Osheaga 2016, Day 1: mostly known acts

Osheaga 2016

Parc Jean Drapeau, Montreal

july 30 2016

The Osheaga weekend was sunny and hot!

 Long days of sun, music and food.

Below you will find a few lines on each band I've seen during the weekend.

 Day 1

Chargers:

really good vibe and energy.

They played their well known single.

I just listening to them as we got in the festival grounds so no pictures.

Dragonette:

It was time to dance with Dragonette's beats!

The singer was moving a lot and dancing, but she was also alternating with moments where she was playing the guitar.

People were into the set jumping around during on of their top songs.

Dear Rouge:

Another dancing act with full of energy.

I didn't know the music just the name of the band.

I had a really good time while listening and dancing to this set.

There was a lot of interaction with the crowd.

Wolf Parade

 

Wolf Parade return in great form for their new tour after a 5 year breakup that finally saw them reunite. 

It was a perfect set to see them play during which no technical issues happened as is usually the case in all their festival performances I've seen them at.

They played a mix of their best songs and a couple of new songs which they played marvellously.

They performed with a lot of energy and it made for a great show.

Welcome back Wolf Parade!!

Wombats

It was Wombats first show in Montreal and they wanted to make a good impression!

It worked...the bassist was really fun to watch, the band had a good stage presence.

The guitar riffs were impressive which instilled in my son and I the desire to play air guitar together.

Cypress Hill

Cypress Hill were back at Osheaga for the nth time, but they still gave the crowd what they wanted...some fun times and good old songs!

They played their top songs, smoked a huge joint, talked a lot with the crowd between songs and seemed pretty high which is what we expect I guess from them.

Half Moon Run

Half Moon Run was back to Montreal after playing 4 sold-out shows at the Metropolis a few months ago. Those shows were incredible so to see them at Osheaga was something I was waiting for.

Unfortunately it was not a great show maybe a huge setting like this park is not fit for their music or they just played slower songs, but the energy I saw at the Metropolis wasn't there and the crowd wasn't the same so their music is hard to get into if you don't know it probably. They didn't seem to attract the attention of people outside the small circle in front.

They seem to enjoy being there and playing in Montreal again.

Lapsley

Instead of following everyone to see Red Hot Chili Peppers on the big stage, we decided to go see Lapsley. Obviously there was only a really small crowd at the Scene des Arbres which is a great place to relax.

Everyone was quiet and listening to her great voice.

She mentioned she kept eating poutine during the festival and a nice discovery for her :)

Great intimate show.

This concludes the day 1 report of Osheaga.

High Flying Birds - more than just an Oasis tribute band

High Flying Birds

Place des Arts, Montreal

July 9 2016

It was during a beautiful evening in Montreal and as a part of  Montreal's Jazz Festival that Noel Gallagher and his High Flying Birds delivered an amazing show and paid tribute to his previous band, Oasis, by playing a lot of songs from their big repertoire of Oasis songs.

Gallagher and his bandmates are extremely talented and it shows during the whole concert. Gallagher has a great voice and plays really well his guitar.

Noel brought on stage during some key points of the event some trumpet, trombone and saxophone players which gets 8 people on stage to play some of the songs. These guys create a really different texture to the songs they play and change the tempo of the concert.

Some of the High Flying Birds best songs could be on an Oasis album and we wouldn't know the difference. Noel's band offers really good songs, but most people come see the band to see the Oasis singer and hear the songs and probably get some good quotes and controversies from the main man.

It is not too hard to get to those as well because Noel seems eager to let himself loose and talk to the crowd and likes to get heckled by the crowd (he wont say that probably, but he is just waiting for someone to say something).

During the show, Noel talks a lot to the crowd and about their characteristics or the way they dance. "This guy is dancing with his hands in his pockets, what a douche"...

and then someone asks THE question..."where's Liam?" and Noel to answer "I don't know,... home on twitter probably! That guy(in the crowd) is more of a rock star than he (Liam) ever was!!!"

He then got annoyed by questions about the drummer and the Euro (playing at the time).

Pleasant evening with one of the best rocker that the 90's produced.

Here is the setlist:

Shoot a Hole Into the Sun
Everybody's on the Run
Lock All the Doors
In the Heat of the Moment
Riverman
Fade Away (Oasis cover) 
The Death of You and Me
You Know We Can't Go Back
Champagne Supernova (Oasis cover) 
Ballad of the Mighty I
Talk Tonight (Oasis cover) 
D'Yer Wanna Be a Spaceman? (Oasis cover) 
The Mexican
Half the World Away (Oasis cover) 
Listen Up (Oasis cover) 
If I Had a Gun...
Digsy's Dinner (Oasis cover)
The Masterplan (Oasis cover) 

Encore:
Wonderwall (Oasis cover) 
AKA... What a Life!
Don't Look Back in Anger (Oasis cover) 



Wainwright Sisters - a Night of Lullibies

Wainwright Sisters

TNM, Montreal

July 8 2016

Martha Wainwright is one of the most interesting entertainer that I have seen in concerts. Every time, I see her she is always playful, always having fun on stage, always the childlike fascination with music and people coming to see her play and she doesn't seem to have one once of ego. She seems to be thinking about so many things at the same time that she forgets lyrics, parts of the songs, she talks about her life and talks to the crowd and mostly laughs all the time, but she doesn't care about her mistakes and she just goes with it so is the crowd.

At the TNM tonight, it is the same thing going on, but this time she is playing with her step sister Lucy Roche-Wainwright and they are playing songs from their new album Songs In the Dark which contains dark Lullaby songs from their youth.

That night Martha comes on the stage using one crutch since she had an accident playing tennis in the morning so due to her ankle problem she is going to play on a stool awkwardly and during the show she almost kills herself by missing a step. Lots of entertainment I tell you!

It was a night of music and comedy stand-up from the duo who tell joke about each other and telling stories from their youth and life as sisters who didn't see each other much living in 2 different cities while growing up.

It was interesting to hear the explanation of each lullaby before they played them and people laughed during the weirdest lullaby at which Lucy and Martha reacted amazed that it got such a reaction.

Lucy played 2-3 songs alone at some point and we got to appreciate her voice and talent without her sister.

Then she left and Martha played 2 new songs that she could remember from her next album that she just had composed so she kinda remembered them, but since its a Martha show...it wasn't the case. She forgot how the 2nd song was supposed to start and tried a few times and was telling us that its really hard to get the right beat without using her foot that was in a brace.

Martha continued clowning away as I like her to do then continued to speak to the public as if we were family, talking with no ego and as an open book and she finished her set with a song from her father.

overall, they had a great show, Martha has a unique voice that I love, but she can't do everything with it like sing high pitched note parts.

Good show!