Osheaga: Bloc Party Keep The Beat, Montreal Bands Score Big Points

Montreal has never had a shortage of social events during the summer, so a large, corporate outdoor weekend fest was never an absolute necessity. With the increasingly diverse and relevant Jazzfest still present in the rearview mirror and Pop Montreal less than a month away, Gillette Entertainment's second annual Osheaga festival has a decidedly less organic, more auspicious set-up due to its convenient timing on the same weekend as Toronto's Virgin Fest.

The lineup wasn't particularly diverse, largely because the hip-hop and electronic genres were almost completely ignored, and the onslaught of indie guitar acts lessened the social impact of the event. But anyone who used Osheaga as a primer on what's current received a good lesson. Actually, the best reason to laud Osheaga (despite its marketing department origins) was the domination of Montreal acts, even with the big players — notably Arcade Fire, Wolf Parade and The Stills — on the sidelines.

The four stages were divided into two sections of Parc Jean-Drapeau. The two adjacent main stages on the big sand-covered field alternated between big name acts, so unadventurous patrons were likely satisfied without visiting the eclectic lineups at the Tree and MEG stages. Starting on the MEG stage was Thunderheist, a Montreal DJ and Toronto MC who mish-mashed recognizable beats and ramped the intensity to inhuman levels. They admitted early on to having played too many gigs in recent nights, but MC Isis grabbed everyone's attention with her energy and mic skills. Naturally it's the kind of show that's better suited for a dark club, but don't a miss a chance to see this big beat hip-hop tag team in any setting.

I managed to run over and catch Briton Jamie T on the main stage. Comparisons to The Streets are laughable, other than that they both happen to be white, British quasi-rappers. His jangly ska leanings and "Parklife"-storytelling are more in line with Arctic Monkeys or Lily Allen. The charismatic and youthful Jamie T should soon find similar success.

Peter, Bjorn And John's abrupt cancellation left a major void in the already weaker Saturday schedule, so imagine the shock that a completely new local act, entitled Claass, came out of nowhere to deliver a short and sweet set. Information on the electronic dance trio is limited. Through a vocoder they admitted it was only their second show. Claass are comprised of DJ Jordan Dare and two members of We Are Wolves. The group sounded like a streamlined, hard synth dance act during their 20-minute set. With cold efficiency, the synth player and DJ/console operator hammered out temple-thumping dirty beats while the bassist kept everything funky. The three would frequently yell out dance floor war cries under heavy voice modifiers. PB&J were one of the more highly publicized acts, so Claass's successful trial by fire should be considered a good omen for the group.

The Dears' guitarist Patrick Krief's solo group, Krief, is a minor departure into more conventional classic rock territory. Where The Dears are usually accused of being obsessed with '80s Brit-pop, Krief can equally be charged with being '70s rock revivalists. Krief's solo recorded output bears no resemblance to his current band's set-up, since Take It Or Leave was more acoustic singer-songwriter-based and this performance was about bar band rock and unambiguous facial expressions. His final five-minute solo was one of the highlights of the weekend and proved rock 'n' roll still has a place among all the self-referential indie kids if done with true fire and skill.

Having had the chance to see them impress 100 class-skipping Concordia students the previous Friday at a student union-organized back-to-school event, there was no doubt Montreal quartet Miracle Fortress, headed by lanky ginger Graham Van Pelt, would mesmerize a dedicated local contingent who skipped the Arctic Monkeys on Sunday to see them. Van Pelt's group — comprised of recognizable local faces Jessie Stein (SS Cardiacs), Adam Waito (Telefauna) and Jordan Robson-Cramer (Sunset Rubdown), provided the perfect dreamy backdrop to Van Pelt's Brian Wilson-meets-Owen Pallett vocals. They've often been compared to Wilson (notice the "Don't Worry Baby" resemblance on "Maybe Lately") and the lush keyboard arrangements give the material a sunny, carefree disposition. If Islands' debut record conjured images of beaches and surf, Miracle Fortress' Five Roses is like staring at a cloudless blue sky.

