Review by: Laura Beaulne-Stuebing | Photos by: Mark Horton, Scott Penner, & Marc DesRosiers –
Of Monsters and Men performing at CityFolk Festival 2015 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, ON on Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo: Mark Horton)
For most of Saturday — throughout the afternoon and evening — at Ottawa’s CityFolk festival, the skies threatened. And when festivalgoers made their way to the main stage for the Sheepdogs, those blues/southern style rockers from Saskatchewan, the threat became real, it poured and only the devoted stayed for the soggy set.
But by about 8:30 the wind had picked up and blown the rain clouds away, clearing the skies and bringing the stars out for the main headliners, Iceland’s Of Monsters and Men. Although they’ve made stops and Montreal and Toronto in the past, it was the band’s first time in Ottawa.
And what an introduction to the nation’s capital. My Head Is An Animal, the band’s first album released in 2011 that turned into a surprise hit and catapulted Of Monsters and Men to the world stage, is filled with bighearted anthemic singalongs, with a moody, dark underbelly and references to mythical animals and nature. The band released their second album, Beneath the Skin, in June this year and although they’ve said that on this effort the songs are a little more introspective and personal, the singalongs, the “oh oh”s and “la la la”s, are present still.
“Thousand Eyes” opened the set, with a dark, slow build up into “Human,” and then the hit “King and Lionheart” from My Head Is An Animal. Singers Nanna Bryndis Hilmarsdottir and Ragnar Þorhallsson weaved their way through songs from both albums — moving from “I of the Storm” to the single from Beneath the Skin “Crystals” — and, with the help of band members and a few extra backing players on trumpets and drums, maintained a high energy that kept Ottawans warm. “Little Talks,” inarguably the band’s biggest hit from their first record, was the highlight, with the crowd on their feet and dancing, singing along.
Melancholy, perhaps, but Of Monsters and Men play the kind of music that’s meant to be played live in front of a massive audience, with bright lights and atmospheric fog machines backing the band. It’s the kind of music that’ll make an audience move, even without knowing all the lyrics or all of the songs, even on a chilly September evening outside, because “ooohs” and “aaaahs” are universal.
_____________________________________________________________________________________ Of Monsters And Men _____________________________________________________________________________________
Of Monsters and Men performing at CityFolk Festival 2015 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, ON on Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo: Mark Horton)
Of Monsters and Men performing at CityFolk Festival 2015 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, ON on Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo: Mark Horton)
Of Monsters and Men performing at CityFolk Festival 2015 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, ON on Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo: Mark Horton)
Of Monsters and Men performing at CityFolk Festival 2015 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, ON on Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo: Mark Horton)
Of Monsters and Men performing at CityFolk Festival 2015 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, ON on Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo: Mark Horton)
Of Monsters and Men performing at CityFolk Festival 2015 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, ON on Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo: Mark Horton)
_____________________________________________________________________________________ The Sheepdogs _____________________________________________________________________________________
The Sheepdogs performing at CityFolk Festival 2015 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, ON on Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo: Mark Horton)
The Sheepdogs performing at CityFolk Festival 2015 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, ON on Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo: Mark Horton)
The Sheepdogs performing at CityFolk Festival 2015 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, ON on Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo: Mark Horton)
The Sheepdogs performing at CityFolk Festival 2015 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, ON on Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo: Mark Horton)
The Sheepdogs performing at CityFolk Festival 2015 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, ON on Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo: Mark Horton)
The Sheepdogs performing at CityFolk Festival 2015 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, ON on Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo: Mark Horton)
The Sheepdogs performing at CityFolk Festival 2015 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, ON on Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo: Scott Penner)
The Sheepdogs performing at CityFolk Festival 2015 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, ON on Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo: Mark Horton)
The Sheepdogs performing at CityFolk Festival 2015 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, ON on Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo: Mark Horton)
The Sheepdogs are seen here performing at the CityFolk music festival in Ottawa on Saturday, September 19, 2015. The CityFolk festival is considered one of North America’s top music festivals. ~ CityFolk Press Images PHOTO/Scott Penner
_____________________________________________________________________________________ Will Butler _____________________________________________________________________________________
Will Butler performing at CityFolk Festival 2015 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, ON on Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo: Mark Horton)
Will Butler performing at CityFolk Festival 2015 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, ON on Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo: Mark Horton)
Will Butler performing at CityFolk Festival 2015 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, ON on Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo: Mark Horton)
Will Butler performing at CityFolk Festival 2015 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, ON on Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo: Mark Horton)
Will Butler performing at CityFolk Festival 2015 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, ON on Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo: Mark Horton)
Will Butler performing at CityFolk Festival 2015 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, ON on Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo: Scott Penner) ~ CityFolk Press Images PHOTO/Scott Penner
Will Butler performing at CityFolk Festival 2015 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, ON on Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo: Mark Horton)
Will Butler performing at CityFolk Festival 2015 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, ON on Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo: Mark Horton)
Will Butler performing at CityFolk Festival 2015 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, ON on Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo: Mark Horton)
Evening Hymns performing at CityFolk Festival 2015 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, ON on Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo: Marc DesRosiers)
Evening Hymns performing at CityFolk Festival 2015 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, ON on Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo: Marc DesRosiers)
Evening Hymns performing at CityFolk Festival 2015 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, ON on Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo: Marc DesRosiers)
Evening Hymns performing at CityFolk Festival 2015 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, ON on Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo: Marc DesRosiers)
Evening Hymns performing at CityFolk Festival 2015 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, ON on Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo: Marc DesRosiers)
Evening Hymns performing at CityFolk Festival 2015 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, ON on Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo: Marc DesRosiers)
Evening Hymns performing at CityFolk Festival 2015 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, ON on Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo: Marc DesRosiers)
Evening Hymns performing at CityFolk Festival 2015 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, ON on Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo: Marc DesRosiers)
_____________________________________________________________________________________ The Barr Brothers _____________________________________________________________________________________
The Barr Brothers performing at CityFolk Festival 2015 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, ON on Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo: Scott Penner)
The Barr Brothers performing at CityFolk Festival 2015 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, ON on Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo: Scott Penner)
The Barr Brothers performing at CityFolk Festival 2015 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, ON on Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo: Scott Penner)
The Barr Brothers performing at CityFolk Festival 2015 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, ON on Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo: Scott Penner)
The Barr Brothers performing at CityFolk Festival 2015 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, ON on Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo: Scott Penner)
The Barr Brothers performing at CityFolk Festival 2015 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, ON on Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo: Scott Penner)
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