Karkwa’s performance was one of the best performances of the night

Karkwa’s performance which followed was in comparison, one of the best performances of the night. The first big accolade has to go to the sound crew because the sound was absolutely crystal clear in the open air venue, allowing me to pick up on subleties in the music I’ve never heard before. I wasn’t sure how well the francophone rockers would fare in a live performance, given that their music has a thoughtful bedroom rock edge to it- But the French rockers took it to the next level, contrasting airy flights of the mind’s eye with alternative rock heaviness. 

Their Polaris Prize winning album “Les chemins de verre” made up much of the night’s material, and a personal highlight was “Marie tu pleurs”. The band addressed their English audience by saying “we sing in French, but don’t worry if you don’t understand anything. Just sing and smile.” To their French audience- “Nous venons d’ici. On est tres important!” (We come from here, we’re very important. I was particularly impressed with the wild energy and power behind the performance (the keyboard player looked like Animal from the Muppet Show at times), the versatility, and the band’s use of volume to set tone. Oh, and of course, that the second drummer’s kit was equipped with cowbells.

Extract from "Osheaga 2011 – Saturday review with Death from Above 1979, Karkwa, Ratatat" by Natascha Malta, Musicvice.com