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By Fraser D. McCallum - F-Train 120 - 03/01/2006

Montreal indie rock crowds can be pretty apathetic sometimes. In my experience, even when they are witnessing the most entertaining of big-name live performances, hipster concertgoers will rarely truly get into the show. This was not the case on March 1st at a sold-out Metropolis where Metric rocked the house. Although not the best sounding or most chatty that I’ve seen the band, Metric were energetic, dedicated and extremely tight, and the audience responded with feverish applause and danced from start to finish.

New Unicorns spin-off project Islands opened the show. In support of their first studio release Return To The Sea, Islands played roughly forty minutes of new music. The new music was fairly repetitive and sounded a lot like Unicorns B-side tracks. One dancehall song, ‘Abominable Snow’, was actually an exciting updated version of an old Unicorns song. Islands features Nick Diamonds as frontman and lead vocalist with J’aime Tambeur, the only other former Unicorn, on drums. At Metropolis, the band had nine members over the course of their set, including two violins, a clarinet, a rhythm guitar and a bass. Although some poppy tracks like “Rough Gem” and “Flesh” were quite enjoyable, on a whole Islands seemed disorganized, out of tune, and many of the members seemed unnecessary for the song requirements. One untitled song featured a cameo by an un-named fiery rapper who was much more interesting than Diamonds or his bandmates. Lead singer Diamonds was fairly irritating in his banter with the crowd, which seems to be his decided ‘thing’ as lead singer. All in all, this writer simply longed for the music of the Unicorns (RIP) as this Islands performance was fair to mediocre.

After an extended setup break, the night truly began. Emily Haines and her band took this stage to monstrous applause and immediately launched into Live It Out's second single “Poster of a Girl”. Unfortunately, Haines’ mic cut out immediately and sucked some of the wind out of Metric’s sails. The room was quickly re-energized with a sped-up version of the title track to their aforementioned new album. From there, the band kept up the new song streak with "The Police and the Private". This song was particularly entertaining with Haines playing both synth and piano, while lead guitarist James Shaw finger-picked through a standout solo. This track had the entire crowd thrashing and moving, and it was truly the most entertaining song of the night.

Then, Metric brought out some older favorites from their first album Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?. "The List" and "Succexy" were both exceptional with Metric truly hitting their stride of the concert. Emily Haines danced around the stage ever so sexually, much to the joy of the dozens of teenage boys in the front row. She also then said her first of few words to the crowd, coyly whispering “Hiiiiii…” into the mic before launching into one of the Old World singles "IOU". The incredible skill of the Metropolis lighting crew was truly demonstrated during these three tracks as well. Dozens of vibrant spotlights, glimmering row bulbs and flashing strobe effects were the perfect backdrop for Haines and company to truly rock out.

Next it was back to Live It Out tracks with “Glass Ceiling” and “Monster Hospital” sandwiched around the slower ballad “Love Is A Place” from the Old World album. This last track had the lighters and cellphones up, and featured some beautiful crooning by Haines. At the end of this track, she blathered something about “it being great to be the underdog, Montreal you’re so good to us”. Haines in general seemed fairly inebriated. Although this led to some peculiar stage banter, the music was not disappointing and Metric continued to rock the stage. Notable were the skills of Shaw on lead guitar, often breaking into extensive Hendrix-style guitar riffs and solos, which gave the Live It Out songs especially a furious and panicked charm. Shaw's and Haines' combined attack truly defines the band and was reaching incredible chemistry around this late part of the show. After another two songs (Old World’s slowed-down ‘On a Slow Night’ and Live It Out’s album opener ‘Empty’ -- another high point), Metric threw down their instruments and left the stage.

