THE PRESETS + The Golden Filter @ Le Studio

By Sophia Linhaires - Colour It Indie - 04/05/2009

This was the third time The Presets hit Montreal, after two albums and two previous shows it was nice to see how many people were lined up for the show. When I go to a concert, the first thing I always take note of is the crowd. Though it may sound strange it really does help you figure out what to expect for the rest of the night.  Everyone is there for the same reason; to see a band they like perform live.  For the Presets and The Golden Filter, the crowd was a mesh made up of all types of people. From scenesters to hipsters, club kids, raver kids, indie kids, the college crowd ,goth folk, even old folks. Frankly I was pretty baffled by the sight.

Openers The Golden Filter kicked off the show with an astonishing performance of “Favorite Things”. Penelope, the leading lady looked stunning in her dazzling silver mini dress. If there’s one thing to be said about her it’s that she can really rock the stage. The band played a stellar performance that even sounded better then their recently released album which was already quite impressive. Unfortunately the performance was short lived. I really would’ve liked to hear more songs. Hopefully this will be the start of a new Montreal fan base for the band.

When The Presets came on stage the crowd doubled. It was a tight squeeze in the cabaret that night; a great venue due to the small stage that makes for a more intimate show. Now before I begin to express my feelings on how The Presets did, let me say that this is coming from a fan that has adored the band for the past five years. Yet I never got the chance to really take a good listen to their new album and had just heard two or three songs prior to the show. The guys opened with their hit single “Talk Like That” which really got the crowd moving. But every song after that was a yawn. A really long yawn filled with way too many dépêche mode wannabe ballads and a really terrible remix of their once awesome song “Are You The One”. It was sad to see a band butcher their music like that. I will say that they did play well it just wasn’t at all what I was expecting after having seen them the first time they came to Montreal. It was like watching a completely different band. They didn’t even play any of the old tunes except the one they killed. It was truly a disappointment. Hell the only reason I’m glad I stayed there during that painful display was because I got to meet Penelope on the side of the stage during their last song. I will say that if you did enjoy the latest album from the presets you probably had a great time but for me, it was more entertaining to see people attempting to body surf and failing terribly. Oh that and the seeing an Australian flag in the center of the crowd was nice too. 

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