Tag Archives: Osheaga

Live

The Kills & The Avett Brothers @ Osheaga

August 4, 2015 Taija Anderson Leave a comment

The Kills played the Scène Verte stage opening day to a gathering crowd. Hair flipping, body shaking and energy translated dully into the audience. Perhaps from the heat, the audience seemed more interested in the set up of the next act on the opposing stage.

T H E A V E T T B R O T H E R S The Avett Brothers amped up the festival, performing from the main stage. An impressive crowd gathered to see the brothers. Running out on stage the brothers Scott and Seth didn’t slow down.

Their set involved hand-clapping, rapping, and even had Scott breathless on the ground while Seth went for the crowd, never missing a note on his guitar as fans grabbed all they could. They had the most dedicated crowd. There sure wasn’t a lack of dancing, singing or love.

Live

Shakey Graves and Angus & Julia Stone @ Osheaga

August 4, 2015 Taija Anderson Leave a comment

A N G U S & J U L I A S T O N E

A seductive pair they are. The brother and sister enticed crowds into swaying with their sultry voices that tempted and teased as the sunset. Julia Stone is a vixen that emanates a sexual energy, dressed innocently, she provoked with her voice and her dance moves. Angus watched, plucking his guitar and waiting for his turn to take the mic.

“Hey, how you guys doing?” He asked. “You good? That’s good.” Hidden behind sunglasses, a hat, and a barricade of facial hair, his chilled demeanour seemed to diminish as soon as he poured his soul on the stage.

Changing pace for the crowd favourite, Big Jet Plane, by taking an acoustic approach and offering a different melody, the performer led fans into the change. And soon the audience offered their voices for the rest of the song.

S H A K E Y G R A V E S

Walking on stage to chants of “Shakey”, Alejandro Rose-Garcia otherwise known as his stage name, Shakey Graves took the stage in a different attire than fans were used to. Without a cowboy hat, the singer gave a performance that fully satisfied fans making them one of the loudest crowds at the smaller stages.

Live

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros Restore Faith in Humanity @ Osheaga

August 4, 2015 Taija Anderson Leave a comment

It took one man, and three friends to bring thousands to tears during Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros’ performance on the mainstage. The crowd was ready for a show as the band walked on the stage to welcomes that made Alex Ebert, frontman; gaze in aw at the crowd. Their performance was emotional. Changing the sound of most songs to incorporate the emotion and audience reaction the band seemed more into sharing the music than just performing. Running off the stage to let fans make up their own choruses to songs, jumping over the barricade to stand and sing in the crowd, and throwing a piece of his sunglasses into the crowd, Ebert was a fan favourite.

Though nothing was more touching than the moment a wheelchair went up in the back. Between songs, Ebert and band stopped and watched with tears in their eyes as a group of three friends carried a friend from middle school, bound to a wheelchair, to the front of the crowd. As soon as the act was shown on the giant screens, the audience cheered fighting off tears.

“You want to come up on stage?” Ebert asked. Fans cheered as he then jumped off of the stage to help security and friends carry the man out of the audience and up to the stage. Letting tears loose, the audience watched as the men took their place on stage for the rest of the set, dancing and swaying along with the band. If there was ever a moment of pure peace and togetherness at the festival this was it, an audience came together to help someone experience something extraordinary.

Finishing up their set Ebert sat on the stages edge and asked a simple question. “Last one. What do you want to hear?”

Without a single disagreement from the audience, Home was selected. Due to the lacking member Jade Castrinos the song, that is a duet, was sung campfire style with the audience. The performance was more than just that. It was a reminder of how touching and binding music can be.

Live

Giant Balls and Supersoakers: Young The Giant Tares Down Osheaga

August 2, 2015 Taija Anderson Leave a comment

If there is one band to see it has to be Young The Giant. It doesn’t matter whether or not you know anything other than their hits, the band puts on a show. Playing the mainstage, the band, Sameer Gadhia, Jacob Tilley, Eric Cannata, Payam Doostzadeh and Francois Comtois, made their Osheaga performance one to remember. The fans may have been the most dedicated, lining up to three hours before the band took the stage, just for a glimpse. There was no shortage of tears in the front row. Once the band began energy rushed the festival. A giant party ensued while the band unleashed more the music onto the crowd. A giant supersoaker rained down on the sweltering crowd as giant beachballs were passed overhead. Wet and muddy the crowd jumped, enthralled by the experience and gaining a new love for the band.

