Beach House Shines at Osheaga Festival Despite Delay

One of the more interesting features of Montreal's Osheaga Festival is its Green Stage which, befitting its name, was built to be eco-friendly and is wind- and solar-powered. While it's a forward-thinking idea, many festivalgoers couldn't help but wonder if issues with that stage were the reason Beach House's set, which was scheduled to occur thirty minutes after Jamie Lidell's -- also delayed -- set, was beset by myriad technical difficulties.

Originally scheduled to start playing at 7:15PM at a festival known for its sets being on almost military time (a point established later by headliners like the National and Arcade Fire), Baltimore's Beach House started their set closer to 7:40PM.

"I hate Jamie Lidell, he wrecked my Beach House," one festivalgoer said, not noticing his pun.

"Sorry," said vocalist Victoria Legrand when she at long last assumed her spot at the center of the stage. "Thanks for waiting," she added.

Beach House's music was palatable enough to draw one of the Green Stage's biggest, most excited and perhaps most curious crowds. Ideally, you'd want to listen to this music in a smaller, darker space; as much as it's dubbed dream pop, it has a dark sheen to it, and its atmospheric and thoughtful qualities seem best suited for small, contemplative crowds in small, well-worn clubs. So it was almost comical that Beach House played their set outdoors, bathed in late-day sunlight on the Green Stage, which is ensconced in a treed corner of the festival grounds at Montreal's parc Jean-Drapeau.

Starting slow and steady, Beach House allowed the crowd to revel in Legrand's breathy, expressive vocals, for which she is often compared to Nico. Arguably, the back half of the crowd wasn't really won over by the band's first few songs. This sentiment, real or perceived, was demolished by 'Zebra,' the unequivocal high point of the set.

Louder, harder, and maybe a touch sharper than what came before, 'Zebra' dealt in lovely, well-balanced vocals and was heightened by Legrand's interesting, odd theatrics, which alternated between impassive and demonstrative.

After 'Zebra' ended and the crowd enthusiastically showered the band with cheers, Legrand went a little over-the-top with her own enthusiasm: "We're nothing without your energy. We would be dead if you weren't here."