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Il Motore, despite the slightly sketchy location, is well equipped to put on a rather good show. Being fairly new to the concert-going scene, I (yet again) showed up obscenely early, once more misinterpreting “doors open at 8” as “show begins at 8”. Alas. On the bright side, I definitely had the best seat in the house: a front row table all to myself. After waiting for a good hour (and a half), the opening act hit the stage. I had seen their name on the poster outside and wasn’t quite sure what to expect from Dead Messenger. I am a very open-minded individual and was all set for a good ol’ black-metal opening act, but I was surprised that a band with such a bleak name could be so… non-bleak. I get the name. “Don’t shoot the messenger”. Ha ha ha. Well, I’m glad they did shoot the messenger in this case, because apparently a Dead Messenger can rock--something fierce!

Although they had a rather generic rock sound, Dead Messenger rocked the crowd with blazing 1970’s-esque riffs played beautifully on a vintage Les Paul through a sweet Marshal stack. The lead singer was the only member of the group with a distinct look. The lead guitarist, albeit an awesome musician, stood on the stage in rather grungy (and not intentionally grungy) clothing, and the bassist and drummer were plainly attired—not that that necessarily matters in rock n’ roll, but a cohesive look does draw one’s eye more magnetically to the stage. Regardless, their sound was very nice: near perfect balance, except for slightly quiet vocals. A wonderful big, fat fender bass sound rocked the foundation of sweeping 70’s style songs that were thoroughly catchy and easy to sing along to. Their songs were good, they were played well, but they lacked that essential secret ingredient. There was nothing particularly exceptional about this band. The guitarist, by the end, was absolutely drenched in the sweat of his musical passion. Awesome. I suppose that was exceptional.

After a fifteen-or-so minute break, Parlor Mob began to set up on the spacious, bodacious stage. An interesting thing about going to live shows in small venues is that the members of the band are seated amongst the audience, unbeknownst to the waiting crowd. What a surprise it was when that guy who’d been behind me got up on stage. This band had a definite look. They looked like rock stars, which is a good quality in a rock band. Long, Led-Zeppelin/Deep-Purple/Black Sabbath etc. –style hair, the 70’s jeans, the shirts. A tad pretentious perhaps, but the image definitely fit the sound—which I personally loved. Parlor Mob is not a 1970’s cover band, but their songs do sound like they came right out of the mid 70’s, a time when Floyd and Sabbath were rockin’ the sound waves and changing the face of rock and roll. Had they been around forty years ago, I have no doubt that they would have been a highly successful (maybe slightly obscure) progressive rock band.

They were a five-piece group, with two guitarists (neither of whom was truly lead nor rhythm) who shared solos and background chords in perfect balance, a bass player (who never showed his face to my side of the audience (he was rockin’ out facing the drummer the whole time), the aforementioned drummer, and a vocalist who dabbled on the keys and harmonica at appropriate times.

One of the guitarists chose to rock upon a wicked cool Fender Strat (I’m sorry if this particular jargon is cliché—I just can’t help it when discussing matters of the rocking and the rolling.) He looked like Jimmy Page and rarely could his face be seen for it was veiled in a curtain of golden-blond head-banging bangs. The other guitarist (who unfortunately sported an almost emo look) played a Gretsch guitar and, questionable appearance aside, played very well. Together, the guitarists’ sound was akin to that of Deep Purple in Machine Head. There were moments of Brian May in the guitar solos too. I don’t know what sort of bass the bassist played because he had his back to me the entire show, but he certainly was into his music and it showed. A lovely fat (and phat) bass sound (oh, so very Black Sabbath-y) filled out the well-balanced ensemble of instruments. The drummer had wonderful drum-skills, reminiscent of Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Uriah Heep. I will be referencing and comparing this band to many classic 70’s bands. This is a good thing. The last member of the band was the vocalist, who I took to be the keyboardist at the beginning, because he opened the show with a truly groovy prog rock tremolo ditty on the keys, then stepped in front of the microphone and blew me away with that something that makes a band unique: his voice was far from ordinary. Again, I use a comparison, but only because I cannot replicate in words the sound of his voice. It was a combination of Robert Plant, Geddy Lee of Rush (only in range), and even echoed the sweeping powerful pipes of Ian Gillan of Deep Purple at times. Basically, he had the True Voice of Rock and Roll.

