by Bill Pearis w/ photos by Alexandre Bédard

DOWNLOAD: Jesuslesfilles - Fous Le Camp (MP3)

Les Surveillantes

The final day of M for Montreal had two showcases, both of which seemed programmed more to locals more than the "international delegates" like myself. Mainly because much of it was en Français.

First up was an all-Francophone afternoon. This might sound like drag to some, but I see it as a window to a world most Americans don't really know exists. And while a lot of it is heavy on the fromage, there's always a discovery to be made here. The only band that seems likely to make a dent below the border was Jesuslesfilles, who make a racket somewhere between the Pixies and early Dandy Warhols. Garagey, but not the blown-out levels kind, and the songs are very catchy even with the language barrier. Check out "Fous Le Camp" at the top of this post. It's from their excellent self-released album, Une Belle Table, which you can download in its entirety for free at their Bandcamp page. There's also video of them performing at the bottom of this post.

I also really, really liked Les Surveillantes, an incredibly charming, nerdy folk quartet from Saint-Boniface, Manitoba. Huddled around two microphones, and looking like French-Canadian Quakers, they sang about girls, apathy and science. "La Racine Carree du Couer" ("The Square Root of the Heart") was kind of about all three. Though all their songs were in French, their very funny between-song banter filled in the blanks for Anglo-monolingual folk in the audience. One of my favorite performances all week.

The rest of the Francophile showcase was a little more glitzy. Damien Robataille worked his inner Tom Jones for a crowd of excited ladies, one of whom threw a bra onstage. Tongue-in-cheek, yes, but sorta not at the same time. Montreal seems to like a little panache in their rock. We also got Yann Perreau, whose 2009 album was nominated for a Juno and epitomizes Francophile rock: indebted to Leonard Cohen, with a little Vegas and a little analogue electronic edge. And in his case, a little dub too. He was good.

Alex Nevsky seemed like a younger, blander version of Perreau, which I guess makes sense as Yann produced his new album. Nevsky and his band's flowered shirts were the most memorable thing about them. Monogrenade made anthemic, somewhat pompous rock that reminded me a bit of Parisian talent Benjamin Biolay but not as good. They had a cellist. And Geneviève Toupin crafted airy, ethereal pop not unlike Beth Orton.

Later that night was the big M for Metropolis show at the Metropolis theater, one of the nicest bigger (around 2500 capacity) venues I've ever been to. Great sightlines, sound, and lots of bars. It puts Hammerstein, Roseland and Terminal 5 to shame. The line-up here is of bands who are genuinely popular in Montreal, but it's equally schizophrenic as the other bills this week, a little something for everyone.

La Patere Rose, who also played last year's M, opens the show. She's very French, from the striped shirt to the accordion. There's also a little dance music vibe thrown into the chanson mix, as well as choreography. Very cute.

Up next was Pascale Picard Band who was so bland and forgettable I have to look up their name every time I try and reference them. If they ever made a French-Canadian remake of Dawson's Creek, Pascale Picard Band would likely be on the soundtrack.

Waking us up after that was Priestess, who -- unlike Dance Laury Dance earlier in the week -- brought some serious hard rock to M for Montreal. Though I was hoping for more mayhem. No pit, just some mild thrashing from the crowd. The band were tight and giving it their all though.

Next were The Dears whose sound is clearly designed for a big venue like Metropolis. They sounded properly epic, but played a set that was heavy on the new album, Degeneration Street, which no one has actually heard yet. (Not out till February). Maybe I don't understand how these things work, but I think if you're playing a big show like this, a festival crowd, cram your set with hits and play the best song from the new album. (That would be "Omega Dog" in this case.) Instead we only got the great "Lost in the Plot." Lost opportunity if you ask me.

Then we got the real entertainment of the night: Misteur Valaire, who I saw two years previously at M, and have become Montreal megastars. They're kind of the city's Hot Chip, in that they look like members of a high school AV club but make serious club music. Jazz trained, these guys are great musicians and have the crowd going mental the whole time. There's also costume changes and boy band style choreography.

What they don't have, however, are very many catchy songs which is where the Hot Chip comparison kind of falls apart. But in the moment, they are a one-stop dance party. But they'll need more hooks if they want to really translate to American audiences. That said, if you want to get a head start -- I think they'll be at SXSW 2011 -- you can download their album for free at their website.

The crowd kept dancing for Poirer, one of the hottest DJ/Producers in Montreal but at that point I was entirely wiped from four days of French-Canadian hospitality, music and general excess.

Videos of Jesuslesfilles and Les Surveillantes, plus some more pics, après le saut:

Continue reading "M For Montreal 2010 - night 4 in pics & review (The Dears, Les Surveillantes, Jesuslesfilles, Misteur Valaire & more)"

DOWNLOAD: Think About Life - Johanna (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Think About Life - Havin My Baby (MP3)

Think About Life @ Arlene's CMJ 2009 (more by Chris La Putt)

Speaking of Canada, Montreal's Think About Life just finished up a run of February shows in Europe. Stateside, they have plenty of shows coming up, including SXSW in Austin where you can catch them at the official M For Montreal showcase at Paradise on Thursday, March 18th. The full lineup for that show:

La Patère Rose @ 8:00 p.m.
The Lovely Feathers @ 9:00 p.m.
Parlovr @ 10:00 p.m.
Beast @ 11:00 p.m.
Think About Life @ 12:00 a.m.
We Are Wolves @ 1:00 a.m.

