Venue: Parc Jean Drapeau, Montreal
Date: Sunday, August 2nd, 2015
Wanted to watch Gary Clark Jr perform but fell asleep in bed. Arrived at the end of his set, around 3:30pm. Oh well, I'll just have to go to Burlington (Vermont) at some point to catch a performance of his.
The two main stages are next to each other. Therefore one set finishes and the other one starts. A long fence dividing one floor from the other. V and I were waiting by one of those stages for Father John Misty to start. We weren't there only for him though. The War on Drugs was set to perform on that same stage.
Father John Misty is his usual self. You love him or you don't. Actually, if you enjoy his music enough, everything else is unimportant. I savored his latest album, I Love You Honeybear. One of the best love albums ever. Refreshing lyrics on the subject. (Leonard Cohen is, of course, unbeatable).
"I'd ask you how you are doing but I don't really care". Typical Father John Misty. On "Chateau Lobby 4 (in C for two virgins)" the crowd starts chanting with him. He is loved. "How's everybody over there waiting for the band to go on?" he later asks the neighboring crowd. "Bored in the USA" starts, "Sorry for those whose ecstasy just kicked in" he says before requesting the crowd to fist pump.
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| Was too busy taking a picture to fist pump. |
Not only do we fist pump to the slow beat of the song but many of us are chanting the lyrics. Osheaga is full of Americans. I miss home all of a sudden. I miss Montreal.*
Father John Misty ends and Future Islands starts next door. Never attended a show of theirs. Will definitely not miss the next one in Montreal. Lead singer Samuel T. Herring has heart. So much heart. Quite moving.
Following Future Islands, the band I've been waiting for steps on stage. The War on Drugs. It's not a show. Only music. Good music. Unfortunately there were some sound problems on sax. Still, I close my eyes and I let myself get carried away. We were up front. Easier to be in awe there among the mélomane's.
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| The War on Drugs |
We head out to another area of the festival once TWOD leave the stage. Smaller crowds and bigger trees. Our favorite turf. We're both disappointed with the lineup though (with some exceptions). Felt as if Osheaga has ceased trying to attract Montrealers.
The rest of the evening is a bit of a deception.
Philip Selway made me feel uncomfortable 'cause he was kind of pitchy. I won't add anything else.
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| Alex Ebert from Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros |
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros also made me uneasy. I like their songs but lead singer Alex Ebert gives himself a fake persona in my opinion. A "guru wannabe" as V would say. With a rough voice that evening, he ends a song abruptly saying "That's shit" and invites a paraplegic to come on stage. "Ça y est, c'est un guérisseur maintenant"** declares V. I didn't know how to feel. Was he using the paraplegic for show? By the end we were all moved in spite of that. V, the most sceptical of all, had tears in her eyes (she won't admit to that though).
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| Emotional moment? Happy for the guy. |
We stay at Osheaga for only a few alt-J songs. Freak Heat Waves was playing at the Bar Ritz PDB. Intended on watching them perform but as soon I leave I know this won't happen. End up going to bed. That's life.
xx China
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| Father John Misty filming himself with a fan's camera |
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| Shit happens. Or maybe it's just the drugs. |
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| See you next year. Maybe. photo: Véronique Côté |
*I'd just like to add that I have nothing against Americans (most of the time). Am myself half American.
** Fuck that. He's a healer now?
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