Pop Montreal 2012 - Maiden Voyage Five-Day Festival Recap
The 2012 edition of Pop Montreal, which ran from September 19th to the 23rd, stands out as probably the best the festival has done in its 11-year run. So much so, that the CJLO team is still talking about it! We believe that you can never get enough POP, so here is another five-day festival recap by Beansie Saretsky from CJLO's Maiden Voyage. Ms. Beansie braved the rainy weather, on her bicycle no less, to check out the several shows and POP events around the city, so keep on reading, and be sure to check out the CJLO Magazine in the coming days for more POP Montreal reviews!
WEDNESDAY
I kicked off the festival with free smoked meat and beer at Commission des Liqueurs (best find of Pop Montreal, in my opinion). The smoked meat was provided by Schwartz and the beer seemed to be homebrewed. Who doesn't love a free dinner? I inhaled the food by myself and then headed back to my apartment to get my bike so that I could make the ride up to Jean-Talon.
I was looking forward to seeing DIIV since their album Oshin came out in June of this year (also because Zackary Cole Smith is the cutest). I got to Il Motore about an hour before the show and the room was pretty empty. You could tell that it wasn't that packed by the fact that the chain-linked fence outside wasn't filled with bikes. I showed them my media pass and to my dismay, the volunteer in charge of the door told me that it was full for "capacity issues" and that I would have to start a line.
Looking at an empty venue and being told that you can't go in for "capacity issues" smarts a little bit, but I was so looking forward to this show that I decided to wait. DIIV went on about five minutes later and the room slowly started to fill up with people who had bought tickets to see Wild Nothing. I tried asking the volunteer if it would be possible for me to enter since I had no interest in seeing Wild Nothing but wanted to see DIIV, and he said it wasn't possible. Five minutes later he let three of his friends in without tickets. I was pissed.
The one bonus thing though, about waiting in a media/wristband line at Il Motore, is that you can still hear and see everything. DIIV was incredible. From what limited parts I could see they were having the time of their lives on stage, throwing their hair around and smiling at each other throughout the set. The songs sounded just as good live as they do listening to the album at home (which seems rare for new artists these days). I have to admit, I was a bit preoccupied by the fact that I wasn't technically in the show to enjoy it fully. I was let in to the venue two songs before the end of their set. By then the room was actually packed. I made my way to the step up by the bar and almost wished I had stayed by the door. Now on top of not seeing anything, I was sandwiched on all sides. However, DIIV's music was like a blanket of melancholy guitars and sweet vocals and I pulsed along with the rest of the crowd to the music.
Some choice quotes from the couple behind me: "They look like Smurphs" and "They look like my little brother's age... are we old?"
I then left the venue to catch Folly and The Hunter's set at 3 Minots but got a call once I was 5 minutes away that the venue was full to passes. An annoying end to the first night of the festival!
THURSDAY
I hit up Commission des Liqueurs again (this time with some friends). It was definitely a good way for a venue to lure people in to see its showcases. We stayed for the first band, which was a group of students from Université de Montréal that sounded like Coldplay and had stage faces that were obviously one and the same with their bedroom faces. It was delightfully awkward. We then headed down the block to catch Warm Myth, the new duo featuring Casey Mecija from Ohbijou. The duo's setup was interesting, as they used a drum pad as well as a drum kit. This made for an interesting percussion set. I just saw Ohbijou play in Ottawa the previous Saturday and although Warm Myth was good, I found Casey's voice so distinctive that it sounded almost as if Ohbijou had decided to go the electronic route. In that sense, I didn't find that Mecija expanded into new territories, but that her sweet, thoughtful songwriting had just taken on a more hip edge. A lovely set, but not extremely memorable.
I then ran two blocks down to Casa del Popolo, where local shoegazers & CJLO members Aim Low were setting up to play their set. It was the first time I'd seen the trio since their new lineup and I wasn't disappointed. They opened up with their usual wall of sound and thankfully this time I remembered to bring ear plugs. The audience got cozy on the floor - Aim Low's sound has a way of washing over you and draping you in its many folds, so sitting is a nice way to experience it. The pedal display is impressive without being pretentious. There were visuals provided by Julie Matson, which added another aspect to the show, lovely repetitive visuals that clicked right along with the guitars. They ended on a soft note which I really enjoyed and thought it brought a nice closure to the set.
I'm sad to say that I kind of found Doldrums' live performance overrated. Unlike the double drum set up of Warm Myth previously, this two drum setup seemed boring with Doldrums. The dancing seemed somewhat forced, as if they were trying to be eccentric but were just feeling kind of tired. I had high expectations of them but felt that their set just fell kind of flat. The audience was half into it / half not and I definitely left feeling like I had missed something.
FRIDAY
An Evening with David Byrne & St. Vincent @ Église St. Jean Baptiste
Friday was a gloomy day. It was raining all over the place but I did not feel anxious about getting into the show because before I knew that I had a media pass, I bought tickets for the David Byrne and St. Vincent show two months prior. It was totally worth it, they filled up on pass slots by 5:00pm (doors were at 7:00pm). The line went very quickly and we were soon ushered into the church, a massive architectural beauty. I'm always really pleased when attending events in churches, as the ones that I grew up around out west were built in the late 20th century so are not as impressive and imposing as the ones we have here in Montreal.
