The Luyas – 4:00 @ Scène des Arbres
Although we arrived just in time to catch about half of Smith Westerns’ set, our day didn’t really start until The Luyas. This Montreal band is a little quirky, as they’re quite experimental, but there’s something absolutely endearing about them. The adorable Jessie Stein, in particular, makes it hard not to fall head over heels for this band.
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – 4:15 @ Scène Verte
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart released Belong earlier this year to favourable reviews and while we didn’t catch all of it, the New York buzz band drew quite a crowd to their afternoon set. The band seems to have found a way to transition from their largely noisy pop to a much more melodic sound and it suits them.
Cypress Hill @ Scène de la Rivière
Cypress Hill has the most fitting set time – 4:20. As you can imagine, the references to marijuana were abundant, including a whole bit with a giant spliff and the quality of Canadian weed. Surprisingly, I recognized more songs than I thought I would. Even more surprising was the amount of people who knew all the words and could sing along. The hip hop group ended their set with their hit “(Rock) Superstar”.
The downside of the whole experience was that, while the many fans were absolutely loving everything about the set, Cypress Hill was the only act to go drastically over time. As a result, the two main stages were forced to adjust and it wasn’t until City and Colour cut their set short that sets were running on time.
Beirut – 5:50 @ Scène de la Rivière
The Tragically Hip – 7:25 @ Scène de la Rivière
While The Tragically Hip has been around for years, with songs in their artillery that are well on their way to becoming Canadian music staples, it’s evident that people will always be drawn to this band. The Tragically Hip drew quite an afternoon crowd. Happily, the band mostly played favourites, including “Grace, Too” which started off the set, “Bobcaygeon” and the set closer, “Little Bones”, that had the crowd singing along. Perhaps The Tragically Hip’s biggest attraction is the ever-magnetic Gord Downie up front, who seems to have developed some interesting moves over the years.
As a bonus, before catching The Tragically Hip, I heard Downie on stage with City and Colour for “Sleeping Sickness”, which sounded so lovely from afar.
Shad – 8:00 @ Scène des Arbres
City and Colour may have cut their set a little short, but Dallas Green made the most of his day by joining Shad on stage for “Live Forever”. We only caught a few songs, as we were anxious to get back to The Tragically Hip, but it was certainly hard to pull ourselves away. The crowd was enamoured with Shad’s charm and it’s easy to see why Shad’s popularity only continues to grow.
Death Cab for Cutie – 8:25 @ Scène de la Montagne
Death Cab for Cutie was unfortunately plagued with technical difficulties throughout their set, but the band joked that it must have been a prank by City and Colour. While the band had released Codes and Keys this year, Death Cab for Cutie managed to squeeze out a setlist heavily favouring older favourites, including “I Will Possess Your Heart”, “Soul Meets Body” and the set closer “The Sound of Settling”.
Playing to a crowd eager to see The Flaming Lips, Death Cab for Cutie warmed up the crowd quite well. One of the highlights of the set was when Ben Gibbard announced they were playing a song they hadn’t played in a while. The band played “We Looked Like Giants”, from their 2003 release Transatlanticism, which was such a treat for the crowd.
The Flaming Lips – 9:25 @ Scène de la Rivière
We ended our festival with The Flaming Lips and I would not have wanted it any other way. Before the set even started, Wayne Coyne came out on stage to give the crowd a disclaimer about their strobe lights and his space bubble. I had already known what to expect, but to experience it is something else. If there’s something The Flaming Lips excel at, it’s putting on a show to remember.
The band was performing their 1999 record, The Soft Bulletin, the album that really put them on the map. Combining elements of psychedelia and experimentation in the music, the band reproduces these elements through the use of lighting, props and a ton of confetti. At one point, Coyne urged the crowd to “explode” as if “having a fucking orgasm” and then said, “Now, we don’t want to leave here thinking Montreal doesn’t know how to have an orgasm.” A little disappointed in the crowd’s inability to keep up their screams, he later commented, “I would’ve kept going.”
Perhaps the most memorable part of the set was the wedding that took place on stage, which was actually staged with the real wedding taking place back stage. The romantic moment led to the encore of the set (and of the entire festival), a captivating “Do You Realize?” What an ending to Osheaga!
buying shots for bands 
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