M For Montreal's nighttime showase is not to be confused with the M For Montreal & BrooklynVegan daytime showcase that is happening at Galaxy Room (formerly Radio Room) on Saturday, March 20th featuring Roky Erickson backed by Okkervil River, Andrew WK, and more (Montreal and non-Canadian) bands TBA.

In total Think About Life will be on the North American Road from March 12th through April 30th, making two NYC stops along the way. They play Mercury Lounge on Tuesday, April 27th. Tickets are on sale now. Two days earlier they will be one of the band's at this year's WBAR-B-Q on Sunday, April 25th at Barnard College. Last year's WBAR-B-Q was played by Gang Gang Dance, Free Blood and more.

The two tracks above from their 2009 record Family. All tour dates and the video for their future-disco epic "Sweet Sixteen" are below...

Continue reading "Think About Life touring, playing SXSW (M For Montreal showcase), WBAR-B-Q, Mercury Lounge & more - 2010 dates"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Géraldine - Toi Dans Mes Bras (MP3)

Géraldine

"We sing in English too... just not today," said Automelodi singer Arnaud Lazlaud at the start of their set at Cafe Campus. Kind of the theme of the day, as it was all francophone bands for this Saturday afternoon M for Montreal showcase (11/21). Some might dislike having to watch six bands in a row singing in a language they don't understand, but I actually liked a lot of it.

When you think of French pop, striped shirts, berets, ukuleles and accordions might come to mind. That style is alive and well and still popular in Montreal and we got two bands of just that sort on the bill. Caracol was a little more on the folky/American side, but the songs were jaunty and they could really play. Quirkier were La Patère Rose who were kind of a hipper version of the chanson stereotype. Charming and tiny singer Fanny Bloom is a real pistol and played an accordion nearly as big as her. They even busted out some choreographed dance moves. I could see either of these bands going over gangbusters at NYC's Joe's Pub.

For a day show, the joint was packed (the main room was probably 300 capacity) and was mostly Montreal locals, many of whom were there to see La Patère Rose and Marie-Pierre Arthur who was probably my favorite straight-up (albiet in French) rock act of the whole weekend. She's sort of Montreal's version of Nicole Atkins, mainstream but not in a bad way, a very good songwriter and a skilled musician. I left humming more than a few of her songs.

Things took a left turn after that. Automelodi have a sound that would've been a perfect fit on Mute Records in 1980, or maybe a lost track from that BIPP: French Synth Wave comp): chilly synths, heavily-treated guitars, melodramatic singing. I think singing in French actually helped here, giving an air of mystery to the proceedings. As far as this sort of pastiche style goes, they do it really really well -- and did a good job for them playing at three in the afternoon -- with some very catchy songs. Their debut EP is available via their MySpace, and the band have signed with Brooklyn's home of darkwave/post wave, Wierd Records. They already made their NYC debut at one of their parties at Home Sweet Home in October.

In a similar, if decidedly more idiosyncratic vein was Géraldine which is both the name of the band and of its singer. I'd met Géraldine the day before and she couldn't have been sweeter, telling me about her music through broken English and an endearing laugh. "We wear ski masks," she said. "We use Godspeed's old practice space and they left the masks in there, so we decided to use them." So there they were in ski masks, with Géraldine singing into a pedestal fan while playing it with a violin bow. The crowd laughed nervously. Things got a little more normal after that, as most of her songs, while definitely on the arty side, have hooks and melodies. And despite the ski mask, her charm still comes through. You can download a track at the top of this post.

Headlining the francophone event were hodgepodge funk act Orange Orange. Don Hamel was in Gatineau (who played M last year) and has retained much of that band's schtick, including a variety of old cheapy Casios (including the much-loved Rapmaster) and using an old telephone receiver as a microphone. But Orange Orange drop most of the hip hop aspects of Gatineau in favor of musicality and sex appeal, the latter coming mainly from Sabrina Sabotage. Like many Montreal acts, they put a lot of thought into the performance. I'm not sure I'd listen to the record very often but I'd go see them play again.

While there were plenty of electronic acts at the fest, there was no hip hop. We got a nice dose of it at last year's event (Gatineau and Radio Radio) and I missed it -- whether it would have been in English or French (Cadence Weapon did make two guest appearances this year, but sang at both.) I'm not convinced the French language and rock music work so well together, but it pairs perfectly with a good rapper. Maybe next year.

M for Montreal 2009 so far: Friday night, Thursday night, Wednesday night.

Saturday night coming soon. A few more pictures from Saturday day, and video of Automelodie, are below...

Continue reading "M For Montreal 2009 - day 3 in pics & review (Géraldine, Marie-Pierre Arthur, Automelodi, Orange Orange & more)"