Irish country-pop sensation CMAT’s electrifying Osheaga set almost didn’t happen. As she strutted onto the stage, CMAT, aka Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, proclaimed that she and her band had been up since 4 a.m., her keyboardist had been taken out by food poisoning, and the airline had mistakenly sent all of their gear to Washington, D.C.
But apparently nothing can stop this redheaded tour de force. If anything, the resulting rage fueled a grittier, more explosive performance.
Kicking off with “The Jamie Oliver Petrol Station,” the so-called Dunboyne Diana channelled everything she had into guttural screams and operatic vocals that had the whole crowd on her side despite some imperfections in the sound due to the missing equipment.
Without their usual setup, the setlist was out the window. Instead, she took requests from the audience and paid tribute to Leonard Cohen the “only way [she] knew how”: by getting her guitarist, Jack Wolter, to do The Worm while violinist Holly Carpenter played “Hallelujah.”
Cheekily flashing her red bloomers, CMAT radiated playful confidence. The lack of in-ear monitors meant she could barely hear herself, but the flip side of that was that she could hear the audience singing along clearly for the first time.
And sing they did, Irish and Pride flags waving. I heard multiple people exclaim, “She’s so fun!” and at one point a group of fans started chanting, “Diva! Diva! Diva!”
She ended the emotional set by parting the crowd like the Red Sea, running deep into the pit to shout the chorus of her last song, “Stay For Something,” among the people.