Of course things weren’t done as Metric soon returned to a howling madhouse of fans, so charged up that this writer worried about the Metropolis floorboards breaking in from the collective thumping of feet. The encore was quite solid with monster hits "Combat Baby" and "Hustle Rose" played seamlessly as one long track. The rhythm section was brilliant here and Haines' synth sounds were never more dead-on fitting than on "Hustle Rose". She was visibly exhausted from a night of jumping all over the stage, but nevertheless jumped right into closer "Dead Disco". This track was very exciting with the incredible light show again almost overshadowing the skills of the band. Still, the song was rich and layered with interesting bridges, although it was extended far too long into an effects 'n feedback-driven finale. Regardless, the crowd loved it and applauded long after Haines had blown kisses goodnight.

All in all, it was not the best I’ve seen Metric; they seemed better in past shows when they were still trying to earn the respect and in smaller venues to smaller crowds. Haines' odd banter was slightly distracting but she made up for it in spades with her incredibly seductive stage presence and angelic voice. She truly rocked the house and all eyes were on her all the time. The rhythm section was very tight, but not overly noticeable -- which is a good thing -- showing their attention to small details. As mentioned, Shaw, on lead, was excellent and it was truly his riffs and solid melodies that took the songs to great heights. Overall, it was a great show, which could have perhaps used more audience banter -- or maybe less drunken rambling -- but made up for in sheer talent and an electrifying wall-of-sound effect that translated the songs perfectly from the albums. The most remarkable thing, however, was the effect Metric had on the Montreal indie rock audience, who are usually bored and too-cool-for-school but feverishly animated and visibly enthralled on this night. If a band can do that to Montreal hipsters, then hats-off. 7.5 Metric Units/10

[Tune in to F-Train120 every Tuesday Noon to 2:00pm.]

By Mike Bresciani - The Lonesome Strangers - 03/10/2006

There’s something so rewarding about seeing a show on a Friday night in Montreal. The week’s gone by and the countless amount work you put into those last five days just reinforces that sense of accomplishment. That is, unless you’re majoring in Communications studies, in which case you’ve probably learned nothing during the last 120 hours. Even so, one would like to think that this show has been in heavy anticipation, especially after spending a week analyzing useless films, discussing abstract art and learning about the deeper meaning behind De Certeau’s idea of “Railway Incarceration”… fun stuff.

Surprisingly, there was no one opening up this show. I had half-expected some local band to play a quick set before Rogue Wave. I speak for many people when I say that it’s usually the unannounced opening band that gives me that 30-minute buffer zone before getting to the show. Thankfully, most people -- myself included -- got there on time, and caught the magnificent Rogue Wave. Unfortunately, their set was way too short, as they truly performed the duties of an opening band by playing for just over a half-hour. For that brief period of time spent onstage, the four-piece went through selections from their two studio albums, the newest one being Descended Like Vultures, which came out via Sub Pop in October. Their songs felt faster and louder compared to the sweeping mid-tempo guitars I remembered from their studio recordings. This is usually the case for most live shows, so I’m really pointing out the obvious here; that notwithstanding, I was very impressed. They were nothing out of the ordinary, but that’s what I had intended to see. Opening with “Bird on a Wire” (no, not Leonard Cohen) and “Every Moment” (Napoleon Dynamite sountrack), the band played through the rest of a steady set which featured ditties from their 23-song catalogue like “Medicine Ball”, “Catform” and “Love’s Lost Guarantee”. Having just crossed the border less than two hours before show time, Zach Rogue and Co. had staged the perfect in 'n out performance, which provided a superb beginning to this well-orchestrated Sub-Pop/Barsuk double-bill.

With their second headlining tour in support of The Weight Is A Gift, Nada Surf returned to Montreal after playing La Sala Rossa only five short months ago. Having been one who had missed them the first time around, isn’t it wonderful to get a “live show do-over”? It doesn’t happen all that often, but when it does, that level of satisfaction tends to reach fantastic heights.

