Photos by Katrina Lat and Sean Chin.
Wake up. Check the forecast and it’s the same as Friday. The Twister poncho I had kept everything from my shins up bone dry so I pack it up again for the day. The shoes are still soaked and caked in mud but I’m ready for Day 2 of the Osheaga Festival in Montreal.
The cancellations continue to roll in with Solange, George Ezra and Lil Uzi Vert pulling their slots due to various reasons.
A longer wait to get in on a clearly busier day means I miss Beach Slang but arrive in time for the breezy Americana of Dawes. I let them slide into the background as I reconnect with friends I met the previous day.
Next up on the Montagne Stage is Jain who hails from Paris, France and puts on what is the best show I saw all weekend. I remembered I really wanted to see Temples who were playing over on the Vallee stage, but Jain’s infectious dance-pop was accompanied by a mesmerizing light show and a very poppy disposition. People are doing synchronized dancing through the fountain and it’s a beautiful sight. It’s the shot of adrenaline I, and this festival needs.
Among the older-set, Liam Gallagher’s debut Canadian performance was probably the most anticipated of the weekend, and his cut-short set earlier at Lollapalooza only heightened the tension.
Despite the heat and sun of Saturday afternoon, Gallagher sauntered on stage to Oasis’ “Fuckin’ In the Bushes” in a parka that he zipped right up to the top before belting out a couple of Oasis classics “Rock N Roll Star” and “Morning Glory” before a few solo tunes including the latest single “Wall of Glass”. He would finish his 45 minute set with an acoustic run through “Wonderwall”. The new material fit in nicely with the Oasis tracks and his backing band did the Oasis material justice. The set is a loud rousing success.
The sound on the main Riviere Stage I find is too low compared to the Montagne Stage just across the field. So when I decide to catch a bite to eat I can’t really catch the raucous set from Cage the Elephant but the place is packed and the frontman looks to be having a great time up on the screen.
Broken Social Scene continued the breezy sunny vibe featuring almost a handful of songs from their latest album, Hug of Thunder. Metric’s Emily Haines joined for a number of songs to the rapturous glee of the large crowd assembled.
We decided to head over to the Verte stage to catch Hamilton’s Arkells. When they were here last they played the main stage and this year they make a compelling argument as to why they should have been booked there this year and in the future. The crowd swelled in the area and gave one of the loudest and most appreciative reactions of the day.
Father John Misty also played the main stage area the last time he played Osheaga. Kicking off his set with the title track off his most recent Pure Comedy, FJM laid down an Elton John-sized spell over his gathered flock. Whereas his set at the main stage was more uplifting gospel, the new material lends a more somber vibe. He also inspired the return of the rain, so it was time to make my way to the fake turf of the main stage area to catch Muse.
I haven’t seen Muse in at least ten years but they’ve always put on a bombastic explosion of sound and light. Opening with the new track “Dig Down”, Muse offered up the hits mostly touching on their breakout albums Absolution and Black Holes & Revelations. The light were not as out-of-this-world as Muse shows in the past but they were still the most dazzling of the lights I saw all weekend. They are also quieter than I hoped, with them usually being able to fill a field with feel-it-loud volume.
