The Lemon Twigs @ Theatre Fairmount

The scariest words a music journalist can hear have to be, “Sorry, you’re not on the list.” Which is how my evening began after walking up the steep stairs from Parc Avenue to the will-call window at Théâtre Fairmount this past Friday night. Frantically texting and emailing anyone who could remedy this situation for me, I spent an anxious twenty minutes before doing what I never like to do, but when dealing with a sold-out show it is sometimes the only thing left to do. “Is there anyone else I could speak with?” I politely asked the woman at the window, not wanting to come off as some middle-aged male Karen, but also not wanting to assume that I was not going to get into this show. Luckily for me, she was able to find someone who could quickly rectify the situation with the most wonderful words a music journalist can hear, “CJLO? I thought you were on the list. Here, I’ll just add you,” and with that, he stamped my wrist and the panic was over. 

By the time I made it through the doors, the opener SLUGBUG was already playing and although I was not quite sure what I was looking at, I was intrigued. The first thing that jumped out was the large, spinning wheel of coloured lights at the back of the stage. While I can neither confirm nor deny that this was a kaleidoscopic flux capacitor that was used as a wormhole to travel through time, the music filling the room did sound like it was coming from a place and time in the future - a fusion of electro-punk, folk and prog that heightened the mood in the theatre. The truth is that like all great New York art it feels timeless, like Walt Whitman or Patti Smith. Decked out in black leather pants and a sleeveless t-shirt, Paul D. Millar (aka SLUGBUG) alternated between electric guitar and synths, with some other sampler/keyboard type machine adding sounds and effects to the music. There was also a reel-to-reel tape machine that might have been recording the whole thing, playing some background accompaniment or simply just for decoration. It didn’t matter really because it balanced out the stage wonderfully, whatever it was doing. Announcing songs with intros like, “This song is about computers,” Millar brought a refreshing, unpretentious approach to his music and made for a joyous engagement with the audience, most of whom I assumed were also learning about him for the first time. Before playing his final song, “Boogie Collapse (Lego Breath, Deuxi​è​me Tableau)”, Millar decreed that we, “got to boogie while you can,” and boogie we did. Witnessing SLUGBUG was a reminder that it is important to keep an open mind as we move through life and experience new things and it is definitely important to listen to people who come back to share a sample of the future with our primitive minds. 

Next up was The Lemon Twigs - the musical project of brothers Brian and Michael D’Addario - and from the moment they walked on stage it was obvious that something special was about to happen. They quickly got into place - with Danny Ayala on bass and Reza Matin on drums - and in a flash, jumped into the opening number, the excellent “My Golden Years”, the first single and lead-off track from 2024’s A Dream Is All We Know. Over the next few songs, the brothers would trade off lead vocal duties and prove why they are the current kings of power pop. Then something truly magical happened, as each member switched to a different instrument, Brian taking the bass from Ayala, who would go to sit behind the electric piano, and Michael giving his guitar to Matin before settling in behind the drum kit, they raised the level of energy in the room with a killer one-two punch of “Any Time Of Day” off 2023’s Everything Harmony and “I Wanna Prove to You” off their 2016 debut album Do Hollywood. The amped-up versions of these crowd favourites had the whole room dancing and singing along, so much so that the floor was bouncing beneath my feet. If there was any doubt that we were experiencing something special, it was eradicated in this moment, and from that point on there was no looking back, The Lemon Twigs had turned it up to 11 and their adoring fans were along for the ride. The banter between songs also revved up, as the brothers joked with and about the crowd, and threw in cheeky comments like, “We found this one in a damp closet, put it on the record player, ripped it off and stole it,” before diving into “They Don’t Know How to Fall in Place” the second single from their latest album. 

One of the things that I was most excited about from this show was the cover songs that they would pepper into the set. Having seen some of the covers done at other shows on the tour, like the Rolling Stones’ deep cut “I'd Much Rather Be With the Boys” in Cologne, Germany or “Transparent Day” by The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band in Dublin, Ireland, what would we get here in Montréal? Not only would we get an excellent choice cut, but we’d get my favourite kind, a song and a band that I did not know. When Brian donned a harmonica harness I was curious what was coming and then when Michael announced that they were gonna try and do a song by The Choir I got giddy. As they tore through “I Only Did It ‘Cause I Felt So Lonely” by this lost Cleveland, Ohio proto-power pop band, it highlighted just how much The Lemon Twigs are connected with the forebearers of the type of music they create. They would play a handful of other songs from their impressive catalogue as well as a new, unreleased number, “You Are Still My Girl”, before bringing the set to a triumphant conclusion that would “leave us with something to rock and roll to”, as they exploded into the opening riffs of “Rock On (Over and Over)”.

For the encore Brian returned to the stage alone for an acoustic set of “Corner of My Eye”, which became an incredible 580-part harmony sing-along, “If You Give Enough” and “When Winter Comes Around”. The simple stripped-down versions of these songs showed just how stunning Brian’s voice is and how beautiful music bonds people together. After a rousing ovation, Brain invited the rest of the boys back on stage for one more number. Del Shannon’s “Runaway” was the perfect way to end this perfect night. Another great cover, another great sing-along and another reason why this was a night that will not be forgotten any time soon by the people lucky enough to have gotten in.