Matthew “not so” Good @ Club Soda - May 30th

Posted on May 31, 2008

I’m not sure what went through my mind when I signed up to review Matthew Good at Club Soda on May 30th. Maybe it’s because somewhere in my mind still lives a naive 12 year old girl who didn’t see all her favorite stars. Matthew Good band was one of the biggest bands of the 90s, but hasn’t really found a way to renew itself into a great solo act.

Before heading down to the show, I refreshed my memory and reminded myself of what made me like this band back in the day. I thought he had a good voice, but live, it becomes insistent, irritating and obnoxious. I thought his songs were catchy but he just sounds like any contemporary rock band that plays on those loud radio stations for 30-40 year olds. I also thought he was hot, but then h shows up wearing a loose fitting grey Habs t-shirt. Nice gesture, but not so sexy.

He played songs off his new album, Hospital Music as well as some old hits like Hello Time Bomb. The old songs didn’t sound any better, nor did they sound as good as they did back in the day. It’s not that he’s a bad musician, I just really didn’t like it: the music sounded tired and middle-aged, even though Mr. Good isn’t quite there yet.

I’ll give that to him though: the crowd was extremely enthusiastic and the club was completely full. Even though he didn’t live up to my expectations, he certainly did to theirs.

Thanks readers!

Posted on May 28, 2008

Hey folks,

just an honorable mention to all of you who come to my humble site to visit, read and see.

A near 300 of yas stopped over to sarahbrideau.com this last month. More than half of these were direct hits and organic searches, which means that you actually typed in my address by hand or looked me up on google, and didn’t end up here by mistake, which is pretty great.

I send deeply felt thanks to all of you who take the time to come, read, and leave comments.

Apparently you can tell you’re getting proper attention and are becoming a good writer once people start leaving comments… Some of you are people I don’t even know and you leave comments too, which is twice as great.

Doesn’t really need to be all that pertinent, just leave your name and say hello, let me know who you are and that you’re reading. So, go ahead, make me feel good today. Please don’t be shy.

On another note, stay tuned in June for reviews of shows by Matthew Good (May 30th), Martha Wainwright (June 4th), Hey Rosetta! (7th), Said the Whale (11th), Karkwatson (Patrick Watson & Karkwa - 13th & 14th) and more.

Old Man Luedeke @ The Yellow Door - May 24th

Posted on May 25, 2008

Last night I tried to get people to get people to come out with me to check out Old Man Luedeke, who was launching his new album Proof of Love at The Yellow Door. Apparently my friends are all scared of the banjo, because my attempts were unsuccessful. I think many people have some pretty rigid preconceptions about this instrument. It appears as though it’s not the case for all Montrealers because when I showed up, the room was completely packed.

Amy Campbell opened the show with a set of simple ordinary music. It didn’t really do anything for me. It sounded a lot like the singer-songwriter stuff that came out in the late 90s (i.e. Dave Matthews, Ani Difranco). She had a good voice and played well and all, but I felt the compositions lacked maturity.

Old Man Luedeke played a great show that contrasted greatly with the first part. He doesn’t take himself too seriously and lives up to the Old Man name as he recounts stories much in the same way that funny old men like to tell you what it was like back in the day. He has a great sense of humor and has a way of putting people at ease.

The audience was warm and sang along comfortably. The songs were nice and Old Man’s stage presence was really great. He’s a pretty adorable little man who clearly loves life and has a way of sharing that point of view through music and stories that makes us all warm.

Photo provided by SarahBrideau.com

As Quoted by the Lithuanians

Posted on May 20, 2008

Bell Orchestre is getting ready to go play the Hush!Music… Festival in Lithuania, and in the spirit of this upcoming event, the people over at the festival have started a blog.

Most of it is in some language I don’t understand, but they have decided to quote my review.

I thought that was pretty cool.  So my blog does travel pretty far I guess…

An Enchanting Night With Bell Orchestre and SoCalled - St-James United Church May 18th

Posted on May 18, 2008

I have so much to say about last night’s Bell Orchestre and SoCalled concert, I don’t even know where to begin. Like I said about my previous article, I was really excited about this one, but my hopes certainly weren’t at the height of what took place at St-James United Church on that rainy and humid Saturday night. I never really want to make statements like this, having been to so many concerts over the years, but this is probably the best one I’ve ever seen.

The venue was splendid and superbly fit for the occasion. The sounds traveled through the room in an enrapturing and delicate way that just crept up on me, wherever I was in the room. It can’t be easy to balance the sound for such a big and echo-y space, but it was just perfect. Not once was it ever too much or did I think about pulling out my earplugs.

