I had the chance this past weekend to head on down to Montreal for a few days to check out the Osheaga music festival. Osheaga is a three-day festival held at Parc Jean-Drapeau on the beautiful St. Helen's Island.
The festival has six stages and holds about 40,000 people each day. It's a great place for people watching, drinking, eating, and oh yeah - watching live music.
On Friday a girl threw up on my girlfriend and me, on Saturday I got into a screaming fit towards a thieving Vodka Red Bull girl and on Sunday I spent over two hours surrounded by a bunch of annoying teenage girls screaming for Lorde. In other words, it was an absolute blast.
I've decided to hand out some hardware. Introducing...
The Oshcar Awards
All Oschar's are handed out based on the subjective opinion of one festival-goer who is extremely biased and only went to see bands he liked or was interested in. I imagine that the recipients will be unbelievably honoured.
The Dave Grohl Award
For "Guy from a popular band who's way better out doing his own thing"
The Oshcar goes to.... Bleachers.
Bleachers (no relation to the title of this blog) is the "side" project of fun. guitarist Jack Antonoff. I hadn't heard much from them other than their current single I Wanna Get Better, but I went to check them out based on the recommendation of my roommate, and because Antonoff is dating Lena Dunham, so he must be interesting if nothing else.
They were the first band we saw at Osheaga, since they played at 1:30 on the Friday. They had a great, upbeat set and I dug most of their originals. Plus, they played a cover of Tom Petty's Don't Come Around Here No More. I'm a sucker for some Tom Petty.
I don't dislike fun.'s music, but I think Antonoff does a way better job doing his own thing, and I hope he sticks with Bleachers. Moving from the background to the spotlight worked out well enough for Dave Grohl anyway.
The Day Drunk Award
For "Band that was obviously and awesomely hammered before 5pm."
The Oshcar goes to.... July Talk.
July Talk had a huge crowd considering they were playing at one of the smaller stages, probably because they're a Toronto band and Osheaga draws a huge crowd from there (over half of the people I talked to over the weekend were from Toronto).
These guys (and one girl, Leah Fay, who parties harder than most dudes) were having a blast. Their show started a little after 2pm, and they were already deep into the booze. It worked out really great with their dirty barroom sound, and definitely led to me looking for the beer guy more often than I would've otherwise.
Cheers to you, July Talk.
The "Oh Ya" Award
For "Band that I always seem to forget about."
The Oschcar goes to.... Foster the People
I loved these guys when their first album Torches came out in 2011. If you don't recognize them, you'll definitely remember their catchy single Pumped Up Kicks. What is it with songs about school shootings being so damn catchy?
So when I first saw they were slated to play Friday at Osheaga, I should've been a little more excited. But I hadn't heard anything new from them in three years, since I apparently missed their 2014 release Supermodel. I totally forgot they were playing until I saw them on the schedule before heading to the festival site on Friday.
I'm glad I got the chance to see them, and to get fairly close to enjoy the show. Their techno-rock sound works great at a festival, and their level of energy was super high, which is key to any live performance. They played everything I love off of Torches, and their lead singer had some serious dance moves.
But when I sat down to write this, I had totally forgotten about them again. It was only when I looked at the schedule to see if I was missing anything that I was like "Oh Ya". I don't know what it is with these guys, but even though I'm a fan of their stuff they're somehow forgettable.
The Suzanne Warren Award
For "Craziest Eyes"
The Oshcar goes to.... Childish Gambino
Troy was always so innocent on Community. The perfect blend on naivety and hope.
Childish Gambino is not Troy. I've liked his music for awhile, and I missed out on seeing him live during Lollapalooza in 2012, so I was stoked to get a chance to see him rap during Osheaga. He was absolutely nuts, in every sense of the word.
He hopped around stage with so much energy at all times. During most of the show he was shirtless and his shorts were about to fall off. He was pretty much just rapping in his boxer briefs.
But that didn't matter. The only thing that mattered were those eyes. If you ever get a chance to see Childish Gambino live, be warned that those eyes will haunt your dreams.
The Black or White Award
For "Guy that everybody either loves or doesn't. There is no middle ground."
The Oshcar goes to.... Skrillex
There are two types of people in this world. Those who pop molly and those that don't like Skrillex. People were either all-in on the Skrillex show or annoyed that they had to watch part of his set if they showed up early for Outkast. He was on right after Foster the People, and after that show people were either heading away from that stage as quickly as possible or dub-stepping their way to get as close as they could.
For frame of reference, there are two main stages directly beside each other at Osheaga. As one artist is performing, the empty stage beside it is getting prepped for the next act so that there's no gap in between sets. It's really efficient and a great idea, since if you're trying to push your way close to get to a band you want to see that's coming on in an hour, you at least get to listen to another set while you wait.
Near the end of Skrillex's set he tried to get the side of the crowd waiting for Outkast to help him up by jumping up and down at the same time, and NOBODY on that side of the stage was going for it.
As for me? I ain't into it. I can dance to that music for a song or two I guess, but EDM just isn't my thing.
What IS my thing however is pointing out to people that Skrillex was in a super emo band called From First to Last from 2006-2009. Their fist album is called Dear Diary My Teenage Angst has a Body Count. That's simply fantastic.
Check out this video for the ridiculous "Note to Self". Skrillex (then Sonny Moore) is the lead singer.
That kid became one of the biggest "musicians" in the world. I can't believe it.
Full disclosure, when Dear Diary came out in 2006, right in the middle of my emo phase, I absolutely loved it. Those guys were one of my favourite bands. At least my emo period is pretty much safely in the past. Skrillex's is all over the Internet.
2006 was weird, man.