The songs tended more towards the blues-rock genre, but occasionally broke out into some drawn-out, long, mellow, chill, prog songs that started slow, low and quiet but built magnificently to marvelous climaxes with the aid of Pink Floyd-y ethereal keys. None of the members overshadowed any of the others. They did truly work together in (brace yourself for a bad pun and cliché) perfect harmony. If you get a chance to see Parlor Mob (assuming) you like 1970’s classic rock, go see them.

Tokyo Police Club’s concert last night… what can I say? Not much.  Seriously the problem I had with them is one that I am finding I am having with most indie rock bands these days. The word I would use to sum it all up: generic.

The night started with Ruby Coast, the opening act.  They put on an OK performance, meaning they were more or less pleasant, doing nothing to really stimulate or get anyone jumping or swaying for that matter.  Their sound doesn’t differ that much from Tokyo Police Club…again, generic.

So, if you were busy chatting with someone by the bar or even reading a book, as I saw one chick doing, the bands did a quick switch and you might have wondered, I am still listening to the opening band? …but that guy at the front with the thick long messy hairdo looks different and…wait, it’s Dave Monks.  To be honest, because of that discombobulating moment, I couldn’t even tell you what they opened with because it was the most boring opening I have ever seen.  Monks didn’t yell at the crowd, or do anything to get them remotely excited to see them on stage.  It actually could have been a cover band lip-syncing the band until you really took a gander at them.  Actually not once did the band members ever address the crowd during their performance. 

The crowd itself kept you intrigued because of the wild melange of people.  You had your rich upper crust Ugg wearing kids, to the Plateau born and raised artsy kids, with some middle aged hyper cool dudes mixed in. The band managed to arouse the ‘every age imaginable’ crowd with their second tune of the night, which was “Nature of the Experiment.”  Yet when they played “Tessellate” midway through the performance, no one seemed to even notice that they were playing one of their most popular hits.  I blame this on their “hurry I need to get out of here” type of playing.  It was quite curious to see how this band never stops to breathe. You really got the feeling that it was as if they were rushing to get it over with.  It wasn’t until they played “Citizens of Tomorrow” that the crowd managed to belt out a “woohoo” and give a real round of applause.

The awesomely red walled, black curtained, antique chandeliered Sala Rossa was packed to the ceiling last night, however Tokyo Police Club did little to get give what they got.

April 9th was a night of firsts for me. I went to Cabaret Du Musee to see Mates of State and Black Kids, two acts that I had never heard music from. I got to the venue early enough to be surprised by Sunbears' performance. They were the opening act for the Mates and Kids. The Florida duo had an interesting set and prepared the audience for the night.
 
They say the third time is the charm. This was the third chance for me to see Black Kids in concert and it finally happened for me that night. They were a delight and worth the wait. I had been fascinated by the band for months and finally got an idea of their sound. I have heard it said they admire the Cure and after the performance, I am inclined to agree. Their energy was contagious and I was surprised at how receptive the crowd was to the band, who had been in Montreal not too long ago. I understand that with up to three Montreal dates in less than two years, the city loves the Florida band.
 
Reggie Youngblood is the band's most charismatic member and had the most interaction with the crowd. On many occasions during their set, audience members began inaudible conversations with him.
 
I am not sure if that night was a scaled down Black Kids show compared to the other visits, but if that was the case, the crowd got a short but sweet blast of Black Kids. I met with the band members afterwards and found out they have a new album in the works or soon to be released. I got a copy of Partie Traumatic that night and look forward to their next one.
 