I think even if we were all gathered there for mass, the audience couldn’t have possibly been more quiet or attentive.

The first part was SoCalled with his funkier beats and richly inspired music. I love this artist and the way he doesn’t take himself too seriously and makes the crowd comfortable. It must be said that event though the venue was huge, the atmosphere was very intimate. SoCalled plays a lot with the grand piano and his little sampling machine. The sound of the piano traveled through the room in ways that made it stand out and really gave a different feel to his music. He was playing with some great musicians, including a fabulous violinist and his partner in crime, Katie Moore. He led those musicians like a conductor and their chemistry was excellent.

Then came the main event of the soirée, the return of Bell Orchestre. Saying that I was amazed with this performance wouldn’t even begin to cover the overwhelming feeling of enchantment that I experienced. The band’s hiatus not only made them better musicians individually, but also seems to have brought them closer together. They have grown so much as a group. They offered the audience a generous set filled with both old and new songs. The band is so tight and great together, which is clearly demonstrated by their wonderful work in the more recent compositions.

Last time I saw them they were excellent, but now they really live up to the name “orchestre”. They can barely be considered Indie anymore. Their sound is grave, magical and the musicians have an exceptional sense of modulation. Sometimes very dark and intense, the sounds of their various instruments were brought together with originality and style.

Some songs kept closer to the classical style while others threw you down with a rock-solid intensity. The drums were strong but subtle, which is something Stef Schneider masters perfectly. They also welcomed two new members to the band: Mike Feuerstack on lap steel guitar (Snailhouse and Wooden Stars) and Collin Stetson on horns (Arcade Fire). Listening to them felt like walking through an enchanted forest. It was like a dream.

I also finally wish to tip my hat off to the Montreal Chamber Music Festival for having put together such a wonderful evening.

Lake of Stew’s Album Launch Party @ Sala Rossa - May 16th

Posted on May 17, 2008

My musical interests are as far as they are wide. I like a little bit of everything as long as it’s good music that demonstrates talent. Last night, I went down to Sala Rossa to attend Lake of Stew’s CD release party. I had never heard of this band until my friend suggested we check it out. Then another friend of mine who works over at CBC Radio 3 said she loves the band and asked me to report back on how it was.

I was first welcomed at the door by two lovely ladies who had a cute little set up complete with amazing little brownies. The band played a very generous two-set show that ended amidst the crowd. The first thing I thought when I heard these guys was how this feels a lot like Workingman’s Dead, 1970 Bluegrass release of the Grateful Dead, which in my opinion represents some of The Dead’s best work. Lake of Stew’s style covered pretty much every facet of Bluegrass music from Louisiana-style Blues all the way to good-old kitchen party swinging songs.

The audience was a melting pot of young and older people of every type. I really loved the family-kitchen-party atmosphere. People were dancing around, singing and clapping, and there was even a melon-draw. I’ve heard about meat-draws, but I guess this is just the veggie friendly version.

The music sounded wonderful and the instruments were in perfect tune with each other and well balanced. Every single person on stage sang together in full-hearted chorus, and the band was even joined on stage by a choir a few times. These guys are really talented and great at what they do. In fact, I liked the band so much, I couldn’t help thinking how great it would be to go camping with those guys.

Photo provided by SarahBrideau.com

The Return of Bell Orchestre - Performing with So Called, Saturday May 17th

Posted on May 16, 2008

It’s been about two years since I’ve last seen Bell Orchestre play live. They’ve been on hiatus for a few years now, the band members being busy exploring various musical avenues. It must be said that no time was wasted in this down time. They have been trotting around developing some new projects like The Luyas, working on new albums with Torngat, while others have been touring the globe performing sold-out shows with Arcade Fire. This Saturday May 17th, they will return to the stage at St-James United Church, performing with So Called as part of the Montreal Chamber Music Festival.

This show marks a threshold with the Montreal Chamber Music Festival. In an effort to broaden the horizons of the festival and bring in a new crowd, they are expanding the definition of what we know as chamber music. At first, I was wondering what these bands had to do with the musical style. Then I looked it up on good ol’ Wiki and found out that while it was traditionally the classical styles that ended up in this genre, it also includes art music, which brings bands like So Called and Bell Orchestre into the chamber style.

Artsy they are: while Bell Orchestre fits the chamber style in a more contemporary version of classical music, So Called stretches the boundaries of hip-hop by adding in instruments like the accordion and the piano to a Yiddish rap.