The Seth Rogen Award
For "Band I'd most like to hang out with"
The Oschcar goes to.... Kongos
Kongos are a South African group currently riding high on the success of their single Come With Me Now. I decided to check them out because that song is fucking awesome, and also because they'd recently played a show in Winnipeg I wasn't able to go to and heard they blew the roof off the place.
While I think their sound would've been better in a small bar than an outdoor stage in the middle of the day, I really enjoyed their set. The songs were great and they just seemed like really awesome dudes.
When deciding whether or not I like an artist, or an actor, or an athelete I always ask myself "Would I have a beer with him/her?" Kongos pass the beer test in flying colours. They have an accordion player with a massive beard, their front man is charming with wicked hair and plays bass, and the other two dudes seem really chill. I wish I would've ran into them at a pub.
The Awe Shucks Award
For "Most successfully faked sincerity"
The Oshcar goes to.... Serena Ryder
I saw Serena Ryder at Winnipeg Folk Fest 2013 and she was great. After Ingrid Michaelson cancelled her set, my girlfriend and I decided we'd go catch Ryder.
One of the things that stuck out from her set was that it was almost identical to the set she played a year earlier in Winnipeg. Not just the setlist, or generic crowd banter, but the way that she pumped up everyone in the crowd's tires. She kept telling us how great we were and how amazing this festival was using the exact same language as she did at the Folk Festival.
Now I'm not naive enough to believe that this doesn't happen all the time with bands and musicians everywhere, but the thing with Ryder is that even though I'd heard the exact same spiel before, I bought it again! Hook line and sinker.
The "Did that just happen?" Award
For weirdest thing that happened on stage.
The Oshcar goes to... Kate Nash
I remember listening to Kate Nash back before her 2007 full length debut Made of Bricks came out. It was a nice pop album from a charming british woman that reminded me of a more clean-cut Lily Allen. Like you might be able to tell from that photo I snapped of her playing her bass while crowd surfing, she's changed a bit.
She's transformed herself into a pop-punk musician with a legitimate edge. I wasn't suspecting it at all so it was a nice pleasant surprise to see her and her three-piece all female band actually kick some serious ass.
That wasn't the weirdest part though. The weirdest part was when she asked the crowd if she could "borrow somebody's fucking puffer".
Apparently she's asthmatic and lost her inhaler. At least three people obliged and Nash was able to keep on going.
Very weird, kinda cool.
The Jackson Award
For "Best family performance."
The Oshcar goes to.... HAIM
HAIM is a rock group made up of three sisters form California. They're currently touring in support of their debut album Days are Gone. I fell in love with them after seeing a live performance of theirs on SNL, and the fact that they were playing was a big reason why I came to Osheaga. They were my most anticipated act and they did not disappoint at all.
Seriously, that's how excited I was before HAIM came on
The sisters have a ridiculous chemistry and their stage presence is phenomenal. Instead of just sticking to playing their songs like so many bands do at festivals they threw in a couple wrinkles, including a maraca/drum solo that got the crowd pumped up and covers of Fleetwood Mac's (who they're often compared to) Oh Well and Beyoncé's (!!!) XO.
They kicked ass, and while I'm totally biased here, it's worth nothing that my girlfriend also said they were one of the best acts she saw during the festival. I'm excited for the future of this band, but also a little apprehensive that their sophomore album could fall short of expectations. Since they're sisters they had a looooooong time to write their first album, and they won't have that luxury this time around.
The Sex and Drugs Award
For "Most pure rock and roll set"
The Oshcar goes to.... Jack White
Jack White is our last Rock and Roll Star. The man is just pure rock and roll. We have superstars like Beyoncé and Rock stars like U2, and Rock and Roll bands that can sell out arenas like the Black Keys, but the only Rock and Roll Star right now is Jack White.
His work with The White Stripes (most notably Elephant) will always mean that he's a huge draw at festivals like these. But his catalogue is so diverse and strong, from The White Stripes to The Raconteurs and now to his solo records Blunderbuss and Lazaretto. Most artists suffer when they break up from a successful band and start off on their own (there are, of course, exceptions). Jack White has simply gotten better and better, and his stage presence is so goddam rock and roll you forget what decade you're in.
It's no surprise that he's responsible for approximately 99.8% of all vinyl sales in the past decade.
The #Hashtag Award
For Most Instagrammed Set
The Oshcar goes to.... Lorde
Lorde put on a pretty good show. She sounded good and her dance moves were interesting, at least. She really throws herself into every note of every song, every gyration on stage and she lets the moment consume her.
She also talks way too damn much. She was super nice to the crowd, but she hasn't quite learned how to fake sincerity as well as Serena Ryder. Maybe I was just bitter that she told us she wrote a song about getting old when she was fifteen and a half.
Overall though, I really enjoyed Lorde's performance. I can definitely tell you one thing. This was by far the most Instagrammed set of the festival.
My girlfriend and I were in row 10-15, and in front of us at all times were at least 40 people taking photos and videos with their cellphones. Taking a photo or a quick video is cool. I did it for some of my favourite acts and moments. But get your photo, or your quick video, and get your goddam phone DOWN. It was insane. People were recording entire songs. Are you actually going to watch that?
It's no surprise that Lorde's younger audience would be so ready to whip out their cellphones. I imagine a quick search of #Lorde #Osheaga would bring up plenty of grainy Lorde photos captioned with Twilight quotes.
Here's what I'm going to do when I become a rockstar I would do if I was a rockstar. I'd play my first song and then tell the crowd they have a minute to take photos. I'd pose in a bunch of different positions so it looked like I was putting on a show, and then after that get back to the music. No phones allowed after that point.
That wraps up the 2014 Oschcar's! Did you get a chance to catch any music festivals this summer? What were your favourite moments? Your biggest annoyances? Who do you hope does the festival circuit next year and where are you planning on heading? Let me know in the comments or tweet me @DPernitsky.
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