Pop Montreal 2007

Another edition of Pop Montreal has come and gone leaving obsessive music fans with lots of memories, hangovers and tinnitus. This year features legends like Mort Sahl, Pere Ubu, Patti Smith and Half Japanese as well as hundreds of amazing up and coming acts.

Another edition of Pop Montreal has come and gone, October 3-7 2007, and I'm sad to see it go, as always, despite the fact that I probably do need a day to recover if I'm going to be able to make it to work on time tomorow. I squeezed in as much as possible considering the oft-frustrating overlapping schedules that foist difficult decision on music freaks like myself. Another year of legendary performers that may or may not live up to their mythology and of up-and-coming bands that often blow away everyone else away.

Pere Ubu, Fucked Up and Thundra at Le National

I started off on Wednesday with Montreal's Thundra, Toronto hardcore mega-buzz-band Fucked Up and punk legends Pere Ubu. Thundra played an interesting set of relatively mellow hardcore/noise/whatever, ending their show on a memorable note with a large and enthusiastic amateur guest percussion ensemble.

Fucked Up was on second and despite the fact that Pere Ubu are absolute legends, perhaps they should have been the headliners because they totally stole the night. Their prog-hardcore was rock-solid and fans revelled in hearing epic live versions of songs like Hidden World's brilliant opening track "Crusades". Outrageously wild front-man Mr Damian is a consummate entertainer, coming across as a mix between GG Allin and a stand-up comedian. He came across as lovable yet fucking insane, smashing botles over his head til he was a bleeding mess, and throwing his girth about freely after removing his shirt to show off his tatooed and hand-drawn chest markings. He charmed the crowd with a line of questioning regarding the relative merits of local casse-croutes (also known as snack bars for our non-Montreal readers) Belle Province and Belle Fleur and regretted that one of their crew was going to have to break vegetarian in order to sample their gyros and smoked meat.

Pere Ubu ended the night playing a set of classic songs like "Sonic Reducer" and David Thomas kept the crowd confused and unsure if they ought to love or hate him and find him drop-dead funny or just a total asshole. Given their advanced age as a band and as individuals it was surprising how tight and heavy they still sound. I felt like an idiot for never having checked the band out before despite having known the name for 15 or 20 years and being familiar with some of their more well known songs for around the same length of time.

Half Japaneses at The Portugese Hall

Thursday night was the night of the festival I was most looking forward to, finally getting to see Half Japanese for the first time, having been a big fan of Jad's projects for the past 15 years. Surprisingly, it turned out to be the most disappointing night of the festival for me. The evening started off with some great short films and the Half Japanese documentary The Band That Would Be King. This film was amazing and really primed the crowd to see the band live. A friend and I sat out Dishwasher and Mudboy, and enjoyed some beers outside the club, intially annoyed by the latter band's brand of ear-bleeding noise. Half Japanese took the stage and were a huge disappointment. Partly, I think because the mix was among was among the worst I have ever heard ever ever ever. It was indeciperable and brutally biased toward the high-end. I don't know if it was the hall's sound system, strangely inappropriate lack of acoustic sound design or a troglodyte mixing engineer so I'm not going to point any fingers, suffice it to say that I couldn't be sure whether it was the boring band or the mix that killed the show. It wasn't Jad, that's for sure, he clearly still has the same amazing voice and exuberant energy as on all of his classic records and in the movie we'd just watched. It was just a shame we were 100% prevented from hearing and enjoying it.

Patti Smith at Eglise St-Jean Baptise

Patti Smith I wasn't super looking foward to simply because I'm not that familiar with her work, having only listened to Horses a few times casually. But her performance turned out to be the highlight of the festival for myself and I'm certain everyone else who attended.

Her voice was gorgeous, her band was amazingly talented. She transformed even the most mundane of MOR rock classics into epic, ecstatic celebrations of life and love: Jimi Hendrix' "Are You Experienced", The Door's "Soul Kitchen", and Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" were among the tracks she impossibly brought to sparkling, shimmering life once again. Not content to just focus on the best of rock music, she also turned her attention to poetry, to great effect, channeling the ghost of late friend Allen Ginseberg on the jubilant "Footnote To Howl". And then there were her own well-loved songs like her ode to Tom Verlaine, "We Three".

