Having just hosted a Jazz and Comedy festival only a few weeks ago, Montreal was once again the pearl of Canada this past weekend with the undeniable success of the Osheaga Music and Arts festival- a two day event filled with performances beginning at 1:00pm all the way until 11:00pm.

As Saturday would feature notable acts such as Jason Mraz, The Roots, K’naan, The Stills, Girltalk and above all, the grandmaster Coldplay, andPOP decided to venture down to La Belle Province for day no. 1.

But something funny happened by the end of our trip. Not only did we go from being pale skinned to maple brown sunburned, but we also went from being a concert reviewer to a behind-the-scenes explorer.

With four different stages and acts scheduled at similar time slots, we had to pick and choose which musical path our day would lead towards.

This is our story.

2:30 pm- I begin my journey in Hell’s Kitchen. Beautiful sunny day in Montreal, but sweltering 30 degree Celsius heat. For some reason though, the crowd seems to want to stand through it for acoustic rock performer Donavon Frankenreiter at the Mountain Stage. The musician and also pro surfer gathers a trickling crowd with an immediate groovy set- reminiscent of longtime pal Jack Johnson.

Part of that next batch of sunshine tune-fellows like Johnson, Ben Harper, Matt Costa and G. Love,  Frankenreiter ignites the festival’s spirit with his variety of catchy soothing numbers- most notably It Don’t Matter, which leads fans into a massive chant. A laid-back Frankenreiter even lets a lucky fan help him belt out the chorus, sending the crowd into rave cheers.

Truly a man of the festival.

3:15 pm- Onward to something completely different- British electro-pop duo La Roux. Though the up-and-coming part of the program, the group still manages to make a sharp impact. The whole crowd jives to their hit single Bulletproof- from their recently released 2009 debut album self titled La Roux.

4:00 pm- I decide I want to interview Coldplay. Yes, just like that. But with a concert reviewer ticket, you basically just get that- a free ticket to review the show. So, if I’m gonna get my chance for a sit-down with Chris Martin, I’m gonna need to get behind the scenes. After a macho security guard- we’ll call him “Arnold Schwarzenegger” -prohibits me from entering the VIP/Backstage area, I decide to make an upgrade.

Off to the media tent to do my shpiel, and back with the little blue bracelet I need.

A few nods and wrist checks later, and I’m slowly making my way to a field of tents, tour buses and trailers hidden away, behind the two main River and Mountain stages, from the crowd.

Hungry, I enter a large tent filled with a delicious spread for everyone backstage. Though I quickly realize inside, I need to have an additional bracelet. Since the security guard doesn’t notice me, I decide to snag a water bottle instead.

Gotta keep hydrated, safety first.

As I exit the tent, I head toward a tent filled with a bunch of media personnel on laptops. Next tent, La Roux singer Elly Jackson.

Relaxing on a white couch in her technicolor leotards, pale complexion, and crazy ginger hairdo, the 21-year-old has definitely carved out her own niche in not only the festival, but all of Britain.

5:25 pm- I head back out to the main area to catch the last few tunes of Eagles of Death Metal on the River Stage. Promoting their latest record Heart On to a sizable crowd, the two man group finish the set with their emphatic hit single Wannabe In L.A.

5:45 pm- Heading backstage again, I stumble upon an ecstatic Eagle of Death Metal frontman Jesse “The Devil” Hughes. In total bliss, the 36-year-old rocker comes strolling down the stairs shirtless, with that thick mustache, and long shaggy hair.

Despite his scary trucker appearance, Hughes is one of the most enthusiastic and friendly performers I’ve seen during a post-show.

“God, I love my job man!” he says smiling, before heading for a bite to eat. “That’s it, It’s the best!”

6:00 pm- I trek further, listening near the media tent to alternative rock band Elbow’s crowd pleasing performance. The group has kept for the most part a low profile during their career, but that was not the case at Osheaga. They were here to make their mark, and did so with their climatic One Day Like This.

6:20 pm- Jason Mraz is due next on stage in 10 minutes. Promoting his latest album We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things, Mraz is one of the festival’s more notable names, primarily due to the success of his Grammy nominated breezy single I’m Yours. Heck, even his album too- which has broken into the top ten of so many international music charts.

Suddenly an ATV rolls up behind me, and off steps the acoustic bluesy genius himself.

Mraz is a simple man, but then again affects to the masses. Dressed in dark blue jeans, a white T, and his well-known fedora hat, the 32-year-old strolls with a coffee in hand toward some shade on a bench under a tree.

6:30 pm- Let it be known that despite his shy appearance, Mraz is as suave and animated as they get. Grabbing a black and white fender-strat guitar as he hits the River Stage, the artist begins dancing to his rhythm, swaying his knees in-and-out like some Elvis Presley impersonator.

As he works the crowd like a showman, Mraz switches to his more comfortable tool- an acoustic guitar -and begins an energetic The Dynamo Of Volition.

An amazing acoustic set later of The Remedy, and Mraz then releases the highly anticipated feel-good vibe hit single I’m Yours.

