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M for Montreal 2012: day 4 review (Moon King, Goose Hut, CTZNSHP, Odonis Odonis + more)

by Bill Pearis

Moon King at Casa Del Popolo, 11/17/2012
Moon King

Saturday was the fourth day of M for Montreal and the second day of the weekend M Fest with shows spread out all over the city. It was a welcome change this year, especially on Saturday, as all previous years have ended with a big show at the Metropolis theatre usually featuring a bunch of artists aimed toward a Montreal crowd that may not appeal to those who don’t live there (like, say, Pierre Lapointe who I suffered through in 2008). There was still a big show at Metropolis  this year (Of Monsters and Men, who played the tiny Casa del Popolo last year) which I stopped by check out opener Sóley (both of whom are in town this week), but soon split to see other things.

CTZNSHP at Sala Rossa, 11/17/2012
CTZNSHP

From there I went back to Sala Rossa to check out CTZNSHP, a trio from Montreal who play gloomy postpunk. “I’ve been a sick and my voice is shot,” singer Jesse LeGallais admitted before the started. “You’re gonna have to put up with my Ian Curtis imitation tonight.” And he was definitely singing in a froggier register than what’s heard on their recordings, so I won’t judge to harshly. Musically they were pretty good.

Goose Hut at Casa Del Popolo, 11/17/2012
Goose Hut

Then it was across the street to Casa del Popolo for another Montreal trio, Goose Hut. I wasn’t too keen on the name, but they won me over pretty quickly and were one of the better laptop-reliant bands I’ve seen in a while. All three members sang, two played drums (one of whom also played keyboards) the main vocalist/guitarist flung his arms out like he was trying to fly whenever he wasn’t strumming. They also have ridiculously catchy songs heavy on “wee-oohs” and “whoah-ohs” as well as a charming, low-key stage presence. Also, people were dancing throughout their set. Goose Hut are also better live than their free download EP might have you believe (stream it below) so keep an eye out for these three.

Moon King at Casa Del Popolo, 11/17/2012
Moon king

At this point I was going to leave to go catch Duchess Says at Katacombes but, at the urging of a new friend, I decided to stick around Casa for at least a couple song of Moon King‘s set and ended up staying for the whole thing. They were terrific. As you may know, Moon King are Daniel Woodhead and Maddy Wilde, both of whom were in Toronto’s Spiral Beach (who I once saw open for Sloan) along with Daniel’s brother Arick (aka Doldrums) and Dorian Wolf (who now plays bass with Austra). Live Moon King are a four-piece with a drummer and synth bassist and make soaring, shoegazy pop (some of it is very Lush). Woodhead is a crazy confident frontman, throwing rockstar poses which looked all the more striking with the band’s stark, bright lighting setup. I hadn’t really given their Obsession I mini-lp musch of a listen but was really impressed with them and it was easily one of the Top 5 sets I saw at M. NYC can see Moon King next week when they open for Twin Sister and School of Seven Bells at Music Hall of Williamsburg on November 28 and tickets are still available.

Odonis Odonis at Casa Del Popolo, 11/17/2012
Odonis Odonis

Maddy Wilde also played in Toronto’s Odonis Odonis who were up next and played noisey, garagey psych. I enjoyed their set but wanted to scoot back across the street to Sala Rossa for some of Yamantaka // Sonic Titan‘s set. Which I only stuck around for for two songs (interesting, but not really my thing), instead heading off to L’Esco for a couple Francophone rock bands.

Le Kid et les Marinellis at L’Esco, 11/17/2012
CTZNSHP

Le Kid et les Marinellis made very ’60s Nuggets-y pop who were a lot of fun, and had the tiny room moving. A lot of bands make this kind of music, but not that many do it in French, which definitely worked to their advantage. Finally, it was Jesus Les Filles (who I’ve seen before and really like) who took the stage at nearly 3 AM. Having just got back from Iceland airwaves, the band had brought back some of that country’s fermented shark delicacy for the crowd to try which, having seen that episode of No Reservations, kept far away from. There was talk of an afterparty, but I had to be at the airport at 10 AM so that was it for my fifth M for Montreal.

Philippe B at Cafe Campus, 11/17/2012
Maia Leia

Actually, I should mention the annual Saturday matinee Francophone showcase at Cafe Campus which features bands that will likely never play America. We got three hip hop groups (one of whom, Koriass, was pretty good), cutie pie singer Maia Leia</strong> and Philippe B who played with a string quartet. Unfortunately I missed Les Trois Accords who are apparently “the Green Day of Montreal.” So it goes.

You can check out recaps from Day 1 here, Day 2 here and Day 3 here. Goose Hut stream is below.