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The Top 5 Things You Missed at Osheaga Yesterday

So you procrastinated and missed your chance to get tickets to Osheaga this year. For shame! Don't worry, we've got you covered. CJLO's Chris MacGregor from The Feel Good Hit of the Summer (Wednesdays 3-4 pm) is covering the three day event, checking out all of your favorite bands for you. Live vicariously through Chris as he live-tweets and highlights all of the festival's biggest attractions. Check him out on twitter: @cwmacgregor, or better yet, check back here every day for a recap of the day's rockingest events.


DAY 3

 

1. Kendrick Lamar: For us, the true headliner of the day was Kendrick Lamar. By the number of "Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe" t-shirts in the crowd, he was the main attraction for many others as well. It was an interesting set, because for many of us, we didn't know what to expect. Would we get some of the more serious contemplative tracks that made Good Kid, M.A.A.D City such a phenomenal album? Or would we hear a more boisterous club banging set? It turned out to be the latter and not the former. It would have been cool to see a more varied set, but Osheaga's for the kids. Kids love yelling "Fuck that!" in their sing-alongs. Perhaps the funniest moment of our entire weekend happened when the little girl next to us screamed along to "Backstreet Freestyle" with the lyrics: "I pray my dick get big as the Eiffel Tower/So I can fuck the world for seventy two hours". Yup. That actually happened.

2. Icona Pop: Where all da white women at?!?! They were at Icona Pop for one of the biggest dance parties of the festival. The Green stage was packed to see the Swedish electro-glam duo belt out a high energy set that included house bangers like "I Love it", "Manners", and "Girlfriend". Icona Pop was seriously a good time, but we think we saw some people getting white-girl-drunk to the lyrics of "Girlfriend": "All I need in this life of sin is me and my girlfriend/Down to ride till the happy end, is me and my girlfriend". It was pretty cute, that's all we'll say. Especially when the rain showed up and the pink umbrellas bobbed up and down. So cute. 

3. Disclosure: We found ourselves neglecting the electronic stage this weekend. It's not that we don't like the musicians that populate the stage. Acts like Bonobo, Porter Robinson, and Baauer are top tier, but sadly, they were victims of scheduling. We can only see so much. Luckily we were able to catch Disclosure's full set, and we're glad we did. We suspected Jessie Ware would get on stage to perform "Confess To Me" with the English duo, but we didn't think she'd stick around and croon and dance as long as she did. Everyone loves a festival collaboration. 

4. Hot Chip: We are not fans of the night's main act, Mumford & Sons. Perhaps our journalistic integrity is at stake by making such a bold statement, but there was nothing anyone could do to compel us to the main stage last night, especially when Hot Chip were getting down with their funky selves at the Green Stage. As the fans poured in—likely escaping Mumf and co. like us—glow sticks rained over the crowd setting up a wicked neon dance extravaganza. As the band walked on stage to Michael Jackson, we remarked to ourselves, "Anyone who has MJ as their walk-on music had better back it up." And they did. From second-one, the London lads pleased a very energetic crowd, covered in a sea of neon blues and greens. It was a damn fine way to close out our festival. 

5. VIP Access: Next year, do yourself a favor and spend the extra dough on some VIP tickets. Or better yet, volunteer at a community radio station and nab their passes. However you get yourself into VIP, you won't regret the decision. The food is better, the beer is cheaper, the lines are non-existent, and you may spot a Canadian celebrity or two – Jian Ghomeshi!?! *SWOON*. And have we mentioned the air-conditioned bathrooms yet? No? We, the Very Important People, need not concern ourselves with porta potties ever again. That is for the plebes.

 


 

DAY 2

 

1. Beck: In what started out as a somewhat laidback or even subdued performance, Beck rounded into form to deliver one of the best shows of the festival. Once Rishi Dhir from Montreal's Elephant Stone was carted on stage with his signature sitar to help out on "Loser", everyone knew it was time to jump up and down. From then on, Beck had the crowd, coaxing some dance moves with an injection of classic covers like "I Feel Love" and "Billie Jean". By the way, who else other than Beck can seamlessly insert a dance classic like "Billie Jean" into the middle of a country song like "Sissyneck"? And as impressive as that was, it was the genius blending of soul, hip hop, country, and R. Kelly (because R. Kelly is his own genre) into "Where it's At"—quite possibly the best closing song we could have asked for. 