Patti moved throughout the crowd and connected with the audience, prosletized for peace and love in a most lovely and hippified manner, and turned hecklers jibes into powerful jokes about the need for love and understanding and human connection in a world gone to shit and war.

I'm confident that no one left the church that night not feeling completely moved and spiritually uplifted. A beautiful, huge old church seemed the perfect venue for Patti Smith's transformative performance. This is a show people will be talking about for years to come.

Pony Da Look at Divan Orange

I popped in to Divan Orange after Patti Smith on my way up to Sala Rossa and caught Pony Da Look's set. A Toronto band made up of supremely hot and mega-talented artist ladies - amazing painter Temple Bates, legendary Canadian rock photographer Catherine Stockhausen, awesome artist Amy Bowles and dancer Rebecca Mendoza. The band has a seriously unique sound that could be lumped in with synth-pop new waves groups of late but they have a pretty heavy batcave sound that could draw comparisons to groups like San Francisco sexy-freaky weirdo goth-rockers The Vanishing or Veronica Lipgloss & The Evil Eyes. But thanks to Amy Bowles amazing singing and stage presence they also have a strong theatrical element that suggest bands like Glass Candy. I'm surprised this band is not better known, perhaps simply due to a lack of touring and other, no doubt more lucrative careers - Stockhausen for example is a hotshot Canadian tv producer these days. But they deserve to be heard - and seen live - their music is fascinating and can be heard on their CD, The Forcefield Weakens.

Tail-end of CPC Gangbangs, David Yow with Qui at Sala Rossa

I didn't think I'd get in to Sala Rossa to see David Yow destroy the place, but luck was with me this night. I caught just the last song by CPC Gangbangs and wished I'd seen more. They play here a lot though so I'll have lots of opportunity to check them out again. They sounded heavy and tough and probably a formidable, err appropriate, opening act for David Yow.

I was excited to see Qui - I caught the Jesus Lizard at Foufounes way back in 1992 and the memories of that fucked-up full-on-rock-and-roll experience have stayed with me ever since. Yow has been relatively quiet since Jesus Lizard disappears but he clearly hasn't lost his reckless, unhinged, nasty m*th*rf*c*r in cowboy boots attitude. From the outset, Yow tore up the stage with relentless shit-kicking badassness. The guy is a fucking misanthrope par excellence and a pleasure to watch him antagonize and charm the crowd in equal doses, which it was clear he was going to do right from the opening song, "Slap Her", with its creepy misogynistic vileness. Qui was probably not as great as Jesus Lizard in their day - how could they be? that and totally destroyed - but they were pretty damn good. Their hard-hitting drums and powerful guitar riffing provided a suitable foil for Yow's drunken inanity. This was another of the festival's highlights and I hope this band tours this way again - David Yow has always been and continues to be one of the best entertainers in rock and roll.

Health and Aa at Divan Orange, Mort Sahl at Club Soda

Saturday night I first decided to check out Health on the strength of their Lovepump full-length. On record it sounded like they were bringing something new to the noise-rock table, but live it was quite the opposite, they were boring and pedestrian in comparison to groups like AIDS Wolf and Athletic Automaton. They had energy and skree but were unmemorable and unexciting. Sadly I had to split before Yip Yip to go check out Mort Sahl.

Mort Sahl is a comedy legend that no one has heard of. From his unlikely start at seedy Barbary Coast nightclub the Hungry I, he went on to become a staff writer for friend John F. Kennedy and other political luminaries, then went on to write 20+ movies, teach, and continue his life of politcal satire.

It was incredible to hear this guy! He had anecdotes about a who's who of 20th century American culture - Woody Allen, John F. Kennedy, Frank Sinatra, George W. Bush, Ronald Reagan and many more. He relentlessly criticized the current Bush administration to the audience's laughter and delight and looked back at past administrations and runners-up such as Dean and Haig.

