PETER, BJORN & JOHN + Chairlift @ Le National

By Lindsay Wood - Through Being Cool - 04/27/2009

In 1999, a very trendy, easy to listen to and easy to look at group was born. They even had a member named Bjorn…and Peter and John. On Monday, April 28th they came to Montreal with openers Chairlift.

The three piece electro rock group, based out of Brooklyn, New York, are best known for their song "Bruises" that was featured in a 2008 iPod Nano commercial. This was unknown to this writer prior to the show, but clearly someone told the rest of Montreal because the band did get a good 'sing-a-long" reaction from the crowd when they played the familiar tune.

Caroline Polachek, the female lead vocalist and synthesizer player crooned to the crowd with her sugary sweet voice. It wasn't overwhelming but still very powerful and soothing. Paired with some Morrisey-esque high notes and shouts here and there, she rocked out and seemed to have a blast singing and playing with her bandmates.

Patrick Wimberly and Aaron Pfenning happily played in what appeared to be their underwear, an ode to the hot weather the city was greeted with that day. Wimberly gave the audience a wonderful side profile of his drum kit/bass guitar. It was a great set-up visually as there were a million different things going on for the audience to register audibly and visually.

As they said goodbye to the audience after a charming opening set, they gave a heads up about the charming banter we were about to hear.

After a quick set change I watched Peter Morén come into the spotlight and my curiosity grew about the other members of the band. A whole five minutes passed during the first song while I waited for the lights to pass on the other members.

It was well worth the wait. These were three impeccably dressed Swedes with class and presence. As the show began, they went with an excellent set list of the new, the old and some classics. Though Peter, Bjorn & John have been a band for ten years, they only started charting over the past two and a half. Their single Young Folks can now be heard on the soundtrack of many popular TV shows as well as a few popular commercials. When played live, they were joined by their friend Ross because apparently the crew was celebrating Ross Day. He joined them on stage for an excellent rendition accompanied by the perfect combination of energy and bongos. The band took a short break and after they returned; Peter wearing a new, trendier outfit, they continued to break out a few more of their catchy, knee jerking, indie dancing tunes.

After a few tracks off their newest album Living Thing, the kids were dancing and tromping the closer and closer to the stage for a touch of Peter's outreached hand. The boys of PB&J know how to charm and entertain their audience without a hitch. Though it may not have been the most earth shattering show, it was certainly one that holds few complaints. It seemed short, being just under two hours for the main act, however there weren't any dull or drab moments. It was easy to see how this band was chosen to back up Kanye West for his live performance.

It was a good night in all, ending with all the kids from backstage on stage, with cowbells and bongos rocking out with Peter, Bjorn and John. It was the kind of ending to a show that makes anyone that plays an instrument, writes about music, or even takes pictures of music want to go on tour, rock out and have a blast every single time they play.

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