2. Imagine Dragons: OK, so Imagine Dragons were pretty great. We went into the weekend knowing nothing about the band, yet having them recommended by everyone under the age twenty.  We soon realized that we'd heard this music before, in commercials, tv shows or... we're not sure where, but it's bubbled up from the ether at some point.  No matter, it was extremely positive vibing generic festival rock for the kids, but we were at a festival for the kids. By this point in the weekend, we hadn't seen a bigger, more electric crowd, singing along to all of the songs - all of which, we're still unfamiliar with.  We must be old. 

3. The Food: We've never been to a festival with better food. The inclusion of Montreal's top tier food trucks (Alexis le Gourmand, Lucille's Oyster Dive, Le Smoking BBQ, Landry et Filles, just to name a few) was probably Osheaga's smartest move. Even better, the prices aren't inflated like one might expect. You're still paying $9 for your lunch, but you just bought a pulled pork sandwich with BBQ sauce made of we don't know what. Shut up and eat your delicious food. 

4. The small stage: As great as some of the main-stagers were, it was the small stage that really shined bright yesterday. Sets by Wild Nothing, Groenland, Deap Vally, We Are Wolves, and Explosions in the Sky gave us a chance to leave the hordes of youngsters and channel our inner hipster. Whether it's true or not, everyone checking out the Green and Tree stages feels like they're ahead of the curve, in on a secret that the general populace at the main stage hasn't yet clued into. 

5. Tricky Goes Metal: Speaking of the small stage, one of the weirdest—and therefore, best—performances of the day goes to Bristol native, Tricky. Perhaps the victim of an awkward timeslot at 5 PM, Tricky had to pull out a few ...tricks... to entice the crowd into feeling his vibes. After twenty minutes of nightclub fare, Tricky slowed things down and hauled a couple dozen fans up on stage to dance along to "Ace of Spades". The following fifteen minutes included a gyrating and taunting frontman saying "Are you scared, Montreal?", an Elvis impersonator, awkwardly and drunkenly dancing white people, and a dude with a plastic flamingo on a stick. Whatever works, right?  

 


 

DAY 1

 

1. The Cure: In a day full of upper-echelon main stage performers, Robert Smith – dressed in red lipstick and moon boots, because, obviously! – put everyone to shame. Roaring through a two-hour set that included just about every track you could have wished for, The Cure played to an admittedly older, more refined Osheaga crowd (me thinks the hipsters ran off to watch A Tribe Called Red). Our only complaint is directed to the jerk that cut off the band's PA with 30 seconds left in closer "Boys Don't Cry". It didn't matter. We all sang along with the band, anyway.

2. Alt-J: The Mercury Prize winning quartet hit the stage sounding like festival veterans. It's hard to fathom that their debut came out less than a year ago, given that they played to the first huge crowd of the day. When the bass dropped on "Fitzpleasure", the crowd lost their minds and sang along for the rest of the set. Alt-J truly was the first huge act of the festival and will be bona fide headliners in due time.  

3. Lax security: What sounds like a slight against Osheaga really is a benefit to the throngs of fans seeking an altered state of mind. While chilling to DIIV at the Green Stage, we overheard a conversation between a couple of American tourists, "Weed is legal in Canada, right?" "No, just in Quebec I think." You're wrong, bros. It's only legal at Osheaga, apparently. Not to sound like an old man or anything, but have you ever seen so many people smoking weed before? 

4. Main staging: Friday's lineup was stacked. If you posted up – as we did – near the main stage, you were doing alright. With respect to bands like Beach House, A Tribe Called Red, and Baauer (who all put on fantastic performances, we're told), there's no way we're leaving a main stage that consisted of Vampire Weekend, Phoenix, Alt-J, Two Door Cinema Club and, of course, The Cure. Every one of those bands brought their best efforts, making Friday the most likely candidate for the best day of Osheaga. 

5. WiFi lounges and phone recharging: If you've got some time to kill and you're full from one of the gourmet food trucks (more on those tomorrow), why not chill in a hammock and check your emails? Is your phone just about dead? There are plenty of places where, if you've brought your charger along, you can plug in your phone and recharge. As Osheaga has expanded the festival grounds, it's nice to see that they're making great use of the space.

Festival International Nuits d'Afrique

Pete Douglas, the host of CJLO's The Live Wire Show (Saturdays, 9-10 am), reviews some of his favourite acts from the 27th edition of the Festival International Nuits d'Afrique back in July, and discusses the trials and tribulations of outdoor versus indoor shows, and parking in downtown Montreal during the city's summer Festimania.

I would like to begin by congratulating the management and staff of the Festival International Nuits D’Afrique on the festival this year, and special thanks to our World Beat music director Ms. Kelly Belfo for coming through for us once again!

