See Vous Play

Well Sunday night’s See Vous Play show was a rousing success. The show was put on by CBC Radio 3 in conjunction with Montreal’s Bande A Part to celebrate International Music Day and I must say that the Montreal bands proved that they were a force to be reckoned with.

Despite the absolutely ridiculous name, Les Breastfeeders opened the show with a bang! I’ve mentioned before that the 60’s rock ‘n roll vibe never gets old for me, and these guys do it with an erratic eccentricity that brings out the party that’s hiding inside each and every one of us. I may be a little biased since I was right up close to the action. I would imagine that if you were to watch this scene from a distance, it may come across as pretty bizarre but I’m pretty sure that tambourine psycho Johnny Maldoror is my new favourite rock star. Equally as impressive was the guitar stylings of lead guitarist Sunny Duval, who’s sound reminded me of a young Ron Asheton. While bands like The Hives, etc. choose to wallow in arrogance, Les Breastfeeders rely on good old fashioned rock ‘n roll fun.

Downloads: Pas Sans Saveur mp3 / Tu N’est Pas Mon Chien mp3 / Mini Jupe et Watusi mp3
Les Breastfeeders myspace page.

Next up was Emily Haines and her current backup band Soft Skeleton. There’s no denying her talent. The horn section was tight. The string section was tight. Her voice was perfect. It’s just that her show was a little bit..um…boring. Don’t get me wrong, I love Emily in BSS. Although Metric is my least favourite band in the BSS family, I think their live show is phenomenal. And I even enjoy her new CD. It’s just that hearing it live simply did nothing for me. Maybe Les Breastfeeders left me too hyper. I will say that the last performance of the song “Winning” was quite mesmerizing. But I was tired and my feet were hurting.

Download: Doctor Blind mp3
Emily Haines myspace page.

Once again proving that the French-speaking bands were determined to win over an English-speaking crowd, Les Trois Accords brought the house down (and woke me up.) You didn’t need to understand French to appreciate that these guys were witty, talented, and fantastic performers who were completely worth the hype. It’s unfortunate that a large majority of the crowd had left after Emily Haines, because LTA were not content with simply going through the motions. The banter between lead vocalist Simon Proulx and other vocalist Olivier Benoit kept the audience in stitches, and Simon’s maniacal dancing and wild singing reminded me of bands like Sloan in their early days, full of passion and a real sense of fun.

Downloads: Bac a Fleur mp3 / Jean mp3
Les Trois Accords myspace page

Finally, as always, Joel Plaskett Emergency rocked! Every single person I've ever known in my life has seen Joel Plaskett live except for me so my expectations were pretty high. Thankfully, he did not let me down. He has a very endearing stage presence, not to mention the fact that he's an insanity on the gee-tar! Wrapping things up with an encore that featured a fantastic cover of Abba's "S.O.S." as well as the crowd favourite "Extraordinary", Joel Plaskett's brand of Halifax love was a hit with the Toronto crowd.

Downloads: You Came Along mp3 / Maybe We Should Just Go Home (Live) mp3
Joel Plaskett myspace page

You can hear the ENTIRE CONCERT over at the CBC Radio 3 website.