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The final day of Osheaga was wet. Rain came and went as it pleased often and heavily. Still, the shows went on without hitches. Fans were not deterred and acts like Common, Passion Pit, and the Black Keys rose to the occasion, leaving damp attendees feeling as though it was a day well spent.
Check out what the highlights were of last day at Montreal’s major festival were. The Keys held it gave an amazing performance. But a few lesser-known artists wowed as well.
Written by Brad Wete (@BradWete)
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Aloe Blacc
Stage: Scène de la Rivière
Time: 2:35pm
“It feels so good to be here,” Blacc said on arrival. “Rain or shine.” He got most of the former during his set, though his crowd didn’t mind. They were so into the soul singer, his dancing, and his band, which masterfully blended reggae and R&B (even interpolating Stevie Wonder’s “Living for the City”) to let a light drizzle sully his the moment. Never removing his crisp blazer, Blacc debuted a new cut from his forthcoming album “I Wanna Be With You” and closed with his biggest cut yet, “I Need a Dollar.”
Passion Pit
Stage: Scène de la Montagne
Time: 3:15pm
"Fuck, this rain," said lead singer Michael Angelakos after his band knocked out their first song. Thankfully, the sun battled out of the clouds soon after, earning cheers from the crowd. Angelakos manic dancing to their electropop sounds became even more inspired. With the sun can more heat. The audience went from using umbrellas to stay dry to begging to be wetted by a rotating hose pumping cold water.
Common
Stage: Scène de la Rivière
Time: 4:00pm
The G.O.O.D. Music veteran and Chicago native came out to “The People.” With a full band backing him, he was in rare form. He brought a fan on stage to rap to her and also blessed the fans with a true freestyle and wrapped with “Universal Mind Control,” before telling fans to look out for the G.O.O.D. Music album in September and his AMC show Hell on Wheels.
Michael Kiwanuka
Stage: Scène des Abres
Time: 4:10pm
“Anyone out there a Jimi Hendrix fan,” asked slow soul man Kiwanuka before covering the iconic rock star’s “May This Be Love.” Michael’s was the rare acoustic set at Osheaga, which forced his audience to key in to him and not louder performances at neighboring stages. “Help me with this one,” he asked. “So we don't get drowned out.” Then he humbly performed "Home Again."
Woodkid
Stage: Scène Verte
Time: 5:45pm
Woodkid’s performance may have been the most epic of the entire weekend. Rain threatened to pour during his set, but held off while “Iron" and other moody cuts started and concluded. But as if he summoned it while his horn section blared and drummers banged, it finally came down. Instead of running from it though, the crowd loved it—dancing even harder while getting soaked. “’Shea, we have to go,” he said after finding out his time was up. “That fuckin’ sucks.” Woodkid was right. That show could have gone on for another hour.
Black Keys
Stage: Scène de la Rivière
Time: 9:15pm
The night’s headliners opened with “Howlin’ for You.” With the duo, it’s mostly about the songs and not really a grand performance while on stage. Still, watching those guys put in work—Dan Auerbach on guitar and Patrick Carney bashing the drum—is a treat. The highlight of the night was the performance of “Everlasting Light,” which featured glowing confetti being showered from above, closing out an outstanding festival.