided to skip the digging part and just throw it in our face right away! But will it fit into the more “Pop” oriented current format of the festival? Let’s find out…
Baby Nova
But first, it’s time to catch some homegrown talent with Nova Scotia’s own Baby Nova. Having released her debut album “Shhugar” in January, Baby Nova continued being productive with 2 collaborations, with one that just came out the week before with Country singer Carter Faith called “Pearl Handled Pistol”. She came on stage and was ready to show her talents to those who rushed the stage one hour ago. Her beautiful voice and her solid backing band can only make us think that this is only the start for her. We even get to hear a brand new song about a “somehow love story” that happened at Coachella. She’s already a singer to watch in the future, and you’ll have a chance to catch next month while she makes her big “East Coast” debut at SommoFest!!
Ecca Vandal
It’s time now to get the rock going with South Africa’s Ecca Vandal. Even though she’s been around for over 10 years, this was her first performance in Canada. And it came at the perfect time, with the release of her new album “Looking for People to Unfollow”’ who is already one of my favorites of the year. And with her set consisting of pretty much only that album (minus one song), I was a very happy camper. And with songs like Eye Shut to start her set, me and the crowd knew we were in for high energy time!! To the point where a pit started midway through her set (wont be the last one today I can tell you that). And to finish off with the amazing “Sorry! Crash!” was a pure joy to me!
Wolf Parade
Back to the main stages for a few. Starting with Montreal’s own, and coming back for the 3rd time at the festival, including the very first in 2006, Wolf Parade arrived to a crowd that you can tell, discovered them through “Heated Rivalry”. They went through a set magnificently consisting of songs consisting mostly of their ground breaking album “Apologies to the Queen Mary” who even after 20 years, still sounds amazing. And while the biggest reaction came from the song “I’ll Believe in Anything”, you could feel that the crowd did their homework as the screams were getting louder and louder through the set when each song started.
Finn Wolfhard
Having a good spot in front of one of the main stages, I wasn’t planning to move so I decided to catch Finn Wolfhard from the side. What a lot of people dont know is that Finn has been a musician for almost 10 years, even playing in the 2018 edition of Osheaga with his former band Calpurnia. This time it was with his solo project and his backing band, dressed as a baseball team that took the stage. While already conquering most of the crowd, he also managed to gain a lot of followers through his set which consisted of songs mostly from his new album “Fire From the Hip”, which is mostly a blend of Rock with some pop elements mixed into it. A lil “weird” moment happened midway through the set, where he pulled off a cover of Tom Petty’s “You Don’t Know How it Feels”. While he did a really good job with the cover (even playing the harmonica/guitar combo himself), it was clear to most of his fans had no idea of what song he was playing. I bet Shazaam was used a bunch during that time.
Angine de Poitrine
Back when the schedule was released a few weeks ago, fans noticed that a “TBD” spot was placed in the Saturday’s schedule. While the mystery was planned, a few people were thinking that maybe that spot was taken by one of the hottest bands of the planet right now; Angine de Poitrine, and it was justifiable. The band was playing in Rhode Island the day before and Levis in Quebec the day after. Evenko did a very good job keeping the secret, until Friday where the name of the band was mentioned in the official merch of the festival!
So it was with less surprises and more excitement when the duo finally hit the stage through a LOT of cheering! Now, if you see one Angine de Poitrine set, you pretty much have seen them all. Given the technical side of their songs, it’s tough to “change” the setlist, but at that point, the crowd didn’t care, they were already conquered. Interacting with the band, throwing the now infamous “hands triangle” sign, doing squats when asked by the two extra terrestrials. And the music itself, it was on point, done perfectly as what we heard on the albums, but watching them pull it off in a live environment makes it all worth having to wait with the always growing crowd.
