Black Lips + Vivian Girls + Davilla 666 @ Le National

An epically long show took place at Le National last Friday night, and every moment was worth it. I got there way too early - the show started about an hour after the posted opening time. When I arrived, I chatted with a scalper outside for a bit and learned that the show was not even close to sold out, and the interior was a testament to that. There were about thirty people in the crowd up until the first band, Davila 666 from Puerto Rico, reluctantly stepped out onto the stage. During their first couple of Ramones-inspired tunes, the floodgates must have opened, because when I turned around the place was packed. These guys are definitely something to watch for. I wrote a Deerhoof review awhile back and said that they were one of the cutest shows ever, but Davila 666 tops the cuteness charts. Five buddies about five feet each with various versions of hip mullets sweated their way through the set and had the audience moshing.

Vivian Girls were up next. This was my first time seeing them, and, being quite a big fan, I had high hopes. The audience got a bit strange, though; they started to mosh and be a bit pushy, which was not really warranted by the Vivian Girls’ relatively toned-down set. The sound, from where I was standing anyway, was a little muffled. They played a few hits and some new songs that I wasn’t familiar with, and, to be frank, they seemed a little bored. Even so, the superfans in the audience didn’t seem to mind.

Black Lips took to the stage, in front of a goergeous spray-painted sheet with their name on it, to a riled-up crowd, and didn’t disappoint. Their southern-tinged punk rock sound was reminiscent of some shows in Montreal's underground venues like Decadent Squalor, and I kind of wished that the show was happening in a space like that. The whole room was a sweaty mess throughout the set, and Le National was packed to the rafters. If the show wasn’t sold out, it must have been pretty close to it. Black Lips’ singer, Cole Alexander, avoided arrest two years ago on a tour of India when he stripped naked and jumped into the crowd. There was crowd surfing this time too, but unfortunately no nudity. Fans in the audience knew all the words, and the atmosphere was close to riotous.

All in all, you should be sad you missed this show (if you did). Thankfully, Black Lips seem to come to Montreal pretty often, which is understandable considering the crowd’s enthusiasm. I would highly recommend their new album, Arabia Mountain, which will be released on June 7thta. Also, check out Davila 666’s Tan Bajo; it’s the kind of stuff you can stick on your MP3 player and jiggle your ass at in the metro station.

-Danielle J hosts Runny Noise on Thursday from 10pm-12am