Grizzly Bear, image by Carley Hall

An interesting mix of middle-aged folk (one of my lecturers is among them), diehard fans and curious onlookers have begun to assemble at the Garden stage for one of the distinct highlights of the event. Brooklyn sons Grizzly Bear are in the country for the first time of the back of their standout fourth release Veckatimest and they manage to duplicate the magic of this album perfectly, despite battling some painfully apparent sound issues (weird, seems to happen quite a lot on the Garden stage).

“Two Weeks,” “Cheerleader” and “Ready, Able” all make their hauntindly beautiful appearences, but it’s “While You Wait For The Others” that blows us away. These guys have that knack of producing gut-wrenching harmonies peppered with formulaic melodic lines. There is no star here; all four gentlemen bring their understated and first-class talents to the table. I only wish they’d graced us with a side show because tonight simply did not quench my thirst.

If it’s not clear enough just by looking at the massive swarm of people populating the Riverstage that tonight’s main attraction Yeah Yeah Yeah’s have had the biggest year of their career, the screams that welcome the opening synths of done to death radio favourite “Heads Will Roll” will surely convince you that these New York glam rockers are at the top of their game. Karen O and company have no shame when it comes to over the top stage antics; it’s just a little too obvious that they know most people came to this festival just to check them out. They are here to please, providing everything you would look for in a Yeah Yeah Yeah’s show, a giant eyeball that eventually makes its’ way into the crowd, multiple wardrobe changes from Miss O that just seem to get weirder as the night wears on, and a set jam packed with songs to sing along to including old favourites “Generation Y” and “Gold Lion,” as well as their latest gem “Zero.” “Maps” is still the best song Karen’s ever written, and it evokes a spine tingling sing along that, despite the other theatrics, steals the set from under her sparkly converse clad feet.

- Carley Hall & Katherine Allan