Montreal Goes POP
Ah Pop Montreal. The little festival that could. A splendid time is guaranteed for all, whether you fancy grungy rock, dirty beats or ambient rhythms. It’s a great opportunity to check out new bands in exciting spaces and be exposed to some more of the glory the city has to offer...
Ah Pop Montreal. The little festival that could. A splendid time is guaranteed for all, whether you fancy grungy rock, dirty beats or ambient rhythms. It’s a great opportunity to check out new bands in exciting spaces and be exposed to some more of the glory the city has to offer.
Friday's planned attendance of Thunderheist/Skratch Bastard at the not-quite-open-yet Coda club fell through as plans changed. However, we headed over to Mile End to the Ukrainian Federation to catch New York’s Grizzly Bear, which by far surpassed any of my expectations. It was my inaugural visit to the space, which awed me with its gentleness, completed by a hand-painted backdrop and Church pew-style seating in the balcony. The show itself was a sit-down affair, which suited the gorgeous tones of the band perfectly.
With a name like Grizzly Bear I expected something fierce, but instead was greeted by lush four-part harmonies and ambient, circular guitar sounds that enveloped me like a pair of warm arms, drawing me in without force. It’s the first time I’ve seen a clarinet onstage in years, with one of the members of the band crouching at the corner of the stage like a wood nymph. They were struck by the reaction of the crowd to some experimentation that had never graced live ears before, including a special appearance by Final Fantasy’s Owen Pallet on violin. Sadly I missed the local opener, Plants and Animals, though their praises were sung by my friends who caught most of their set.
Saturday night’s choices were almost overwhelming, but I ended up back at the Sala Rossa for what was being billed as a “House Party”, having been moved from Notman House to Sala Rossa after the devastating cancellation of what was to be one of my festival highlights, Chad van Gaalen.
Local dance wunderkids Think about Life blasted through a short, fun set on the floor of the Sala before making way for the eclectric musical stylings of local artist SoCalled. I’d never heard of Josh Dolgin or his klezmer-inspired mash up of hip hop, country, and funk before. He stepped out looking like a mild-mannered history professor, but before long had the crowd swinging and smiling along. He was joined by the lovely and talented Katie Moore on vocals, whose voice complimented his own beautifully.
But the true headliner of the night was Fred Wesley, a man who should need no introduction, though admittedly he was new to me as well before Saturday. His one of the legendary faces of the 60’s and 70’s funk scene as senior trombonist for James Brown. As soon as he hit the stage, the crowd went wild and didn’t stop moving for a second. By the time he helmed the mic for the evening’s signature tune “House Party”, he showed everyone a thing or two about what it means to be a legend. The room was shaking, hips were bumping, and my feet were blisteringly sore the next day… but it was completely worth every second of it!
Socalled photo by Simon Law, Creative Commons. Not taken at the Pop Montreal show.
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in prep
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