The Indoor Shows

We have been spoiled by the festival with some great indoor performaces over the past couple of years, but I found the 2013 edition of Nuits d'Afrique was lacking in that area. Perhaps this occurred due to the lack of sponsorship this year, because when you look at the schedule of outdoor shows compared to the indoor shows, you may understand where I am coming from. However, two indoor performances—one at le Cabaret du Mile End, and the other at Metropolis—were some of the best of the festival.

MARIA DE BARROS

Maria De Barros' performance at Cabaret du Mile End on July 12th showed you an artist that has grown in many areas of her on-stage performance. She seems to be very much at ease than when I first saw her a few years ago. Her interactions with the audience in the different languages that she speaks went over really well with those of us who understood the Creole. Her singing was in fine form, and the band (as usual) was tight and well rehearsed.

To me, the beauty of it all was that the band members were from diverse cultures, and that was evident in their newer compositions. They seem to have married the different musical genres from their cultural backgrounds, and the result was a non-stop dance party. 

Maria and I were old Facebook friends long before the rest of the world discovered her; this was back when it was mostly musicians keeping in touch with each other about their up coming gigs. Fast forward to 2013, and there were quite a number of people waiting to meet and greet her after the show, which to me spoke volumes about her performance.

KASSAV'

At the Kassav' show, my acquaintance Ray Blaze asked me a certain question, and I quote, "Pete, where do they get their energy from?" The name "Kassav" is the Creole word for the cassava plant. The answer to his question about the energetic properties of that fruit, I simply don't know, but Kassav's show had energy.

Kassav, the creators of the musical genre zouk, remains one of its driving forces. Their show at the Metropolis on July 13th was just another great classical Kassav party. I could tell that they were a bit tired, but never the less, the energy was still there. The horn and percussions sections were given their time to shine and they delivered.

In all fairness, Jocelyn Beroard was the most energized of the main core of the band that night, and so the show in itself was nothing but magic.

The Outdoor Shows

I made one of the biggest mistakes when attending a festival at Quartier des spectacles on Saturday, July 20th. I went by car, completely forgetting that the Just for Laughs festival was on. By the time I finally found parking, Joyce N Sana were just finishing their set, so I missed them!

MAZAGAN

The next band on stage was Mazagan from Morocco. The band's high energy level had the crowd in a dancing mood that lasted the entire set. Their style of music is a mixture of hip hop and their natural African roots blended so well and made some really nice grooves. Their bass players had a nice steady groove that was not too over powering. The rest of the band members were just having a fun on stage, which spilled over onto the crowd in attendance. Although I am not versed into the hip hop thing, I must say that I enjoyed their show. Mazagan is a band that should be brought back to Montreal.

KADAN'S

Kadan's is a band made up of musicians from the islands of both Martinique and Guadeloupe in the French-speaking Caribbean. Their style of music is a mixture of cadence and zouk. Unfortunately for them, I had just finished watching the band Kassav' a few days earlier, and when I watched Kadan's for the first time, I was left with no other choice but to compare them with Kassav'.

I did not like the mix that the sound engineer gave them. Their style of music requires a heavy mix of the bass and drums. The vocals at times were strained. I could not always understand what was being sung or said. They tried their best to get the crowd going "Kassav' style", but in my view, the people were more receptive to them when they played their more traditional style of music. 

They said that this was their fifth trip to Montreal over the past few years. I have seen the name Kadan's before, but I never did read up on them. I will defiinitely go and see them again.

PANDAS! Sunday on Grade A Explosives

A month worth of interviews on Grade A Explosives continues! This week, Andrew sits down with Greg Park from the band Pandas to discuss serious political issues and various world affairs... or about what it's like to be in a band and why chicken wings are delicious. Either way, you should tune in to listen. Not only do you hear the waxings of two of the greatest philosophical minds of our generation, but it's your last chance to enter to win passes to Heavy MTL and to win passes to see a film at Fantasia. So don't be stupid. Tune in from 4-6 pm on Sunday, August 4th for all this and more. See you then... figuratively... or maybe literally.

Maiden Voyage Went To Rock Camp!

 

Maiden Voyage Goes To Rock Camp! by Cjlo's Maiden Voyage on Mixcloud


On Friday, July 26th, Maiden Voyage had the amazing opportunity to broadcast live from La Sala Rossa on the last day of Rock Camp For Girls Montreal and the podcast is here for your listening pleasure!


 

We started off the morning with a DJ workshop! The campers learned how to use a free DJ software called Mixxx and had a great time playing around with the interface and debating about female pop stars.

