It’s amusing to hear the macho bravado of some of the youths riding the Metro to the site on Sunday. ‘If I can’t get a ticket from a scalper, I’m going to find a gap in the fence and sneak in.’ Easier said than done, mate; if there’s one thing you notice walking around the Osheaga site, it’s that there is security stationed at everything even resembling an opening. Sure enough, a few hours later, I see one of them hosing down a guy trying to climb over a fence!
The reason for the desperation? It’s the last day of Osheaga 2023, and it has long since sold out. Upon leaving Parc Jean Drapeau Metro, even the scalpers seem to be fresh out, with seemingly all of them holding up signs saying, ‘I NEED TICKETS!’ It’s a highly sought-after ticket, indeed!
I manage to navigate through the dense crowds in time for Beabadoobee. A cutesy, twee name, a recent song that sounds like it’s straight out of a Bachata compilation; you kind of expect 45 minutes of breezy pop. What we actually get is some thunderous rock, some ethereal shoegaze… talk about not judging a book by its cover! Back To Mars and Cologne close out the set in a flurry of riffs, and there’s no shortage of cheers from the sizable crowd. Not at all what I expected, but certainly no complaints!
Tom Odell is up next and falls firmly into that category of ‘a name I’ve heard a million times but couldn’t name a song.’ Still, going in without much prior knowledge is often half the fun of Osheaga, so why not?! Heal starts the set with a delicate piano intro, and in conjunction with Tom’s fragile vocals, it stands no chance of being heard over the inane chatter of the crowd. Thankfully, the drums eventually kick in to drown it out, but it sets the tone for the rest of the set. Songs that heavily feature Tom and his piano alone (i.e. Best Day Of My Life) get drowned out by the background chatter, while heavier songs featuring the rest of the backing band (i.e. Fighting Fire with Fire) come across much better and elicit a more positive reaction. No fault of Tom’s, just a sound that’s definitely better suited to a club show with appreciative fans than a mid-afternoon festival slot.
I make the journey across to the Valley and Green stages, and position myself for the set I’ve been looking forward to the most: the return of Foals. Their Montreal debut at Le Cabaret Juste Pour Rire in 2008 was one of my favourite shows ever, as was their return in 2010 at Sala Rossa, but I haven’t seen them headline since; believe me, it’s not for lack of trying! It’s a synthy Wake Me Up that kicks things off, and the huge singalong that greets it suggests I’m not the only one who was excited for this! Mountain At My Gates ignites the circle pit, and a huge clapalong ensues as frontman Yannis Philippakis pounds out the riff to a mammoth drum beat.
The funk grooves of the new song 2001 and In Degrees bookend an epic My Number, which has the pit absolutely jumping by this point. The singalong accompanying the classic Spanish Sahara is resonant, and sees Yannis beckoning everyone to crouch at the breakdown, before all springing to their feet in unison for the instrumental mid-section. The crowd chants for the volume to be raised, to which Yannis responds: ‘I don’t set the decibel level, but the last 2 songs will be as loud as they can be!’ He isn’t wrong. Inhaler and What Went Down close out the 45-minute 8-song set in colossal fashion, and the only disappointment is that it doesn’t last longer. Somebody give that band a headline slot next time!
Oof, Japanese Breakfast, how do you follow that?! Admirably, actually. The set kicks off in a grandiose manner with Paprika, singer Michelle Zauner pounding away at one of those huge vertical cymbals that you saw at the start of films when you were a child, before transitioning into the perfect pop funk of Be Sweet. Komomo, IN (‘a song about a place we’ve never been to,’ according to Michelle) is a thing of beauty, with violin and acoustic guitar providing a perfect soundtrack to the dusk of another beautiful day. Seriously, after the awful weather we’ve had this summer, the Festival Gods were smiling down on Osheaga; not a single drop of rain in 3 days! The smooth grooves of Slide Tackle lead into a triumphant Everybody Wants To Love You to wrap things up in conjunction with a psychedelic light show, and the crowd, although surprisingly small, are vocal in their appreciation.
On the stage right beside, El Paso’s Cigarettes After Sex draw a huge crowd. The stage setup is minimal, with just 3 spotlights and a big glitterball decorating the Valley Stage, but combined with their signature mellow sound, it’s absolutely perfect. Crush and You’re All I Want set the tone, before the atmosphere really ramps up a notch with Nothing’s Gonna Hurt You Baby, as a sea of phone lights illuminate the place. Cry is followed by Sweet, which prompts another massive singalong from the beautiful voices assembled, perfectly complementing the angelic tones of frontman Greg Gonzalez. It’s absolutely magical, and honestly, this is live music perfection. Sunsetz, then Heavenly… I feel goosebumps all over, getting lost in the moment with hundreds of others. Greg feels the love: ‘we love you all so much Montréal, thank you so much, you’re the sweetest!’
K. and Dreaming of You are equally wonderful, songs I’m not particularly familiar with beforehand, but which I’ll never forget after tonight. I feel terrible for anyone who’s missing this. So many people had told me to go and see Fred Again.., but I’m so grateful I stuck to my guns… this might be my favourite set of the whole weekend. Greg expresses his gratitude one last time: ‘thanks so much for joining us, this is one final song, this is called Apocalypse.’ The screams of approval are deafening, the singalong is seismic, and the glitterball lights up to cast beams through the smoke onto the adoring crowd. There couldn’t be a more perfect way to wrap up my Osheaga.
I wander back over to the main stages and watch about 25 minutes of Kendrick Lamar. It looks like a decent show from what I can see. The choreography on Count Me Out looks quite impressive, and on Money Trees, there’s a guy skateboarding on the stage. That’s cool, I suppose. The singalong to that one is pretty loud; Kendrick is right when he says ‘there’s a dance party up in here!’ To avoid the crowds, I head out after the conclusion of Die Hard, just after 10 pm, and listen to LOVE. during my walk down to the Metro (only missing a couple of songs as it turns out; I hear he finished early at around 10:15 pm).
On my way back to Angrignon, I look at the festival-goers around me. Many are tired, many are a little dusty, but none are disappointed. With 155,000 attendees over 3 days, perfect weather, and a stellar lineup, it’s safe to call Osheaga 2023 a resounding success!
Review – Simon Williams
Photos – Steve Gerrard, Frédérique Ménard-Aubin, Benoit Rousseau & Tim Snow
