Osheage 2013

Katelyn, Rachel and I went to Osheaga this year and it was an amazing time. I have only been to Montreal once before but that is enough to say that I love the city. I mean, who wouldn't want to visit Montreal? It has poutineries that are open 24/7, the beer is cheaper, they have Vieux-Montréal, and there are always events going on. It goes without saying that the way of life there is so much different than Regina. I think one of my favorite differences is the transportation. I would love to live in a city where the metro, buses and biking are a convenient way to travel.

     Onto Osheaga! My friends and I got a good deal through Expedia which included flights and hotel for 6 days for under 1000$ each. I am certain there are cheaper ways to get to Montreal but for us this deal was perfect. While in Montreal we attended the festival all three days and also had time to shop, check out some restaurants, explore Vieux- Montréal, visit the bio-dome and planetarium, and look through the Museum of Fine Arts.

Music Festival 

Here is a list of the bands we were able to see and a quick review:

Friday- Capital Cities, Ben Howard, K-OS (left the stage like a diva and we never returned to see his rescheduled time), Ellie Goulding, & Baaur.

Friday was a good day at the festival but it was defiantly the most tiring. We were there all day and it was extremely hot. After a day of standing and walking in the extreme heat we were drained.

Saturday- Flogging Molly, Tegan and Sara, Imagine Dragons, Beck (one of my favorites), Jimmy Eat World, Stars (Finally got to see them!), Frank Turner, Macklemore &Ryan Lewis.

Saturday was a shorter day for us and a bit cooler which translated into a great time! Unfortunately we tried to sneek in alcohol which was taken from us but this didn't put a damper on our day (which is good because obviously we had out priorities straight- here for the music!).  We caught some great bands and were super stoked for the next day.

Sunday- The Lumineers, New Order, Icona Pop (only caught their radio song), Holy Ghost!, Hot Chip (peed my pants of excitement).

Sunday was the shortest day but for me it was the best day. We didn't see many bands but the ones we did see were amazing! We were successful sneeking in some drinks and we were so close to the stage for majority of the concerts it is almost unbelievable. After the festival we went to the Hot Chip after party that was held at the Virgin Mobile Corona Theater which was a beautiful old theater, the bathroom had couches which is kind of a big deal when you are from Regina.

Tips

1)Wear a backpack instead of a purse. It is easy to carry things and I bet it is less annoying. Backpacks are almost always in style so no worries there.

2)Bring water or at least a water bottle to fill during the day. It got so hot I am certain I would have passed out if I wasn't hydrating.

3)Bring rain gear. We brought ponchos from the dollar store and even though they might look dorky, almost everyone there is wearing them so need to feel embarrassed!

4)Wear shoes you can walk in. I wore my vans and my toms and my feet were still sore at the end of the day but I'm guessing they felt a lot better than they would have if I had worn flip-flops.

5) You can bring snacks into the festival and I would recommend doing so because a small poutine was almost ten dollars.

6) The alcoholic beverages in the park were extremely expensive and the beer sellers naturally expect a tip on top of that. If you want to drink, there are cheaper methods.  

7)There is security that checks bags before you enter the festival. Make sure you are going through a line where the security person isn't on a power trip. I am referring to a particular security guard who was touching everybody's everything.

8)Bring cash with you. There are ATM's but they charge a service fee. There also isn't much service so if you have to transfer money between accounts make sure to do so before.

9) Organize and pre-plan where you want to go and which bands you want to see. There are five stages so performances overlap. It's best to have an idea about who you want to see instead of accidently missing out or having someone not get what they want.

Pictures 

What good is a blog post without pictures? In no particular order 

                                          Parc Jean Drapeau 

                                          View from roof of hotel 

                                                    Elevator selfie 

                                                    Outside of Museum of Fine Arts 
                                                    Artist: Chihuly 

                                                    Great Poutine and customer service
                                                    Recommended! 

                                                    Holy Ghost! 

                                          At New Order 

                                           Waiting for Hot Chip 

                                                    Katelyn at Bio-dome 

                                                    Puffin! 

                                          Vieux- Montréal 

Matching t-shirts 

                                                    Dancing in the rain at Beck. Poncho 
                                                    reminded me of Breaking Bad. 

                                          Outside of MTL Fine Art Museum 

                                           Hot Chip

Big Chair outside of Mount Royal Station 

Overview 

Mtl was an amazing time and I will defiantly be visiting again. Made some great memories, ate delicious food, watched stellar performances and learnt so many things like how to use the metro and that my friends are two of the best ladies in the world (which I knew already but was reinforced multiple times throughout the trip!)  :) 

Cheers!