What I did see of the singer/rapper (one hell of a transition after Turnstile) also left me wanting more. Sadly, this wasn’t to be, as his set overlapped with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, who were about to make way for Arcade Fire. (Dave MacIntyre) 6LACKĪfter I had to run back and forth between his set and Justice’s back in 2017, I’d hoped I’d finally get a chance to see Atlanta’s 6LACK - no, it’s not pronounced “six-lack” - perform live in full. Perhaps that’s also what adds to this band’s charm and intrigue. Frontman Brendan Yates’ heavy eye makeup and dance moves might look weird in front of a band with chugging metal riffs, breakneck punk rhythms and a John Bonham-like solo by drummer Daniel Fang, but everything came together beautifully during their performance. With bassist Franz Lyons rocking an Expos cap, these Maryland hardcore punks have pushed that genre’s boundaries on a mainstream scale while compromising little of their musical integrity - and as a live band, they’re an appropriately well-oiled machine. This was my most hotly anticipated set of the weekend, and boy oh boy did they deliver the goods. Perhaps their music is better suited for a disco instead of a festival, but I’m glad Osheaga had them nonetheless.
Their tunes are defined by groovy rhythms and heavy nods to dance trends of the past - namely, Nile Rodgers-esque guitar chucking and even early 2000s trance (plus a cover of the Magician’s enduring remix of Lykke Li’s “I Follow Rivers,” for good measure).
I hadn’t initially planned on seeing this Aussie electro-disco outfit, but they were a fun, ’70s-reminiscent show to have on right as the sun began to set. Though she was bubbly and interactive with the crowd, she’s clearly still a young artist, as her live vocals - even if her voice was 100% - and timid stage presence still need improvement. Even when she tried to sing, the backing track would largely overpower her. Unfortunately, she’d lost her voice before the show, even asking the crowd to help her by singing along. dance genres like jungle, drum & bass and 2-step garage (notably on “Just for Me”), PinkPantheress drew me in with high hopes. An exciting young English songstress with a childlike voice and beats indebted to classic U.K. Heartbreakingly, this was probably the most disappointing set I saw all weekend - mostly through no fault of the artist’s own. The set closer “Post Humorous” is especially excellent in a festival setting. He disappointingly shied away from the high notes live, but still delivered a solid tone-setting performance for Osheaga’s first edition in three years. Playing an acoustic guitar shaped like an electric, his tunes suited his early-ish afternoon time slot nicely. Sporting a thin, quasi-John Waters moustache and sunglasses (with a pair of baggy white Hammer pants to boot), New York bedroom pop auteur Gus Dapperton’s quirky yet earnest and sentimental style shone brightly during a warm first day at Parc Jean-Drapeau. The first artist I saw all festival just so happens to be the most Québécois-looking one. But overall, the revamped site seemed well-oiled, people seemed happy and the festival achieved what it set out to do: Bring the hordes back to Parc Jean-Drapeau for three cathartic days of good music, good vibes and good memories.Īs for what went down on stage, our critics and photographers were more than ready to return to the field.
Osheaga 2022 has come and gone, not without controversy, cancellations and complaints that befall every festival of this magnitude - expecting perfection, especially under the circumstances of the past 12+ months while this event has been in the making, is asinine.