A scorching Osheaga

By Walter J. Lyng, August 15th, 2012

Even when Osheaga was only two days long, it could prove to be an intense experience. Tacking on a third day last year, the festival now feels more like a challenge for music fans than ever before. Not a bad challenge, mind you, but the kind of challenge that pushes fans to see as many great acts as possible in the midst of sticky summer heat and the most sprawling layout the festival has ever presented.
It was a challenge many accepted.
Hitting capacity on Friday and Sunday, the festival became hard to navigate at points, taking anywhere from 10-30 minutes to walk from one stage to another. And whereas in previous years it might have been a viable option to park yourself in front of the two main stages all weekend, the committed fan couldn’t help but make the trek back and forth all weekend as the smaller stages featured their share of impressive performers.
I showed up on Friday at 1:30 and caught the tale end of LP (who spoke to The Suburban a couple of weeks ago) while waiting for The Walkmen to take the stage right next door. The transition from the pop fun of LP to the indie rock of The Walkmen set the stage for the eclecticism to come. Later on, I opted to check out Halifax-based Wintersleep over the more popular choice of Florence & The Machine. I was happy with the choice. I would not be surprised if Wintersleep became a repeat visitor to Osheaga.
I capped off Friday with trippy electro rock duo  MGMT who performed a great set under the stars while an unseen figure hurled hundreds of glow sticks into the crowd. Although they didn’t perform their biggest hit ‘Kids,’ this was still a fun festival moment.
Somehow, the sun beat down on the crowds even more on Saturday. Showing up in time for Kathleen Edwards, it was fun getting to hear the CBC darling book an ‘appointment’ with the hose guy immediately following her set. I braved the heat to go watch Portugal. The Man, from ‘floor’ level (as opposed to the tree-protected hillside), immediately followed by Calexico. This was a fun double header, with Portugal turning their song ‘The Devil’ into a cover of Helter Skelter and Calexico providing the perfect Latin-infused soundtrack for the hot afternoon. I welcomed the arrival of the hose guy.
After that, it was a double dose of Montreal talent with Plants and Animals hitting one of the main stages at 3:45, followed by Young Galaxy under the pleasant shade of the Tree stage. Drummer Andrea Silver, who also spoke to the Suburban, was in fine form.
From 6:30 to 7:15, A$AP Rocky delivered a hip-hop set a thousand times more credible than Snoop Dogg/Lion would later on that evening.
Only at Osheaga would Feist be the technical opening act for Snoop. Seeming to be truly in her element in the outdoor setting, Feist pleased all in attendance to see her. Many gathered in the darkness anticipating the arrival of Snoop, only to wait and eventually boo as he took his sweet time getting on stage. For the record, as far as I know, he was the only latecomer out of all of the weekend’s performers.
In the end, Snoop didn’t bust out too much of the new reggae sound he’s been talking about and it was pretty much same old, same old. Not really worth the wait.
Even with the rain on Sunday, temperatures stayed high until the evening’s breeze and drizzle. James Vincent McMorrow’s smooth vocals proved to be a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Just when things started to get mellow, however, The Shins cranked it up again, paving the way for the trendy City and Colour and Metric, who both kept the fans happy in the rain. The precipitation ended just in time for The Black Keys who were my personal favourite headliner of the weekend, arriving on time and with a bevy of solid rocking tunes. Althhough they didn’t offer much by ways of crowd interaction, the boys from Akron reminded everyone why they are the current saviours of rock n’ roll.