Their live show had been hyped up to me by numerous individuals, and with good reason. Nada Surf performed the ideal live show, and whether or not you had ever listened to them before tonight, you’d walked out of this show sporting an ear-to-ear grin. Whether it was playing in one of Montreal’s best live venues, having a stellar opening act or the enthused crowd of twenty-somethings, everything seemed to be playing in their favor. For one thing, who would expect lead man Matthew Caws and bassist Daniel Lorca to speak fluent French? Most artists make a half-assed attempt to speak a bit of broken French with the audience, but this duo actually went so far as to play their song “Fruitfly”, with Caws singing in English and Lorca (posing as a snooty poet) translating the lyrics into French, much to the delight of the crowd. This French banter left drummer Ira Elliot hilariously out of the loop for much of their onstage witticisms.

As for the tunes and the overall presence of the band, it seems like the Nada boys have perfected the art of the live performance to a T, with a certain tightness that not all three-pieces can maintain throughout a 90+ minute show. The setlist was by and large songs from their newest release, peppered with enough tracks from their three other records to keep the old-school fans happy. Formulaic but nonetheless enjoyable, the song choices were seamless, and with the addition of a few exceptional covers, the trio kept the audience guessing at all times. Their rendition of the Smiths’ classic “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out” gave me goosebumps, as I felt compelled to sing along with the stranger to my left. Later on during the show, while playing “Killian’s Red”, they went into a striking version of “Love Will Tear Us Apart”, a song which has been covered to death. Still, I was awed with their adaptation.

From the new album, songs like “In The Mirror”, “Concrete Bed” and “Always Love” stood out from the rest. “Blankest Year” had to be my least favorite track from the new album, yet in this live setting, it ended up surprising me the most. With the chorus going “oh fuck it/I’m gonna have a party”, the song brought the members of Rogue Wave onto the stage, with their bassist Evan Farrell popping open some fresh champagne as the others danced around and sang backup. It’s amazing how the weakest part of the CD ended up being one of the strong points of the performance. But that’s how this show was: flawless, from every possible perspective. Even the people who just came to hear them play their 1996 hit “Popular” went home happy campers, as the band played the song halfway through their encore.

To this day, most people remember hearing that one song on 99.9 The Buzz during the 90’s. It’s strange because that song is just the complete opposite of what the band stands for. “Popular” seemed more like an artsy, experimental song that went horribly right, somewhat like the Eels' spoken word track “Susan’s House” off Beautiful Freak. What’s odd about the new album is that it has a small piece of cardboard folded on the top -- something usually reserved for import CD's -- and it boasts:

“Nada Surf show enough smarts and panache to leave most of their nineties-rock peers eating hot dust” – Rolling Stone.

Now, I’ve always stayed away from bands who’ve felt the need to advertise for their own CD… on the actual CD. Still, when one comes to think about it, Nada Surf does stand tall with the Weezers, the Gusters and if you wanna really push it, the Bob Moulds (Copper Blue specifically). Notwithstanding, the band seems to be getting lumped in more with that hip O.C. indie rock crowd with bands like the Shins and Death Cab, which is predictable as they’re on the same label as Death Cab and they had their cover of “If You Leave” on one of those O.C. mixes. Even so, it shouldn’t really matter what category you put them under: Nada Surf makes great music. They write fantastic love songs, which are simple and to the point, much in the same vein as other signature geek rock outfits out there -- if you wanna call them geek rock, that is. They’ve gotten over “Popular” long ago, and they’ve never really tried to make or re-create another song with that same impact. One couldn’t say that about a band like Weezer, who’s been trying to catch that same spark that drove people bananas for their first two albums. They’re now churning out forgettable albums with embarrassing singles, whereas Matthew Caws and his bandmates have stayed consistently good for years, and that’s what really matters in this fictional battle for alt-rock supremacy.

[Tune in to The Lonesome Strangers every Wednesday from 4:00pm to 6:00pm.]

