Montrealers now have their indie music Mecca. With more than 50 musical acts, Osheaga proved to be the ‘lost, but now found’ member of the Montreal music festival family. A looming Ernesto back-dropped a beautiful Montreal skyline and added a light mist on Sunday. Not dampening spirits but making the experience all the more surreal. This was the last outdoor indie-music feast before hippies and hipsters retreat for hibernation. And feast we did. With a palette including Metric, K-OS, Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals, Sonic Youth, G Love & Special Sauce, Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley and many others, even the most pretentious metro-musical critic would become complacent for attending.
Wolf Parade, as expected, played an awesome set despite persistent technical problems. In addition, Islands ran longer than scheduled, leaving Boeckner and buddies with a short set. Even with the little time they had, Wolf Parade still proved they, in my opinion, are the leaders of the Montreal indie pack.
Bell Orchestra, the frères et soeurs of the Arcade Fire, brought all their bells and whistles, whisking the crowd through an emotionally charged chamber musical journey. They openly admitted they thought the festival was going to be a failure, but were pleasantly surprised. Surprised by their candor, I was failed in being pleasantly entertained.
Holy Fuck-ing brilliant! If robots could party, this would be their soundtrack. Casio keyboards from the early 90’s and even a 35mm film synchronizer plugged into a laptop. They turned the lights off on these guys but they kept digitizing. This is music that makes you feel like a rambunctious kid again. Hard drives down, the most overtly ridiculous indulgence of Osheaga.
The Flaming Lips, with confetti, aliens, big-ass balloons, Santa’s, and yes, swearing paraded on in their trademark carnival flamboyancy. Everything we have come to love and/or hate about The Flaming Lips in a superfluously novel set.
Having been to my fair share of music festivals, one thing is certain; this was clearly the best organized. Nick Farkas and the Osheaga Team brought world class acts without the commercial pageantry that typically follows these events. Stages were no more than a 5 minute walk from each other, and the main stages being placed side-by-side allowed for bands to alternate for non-stop music. Before it was all sang and done, one could sense a collective excitement and anticipation of Labour Day weekend ’07. Cheers to a complete success, Osheaga is born to Montreal.