“This is sort of a hippie song, so I want everybody to just relax and get their summer bugaloo on,” he says in a low smooth voice. An even bigger delight was the surprise transition into Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds, where Mraz had everyone’s heads and arms bopping side-to-side. It was the perfect soundtrack for that point in the day: sun shining, a breeze brushing through crowd, middle of the summer. Even Mraz felt good about it, as he tells andPOP backstage after his performance.

7:45pm- “I had a great experience,” he says, as he relaxes in a field overlooking a pond, outside his trailer. “We’re really honored to have this opportunity, it’s been a fantastic day.” Though The Roots are now blaring their jazzy hip/hop melody out in the front, back here Mraz is enjoying some peaceful quality time with his band on a picnic table. And with him, instead of an acoustic guitar, is a Nikon D60 camera- which he’s trying to capture a picture of a sedentary groundhog with.

“I just got the Nikon recently, so far it’s been good,” he says after carefully trying to sneak up on the creature. “We’re all just basically enjoying ourselves.”

Adds percussionist Toca Rivera who sits on the grass taking in some rays, “It’s beautiful weather, great music, what more can you ask for.”

Hmm…maybe a sit-down with Coldplay?

8:15 pm- I venture further into the forest path, walking past the trailers and tour buses of Elbow, The Stills, The Roots and Donaven Frakenreiter. On the way, Roots drummer Questlove is being given a lift on an ATV somewhere, and Elbow’s lead singer Guy Garvey is seen heading into the band’s trailer.

Fifteen feet later and I stop at a much more secluded trailer- I venture near to see who it belongs to. Outside of the holding, a few security guards stop me before I go any further, informing me it’s for Coldplay.

Boom.

Without thinking, I tell them I’m here for the band. They give me a puzzled look, but go and ask the manager, which obviously turns out to be a no-go.

Hoping to catch a glimpse of the four-man British rock band when they come out to walk to the main stage, I’m told that they won’t be out for another hour.

8:30 pm- So I decide to see the status of our mash-up Picasso Greg Gillis, also known as Girltalk, who’s set to perform at the same time-slot.

Of all the rough luck for a guy. Not a surprise he would only draw 500 out of the 30,000 audience total for the night.

Off of his latest masterpiece Feed The Animals, Gillis is in his one-man trailer- which is side by side to rapper K’Naan. He’s hard at work preparing for tonight’s set at the MEG stage, which was reserved for the majority of the electro-based performers.

8:45 pm- A 53-footer truck makes its way down the road behind the main stages carrying all of Coldplay’s custom stage pieces- part of which would include a separate circular platform that would be placed in the middle of the audience for the band to use later on in their set.

9:10 pm- I hear music playing, and nervous, I ask one of the set-up crew if the band has started yet. He chuckles and replies that when Coldplay goes up there, “you will know it.” After briefing me that the experience will be nothing short of spectacular, he gives me a heads up that they’re going to be opening up with Life In Technicolor, and that there will also be a couple of entertaining tweaks during the performance- including dozens of giant yellow crowd balloons for Yellow and a cover of Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean.

Sounds wicked.

9:15 pm- Night has fallen, easing the heat outdoors. The entire field filled to capacity is eagerly waiting for the band’s arrival. The music stops and a shadow-screen silhouettes the Grammy award winning band members who twirl sparklers- before then jamming right into Life In Technicolor.

Highlights of the first half of the set include a laser-accompanied Clocks, sing-a-long anthem Fix You, an entertaining Yellow- yes, dozens of bright yellow balloons bounce all over the audience -and above all, a turbo-charged Chris Martin who dances around the stage from left-to-right in his classic Napoleon-meets-American Apparel-style jacket.

“Merci beaucoup, mes amis,” he says to a screaming crowd.

Personally, hearing the violins begin to hum to their hit single Viva La Vida, with drummer Will Champion manning the kettles, was quite the epic experience by itself. And it’s obvious that Montreal was all smiles. Even, the energetic Martin points out how perfect the night is: fireworks on the right, an August moon on the left and a prime performance in the center.

Osheaga hit jackpot this year. No argument there.

But there was still plenty of juice left in the Coldplay tank, as the band suddenly makes its way single-filed through the crowd to the custom circular stage in the middle- only big enough to have the band standing back-to-back.

There they perform a slew of acoustic sets, including a cover of Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean, before then heading back to the main stage to round-up the show.

11:00 pm- As the fairy-tale winds down, leaving 30,000 civilians preparing for hours of congested traffic on their way home, I decide to take one last chance to possibly see a glimpse of the band backstage. Only when I arrive there, I’m greeted with two police cars and four sleek black Escalades which pull up for each band member.

Obviously you’d like to hear that Martin and his crew come prancing off stage, we become best buddies and they invite me for a brew.

For some odd reason, they reluctantly did not. Go figure. The doors close shut and they disappear into the night with their impressive police escort.

But, at the end of the 10-hr day, was the sunburn, first phase of dehydration, and mental/physical exhaustion worth it?

I think so.

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