Harvee hail from Valleyfield, just outside of Montreal, and they did a decent job emulating the orchestral pop sound during their Sunday set. Sixtoo, the owner of every analog music machine ever made, transformed the tightly packed arts tent into a mini dance party. He even had to compete with Sam Roberts and his band jamming about socialism on the main stage just outside. Manic rockers CPC Gangbangs were their typically FUBAR selves at the Vice Records corn roast, where the corn ran out quickly and was actually steamed instead of roasted. Newly married Martha Wainwright's solo acoustic guitar performance might have worked better in a more intimate venue than the spacious main stage, but her personal tomes still resonated with listeners looking to give their ears some quiet time.

It will likely surprise no one that The Besnard Lakes and Stars drew large audiences, but a couple of less-heralded acts made like hidden gems while those two performed. Brooklyn-based hardcore punk band Panthers played the corn roast during the Stars' main stage set and their Misfits-esque guitar riffs were as much a revelation as they were permanently damaging to my hearing. It was loud, sweaty and boorish, with all four members proving serious musical chops on extended instrumental passages that maintained the raw aggression of their lively choruses. Although they certainly didn't need to prove they were the consummate punk band, they dedicated one song to Montreal icons Tricky Woo.

I'm not sure if the main stage crowd was just so relieved to see Macy Gray finally end her overextended set, but the everyone seemed genuinely pumped to see French/Argentinian 10-piece Gotan Project. For the uninitiated, Gotan Project are a house/new jazz group who play tango music, with two DJs in the back adding house music beats to modernize the sound. They're accompanied by an acoustic guitar player, a singer (singing in Spanish), an accordion player, a jazz pianist (who seemed to be playing entirely different songs) and a string section. Without a big electronic act at Osheaga, Gotan doubled as that and the token world act and excelled at both. With all the members decked out in white suits and red ties (a look they pulled off much better than The Smashing Pumpkins), Gotan Project played the dancier numbers from their repertoire, well aware they were playing to an apprehensive audience. Each song felt distinct and was accompanied by an impressive projection show. Gotan Project's music is far more diverse than one would think. Save for M.I.A.'s militant jungle dance party immediately after, Gotan Project were the highlight of the festival (and even got name-dropped by Kele Okereke during the Bloc Party set).

The two headliners, Smashing Pumpkins and Bloc Party, were a good indicator of where rock music is going, and where it used to be. Billy Corgan, Jimmy Chamberlin and three strangers who comprise the new Pumpkins played a long, turgid set with atonal instrumental sections bathed in distortion. Corgan would frequently yell out "revolution" with the same passion one would proclaim which brand of toothpaste they used. It was a Zeitgeist-heavy set and was as disastrous as the record.

Bloc Party's sophomore record, A Weekend In The City, was an important album even if it wasn't as unanimously praised as Silent Alarm. It proved, even if it meant eschewing a few party playlist singles, they were more than just four guys who dug Gang Of Four. The more complicated, less immediate new material also transformed how the band play. Praise is usually heaped on the group's rhythm section, and justifiably so, but Russell Lissack brings the new material a harder edge with his inventive, always off-the-rails lead guitar work. His fret-board screeches gave the live interpretations an unpredictable feel. Early on, Okereke thanked the Montreal crowd for making their sold-out Metropolis show from last March one of their most memorable and, as the final act of Osheaga, they again demonstrated why Montreal music fans were so receptive to their chaotic and relentlessly fun live set. Since Bloc Party's songs are usually quite serious in subject matter, it's strange to see Okereke leaping across the stage and jumping into the crowd like a hyperactive child. More so than the stationary Arctic Monkeys or the overwrought and eerily speckless Editors, Bloc Party exude the young, brash confidence of a decade-defining Brit-pop group, even if they aren't quite at that level yet.

When all that remained of Osheaga were a few thousand strewn beer cups and a lot of sand mixed with cigarette butts, the dichotomy of rock and dance seemed to be slowly returning. The Rapture were right when they proclaimed people didn't dance anymore — even with the likes of the Bloc Party further blurring the lines between rock show and dance party. Thankfully, no matter which style you chose on this weekend, there wasn't a shortage of homegrown talent to follow.