4 August 2013
Music lovers came in droves on Day 3 of the eighth edition of OSHEAGA, ramming Parc Jean-Drapeau to its capacity and connecting over the smooth rhymes of Kendrick Lamar and the fitful strumming of Mumford and Sons – and the vibe was positive and fun throughout. This remains one of the best things about going to a big outdoor festival, the feeling of camaraderie and harmony that flows through the crowd, the sense that we are witnessing a small slab of musical history together and loving every minute of it.
The worst part is the moment of panic when you realize you are crammed in the crowd so much tighter than sardines, and sure while being right at the front of the stage is awesome, it’s also a little bit terrifying … and where the hell is that beer guy with the seven dollar Coors Light for fuck’s sake!?
The other worst part is pissing – especially if you’re a girl – the lineups were ridiculous, the stalls horrific. For the dudes they had these three-way stand-up urinal thingy’s this year which made it almost as easy as pissing in the bush, but by Sunday they were full up and starting to spill over – fackin’ nasty, but hey let’s get back to the music shall we?
We arrived just in time for a fifteen minute downpour right before Big Boi’s set, but thankfully the skies remained clear after that. Here are the shows I checked out on Day 3 of the 8th installment of Osheaga…
BIG BOI
To say I was excited to see Big Boi is an understatement. Outkast was and still is my favourite hip hop group of all time. I’ve written about my love for them before and will continue to write about my love for them here, but…
So an injured Big Boi hobbled on stage with crutches and a leg brace and sat down on a majestic throne and began blasting out a medley of hits from the Outkast discography and I was stoked. But his vocals were muddied, apparently due to the fact that a speaker blew somewhere. Yet, as Big Boi ventured into his solo stuff, I began to wonder if maybe he might be lip-syncing. In fact, I am convinced he was lip-syncing. During the songs they had videos playing instead of a live feed of the show, he didn’t take a sip of water the entire set, and he pristinely blasted through his tongue-twisting rhymes as if they were…pre-recorded.
It wasn’t until the last track, “In The A”, that I believe he was actually rapping – the sound was louder and you could actually hear Big Boi rhyming instead of his vocals being lost in the mix. Overall, I was happy I had the chance to see a hip-hop legend, but it was in no way an amazing performance. Perhaps because he was injured he felt it was either he do a bit of lip-syncing or cancel the show…who knows. All I know is, I wanted more bump and thrill from the hip-hop veteran, but instead I would get that from the next performer, the young Kendrick Lamar.
KENDRICK LAMAR
The crowd began filling up immediately after Big Boi’s set, even though Kendrick would not be on for another hour. The anticipation was high as was much of the crowd. It was an interesting mix of aging scenesters, twenty-something hipsters, and teens with their parents, all excited to catch Kendrick’s vibe on his first trip to Montreal. And he did not disappoint. Alone on stage except for his DJ, the 26 year-old Compton rapper proved he was worth the hype, coming off as a young Nas on stage, super serious, yet super earnest.
The crowd was rapt, and he let us take care of all the hooks and refrains for him as if he’s been in the game for way longer than a minute. He played tracks from his early mixtapes, his first record Session 80, and of course, the best cuts from good kid, m.A.A.d. city, which was number two on my BEST of 2012 list. Unlike Big Boi, Kendrick’s voice was loud and raw – you could tell he’d been on a tour for a while, because his voice was ragged from overuse.
Overall, the young rapper had a commanding presence, his DJ’s low-end bass was incredibly deeeep, and he showed us why we all fell in love with him in the first place.
NEW ORDER
Fans young and old crowded around the main stage to watch the current incarnation of synth-rock pioneers New Order, as they played hit after hit after hit from their extensive catalogue. Featuring three members of the original line-up, the new wave legends proved they still had the same flair as they did twenty years ago. “Bizarre Love Triangle” sounded amazing, as did “Ceremony”, “Age of Consent”, and “Ecstacy”. Unfortunately, after three hours of standing, me and my crew needed some downtime and a bathroom break, so the first few tracks of their set were enjoyed only peripherally, but we moved in closer about half way through.
New Order ended the show with a few tracks from their Joy Division days. They played “Atmosphere,” “Shadowplay,” and “Love Will Tear Us Apart”, which they rocked out to great success. It was fantastic to see this band play live because there’s a pretty good chance I’ll never get to see them again. As soon as they were done we darted out of the crowd and raced towards the Piknik Electronik Stage with the hopes of catching the end of Disclosure’s set…
DISCLOSURE
We made it in time to see the last fifteen minutes of Guy and Howard Lawrence’s first show in Montreal and were immediately transported into a hype dance party. My tired legs found the groove and we jumped and danced as hard as we could for the rest of their set. We arrived as they were playing “F For You” and the beats were crisp and the bass incredibly smooove. After the song ended they welcomed Jessie Ware to the stage to sing her track “Confess To Me” off of their debut album Settle, and the addition of real vocals heightened their performance by about ten degrees. The crowd ate it up. The young duo finished with hit track “Latch” and we danced our way through the crowd to the Green Stage to see the final show of the night, Hot Chip.
HOT CHIP
Skipping Mumford and Sons entirely and bidding farewell to an amazing Osheaga 2013 with an impromptu glow stick party courtesy of Hot Chip was a great decision. I couldn’t care less about Mumford and Sons and many other people felt the same way as they chose to end the festival with the London electro-pop darlings instead. The crowd was full of energy as was Hot Chip who played an assortment of their best dance cuts: “Over and Over”, “Boy From School”, “Ready For The Floor”, “How Do You Do?”, “Flutes”, and more. The only problem was the set was too short, they didn’t get a chance to slow it down at all, and although yes we came to have one last dance before the festival was over, it would’ve been nice to hear a few of their slower tracks. Still, it was the perfect way to end an excellent OSHEAGA.
Don’t miss it next year! Cheers.
Tags: big boi, disclosure, hot chip, kendrick lamar, mmmlele, montreal, new order, osheaga, osheaga 2013
INAUDIBLE 
January 13, 2014 at 23:18 |
[…] realized how quickly they blasted to the top of the pops when I saw them play live this year at Osheaga and watched the crowd sing along to every track as if they were house classics […]