Alt-J

One drawback to every major festival, is the conflicting schedules of the performers. Sometimes, you gotta take the risk of seeing one brilliant artist instead of an incredible band. Well, one of our correspondents has listed some of his favourite performances in order of greatness.

Phoenix

The multi-platinum band was on stage during the first day and managed to out-do every performance that came after. The sound was spot on and the energy was off the charts. I’m not sure if Montreal is a favourite destination for the band but one thing is for sure; everyone in Montreal loved them that night.

Summary: Unbelievable.

Video of performance: Their performance of Entertainment was stunning. The drummer had the crowd on the edge and the atmosphere was ecstatic. Click here for the video.

Side Note: We managed to capture the moment when Thomas Mars (lead singer) decided to crowd surf right in front of us. Click here for the video.

Alt-J

This band has an incredible sound. Their album, An Awesome Wave, was unlike anything I had ever heard of and their performance at Osheaga was even better. Unfortunately, the talented quartet had one flaw. That flaw was a lack of interaction. During the entire performance, only 2 sentences were uttered by Gus Unger-Hamilton (the keyboardist). Every other band member was silent. Furthermore the 2 sentences were “How you doing?” and “We just came from Sydney, Australia“.

Summary: Well I guess they had jet lag. Maybe, next time they’ll add some more energy to their amazing performance

Video of Performance: Video Link. The highlight of the show came about when Alt J performed Taro. I thought I was the only one who loved that song until I realized everyone was just as stoked. In addition, it was incredible to see Gwil Sainsbury (Lead Guitarist) make his guitar sound like a Sitar by using a roll of masking tape…yes, I said tape.

Kendrick Lamar

In today’s age, hip-hop artists are known for large entourages/hype-men, lavish clothing and a lack of lyrical talent. It was suprising and refreshing to see that Kendrick Lamar strayed away from the former. The hip hop star came on stage with his DJ and relied on his charisma and lyrics to win over the crowd. Fortunately, his DJ wasn’t one of the those over-the-top, change a song every 40 second, types. Instead, the DJ kept the crowd excited which is exactly what we’re looking for.

Summary: It was basically, what I wanted to hear. Kendrick’s lyrics, inspiring story and bumping beats.

Video of performance: Even as the only man with a mic, Kendrick took control of the crowd and fed off the energy of his own performance. My favourite part was seeing a wave of hands encircle me. Check out his performance of Real and Compton.

Mumford and Sons

Although, I didn’t get to see them perform due to a scheduling conflict with Pretty Lights, I can confidently say that the band would have fallen within my top 5. The British quartet have made waves across the world with their take on bluegrass music and american folk. I can’t say that I’m a big fan of their latest album, Babel, but since I did enjoy their first album and heard amazing things about their performance, imma say they’re pretty good.

Summary: I should see these guys before I grow a year older. They were the closing act, on the main stage ,during the last day of Osheaga and yes, they were awesome; or so I’ve been told (by Youtube videos and Facebook friends).

Video of performance: The link is for a video by Justin Tang with the Montreal Gazette. Click here

Macklemore x Ryan Lewis

This was undeniably, one of the most lavish performances of the festival and I loved it. Macklemore, had a great stage presence while Ryan Lewis spun the tracks with expertise skills. The duo came on stage with a trumpeter from Kisumu, Kenya who added a pleasant touch of live instrumentals. Come to think of it, the Heist, had quite a few trumpet samples throughout the album. Good call.

Summary: The combination of Macklemore’s story telling, Ryan Lewis’ bumping beats and the trumpeter’s solos made for an exceptional performance.

Video of performance: Macklemore and Ryan Lewis clearly invested time in getting to know their audience or so I thought. I turns out the stars are capable of engrossing anyone and everyone with their upbeat performances. Check out what they did for Can’t Hold Us

Celebrity Cameo(s): Teagan and Sara dropped by and sang the chorus to Same Love. That worked out well. Good choice Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.

Porter Robinson

Honestly, I didn’t really know much about the producer until the Osheaga festival so I came to his concert with no expectations. All it took was a few tracks to get the crowd dancing and leave me with an everlasting impression. His talents were appreciated that day.

Summary: The best electronic show of the festival. The fireworks from Saturday night were the backdrop of his stage and the energy was amazing.

Video of Performance: We stayed beneath a tree to get shelter from the rain but come to think of it, it stopped raining 10 minutes into the performance. I guess we just hung around there cause we forgot about everything and could only focus on the show. Click here for video.

Pretty Lights

The light show wasn’t as extravagant as his other performances. However, he made it epic and threw in some new tunes from his latest album, A Color Map of the Sun.

Summary: Strong performance from the veteran producer.

Video of performance: Video Link. Peeps on the fan with the fist pump who caught me taping. Props to ya bud, you drove home the fact that the bass was pumpin.

Imagine Dragons

This band had a successful debut album that captured the attention of so many, including myself. The performance was well played out and exposed a new side of the Las Vegas natives. I loved seeing Dan Reynolds (lead singer) bang on his huge drum while singing and I couldn’t get over how well the quartet played together, especially during the instrumental codas.

Summary: They rocked my socks. I’m looking forward to their next concert.

Video of performance: Check out their performance of “It’s Time”. The crowd joined in for the sing-along.

Disclosure

The duo are amongst a new breed of producers who utilize live instruments in their sets. The combination of live vocals and drumming made the difference and although they played at the start of sunset, they killed it. I can’t see what else could have been done better given their size of the stage and the start of their set.

Summary: Incredible performance. Given a bigger stage and better light show, the pair of Brits would have teared a hole through the fabric of reality.

Video of performance: Disclosure x Jessie Ware = Good Shit. Video Link.

Celebrity Cameo(s): As the twilight grew darker, Jessie Ware came on stage and performed the vocals to Confess. That was awesome.

Jessie Ware

To be fair, I only caught the last 20 minutes of this show but Jessie Ware has an incredible voice and remarkable band. I guess, this is a notable mention since I enjoyed her show and found her performance captivating. I can only imagine what she could do given a concert-hall venue and a less haggard crowd.

Summary: Jessie Ware has a beautiful voice. As seen in her performance with Disclosure (that happened later in the night), a dash of energy from the crowd makes her even more exciting to watch.

Video of performance: Jessie Ware has incredible vocals. I can’t say my iphone did here justice but I’m sure it captured a glimpse of her talent. Video Link

If you crave more visuals, check out the LYFSTYL crew’s photo/video album of Osheaga

All amateur video of performances were shot by Mark M. through an Iphone. No telescopic lenses were used.