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The Boston band Ripe ripped it up at the Belmont, on November 30. Formed way back in October 2011, it was the first visit for this funk jam assemble to our fair city. The seven-member band led by vocalist Robbie Wulfsohn held a non-stop dance fest. As it says on their Facebook page, “We like to make you happy and make you dance. And then we like to party with you.”

Montreal band Clarks Bowling Club did their best to get the party started. They had the audience revved up after their eclectic opening set of retro 80’s sounds mixed with a bit of funk, jazz, and hip hop. A fairly new band getting their start in 2015, the Bowling Club consists of Pierre Brian Imart on vocals and saxophone, Loïc Marchat on drums, and Gonzague Mulot on bass and keyboards.

After a brief pause, Ripe took to the small stage at the Belmont. Ripe consists of Robbie Wulfsohn on vocals, Tory Geismar and Jon Becker on guitar, Sampson Hellerman on drums, Josh Shpak on trumpet, Calvin Barthel on trombone and Nadav Shapira on bass.

The band kicked off the evening with the up-tempo “Brother Sky”, off their Hey Hello album. After a bit of banter, with the band jumping in unison they went right into “Little Lights” and “Stanky J’s”. Towards the end of the show, after playing pretty much everything in their repertoire, they tossed in a couple of covers. First off was the Kinks’s “Lola”, then tossed in Hall and Oates’s “Rich Girl”, and a bit of a tease with the Red Hot Chili Peppers’s “Under The Bridge”.

With many people making the trip up from as far as Massachusetts, the concert had a feeling of a home town show. The audience was split between new and old fans, but by the end of the show, they all had sore feet from all their dancing.

1. Clarks Bowling Club’s Pierre Brian Imart (far right) and friends.

2. The end of a successful night for the Clarks Bowling Club.

3. Robbie Wulfsohn of Ripe.

4. Ripe members Calvin Barthel (left) on trombone and Josh Shpak (right) on EWI.

5. Ripe getting their funk on at the Belmont.

6. The end of a fun night.

Montréal singer-songwriter Corey Gulkin (formerly Corinna Rose) is one of the city's most notable folk artists, best known for her experimental, dark, and intricate songwriting, as well as an off-kilter sense of rhythm and unconventional song structure. 

Needless to say, we at CJLO became very excited after hearing she'd be releasing her sophomore album All The Things I'll Forget on January 26th. In fact, we were so excited that we decided to present her Album Launch Show on February 1st at La Sala Rossa!

Check out Corey's new video for the title track All The Things I'll Forget  below or where it is premiering, on Indie88, here.

You can also pre-order the album and listen to the second single Under The Covers on Bandcamp.

FRIDAYS = CHART DAYS!!

Above is CJLO's weekly TOP 30 from November 28th to Dec 4th. Our charts are compiled from actual airplay on our airwaves, broadcasted on 1690 AM in Montreal and its surrounding areas, as well as live via our website at CJLO.com

Montreal Locals: Ritual Master, Common Holly, Technial Kidman

Canadian: Casper Skulls, Odonis Odonis, METZ, Cardinals Pride, Biblical, Beliefs, Mauno, Chad VanGaalen, Alvvays, Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton, Julie and The Wrong Guys, Destroyer, and Terra Lightfoot 

Bella Fleck and Abigail Washburn brought their banjos to Montreal on Tuesday, November 14th. First scheduled at the Corona Theatre but after a last minute venue change, the concert was moved to the L’Astral. The move proved itself to be quite fortunate as it provided a more intimate setting. 

The duo opened the concert with a few songs from their new album, Echo In The Valley, starting with a three song medley, “Sally In The Garden/Big Country/Molly Put The Kettle On”. Next up was “Railroad”, and then a question many of us may wonder at one time or another, “If I Could Talk To A Younger Me”.

There was a bit of banter between songs—Bella Fleck asking if we have banjos up here, and then after a boisterous “yes!” from the audience, he points out that banjos prove a civilized nation. The quiet attentive audience hung on every word and note. 

Ms. Washburn was the first to venture into the solo section of the evening; she left the microphone behind, telling the story of how she learned the next song sitting in a hot tub with the writer, Genie Harper. 

After reminiscing about his shows at the Spectrum with the Flecktones, it was Mr. Fleck’s turn to go solo with a couple of instrumental tunes from that era. The duo then returned for one last song before the end of the first set, “My Home’s Across The Blue Ridge Mountains”.

After a short break the pair returned with “Bloomin’ Roses”, and then a rousing version of “Don’t Let It Bring You Down”, both from the new album. It was story time again for a short while as Abigail Washburn recounted her time in college studying Chinese, before breaking out into “Lost Lamb” and “Song Of The Traveling Daughter” from her solo album of the same name. Both songs were sung in Chinese and English. 

Bella Fleck then offered up a short course in the different methods of banjo picking, with both artists trading barbs over which had the better method: his three-fingered style like legendary picker Earl Scruggs, or the more traditional (and better, according to Ms. Washburn) Clawhammer method.

Abigail Washburn then informs the audience about Sarah Ogan Gunning, the woman that penned the next song, “Come All Ye Coal Miners”. She then introduces Bella Fleck back to the microphone, when she mentions he is working on his third banjo concerto. She also mentioned that if anyone is working on their own they should see the documentary about Bella Fleck, How To Write A Banjo Concerto. He then played one piece from his first concerto, before playing a solo instrumental bluegrass-styled song.

The duo teamed back up with one last song, “Take Me To Harlem”, with Abigail Washburn adding some percussion, stomping her feet to Bella Fleck’s three-fingered banjo picking. 

After a hasty retreat, an out-of-breath Abigail Washburn and Mr. Fleck returned for the encore. The evening of splendid music ended on a gospel note, with the audience helping out with the harmonies during “Keys To The Kingdom”.