AJ Tracey
A small pause of rock to get into a more rap/dance mood as I headed to the secondary stages to catch the final part of AJ Tracey’s set. The British rapper was by himself and his DJ playing his tunes. One thing I’ll say, he was the one singing on all of them. In an age of backing tracks, it was kinda a breath of fresh air to hear real singing. But given that he did a lot of collaborations, we also have to witness a few moments where it would just hype the crowd while the “non present” featuring artists was playing through the PA.
Little Simz
Lets keep with UK Rap with Little Simz. But contrary to AJ, she came in with a full band, and minus a small DJ set in the middle of her set, it was pure music! Starting with songs from her last album, Lotus, she settled herself and managed to gain more and more crowd as the show was going on. Starting her set with the “Thief/Flood” combo was a great idea getting the crowd into it. I didn’t stay for the entire performance, as I’ll be seeing her again this Fall when she’ll open for Gorillaz.
Virgine B
A small stop at the SiriusXM stage to catch Virginie B. The Quebec singer offers a mix of Pop, Electro and even some Funk sprinkled on it. She also had one of the most unusual entrances for a small stage act as she arrived riding a Centaur, which transformed into 2 backup dancers in the middle of her set. It only took her 1 song to get all the crowd gathered moving and dancing from start to finish to the numerous beat her and her collaborators were throwing at the crowd.
Viagra Boys
The last stretch of the festival will be spent in the secondary stages. First off, from Sweden, the Viagra Boys. The punk band just came in and were ready to entertain the crowd right off the bat with their set opener “Man Made of Meat “. That’s where we know what type of show we would be having. To put it simply; It was just a fun show, where the bands went all over their discography to the delight of the hardcore fans, but also the newer one! The crowd was into it, dancing or moshing, everyone having a big smile on their face, with the band giving back the energy, knowing the assignments that they were there to warm up for the closer of that particular stage.
Franz Ferdinand
Right after Viagra Boys were done, it was time for another style of high energy rock with Franz Ferdinand. Another band making their 3rd appearance at Osheaga, they wasted no time going through their 11 songs set of pretty much all hits, which is what a festival set should be. Also finishing off with “Take Me Out” and the explosive “This Fire” is probably one of the best 1-2 punch to finish a set I’ve ever seen!
Turnstile
While not officially the “closer” of the secondary stages, it was clear that one of the reasons that Saturday sold out so quickly was because of Baltimore’s hardcore band Turnstile. After putting out the amazing album “Never Enough” last year, the people were ready to finally hear the songs live in Montreal (their only Canadian date for this album before Osheaga was at Ottawa Bluesfest last year), and from the first notes of the title track, it was clear we were in for a good time. And when the 2nd song came in (TLC), that’s where it became a good MOSHING time. I’ll admit at some point I thought I was at HeavyMontreal or the Vans Warped tour. Mixing it up with their previous album “Glow On”, they even threw on 2 older songs from their previous period to the delight of the more “hardcore” fans. It was a non-stop groove through the entire part of the “main” set, with some small pauses to make sure that everyone was safe and good. They took a small break before coming back and pulled out an insane performance of the “soon to be” mosh pit classic “Birds” to the delight of the entire circle. The show was done, but people wanted more, and I bet we’ll see them back soon enough.
Empire of The Sun
It was surprising to learn that the Australian duo (who has been around for around 20 years) has never performed in Montreal before. Also their last Canadian date was over 12 years ago at Pemberton Music Festival 2014. So the crowd was anxious and ready for them, and they delivered! Backed by a drummer, a keyboardist and 2 backup dancers, the duo came in to the applause of the crowd and started their set with the unreleased song “Desire”. But to the pleasure of the crowd, that was the only “new” song of the set, as the band made up for lost time and performed from all of their albums. From the more recent “Cherry Blossom” to the classics “We Are the People” and finish off with the crowd pleasing “Alive” it was a show where the eyes and the ears were at full capacity
Another day of Osheaga, another of a very LONG lineup to get out of the island, but when you’re in the middle of a crowd who, like you, had an amazing day regardless if they saw the same acts as you, the wait doesn’t seem to be that long when you think about it.