Still chuckling on my way out of the venue, I tried to check out Vancouver sludge rockers Black Mountain but was turned away at the door - which I fully expected considering how anticipated this show must have been. I made my way back up to Divan Orange, super bummed to miss out on the AIDS Wolf set that I'm sure must have taught Health a thing or two about mind-melting noise rock and stage presence, but I did manage to catch Aa from NYC. They deftly combine hardcore noise-rock with tribal drumming. It's powerful and fun to see live.

Eric's Trip at Ukranian Hall

Sunday I went to see Eric's Trip. I was really looking forward to seeing this band live and reunited after breaking in 1996. I was lucky enough to catch their first Halifax show and saw them many times after that in Halifax and Montreal. The best efforts of those in the front rows to get good seats was rendered useless by submongoloid assholes who decided to form a violent mosh-pit that consumed most of the front of the Ukranian Hall. I retreated to the relative comforts of the balcony rather than get yet another pair of glasses and this time a camera smashed by retards at an indie-pop show. The band sounded as good, if not better than they did in their heyday in the early 90's, tearing through all of the best-loved songs like "Red Haired Girl", "Need", "Stove", "Anytime You Want" and all the other fan-favorites.

Marc Gaudet was pure fire as always, Chris Thompson wasn't guilty of hyperbole when he postulated that Marc is the greatest drummer in the world ever. This dude rules and he lit the spark that caused Eric's Trip to blow up worldwide in 1992. Julie was totally endearing and her beautiful voice is better than ever - I still have a huge crush on her - she pogoed to energetic numbers with abandon and her bass playing drove the group's passionate sound. Rick White's hair is still shockingly long - this guy has so obviously never had a dayjob, his guitar is sludgy as ever and his voice still has that plaintive mournful sound that made the group a hit with the mopey indiepop set way back when. It was a thrill to see this band back together again after all these years, and even better that they still have the same emotional power and raw energy as they did when they first started.

Panopticon Eyelids, Nutsak and Tyvek at L'Esco

I refused to let the festival end, and so decided to drop by L'Esco for one last gasp. I was glad I did - this was another of the best shows of the festival. Panopticon Eyelids is a Montreal band that I will make a point of seeing again, their sound was totally fresh and new and insanely heavy and cool. I couldn't even begin to pigeonhole them - just inexplicably weird and awesome. Something in the vicinity of hardcore, noise, psyche and free-improv? Incredible and totally unhinged live.

Nutsak also blew me away, another Montreal band that I want to check out again, another unlikely mix of elements that makes the group impossible to lump into any particular category. Elements of skree and skronk noise rock, jazz influence, punk, a loungy number called "I Hate Everything". Great great great great. Another awesome live band.

Tyvek from Detroit was the last band of the night at L'Esco and they were equally awesome as the bands that they followed. Like Panopticon Eyelids and Nutsak, their sound was an unexpected mix - something between the straight edge hardcore sound of early groups like Minor Threat, and punked out garage rock, with a healthy doise of noise thrown in for good measure. The band had high-energy that never let up and humble, casual between song patter that helped them win over the crowd - but with a sound like theirs, of course, it didn't take much.

Unlike last year's festival which featured a lot of bands that I was already a huge huge fan of - Joanna Newsom, Vashti Bunyan, Al Tuck, Spider, Glass Candy, Ecstatic Sunshine, etc.... - this year had a lot of bands whose names I was familiar with and had maybe casually checked out but didn't really know that well. That was cool - it left room for some pleasant surprises and the desire to dig deeper into these bands discographies and check them out live again. It made me want to look and listen harder to legends like Half Japanese, Mort Sahl, Pere Ubu, Eric's Trip, David Yow and Patti Smith, even though I was already a big fan of a few of them, and anxious to check out and learn more about relatively new groups like Fucked Up, Panopticon Eyelids, Nutsak and CPC Gangbangs and Pony Da Look.

Pop Montreal 2007 was another killer edition of one of the best rock festival is North America. I'm already looking forward to next year.

More photos at Flickr. Photos by Gordon B. Isnor except Mort Sahl and Pony Da Look photos - these two are press photos, not taken at the events.

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Gordon B. Isnor