Guide to Osheaga 2010: Day 2
Crack That Whip!
Yes Devo’s playing on day 2! But we’ll get to that later. For now, you need to get down to Parc Jean Drapeau bright and early so you can get settled and make sure not to miss the first two bands of the day that will take the stage promptly at 1:00 PM. This brings us to our first conflict of the day.
Conflict #1
Galactic w/ Cyril Neville (1:00 – 1:40) — Cotton Mouth (1:00 – 1:30)
There couldn’t possibly be a larger contrast between the first two acts on day 2 at Osheaga. On the one hand we’ve got New Orleans funksters Galactic who will be playing lots of jams from their new album YA-KA-MAY, but best of all will be joined on stage by the legendary Neville Brother, Cyril Neville. But our pick for this conflict has to go to local boys Cotton Mouth. Led by singer/guitarist Martin Horn who enlisted the entire roster of Parlovr as his backing band, these guys make some extremely catchy and fun electro rock through the use of some really amazing sounding vintage synthesizers. We’ve had the privilege of seeing these guys perform live a few times and have never been disappointed so be sure to make it to the festival on time to catch them play.
Seu Jorge & Almaz (1:40 – 2:20)
Is anyone else as excited about Seu Jorge playing at this year’s fest as we are? We first got wind of this amazingly talented Brazillian singer/songwriter when he stole the show in Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou back in 2004, in which Jorge was seen several times throughout the film playing David Bowie covers in Portuguese. Jorge’s latest project is a collaborative effort with a few fellow musicians in the creation of an album entitled Seu Jorge & Almaz. The first single from the album is a cover of the Roy Ayres classic “Everybody Loves The Sunshine”. You can take a listen to the track for yourself by clicking here. And don’t miss Seu Jorge & Almaz who will be playing at 1:40 on the right main stage.
Conflict #2
Ian Kelly (2:20 – 3:00) — Still Life Still (2:00 – 2:40) — ARIEL (2:00 – 2:30)
We’ve got another conflict on our hands people. For this one we’ve got Montreal singer/songwriter Ian Kelly facing off against another Montreal act of a very different stripe that goes by the name of ARIEL. But for this one our recommendation goes to Ontario indie rockers Still Life Still. We’ve been hearing lots of good things about these guys are can’t to see what they can do on the Osheaga stage.
Conflict #3
The Gaslight Anthem (3:00 – 3:40) — Blitzen Trapper (3:10 – 3:55) — Hannah Georgas (3:00 – 3:30)
Our third conflict of the day is a pretty tough one. While The Gaslight Anthem may take this one in terms of the amount of fans they bring in to watch their set, for this conflict we would like to steer you to the Scene des Arbes and Scene Verte stages for two acts that may just fly under many radars, but shouldn’t due to their sheer awesomeness. That is Portland’s Blitzen Trapper and Newmarket, Ontario native Hannah Georgas. Ever since signing with Sub Pop back in 2007 Blitzen Trapper have just exploded onto the indie music scene, releasing 3 incredible LPs and picking up droves of fans along the way. But our pick for this conflict goes to quirky pop songstress Hannah Georgas, who’s debut album This Is Good was long listed for the 2010 Polaris Music Prize. Georgas will be playing for a half an hour starting at 3:00 PM on the Scene des Arbes stage.
Conflict #4
Ariane Moffatt (3:40 – 4:20) — Horse Feathers (4:00 – 4:30)
We’ve got a lot of homegrown acts playing on day 2 of Osheaga. Conflict #4 has one of Montreal’s most well known francophone artists squaring off against Portland based orchestral folk outfit Horse Feathers. Since Moffatt will surely have her share of fans out to support her we would like to urge you to check out Horse Feathers for at least part of their set on day 2. With a mixture of banjo, violins, cello, mandolin and a few other instruments thrown into the mix these guys put together some incredibly heart-felt orchestral folk pop songs that will certainly tug at your heart strings. We strongly urge you to fit these guys into your obviously very packed schedule.
Conflict #5
The Black Keys (4:20 – 5:00) — The Antlers (4:25 – 5:10)
We are going to go right ahead and call this one the conflict of the day. Nobody needs any reminding just how good blues rock duo The Black Keys are. Their latest album, Brothers, has been getting incredible reviews from all over the place and they are selling out just about everywhere they play these days. So what could possibly stop you from seeing them at this year’s Osheaga fest? Well here’s where things get tricky because playing at the exact same time over at the Scene Verte is one of the buzziest bands to emerge in the last few years, Brooklyn NY’s, The Antlers. We had a chance to catch them play at Il Motore back in February and they quite simply blew us away. So for this one we have no choice but to leave it up to you.