See also previous Nada Surf-related reviews:
Nada Surf with Rilo Kiley @Cabaret, May 2005
Nada Surf @La Sala Rossa, October 2005

By Josh Mocle - The Kids Are So-So - 02/16/2006

Innovative. Adjective. “Being or producing something like nothing done or experienced or created before”. I’ve seen this word thrown around in alt-rock circles for a few years now, when people are claiming that this or that band is “groundbreaking” or “doing new things with the genre”. That having been said, I’m gonna go ahead and say that arguably, the only truly innovative band to come out of the punk scene in the last seven years is none other than New York-by-way-of-Eastern Europe’s Gogol Bordello. These self-proclaimed “Gypsy Punks” sound like what The Sex Pistols would have sounded like if they had formed in post-war Ukraine rather than merry old England. In a sea of poseurs claiming to be punk rock, Gogol Bordello -- with their latest effort Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike -- continues to carry the torch of raw, unfettered and genuinely rebellious punk rock. On the night of February 16th 2006, they carried it to Montreal.

I made my way out to Le National, a new venue nestled comfortably in the east end of Ste-Catherine, on Friday night accompanied by my 56-year-old father, a recently converted Gogol fan. You can imagine my surprise when my Dad, who for years had told me to “turn that crap down” whenever I spun whatever new CD I was rocking at the time, showed a considerable amount of interest in accompanying me to this show. Once I reached the venue, however, it ceased to be a mystery as the first thing I noticed were folks older than him in the crowd. For the first time in my concert-going career, I was part of an audience that was genuinely diverse. You had your twentysomething “intellectual” university kids, your working class 30-40 “civilized” bunch, your 50-60 “seen the world” adults and finally, your generic 16-19 scene kids (*vomit*). This really struck me as a reflection on Gogol themselves, as for a few months I’d been puzzled as to what their target audience is. Based on this turnout, that target audience appears to be pretty damn close to everyone.

After around an hour and a half of standing around, Toronto’s Panic and the Rebel Emergency took the stage. I had only heard of this band before that evening and I can now safely say that I could have lived a full and happy life without ever having to hear their particular brand of what I affectionately call “white boy Reggae” (one can probably guess what I infer by that) -- despite the fact that one of their two singers was a Jamaica native, but I digress. After a shortened set full of ditties that sounded like a mangled mix of Chassidic Reggae Superstar Matisyahu and stoner favorites Sublime -- although not the genuinely good aspects of either group -- and a cover of Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start The Fire”, they were off to most likely toke up somewhere based on the amount of time they spent praising Montreal weed during their set.

A half-hour later, Gogol Bordello themselves took the stage and that was when things really got interesting. After opening their set with one of their more downbeat songs, “Immigrant Punk” -- probably the song, in my opinion, that best describes all the music they would go on to play that night -- they began to rip into “Sally”, the first track off Gypsy Punks, at which point the room exploded. As the night wore on, the energy exhibited by the band was almost contagious. The last time I saw a crowd this riled-up and energetic was in a video of one of Boston’s Dropkick Murphys world-famous St.Patrick’s Day shows -- I realize that may mean nothing to a lot of you Montrealers, but back in Boston it’s a pretty big deal. By the end of the second song, singer/acoustic guitar player Eugene Hutz was topless and covered in sweat -- as is the case, rumor has it, at every Gogol show; the man apparently likes to flaunt himself.) By the third song, the band’s dancer/percussionists Pamela Jintana Racine and Elizabeth Sun took the stage with the rest of band. In the band’s recordings, their contributions are often not too noticeable over those of the men in the band (you know the female shrieks all over “I Would Never Wanna Be Young Again”? Yeah, that’s them), but their presence on stage added to the chaos, an element of beauty and charisma that were absent otherwise. Hell, they certainly made the older male members of the band look prettier by comparison.