They will be performing at the beautiful historic St-James United Church down on Ste-Catherine. The gorgeous building has recently been restored and it’s a fantastic venue to bring in great acts like these ones. A little birdy told me that Bell Orchestre has been working on new material and are currently working on a new album. I’m really excited to see what the last two years experience has brought to this band and how this will influence the music they’re producing now. This show is not to be missed.

Photo courtesy of New Music Canada

Sleepless Nights @ Bar St-Laurent 2: 2008-05-14

Posted on May 15, 2008

  I first saw Sleepless Night while they were doing their CD release tour back in February. It was my first time ever hearing the band at that point and I can honestly say that they floored me. It was an intense and high energy performance even though the crowd sat quietly and paid complete attention. Last night they played at Bar St-Laurent 2, and I’m sad to say that something was off with the show.  Before I go any further, I must say that their latest album, Turn Into Vapour, sounds fantastic. It’s one of my favourite releases of 2008 so far and I honestly love the band. I was super disappointed last night because I brought a friend along and he didn’t think they sounded good at all. I spent the whole time trying to figure out what was wrong with this show. They sounded alright, and nothing was jumping right at me other than the fact that I was exhausted and don’t really like this venue.  At one point, we stepped out and I told my friend how awesome their album is, and he didn’t really believe me. So I popped the song into my iPod and made him listen to it. He actually loved it. That made me feel better, and I understood that it was just something off with the show and not with my judgement with music.  There was a few less members present at this show than usual, and the drummer had to be a different one because we then realized that it was him who brought the songs down. He clearly has never heard of a thing called subtelty because his beats were heavy and sounded like he should’ve been playing with Metallica. On the album, the songs are driven by swift beats that carry the melodies and makes the songs run to fly. Perhaps it could’ve been the sound balance that was off last night as well since the venue usually hosts for metal and heavier bands.  Whatever it was, last night this band disappointed me, not because they’re not great, because they are, but because I know that they can do so much better. I was however pleased to hear a few new songs that were added to their repertoire. I was also delighted to find out that the singer, Andrew Wallace, is Acadian just like me. That was nice.

Mardeen and Two Hours Traffic @ Quai des Brumes, May 9th

Posted on May 11, 2008

I first heard of Mardeen last fall when a good friend of mine warmly recommended the band. They don’t have a full length available yet, but you can still get your hands on a few wicked EPs. Friday night I went out to Quai des Brumes to check them out live, where they played with the better-known Two Hours Traffic.

The first part of the show was a band called Merci, the Sexton. As my friend described it, they kind of sounded like NOFX that spent too much time listening to Bloc Party. Much like those punk bands of the late nineties, the songs were simple, straight to the point, but I couldn’t help but feel like their music lacked sincerity. There wasn’t much substance to the songs and the riffs didn’t really bring me anywhere interesting. They sounded good for the first four or five songs, but after a while I got bored.

Mardeen, four lovely and unpretentious Haligonians, first started their set with just one of them on stage with a guitar, signing the intro of a song before being joined on stage by the rest of the band. They gave the audience a great set. The bass lines are heavy, the drumbeats are interesting and well thought out, and the harmonies are solid while and never superfluous. The lyrics are smart, poetic and sometimes even brilliant. While some bands like to find one style and apply it to all their songs, Mardeen has a repertoire that takes from various styles and influences while staying within the boundaries of heavy-ish and very pop-y indie rock. These guys are super-talented individuals who manage to create very interesting and honest rock music that has something to say and that knows just how to put it together. While many indie bands sound alike and have a hard time creating something new and interesting, Mardeen makes my heart warm with lyrics like « I have a strong heart but you play too rough » and keeps me rocking out for an entire set without ever loosing my interest.

Their set was followed by the more classic and much softer sounds of Two Hours Traffic, all the way from PEI. The five piece band played a great set, although not as energetic as I would’ve imagined. Their songs are very listenable and I don’t dislike their music at all, but it’s nothing to loose my panties over.

Mardeen’s full length album should be available soon.

Midnight Poutine

Posted on May 4, 2008

Dear readers,

I have recently been hired as a writer/photographer for the great Montreal blog Midnight Poutine. This blog is about Montreal culture with a focus on the arts, music, film, fashion and food. I’m going to be contributing to this site twice a week, sometimes with show reviews, sometimes with other stuff.

I’m going to be transplanting the Midnight Poutine posts to this site. You’ll be able to tell them apart from my own by the “Midnight Poutine Transplant” tags on the posts.

If you guys have any great ideas to pitch for things I should write about, please feel free to leave any leads in my comment sections on this site.

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