The show kicked off with the single "Who" from their collaborative album Love This Giant. David Byrne and Annie Clark were flanked by a group of young brass instrumentalists and a light show that would have felt at home at the Bell Centre. I found this lighting decision a little over the top, but wasn't going to complain. The onstage presence of David Byrne and Annie Clark was electrifying. They had excellent chemistry and their similar off-kilter, jitterbug dance moves meshed together very well. I do have to say though, Annie Clark stole the show. You can't help but watch her play the guitar, and David Byrne seemed content to stand off to the side and enjoy watching her along with everyone else.
The duo played a Love This Giant song, a St. Vincent song, and a David Byrne song, accompanied by the brass band each time. I do have to say I would have preferred to hear the St. Vincent repertoire minus the brass band, as I feel like it took away from the delicacy of her music, but it was definitely a worthwhile listening experience.
The instrumentalists had choreographed routines for each song, which was very charming and the vibe in the building was one of delight. At the end of every song, there was at least a handful of people giving a standing ovation. At the end, the applause were deafening and they gave us five encores! David Byrne got all the older ladies shaking with "Burning Down The House" and Annie Clark gave a heart wrenching performance of "The Party", complete with the church organ. It was breathtaking. I do believe they should have finished on this song, but they had one more encore left that was slightly upbeat and kind of stretched the limit of the audience's attention.
Yamantaka // Sonic Titan @ The Rialto
I rushed over to the Rialto in the rain with my bike so as not to miss the second half of the highly promoted Yamantaka // Sonic Titan Opera 33. Concordia students in the past, now based in Toronto, they have been creating small waves in the underground community with their debut album and their impressive live performances. I was disappointed that I had missed the art performance half of the show, as everyone in attendance said it was spectacular, but I was satisfied with at least catching the music performance half.
They were absolutely incredible and captivating. Part musical theatre styling, part metal, entirely bad ass and one of the best shows I've seen in my life (I have never seen someone make playing the tambourine and bells look so cool, but Ange Loft did just that). Shrieks and grunting mixed in with musical theatre like vocals drove the audience to a frenzy and my friend and I were left stammering at the end of the show "oh my god, oh my god, so good." I can't even write to do them justice, you'll just have to go see it for yourselves.
SATURDAY
Saturday was a grey day. The rain didn't seem like it was going to let up, so I braved the outdoors to make my way to St. Michel's Church for Puces Pop, one of my favourite parts of the festival. A slew of Montreal artisans gather in the church basement to hawk their wares to mobs of trendy Montrealers. A wave of steam and sweat hit my face as I entered the basement. The place was packed and it took forever to actually see each table properly. I noticed that regular Puces Pop-ers were there, like Jack Dylan and his beautiful posters but some new artists that I had never seen before. I found one table that had a beautiful collection of steel rings in the shapes of tentacles and tree branches, but unfortunately the pieces were out of my price range. After browsing and not finding anything that I liked in my price range, I left feeling satisfied with at least observing all of the pretty things.
My next stop was the record sale. I've only just started getting into the record world (I'm so cool, I know) so I didn't buy anything. But browsing was fun. CJLO had just had a record sale at Concordia two days prior, so I was interested to see what an actual large scale record sale looked like. I was definitely overwhelmed so I browsed quickly and then braved the rain back home.
The original version of The Omen screened at midnight at the Red Roof Church. Enough said.
SUNDAY
Drone Pop Up Party with Andrew Sisk, Old Wyoming, Echo Beach, and Aim Low @ Salon Identité
Sunday brought the sun back again and I made my way down to Salon Identité for the CJLO Sunday Drone Pop Up Party. We Live Here Too had an art display, Sophie Sucrée provided delicious treats and there were manicures happening all afternoon by Drop Dead Manicures. The salon became packed as Andrew Sisk started off the afternoon with a set that was so lovely and mournful it almost brought me to tears. Almost. Not really. I had never heard his music before and caught myself thinking more than once that I wish I was listening to it in my car at night.
Old Wyoming and Echo Beach did a lovely, plantive set blend that incorporated both of the artists' trademark sounds, and Aim Low did a turned down set for the small venue. It was just as good as the official POP set but they switched it up by substituting the last song for a National cover. It was really interesting to hear lyrics from Aim Low, with strong vocals from Denis Arsenault, which distorted through mics really added a new layer to their shoegaze instrumentals.
Rae Spoon, Queer POP @ Le Cagibi
I then biked up to catch some of Queer POP at Cagibi. The first time that Queer POP has happened appeared to be a true success. When I got there, Rondelle, an act from Nelson, BC was on stage. A quirky, folk duo, I found myself charmed by their onstage banter and their clear, heartfelt songs. Usually folk isn't my cup of tea but I really enjoyed this set. You should check them out if folk is your thing. Delightful live, especially.
Rae Spoon was on at 6:00 pm with a special performance that included a backing band! Usually it's just Rae on stage, but for Queer POP they changed it up a bit. The venue was packed and everyone was dancing along and smiling super wide. Rae brought out all of their hits along with funny anecdotes about each song and the audience was loving it. Rae's voice was clear and sweet as usual and even though I was feeling sick, I had no urge to leave the venue until after it was finished. It was a very nice, comforting environment and a nice end to a Sunday night.
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