Speaking of the older male members of the band, Violinist Sergey Ryabtzev wins the Awesome award of the night; never before had I seen a person work a violin with as much intensity and vigor. He truly created the punk vibe with that thing -- I hope you’re listening Yellowcard. Easily in his mid-50's, Ryabtzev had seemingly more energy than some of his bandmates who were half his age. That having been said, the rest of the band wasn’t too shabby either. Almost entirely hidden behind his accordion, Yuri Lemeshev added a traditional aspect to the songs, solidifying in numbers such as “Think Locally, Fuck Globally” and “60 Revolutions”, the “gypsy” aspect of Gogol’s Gypsy Punks. Meanwhile, electric guitarist Oren Kaplan, bassist Rea Mochiach and drummer Eliot Ferguson kept the beat and form of the songs, but were sadly overshadowed -- in my opinion -- by the rest of the band. Which brings me to Eugene Hutz himself; I can’t say much about this man that hasn’t been said before. I’ve heard things like “ball of energy on stage” and “wild & crazy guy” used to describe the frontman, but I choose to describe him in one word, and that word is simply “electrified”. The amount of movement and energy coming out of that man would make one think he was getting 3000 volts injected into his body for an hour and a half. With his constant command of “party!” to the audience, he sure took his own advice. Even after the band had concluded their set, he still seemed content to talk smack with the audience from the empty stage.

By the end of the night, I found myself completely wasted having consumed no alchoholic substances (okay, maybe a litle, but that’s neither here nor there). Firmly taking its place towards the top of my “best live shows I’ve ever seen” list, Gogol Bordello has got me even more hooked than I had been. Like going on three consecutive benders followed by a bar mitzvah and an extended family reunion complete with all the members who grew up in the “old country”, thus is the effect Gogol Bordello has on its audience. If such an experience interests you -- and you KNOW it does -- then I would strongly suggest making your way to a Gogol show sometime in the near future; you probably won't be disappointed.

Oh, and my Dad loved it too.

[Tune in to The Kids Are So-So Saturdays 10:00pm-Midnight.]

By Katie Seline - Wrong Side of the Bed - 02/02/2006

One of my favourite things about living in Montreal over the past five years has been the vast variety of live shows and great local bands. But over time, the city’s scene began to take a toll -- falling somewhere in between journalist and borderline wanna-be hipster, this DJ’s skin was beginning to wear thin. The girls were becoming just a little too frightening, the style just a little bit too much, the music getting lost in the scene itself. It was fitting, however, that I spend one of my last evenings in Montreal going to a show, and I think I chose the perfect one. It was an odd line-up, but one that was just comforting enough to be enjoyable and just as ridiculous enough to remind me that I am glad to be leaving.

Toronto’s Controller.Controller have been on the road with OK GO for a while now, opening for them over their US dates but trading places it seems in Canada. Controller headlined this show at Cabaret in Montreal and the result was an odd mix of teenage girls and Montreal hipsters, the girls overriding the latter in both number and voice. Even stranger than the line-up was the fact that the floor was packed for OK GO, who took the stage after the bizarre -- and I’m not going to lie to you -- pretty brutal Stop Die Resuscitate, but the crowd seemed to dissipate before frontwoman Nirmala Basnayake and gang came on. In any case, the crowd that remained provided a good reception for the band, but not what I would have expected considering the quality of their performance.

Both bands played incredibly well -- OK GO were much more entertaining than I had expected, having the energy and the sass that only a band with such a rabid following can have. They stole the show with their cover of ELO’s "Don’t Bring Me Down", followed later by their lip-sync dance performance of their single "A Million Ways to be Cruel". What I like most about Controller.Controller is that despite all the setbacks, the band plays with heart. Nirmala has that sex appeal that sometimes seems lacking in Canadian indie music. I don’t mean that girl-next-door appeal of Emily Haines (Metric) or similar female vocalists in bands like Stars and Arcade Fire, but rawer strength that builds up and adds to her music. The band played a fair share of songs off both their full-length X-Amounts and their more danceable EP History, performing all songs strongly and finished up with an encore of cymbal-throwing and buffoonery. Of course, the night wouldn’t be complete without a performance by OK GO of a scene from Les Misérables.

Overall, the evening was just what I needed to send me off on my way and remind me that the music scene in Montreal really isn’t that alienating. Besides, how can it be when the band dedicates a song to you and your journey abroad -- thanks Omar and Alex.

[Wrong Side of the Bed is currently on hiatus while Katie explores a new scene in Melbourne, Australia. Cheers mate!]