Osheaga Day 3
Sunday July 31 - Dimanche 31 Juillet

Three days into to a music festival, the dust generally begins to settle and one becomes somewhat acclimated to their surroundings. Everyone knows where to get water and pizza cones and two days of non-stop excellent music has left a warm feeling of satisfaction over anyone around.

Although oddly presumptuous, the idea of a sense of complacency after a couple of strong days at a music festival isn't that unreasonable, excepting that it can place an unfair amount of pressure on the artists to be remarkable on the third day... which the artists at Osheaga did in spades.

Even more enjoyable music, more unique and original artists, more variety for all the body's senses - the spirit and atmosphere at Osheaga on Sunday Juy 31 was incredibly positive and absolutely brilliant.



Typhoon
River Stage, 1:30—2:10 p.m.

Oregon's Typhoon is a wonder to behold; thirteen musicians on stage at once - three—piece horn section, three—piece strings, two drummers, two guitarists, a bassist, a keyboardist and some dude playing miscellanea like ukuleles and shakers — and having up to ten or eleven voices at times make for indie rock so textured and delicate that it radiates.

Playing music from their vast catalogue - including this years EP release A New Kind Of House - the band soared off of the stage. A brilliant group, simply wonderful to have seen them at Osheaga.



Smith Westerns
Green Stage, 3—3:40 p.m.

Chicago's Smith Westerns released Dye It Blonde this past January, and their tour brought them to Osheaga to celebrate. Their performance seemed somewhat lackluster, however - their music exudes more energy than they do on stage.

However front man Cullen Omori looked as though he couldn't be in better spirits, as he and the rest of the group flowed smoothly from one number to the next, highlighting the range and diversity of the band's sound over their two records. Calmingly good, it was a pleasure to have taken in their set.



The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
Green Stage, 4:15—4:55 p.m.

It's good to know that spirit of alternative rock, that spirit of authenticity and experimentation and honesty in music that we enjoyed twenty years ago is still kept alive by bands today. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart are just such a band, hailing from New York City.

So prepared and eager to play are the band that they had to wait a few minutes for their set time to begin after finishing their setup on stage. Once given the chance, the band rolled expertly through "Heart In Your Heartbreak", "My Terrible Friend" and others off of their Belong LP (released earlier this year), converting new fans with their appealing rock and front man Kip Berman's easy-going charm. A highlight of the festival.



Ellie Goulding
Green Stage, 5:35—6:15 p.m.

It's easy to see why British pop star Ellie Goulding has become such a hit and broken out of her home country in a huge way - the singer has unmistakable charm and accentuates her music with proper instrument performance, even playing guitar or tom drum from the front of the stage. She dives in with her energy and inspires her band to do the same.

Performing her hits "Lights" (which she performed on SNL in May), "Salt Skin" and "Starry Eyed" she connected with a lot of the audience, who were easily heard singing along. A fantastic performance, enjoyable from start to finish.



City And Colour
Mountain Stage, 6:35—7:25 p.m.

Dallas Green may be more introspective when it comes to composing music for City And Colour, but let it be known he is no less intense than with his rock band pedigree.

Accompanied by Huron's Aaron Goldstein and Attack In Black's Daniel Romano as part of his touring band, Green pours his heart and soul into each performance, and although his appearance at Osheaga was cut considerably short due to technical issues, Green was still able to shine.

The band opened with "Sleeping Sickness" accompanied by Gord Downie and played "Waiting..." before a string of songs from his recent LP Little Hell. Though he had to bid the stage adieu earlier than anyone wanted, the massive "Sometimes (I Wish)" was the perfect closer as the sun began to hang low in the sky.



The Tragically Hip
River Stage, 7:25—8:25 p.m.

Although the large lighting rigs sitting quietly in the background hinted at a massive performance yet to come, The Tragically Hip were immutably legendary as they performed at Osheaga, all members getting equally lost in the music as the band dove through fan favourites and Gord Downie displayed his prowess in front of the band.

The set was mostly classics, from the opening lines of "Grace, Too" through other recognizable hits "Ahead By A Century" and "Poets". There were no surprises from the band, having long since perfected the material and their delivery; the audience knows what to expect at a Hip show — a masterful performance from a seasoned group, most enjoyable.



Shad
Tree Stage, 8—8:40 p.m.

I connfess, there were a few times in Montréal that I started to get homesick for London, but I found comfort in taking in Shad's set on the Tree Stage. The sun had set, and what felt like thousands of people packed in around the small stage in the corner of the grounds.

Shad was on top of his game. Minimally accompanied on stage, he displayed his lyrical dexterity even from within the crowd, and was more able to open up and connect with the audience than most performers were all weekend. Whether flowing over Kanye West's "Devil In A New Dress" or belting out his own jams "A Good Name" and "We Myself And I", Shad seemed so at home at Osheaga that he made me feel more so.



Death Cab For Cutie
Mountain Stage, 8:25—9:25 p.m.

Although physically speaking the stage was very dimly lit, Death Cab For Cutie shone as bright as any artist that graced the Mountain Stage; while the atmosphere wasn't ideal for taking photos, everyone in the audience walked away with memories all the same.

The band struck a great balance between their older and newer material - songs like "I Will Possess Your Heart" or their newest single "You Are A Tourist" stack quite nicely alongside classics like "Soul Meets Body" and "We Moved Like Giants" (which enjoyed its first time in performance in many years, evidently). Closer "The Sound Of Settling" had the entire audience bouncing as the band finished, and the post—festival tingle already began to settle in.



The Flaming Lips
River Stage, 9:25—10:55 p.m.

I have to confess, I had no idea what to expect when The Flaming Lips took the stage to close the festival late Sunday night. Although the gigantic glass rainbow and tremendous disco ball hung over the River Stage for the entire day, it really only cast more of a sense of intrigue than a glimmer of foreshadowing.

"We use powerful f****** strobe lights," Wayne Coyne told the crowd, giving a word of warning for what was to come. To those sensitive to lights or prone to seizures, he said "We want you here. If you feel like you're having a bad reaction, just don't look at them."

The stage lit up unlike anything I've ever seen. Coyne disappeared as the band entered through projections of eyeballs, only to return inflated inside his space bubble to crawl out and stand over the audience. Upon his return, confetti cannons fired from all over - including a confetti gun Coyne carried with him - and turned the area into the brightest, most dazzling rock concert I've ever seen.



The visual delectalia, the colour and synesthesia continued over the entire set; the band proceeded to play the album The Soft Bulletin in its entirety, stopping near the end of their set for Coyne to preside over the first marriage in Osheaga history before launching into an encore of "Do You Realize??" that carried the party even beyond the 11 p.m. curfew. Never before have I seen a concert like The Flaming Lips, absolutely brilliant.

For more photos, visit the Osheaga galleries in our FSU social network — I've included a gallery for each of the three days of the festival.