Osheaga Day 1: Eminem, The Rural Alberta Advantage, Broken Social Scene & More

Uncle Bad Touch – 5:00 @ Scène des Arbres

We started off our Osheaga 2011 experience with Uncle Bad Touch. The band hails from Montreal, so they brought out a good-sized crowd for their set. The band is typically a 3-piece, comprised of Priestess’ Mikey Heppner (vocals, guitar), Kathryn McCaughey (vocals, bass) and Shawn Butchart (drums). They have added another layer to their sound, which is tambourine courtesy of Julia Chan. While I’d say her presence is not necessary to their sound, it doesn’t take away from their gritty in-your-face garage rock. Uncle Bad Touch was a great way to start off the excellent weekend of music.

Glass Candy – 5:45 @ Scène Verte

We decided to check out some of Portland, Oregon’s Glass Candy. We didn’t stay for all of the set, but I caught enough to take note of Ida No’s commanding stage presence. Much of the crowd was fixed on the vocalist, while Johnny Jewel provided the electro beats.

Broken Social Scene – 6:10 @ Scène de la Montagne

We headed over to Broken Social Scene and noticed a sizable crowd for the Toronto band. They kicked off their set right with “KC Accidental”. While the whole collective wasn’t present, some notable guests were Amy Millan, Evan Cranley, and Jimmy Shaw. Between some old favourites and newer songs from Forgiveness Rock Record, Broken Social Scene squeezed in a cover of “The World At Large” by Modest Mouse, a cover which I had heard previously for their Canada Day show with The Tragically Hip. The 9-song set ended with the rousing “Meet Me in the Basement”.

Sweet Thing – 6:30 @ WarChild tent

On our way between stages, we managed to catch part of Sweet Thing’s acoustic set at the WarChild tent. The gorgeous harmonies from Owen Carrier, Tyler Kyte and Nick Rose had drawn a great sized crowd and hopefully some generous donations. Their great pop sound had many in the crowd smiling and enjoying the tunes.

Joseph Arthur – 7:15 @ Scène Verte

Joseph Arthur, from Akron, Ohio, was a treat to see. His set was perfect for relaxation after running between sets. His poetic lyrics and lovely voice were combined with on-stage painting. He was humble, thanking the crowd saying, “Thanks for coming over to the folk stage. You could be seeing more personality, beats. I’m only one person.” He may be only one person, but he was up on stage winning the crowd over.

The Rural Alberta Advangtage – 8:00 @ Scène des Arbres

We chose to see The Rural Alberta Advantage over Janelle Monae, which was a tough (and possibly surprising?) choice, but their set was actually the highlight of the day. We made the right choice, with Nils Edenloff’s unique vocals and Amy Cole’s harmonies piercing our ears, accompanied by Paul Banwatt’s pummelling drum work. The band played many songs off of this year’s Departing, such as “Tornado ’87” and “Muscle Relaxants” and but also played favourites from Hometowns, such as “Rush Apart”, “Frank, AB” and a beautiful “In The Summertime”.

Timber Timbre – 8:45 @ Scène Verte

We couldn’t see all of Timber Timbre’s set, which is not only because we were heading over to the main stage area to see Eminem but also because Taylor Kirk and company were shrouded in fog and low lights, which happened to go along with the deep, dark music. We were a little sad to leave Timber Timbre’s hauntingly beautiful set, but it was good to see that a crowd still stuck around.

Eminem – 9:20 @ Scène de la Rivière

Before Eminem had started and long before we even reached the main stage area, it was obviously that majority of the people at Parc Jean Drapeau were looking forward to Eminem’s set. It was impossible to navigate anywhere near the stage, as most fans camped out in that area for most of the day. In all fairness, Eminem didn’t really disappoint at all. He went through lots of old favourites, though some were in medley form, that had the crowd singing along. “Kill You” had the crowd all riled up, which is to be expected since it’s the song that is controversial in the rest of Canada.

Although he didn’t bring out any star-studded collaborators, Eminem was joined by Royce da 5’9” for “Fast Lane” and “Lighters”. There was a tribute to Nate Dogg that had many lighters in the air. A special treat for the crowd was when Eminem premiered a song, “Space Bound”. He ended his set with “Not Afraid” but came back out soon afterward for “Lose Yourself”. Most of the crowd made it through his whole set, which led some insanity getting off the Island. Worth the hype? I’d say so.