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Read by Sofia Gay

Produced by Gareth Sloan

Stories by Corentine Rivoire, Sarah E., Marcin Wisniewski and Chris Hanna 

In Berlin, a tourist from Quebec was arrested by the German police yesterday for making a Nazi salute in from of the German parliament.

The police handcuffed him while he was being photographed by his girlfriend on the steps of the Reichstag.

After paying bail, the tourist was freed, although he risked up to six month in jail.

Any display of Nazi symbols is considered a serious crime in modern-day Germany.

To promote the release of their third album, Seeds, Hey Rosetta! (exclamation mark mandatory) is doing a North American tour. They sold out Montreal’s Le Cabaret du Mile End on Friday, February 18th.

Walking into the venue moments before the band took to the stage, I felt the sense of excitement and electricity in the air. Everyone was there to see the small town six-member band from St. John’s, Newfoundland. The size of the crowd was amazing; seeing the band member’s surprised and humble expressions throughout the whole show as they looked out at the mass of people, you knew they felt the same way.

Hey Rosetta! started the show with three songs off their new album, giving us a taste of why we were there. Mixing their garage rock sound with more traditional instruments like the violin, cello, and piano, the band’s new music stays true to their roots.

“Yer Spring” was the third song on the setlist and it is by far my favorite off the new album. The song showcases the band’s layered sound and lead singer Tim Baker’s energetic and balanced voice. Everyone in the audience had their eyes closed as they swayed to Baker’s voice, and jumped up and down as the song picked up. Hey Rosetta! has a way of making you want to slow dance and mosh all at the same time.

The band took a turn down memory lane and played a few songs from their first two albums, Into Your Lungs and Plan Your Escape. The classics they played really got the crowd roaring. Everyone sang along to "There’s An Arc" and Baker started a clapping interlude that felt 10 minutes long. After this the show really got going; the crowd was even more energetic, as was the band.

When the band got to the title track of Seeds, there were people dancing on stage, sitting crossed leg on ledges bopping their heads, and, I am pretty sure, there were some crowd surfing. This song really showcases the band’s flexibility; member’s switched violins for maracas and tambourines, cello’s for bases, piano’s for mandolins - back and forth throughout the whole song. A mini dance party started on stage in the middle of the song, but it didn’t last long enough. For a moment it seemed like Baker was going to start beat boxing.

Baker interacted really well with the audience and of course told us how much the band loved Montreal. He referenced J.D. Salinger and Leonard Cohen as inspirations for a lot of the music they make. Although he was the only one who really talked to the audience, the rest of the band looked so happy to be there that they didn’t need to express it in words.

The stage was properly dressed with antique chairs and a landscape background. Both represented their classic sound and folky East coast roots.

Hey Rosetta! ended their twelve song set with a personal favorite of mine, "Red Heart," off their second album. By the end of the song people had lighters in the air and wanted more. The moment Hey Rosetta! stepped off stage the iconic chant began, begging them to come back out for just “one more song!”. Playing four encores, Hey Rosetta! still left me wanting more. Maybe it was the massive energy of their live shows, the dancing highs and lows, or the intoxicating hum of their layered sound, but when they left the stage a second time all I could think was “one more song!”.

Set list:

1. "Downstairs"
2. "Welcome"
3. "Yer Spring"
4. "Another Pilot"
5. "There's An Arc"
6. "Yer Fall"
7. "Young Glass"
8. "I've Been Asleep For A Long, Long Time"
9. "Swing The Cellar Door"
10. "We Made A Pact"
11. "Seeds"
12. "Res Heart"

It was a mighty cold evening on February 15th, so let’s just say that I was shocked beyond belief when I entered La Sala Rossa to see Biffy Clyro.  Why, you ask? Well it was weird seeing two guys sporting nothing from the waist up.  Then I remembered: ah yes, Biffy Clyro almost always come on stage topless for almost every show.  However, unlike Biffy Clyro, these guys should have covered it up – eeeesshhh.

When I came out of seeing that nightmare, I settled in and waited patiently to see the Scottish lads hit the stage. I suppose it might have been the cold, but, as I looked around, the charming La Sala Rossa looked and felt uneventful. There was no feeling of anticipation at all.  Even the opening act, Moving Mountains, did nothing to get the crowd, as part of their name says, moving.

It wasn’t until the Biffy Clyro lads hit the stage that the crowd awoke from their trance.  It might have been their opening song choice.  That being their number 1 hit on the UK Rock Singles Chart, “The Captain”, from their most recent album Only Revolutions.

Regardless of the arctic weather outside, these Scots did not disappoint. They came out shirtless, showing off their beautiful bodies and tattoos, to the delight of the ladies in front of me, who oohed and aahed at the lads.

There is no doubt that they love what they do. This was plain to see as they blew right through four songs without taking a breath, at which point the lead singer Simon Neil showed off his French with a, “Merci beaucoup,” to the crowd.

Biffy Clyro puts no airs on during their performance. This was evident when looking at the stage. Actually, if it weren’t for the 10 electric guitars to the left of the stage, you might have thought it was someone’s garage, but a garage band they are not.  They are true blue rockers, wailing on their guitars and banging hard on the drums. It wasn’t until they played  “Born on a Horse” that one of the twins, James Johnston brought out a keyboard, which made the crowd go wild.

La Sala Rossa was a tad less than packed. It could have been due to the deep freeze outside, or the fact that this Scottish band, although hitting number 3 on the UK charts, is not all that well known here.  All the same, those that were there showed their love and passion for Biffy Clyro as they sang along to almost every song.

Near the end, the lads changed gears and slowed it down with a nice acoustic set, ending with “Many of Horror” from Only Revelations, which was the last song from their regular set. They then came back to play a three encore set to end it all with “Mountains.”

Biffy Clyro may not be that well known here in Montreal yet, but if you caught a glimpse of them last night, you will most probably never forget these bonnie lads from (now here’s one to Google) Kilmarnock, Scotland.

-Rebecca M hosts Canucks Kick It every Wednesday from 5-6pm