 

 

After the workshops, we were ready to get them on air to tell the city about their bands! They were full of enthusiasm and we had a lot of fun adding a live radio element to the camp. Each band was lead into the "radio room" and every camper got a chance to answer a question about their band or the camp on air! 

 

 

We ended the show interviewing the driving force behind rock camp, the volunteers. They discussed their fun & hectic week, what makes rock camp run, and how you - the listener - can help support the camp!


 

Thank you so much to RC4GM for having us and setting us up, it was one of the smoothest (and most stylish) broadcasts I have ever done! 


 

CJLO News - August 2 2013

Hosted & Produced by: Carlo Spiridigliozzi

Stories Written by: Catlin Spencer, Saturn De Los Angeles & Carlo Spiridigliozzi

Energy company announces cross-country pipeline project, faces criticism

A Canadian energy company has formally laid out plans for its national pipeline project on Thursday - and critics aren't happy.  
 
According to CBC News, the Trans-Canada corporation has announced it's moving forward with the "Energy East" Pipeline project. 
 
A total of 1.1 million barrels of crude oil is expected to be delivered from Alberta to New Brunswick by 2018. 
 
As provincial leaders are giving the thumbs up, Environmental advocate Gretchen Fitzgerald are among the critics giving the thumbs down. 
 
She says the project is not in the best interest of Maritimers, adding that she has heard "countless stories of pipelines leaking around North America."
 
Meanwhile, citizens' interest group The Council of Canadians plans to launch a national campaign to stop it. 
 
New Brunswick premier David Alward says his government will cooperate with First Nations communities to ensure the project reaches the highest environmental standards. 
 
First Nations people are at most risk of danger as most the pipeline will pass through their territory.
 
An independent environmental review is pending before the pipeline project proceeds.
 
STORY WRITTEN BY: SATURN DE LOS ANGELES

Protesters camp out overnight, opposed to fracking deal in U.K.

ForwardOnClimate19

Protestors against fracking have been in daily confrontations with police in the U.K. after a fracking deal was reached there a little over a week ago.

Al-Jazeera News reports, that energy company, Caudrilla was given the O.K. in their exploration bid for oil, to drill into the British countryside.

The number to those joining this movement grew in large numbers this past Tuesday. They have established that they are in it for the long haul with kettles boiling on gas cylinders and plastic ponchos becoming a more frequent site.

The group have set up their camp in Balcombe, which is a remote village in the south of England. They are voicing their concerns over the possible fears of what exploratory drilling will do to the local resevoirs.

82 per-cent of the villages' residents oppose the fracking deal.

Flickr Photo by: Stephen Melkisethian

Blanchard unable to block Accurso contract

City Hall

Mayor Laurent Blanchard says he’s unable to block a contract with Accurso, an asphalt company that is linked to a man faced with numerous charges of fraud and corruption.

According to the Gazette, Blanchard held a press conference Thursday morning to answer why a company named in the Charbonneau Commission was awarded a contract to supply paving materials… and continues to hold said contract.

Blanchard said the city is powerless to cancel the business deal unless the Autorité des marchés financiers weighs in on another contract involving Simard-Beaudry Construction, owned by another company that Antonio Accurso manages.

Blanchard has also asked the media to help pressure the AMF to issue a ruling on other companies linked to this contract, Groupe Hexagone and Louisbourg SBC.

Flickr Photo by: haven't the slightest

STORY WRITTEN BY: CATLIN SPENCER

CJLO News - July 31 2013

Hosted by: Saturn de Los Angeles

Stories by: Carlo Spiridigliozzi & Krisobal Eugenio

Produced by: Catlin Spencer

Newfoundland fracking plans cause discord near World Heritage site

ForwardOnClimate5

Reactions are varied over plans to use hydraulic fracturing close to Gros Morne National Park, in the Newfoundland West Coat.

The tourism industry in this area depends on the natural surroundings as a draw for tourists arriving from all around the world.

CBS News reports that some locals believe that oil exploration would provide jobs and perhaps keep young people from leaving their hometowns.

Mayor of Rocky Harbour, Walter Nicolle, said, "…if there was some economic development to stabilize our communities, it would keep people here longer or even permanently."

However, one resident said that these jobs are short-lived and leave people without work once the drilling is over.

UNESCO will evaluate the environmental risks of oil exploration in the area before any fracking takes place.

Gros Morne National Park was designated as a World Heritage site in 1987. Its status as such is not in danger at this time.

Flickr Photo by: Stephen Melkisethian

STORY WRITTEN BY: KRISTOBAL M. EUGENIO

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