After Black Kids was the husband and wife duo Mates of State. There was a steady increase of spectators as every act took the stage. By the time Mates of State began, the bottom floor of Cabaret was littered with people. In previous concert reviews, I've mentioned that I observe crowd reactions to songs to get an understanding of which songs are definitive by consensus. While up in the Cabaret balcony, I was seated next to a couple who appeared to be fans of the group. I did my best to not bother them too much, but informed them I would need their help in determining which album the songs were coming from.

The concert was a pleasant surprise and wonderful introduction to the band. They were the reason Cabaret was filled with people that night. The music was uplifting and peppy and the crowd responded in kind with creative and free-spirited dance moves.
 
I was so pleased with the Mates performance that they made me a fan that night, so much so that I decided to buy one of their vinyl records. Their entire discography was available for sale in the lobby. I saw a number of people walk away with compact discs and vinyls which speaks of their appeal and loyalty of the fan base. It could also be that the price was right!
 
The couple I sat with during the concert often told me that the tracks performed came mostly from the Team Boo or Re-Arrange Us albums. By the end of the concert, I decided to leave with Re-Arrange Us, which happened to be the album they were promoting that night. I hope to catch Mates of State again soon and maybe pick up Team Boo while I am there. That is unless I do not get a copy beforehand, of course.

In 1999, a very trendy, easy to listen to and easy to look at group was born. They even had a member named Bjorn…and Peter and John. On Monday, April 28th they came to Montreal with openers Chairlift.

The three piece electro rock group, based out of Brooklyn, New York, are best known for their song "Bruises" that was featured in a 2008 iPod Nano commercial. This was unknown to this writer prior to the show, but clearly someone told the rest of Montreal because the band did get a good 'sing-a-long" reaction from the crowd when they played the familiar tune.

Caroline Polachek, the female lead vocalist and synthesizer player crooned to the crowd with her sugary sweet voice. It wasn't overwhelming but still very powerful and soothing. Paired with some Morrisey-esque high notes and shouts here and there, she rocked out and seemed to have a blast singing and playing with her bandmates.

Patrick Wimberly and Aaron Pfenning happily played in what appeared to be their underwear, an ode to the hot weather the city was greeted with that day. Wimberly gave the audience a wonderful side profile of his drum kit/bass guitar. It was a great set-up visually as there were a million different things going on for the audience to register audibly and visually.

As they said goodbye to the audience after a charming opening set, they gave a heads up about the charming banter we were about to hear.

After a quick set change I watched Peter Morén come into the spotlight and my curiosity grew about the other members of the band. A whole five minutes passed during the first song while I waited for the lights to pass on the other members.

It was well worth the wait. These were three impeccably dressed Swedes with class and presence. As the show began, they went with an excellent set list of the new, the old and some classics. Though Peter, Bjorn & John have been a band for ten years, they only started charting over the past two and a half. Their single Young Folks can now be heard on the soundtrack of many popular TV shows as well as a few popular commercials. When played live, they were joined by their friend Ross because apparently the crew was celebrating Ross Day. He joined them on stage for an excellent rendition accompanied by the perfect combination of energy and bongos. The band took a short break and after they returned; Peter wearing a new, trendier outfit, they continued to break out a few more of their catchy, knee jerking, indie dancing tunes.

After a few tracks off their newest album Living Thing, the kids were dancing and tromping the closer and closer to the stage for a touch of Peter's outreached hand. The boys of PB&J know how to charm and entertain their audience without a hitch. Though it may not have been the most earth shattering show, it was certainly one that holds few complaints. It seemed short, being just under two hours for the main act, however there weren't any dull or drab moments. It was easy to see how this band was chosen to back up Kanye West for his live performance.

It was a good night in all, ending with all the kids from backstage on stage, with cowbells and bongos rocking out with Peter, Bjorn and John. It was the kind of ending to a show that makes anyone that plays an instrument, writes about music, or even takes pictures of music want to go on tour, rock out and have a blast every single time they play.