Live

Of Monsters and Men & Florence + The Machine @ Osheaga

August 2, 2015 Taija Anderson Leave a comment

The show stoppers did the impossible by capturing crowds attention enough to bring them nearly to silence as they began. That was until the course came around and everyone in sight decided to project their best singing voices back at the band. And after all their success, still seemed humbled to have a festival full of fans singing back at them. Sounding, perhaps, better than they do recorded, they did not disappoint. They played what everyone wanted to hear and put on a show. All dressed in black, their sound transcended in the minimalistic approach to their set. Replying on lighting for theatrics, their set was run perfectly, sung beautifully and played to perfection.

“Thank you for being here, this is really cool,” Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir greeted fans. Their music seemed fitted for nature and even better into the hippy-for-the-weekend-laced field. The one drawback was for the band, which was getting attacked by moths.

“There are so many moths here, they’re in my guitar,” Hilmarsdóttir said pausing between songs to shake out the pests.

“We are going to dedicate this next song to the moths, ” Ragnar Þórhallsson said.

ln an eye-catching outfit, sans shoes, a bra or coverage, Florence + the Machine graced the mainstage by floating, twirling and showing her love for the audience. Her many gazes of aw, displayed a euphoric demeanour for fans. She truly made the audience know that they were appreciated by running off the stage mid-performance to hand out hugs, high-fives and to grab a fans headband and wear it as she finished the song. The woman is stunning in more ways than one. As she pranced, she never missed a beat or ran out of breath. Her energy never died and her performance won’t soon be forgotten.

Live

Grace Potter and Iron & Wine @ Osheaga

August 2, 2015 Taija Anderson Leave a comment

She ripped the main stage apart with a glamorously gritty show—Grace Potter smiled while she partied for the crowds. Like a true rock star the singer, somehow magically managed, to have her hair and clothing blowing despite the lacking wind. She came, ravaged the over-heated audience, and even played a new song released that day, “Delirious”, which fans seemed overjoyed to have heard first live. The show ended with a heavy drum solo featuring four drummers. On her knees in the barrage of instruments, Potter joined in by shaking her hair and banging the first drum she could get her hands on.

“We’ve got a lot to play, but not a lot of time. Let’s get to it. I’ll see you on the other side,” Samuel “Sam” Beam said. They played the main stage for a hefty crowd brave enough to swelter it out in the sun.

Featured Artist

Music Festival Spotlight: Angus and Julia Stone

July 11, 2015 Taija Anderson Leave a comment

The brother and sister duo have a lush, romantic, dark sound coupled with a pure harmony. There is a romance between the two, an unbreakable chemistry that makes their music seem very personal. It’s a talent when a connection between an artist and listener is established through an album. The two do just that with each one of their three albums. –each album plays up Julia Stone’s breathy voice and experiments with vocals, drums and playing up and downsizing guitar.

Big Jet Plane from their second studio album, Down the Way, is a great way to get into the band. The song will get stuck in your head and you won’t be upset about it.

The self-titled album, released in August, may be the strongest out of their three albums and shows how much the band has found their sound. They emphasize the breathy voice of Julia Stone and focus a little more on the instrumental and how it contrasts with her voice. Heart Beats Slow, is a confession of love. The repetition, persuasive beat and sombre demeanour give the song a separation between regular love songs. Many of the songs on the album seem to have the confessional type feel, mostly when Angus Stone is singing. The personal sound is most apparent in: A Heartbreak, Heart Beats Slow and Roses.

Who are they?

Their music has been featured in films and television shows such as Death of a Super Hero, Grey’s Anatomy and Pretty Little Liars. The singer-song writers have been on the scene since 2006 with their first EP: Chocolate and Cigarettes. Various EPs, three studio albums, three compilation albums, two live albums and a feature song, Love Will Take You, for The Twilight Saga’s: Breaking Dawn Part 1 album followed. Eight years later the two haven’t gone unnoticed. The Stones’ took home five awards, including Best Single of the Year for Big Jet Plane at the 2010 ARIA Music Awards. The two are currently selling out venues from France, Germany to Switzerland with their tour for their new album and playing music festivals including this years Osheaga.

Can’t Miss Track: Little Whisky