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Piknic Électronik Zone @ OSHEAGA :: A big success!
Photo: Yanique Fillion Simard - nightlife.ca
What a weekend! The Piknic Electronik Zone @ Osheaga was the backdrop for artists working at the top of their form, propagating a contagious dynamism brimming with ravey insanity and wide-eyed splendour. On Saturday, Sharivari and Skinnybones (members of the E.S.L. collective) got the ball rolling with a set of wild UK funky. A bit later in the afternoon, the highly anticipated "Real Queen of England", Mary-Anne Hobbs, delivered a little over an hour’s worth of fat sounds and deep rumbles that took over our ears. Roska played just before, and his brand of funky leaned heavy on house with a dollop of afrobeat. Hovatron and Lazer Sword pulled the rhythms into the realm of glitch-hop, much to the delight of the heads in the crowd. Finishing off the relay race. DJ Bus crossed the finish line with a revelatory knockout punch for Osheaga picnickers.
Sunday, after an opening set by FancyFhreek and a Dilla-drilled set by Lunice, Major Lazer literally tested the capacity limits of the Piknic Zone and surprised even the most prudish of audience members and a hot and uncensored performance. Oh my my. Those who were there will not readily forget this epic moment. Ballistic rhythms accentuated by touches of dancehall, reggae and dubstep, a torchlight MC who overflowed with energy, and a full-throttled dancer who captured the imaginations of all the guys, and some of the girls too!
After the dancehall tsunami had passed, a mass movement of people began finding their way out to check the main stage, where none other then Snoop Dogg was getting ready to spray gin and juice over a sweltering G-funk hungry crowd. It was during this exodus that the humble and Mossa received his mission to keep the Piknic Zone jumping for whoever remained, and he delivered one of the most joyfully upbeat sets of the day, all against a backdrop of a pristine sunset. The weekend came to a close with a tree-hour set of auditory good times courtesy of Round Table Knights. The producers of the mega-track “Calypso”, those in attendance certainly lost a few hundred calories along the way. I was coated in sweat and smiles by the end of it all, and was happy to see that I wasn’t the only one!
With all this done, we return next Sunday under the Calder, to resume the regular Piknic season!
P.S. Some people had some nice things to say about us this weekend. Here are some links to articles commenting on highlights from Piknic @ Osheaga:
