Panda Bear + Blues Control + Ramzi @ Rialto Theatre

Presented by POP Montreal, Blue Skies Turn Black, Monster Energy, and Urbania

By day four of POP Montreal, I was very pleased to go into a venue with seating. As I settled into my spot up on the balcony of the beautiful Rialto Theatre, I was treated to local opener Ramzi. Her set put a new spin on the very popular post-Grimes electronic pop sound, and added an emphasis on texture without sacrificing too much pop focus and catchiness. As she weaved beat driven tropical pop with new age-y tones, pitching her voice down or mewing throughout the set, I couldn't help but feeling like I was inside the Internet. 

Up next was Blues Control, who started the set off with a strangely amped-up version of The Beatles "Day Tripper" (as far as I could tell), and moved quickly from sound to sound, never really finding a groove until the end of the set. They shredded on their guitars and used cheap-sounding midi drums and keyboard sounds in their entirely-instrumental set. The band only once took the time to make a half idea into a full sounding piece. The majority of their set was filled with stylistic turns too jarring for cohesion, but when Blues Control took an ambient approach, they jammed more simply on a simple motif, bending it into an interesting piece of music.

As excitement grew for Panda Bear's set, he took the stage to many applause and politely said, "Thanks! Thanks for coming you guys" before beginning his seamless and impressive set. Playing mostly material off his upcoming record Panda Bear Meets The Grim Reaper, along with a few choice cuts off 2011's Tomboy, he hinted at a new direction that owes a heavier debt to classic dance music. Most of the new material evoked house music or early hip hop (he even sampled the classic "Ashley's Roachclip" drum break in his second song), while still retaining a feel that is uniquely his own. The songs were sturdily constructed around strong beats, interesting samples and textures that keep the songs from leaning too close to something that could easily be described as just dance music. As Panda Bear moved through his set, switching between songs as a DJ would, the amazing, and very trippy visuals by Danny Perez (frequent Animal Collective collaborator and director of their 2010 visual album, ODDSAC), coupled with the intense light show, made for an amazing visual spectacle.

The three performances all together formed a show that was constantly entertaining, challenging and psychedelic, without sacrificing good vibes.

--Marshall Vaillancourt hosts Fear Of Music every Tuesday at 4 PM on CJLO.