Conflict #6
Charlie Winston (5:00 – 5:45) — Amanda Mabro (5:00 – 5:30) — Major Lazer (5:00 – 6:30)
Starting at 5:00 PM we’ve got the choice of English singer/songwriter Charlie Winston and Montreal’s cabaret pop princess Amanda Mabro. But for this one we’d like to steer you over to the Piknic Electronik stage where Major Lazer will be playing from 5:00 to 6:30 PM. In case you haven’t heard, Major Lazer is a duo made up of Philidelphia based DJ/producer Diplo and UK DJ/producer Switch. Together they have been making big waves around the music world lately with the release of their stellar collaboration with La Roux, entitled Lazerproof. So be sure to check them out and don’t forget your dancin’ shoes.
Conflict #7
The Cat Empire (5:45 – 6:35) — We Are Wolves (5:40 – 6:25) — The Morning Benders (6:00 – 6:30)
Conflict #7 ranks among one of the most difficult of the day. The biggest band playing is obviously The Cat Empire but we’ve also got hometown heroes We Are Wolves and Eastern California indie poppers The Morning Benders playing at the same time. While I’m sure we’re not the only ones that would love to check out all three of these bands, we are going to have to give this one to The Morning Benders. These guys are fresh off the release of their amazing new album, Big Echo, and with their breezy summer pop tunes you simply can’t go wrong.
Conflict #8
Snoop Dogg (6:35 – 7:35) — Jon Spencer Blues Explosion (7:00 – 7:45) — Pawa Up First (7:00 – 7:30)
You have to feel for Montreal’s Pawa Up First on this one. They are up against two of the biggest names on this year’s Osheaga roster. Let’s be honest though, the majority of the people heading out to Osheaga on Sunday are going to split their time between Snoop and Jon Spencer. It’s going to be interesting to see who pulls in the most listeners but I think we’ve got to give the slight edge to the Snoop. But if you’d like to escape the crowds for a little while you can check out Pawa Up First over at the Scene des Arbes.
Conflict #9
Metric (7:35 – 8:35) — Frank Turner (8:00 – 8:40)
Metric is back at Osheaga this year. They have almost become a mainstay at our little festival having played 3 of 5 years of the festival’s existence including this year. Well let’s be honest, there’s really no such thing as too much Metric is there. So while British singer/songwriter and former Million Dead member Frank Turner is trying to win some hearts over at the Scene des Arbes, Haines and co. will most likely be killing it over on the left main stage. Our pick has to go to Metric for this one.
Conflict #10
deadmau5 (8:35 – 9:35) — Sonic Youth (8:15 – 9:05)
With Osheaga winding down to a close we hope you’ve saved up some energy for this conflict because it’s going to involve a little bit of walking. We’re not going to choose a winner for this one. Instead we’re going to suggest you check out Sonic Youth at their start time of 8:15 on the Scene Verte (because it’s friggin Sonic Youth!) and then at some point head over to the right main stage to see what all the fuss is about this Ontario born mouse-headed producer that goes by the name of deadmau5. These are two acts that you really just don’t want to miss out on, so…see both!
Ra Ra Riot (9:10 – 9:50)
The 9:10 – 9:50 slot belongs almost completely to Syracuse, NY’s Ra Ra Riot. We say almost because Deadmau5 only finishes at 9:35 and Devo starts at 9:35 but if you are going to Osheaga this year you must make it a point to check out Ra Ra Riot. These guys are just so much fun to see live and are one of our most anticipated sets of the festival. They also have a brand new album coming out on August 24th called The Orchard on Arts & Crafts so we can expect to hear some new songs played live. That album is also available for pre-order by clicking here.
Conflict #11
Weezer (9:45 – 11:00) — Devo (9:35 – 10:45) — Tim Barry (10:20 – 11:00)
This is it. The final set at Osheaga 2010. Who will it be? Weezer? Devo? Tim Barry? I think for the most part people will be divided between Weezer and Devo with a few die hard Tim Barry fans who will surely check out the former Avail punk rocker turned country folk singer. So that leaves us with Devo or Weezer. For us the decision is easy. Devo Devo Devo. If you really want to see Weezer play live you will most likely be presented with many more chances in the future but this could be the last time you’ll ever get to see Devo live so you better make the best of it.
After The Show It’s The After Party
Da Gryptions @ Blizzarts — Interceiving @ Casa Del Popolo
Ok this is the last Osheaga related conflict you will have to resolve until next year, we promise. There are two official after parties going on after everything wraps up over at Parc Jean Drapeau. Firstly, we’re got Montreal’s Da Gryptions, who are responsible for creating the (almost) Lonely Island-esque “Bixi Anthem”, playing at Blizzarts. That show is free so if you’re running tight on cash after the weekend this could be a good option. Otherwise you have Interceiving (also from Montreal) who will host the second official after party at Casa Del Popolo. What’s good about this one is that also playing is a band called Los Hermanos who we’ve heard good things about. This one will cost you $5.00 at the door. So for our final conflict we are leaving you to decide! Ha!
There you have it. We hope you found our guide to day 2 at Osheaga informative and valuable. In case you missed our guide to day 1 at Osheaga you can find that article by clicking here.
Be sure to follow us on twitter because we will be live tweeting from the festival all weekend long.
-
Amelia
-
OO
