Pop Montreal day 2

Pop Montreal’s second day came in like a lamb, with some sparsely attended afternoon showcases, peaked with spectacular sets by some of this city’s hottest acts, and went out like a lion with the cops busting the Grimes afterparty before the little lady could even hit play. Here’s what Lorraine Carpenter, Brian Hastie, Erik Leijon and Emily Raine witnessed.

Young Galaxy
Photo by Lorraine Carpenter

Young Galaxy

Viva la evolucion! Years ago, when this local band was on Arts & Crafts, I used to compare them to Spiritualized, minus the big guitar squall, plus a more pronounced pop agenda. Two albums later, the aptly titled Shapeshifting introduced a stark, electronic cold front reminiscent of Eurythmics’ darker material, with echoes of New Order and infusions of sultry heat (hip hop synth squawks, Caribbean steel drums). So it was a pleasure to hear that material live at the (artificial) smoke-filled Breakglass Studios — some of it echoed the recording (“Blown Minded”), some of it was revved up with an accent on guitars (“Phantoms”). Interspersed was a significant amount of new material which sounded just as fresh and crisp. Keep on. (LC)

Myths, Elite Gymnastics

Opening for Grimes, Vancouver duo Myths had the “atonal keyboard noodlings with warbling reverbed vocals” game on lockdown, proving that too much of the same thing CAN be a bad thing. James Brooks of Minnesota’s Elite Gymnastics recently changed his status to a one-man act, after OG partner Josh Clancy left the duo, acrimoniously. Perhaps as a result, Brooks seemed to scramble to cobble together a full set, one that started with a cover of the Spice Girls’ “Say You’ll Be There,” complete with Auto-Tuned vocals and a harmonica solo, and proceeded with a half-hour of uptempo K-pop-influenced tunes. (BH)

Grimes
Photo by Susan Moss

Grimes

Grimes’s set at Club Soda had all the makings of a bad show: opening bands beset by technical malfunctions, a belated start time and the impossibly high hype surrounding the artist herself could have ruined the night. Instead, the Arbutus princess pulled through, her hour-long set stripping away any superfluous instrumentation from her songs and turning them into venue-ready, wall-shaking synth romps. Once she introduced the single “Oblivion” four songs into the set, the crowd was hers. The opening bands served as her backing band/on-stage dancers, giving the affair a Monster Mash-meets-Akira aesthetic, delivering a pleasant visual and aural presentation. (BH)

Suuns

After last night’s Suuns documentary screening & performance, I couldn’t help but think they’ve become Godspeed-lite. Maybe it was the rustic venue, or maybe it was the movie, which transformed their 2011 European tour into a headfirst dive into existential dread, but there was something about their newfound (or further chiselled, really) overwhelming bleakness and loudness that really reminded me of Montreal’s most famed purveyors of dystopian gloom. In two years, Suuns have really figured out who they are and what they’re good at: they’re loud, heavy, slightly jazzy and downright toe-tapping. The church made their every move (they can be very economical at times, especially on guitar) all the more ominous and weighty. While Montrealers were feting Grimes’ impressive rise just a few blocks over, Suuns were proving at Red Roof that they’ve got next. (EL)

Doldrums

The waitress working at Afro-tropical club Balattou last night — who presumably works there most nights when it’s more of a live dancing club catering to a primarily black clientele — chuckled a few times during Doldrums’ set, although I think it was meant more endearingly than anything else. Doldrums have changed a lot in recent times: they’re now a trio with two percussionists aggressively banging out island polyrhythms, and have improved by leaps and bounds. Frontman Airick Woodhead (dressed as though he’d just returned from a beachside stroll and was dancing like Shaun Ryder) was absolutely belting it out on vocals, but my favourite parts of the show were when he was incorporating samples really haphazardly, forcing his percussionists to recallibrate to match the changes. It made for a beautifully messy, very passionate Hacienda-ish set. (EL)

Parlovr
Photo by Susan Moss

Parlovr

A group scream off the top really sets the right tone for a ripper of a rock show. So do airborne hot-mess haircuts, one of which seemed to be a parody of Win Butler’s 2010 hair (or is it Skrillex?) — you know, that guy from Arcade Fire who actually left the venue right before Parlovr’s set. If you’re familiar with their eponymous 2010 LP or their more recent record, Kook Soul, you know that this local trio produces a brand of shambolic, punk-propelled rock that’s pretty great on record but really fucking excellent on stage. They definitely delivered the goods last night, and the crowd reacted in kind. Have you ever seen crowd-surfing at Divan Orange? Normally I roll my eyes and retreat to protect my skull — I got kicked in the head countless times in the ’90s, and yeah, that does explain a lot. But during Parlovr’s set, it seemed pretty appropriate. Bring on the steel toes, you fuckers. (LC)

PS I Love You

Man, what a set. This Kingston, ON duo didn’t exactly surpass Parlovr’s manic energy, but that’s not what PS I Love You is about. Did you know that singer/guitarist Paul Saulnier was recently named one of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time by Spin? You don’t need to see the band live to understand why, it’s all there on their records (Meet Me at the Muster Station and Death Dreams). But the duo emits the power of a four-or-more-piece band (they didn’t have their supplemental keyboardist in tow this time), with Saulnier wielding a crazy double-neck guitar, playing those beautiful melancholy-laced rockers. It’s great all around. I just wish they played my favourite song of theirs live. Maybe next time. (LC)

Peaches

Peaches dazzled during her late-night set at Pop’s go-to church for 2012 (the one on St-Dominique/St-Joseph), donning a nude onesie and fishnets and, for awhile at least, a shawl made out of numerous huge stuffed boobs with Barbie heads as nipples. So there was that. Singing along as she mixed her set, she jumped on and off her console, sprayed the exuberant crowd with bottles of champagne, and performed a truly stunning round-the-neck hula hoop with her thick gold chain necklace. In short, it was amazeballs, and that lady is very good at her job. (See her and her posse live tonight  at 9 p.m. in Peaches Christ Superstar at Ukrainian Federation! Yes, it is what you think it is.) (ER)